Ok, so this may be a bit of a predictable post for the New Year but after handing out the Bourbons yet again yesterday at the girls mid morning snack time I realised something had to change.
Despite being a bit of a baker I always struggle to find a quick something for the girls in between meal times and I’m ashamed to admit more often than not I reach for the biscuit jar. Sometimes homemade, sometimes a good old digestive but normally a biscuit! Terrible mummy. But it’s just so easy. Luckily I manage to resist for myself MOST of the time but I’m on the hunt for some super easy but healthy snacks that I can either prepare at home or easily take out and about with us. I’m hoping you lovely people will be able to help fill me with inspiration and ideas before I head out for another packet of party rings!
I loved these suggestions we shared over on Rock My Style a while back but think it may take me a little while to work the girls up to these so I’ve popped a few of my ideas below. As always pretty please do let me know any wondrous snack suggestions you may have.
Fruit
I popped some sweet little woodland tubs in to the girls stockings this year and they are the ideal size for a few berries. The girls only seem to eat berries so they are a perfect snack. Expensive at this time of year but when it’s the only fruit they eat it is worth the cost.
Over the last few days I have tempted Molly with slices of banana topped with a bit of nut butter. Her preference is peanut butter but cashew or almond in a Typtop supplies paper ice cream cups to shops works just as well and I’m rather partial to this snack myself. I also love it on slices of apple for some added crunch although I’m still to persuade Molly on this one.
I’m going to try making rainbow skewers as hopefully the colours will tempt the girls in to trying all sorts of fun fruits. It takes a bit of prep to chop all the different types of fruit but I’m thinking that I can make a batch and keep them in the fridge for a few days.
Crispy things!
Rather than quavers I’m going to try making some veggie crisps. Surely it can’t be too hard to thinly slice various veggies and bake in the oven?
In the same vein I love apple crisps. Simply core an apple, thinly slice, lay out on a lined baking tray and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 140c for about 40mins. Yummy.
Both me and the girls adore popcorn. A lot. I often keep a bag of Tyrells proper popcorn in the cupboard but seen as I favour the sweet and salty variety it can’t actually be all that good for me. It’s ridiculously easy to make your own popcorn and kids will love hearing it pop away in the pan. I’m heading to my local health store for a bag of kernels and am going to get creative with flavours. I shared my sweet and spicy popcorn recipe over on Rock My Style a while back but will get trying some other flavours for the girls.
Sweet Treats
I’m not saying that snack time can’t have a bit of naughtiness but I’d prefer it to be slightly less sugar induced than my normal biscuit selection.
There are so many easy and healthy flapjack style recipes out there. Choose your mixture of oats and fruit to create yummy flavour combinations. Try these Deliciously Ella flapjacks or her granola bars are equally yum. I also love these yummy apple and oat bites for a more cake based treat.
These banana and oat biscuits are still my all time favourite. The natural sugars from the banana and dates make them unbelievably tasty and the girls would never know that they are a pretty healthy version of their usual biscuit.
Anything with hidden veg in is a winner in my books so I’ll be giving these Jamie Oliver Butternut squash muffins a try.
Savoury Bites
Hummus is a great option for snack time. Unfortunately the girls aren’t big fans of vegetable crudités but a toasted wholemeal pitta is a great option for an afternoon snack. I envy the mums whose kids will sit and happily munch carrots and cucumber.
A fun snack I’ve started making is to spread some low fat cream cheese on a slice of wafer thin chicken and roll up. Serve whole or slice in to pinwheels.
Rice cakes are a winner in my house. Ok I know they mainly taste like polystyrene and probably don’t have much in the way of nutrients but I reckon they are ok. The girls will munch a bag of the Organix ones quite happily or I like to spread with nut butter or mashed avocado for a yummy topping.
Shop Bought
When we are in a rush or need a sudden supermarket pit stop then I have a few trusty favourites.
The girls both love the little bags of Bear Paws or Bear Yo Yos. I think they are tempted by the cute animal faces on the packaging and the fruit based treats are a good option.
The Organix oat bars are also a favourite as an on the go snack as are the Smoothie bites. I’m not entirely sure how these freeze dried wonders are made but Alice LOVES them.
My personal favourite is the Nakd bars, in particular the gingerbread flavour. These bars can be found in most supermarkets either in the health food aisle or by the cereal bars. They are basically just a bar of nuts and fruit and nothing else. The downside is the cost as they are around 70p each. I have tried making my own which works well. Just pop lots of different dried fruit and nuts like apricots, dates and almonds in to a food processor. Wizz up adding a bit of water or a squeeze of orange juice and then press in to a tin and pop in the fridge.
What snacks do you reach for when the kids, or you, need a mid afternoon pick me up?
What a totally brilliant post, Lottie! My baby girl Iris is only 6 weeks old but I’m going to try to improve mine and my husband’s eating habits before she starts weaning so that we don’t feel like hypocrits as we offer her cucumber with one hand while shoving a biscuit in our own mouths with the other! It’s tough having a sweet tooth…
It’s terrible isn’t it? It’s so hard having nice food for the girls now they are older. I find myself regularly raiding their treat jar. Oops x
Mmmmm the banana and date bars look sooooo good!!
I will be trying these very soon….!!
I made apple and oat muffins from the River Cottage kids book the other day……really tasty and a nice pudding for my little one as well as my boaderline diabetic Mum!
Another tasty treat is banana ‘ice cream’ which is all over Pinterest and is basically frozen and then blended bananas…..thought it would ok but I LOVE it (especially with a bit of peanut butter blended through it and topped with homemade quick caramel sauce……mmmmmmm!! Not quite so healthy as the original but I’m doing dry January, so you got a have some treats, right?!!)
I need to try this banana ice-cream. Sounds great especially as I currently have some bananas that need using up and normally would make banana cake with them! I’ve heard good things about the River Cottage kids so may get that one on order. Thanks for the tips x
Cream crackers with cheese are my go to snack these days! Filling, low salt and sugar and provides some dairy. Plus very quick to prepare!
I’ve recently discovered cheese oatcakes. My 18 month year old loves them and they are pretty healthy. In terms of homemade snacks I often make big batches of sugar free blueberry muffins (http://www.blwideas.com/sugar-free-blueberry-muffins/) and wakey wakey breakfast biscuits (can’t find a recipe online but it’s just weetabix, oats, banana, raisins and a bit of milk mixed together and baked for 20 mins at 150) and stick them in the freezer so we always have some on hand. Both are a huge hit and are super healthy although maybe less appealing as a mummy snack…
Those wakey wake biscuits sound fab. I think Molly would like to help make them too. On the list for this week x
Just been out to buy the nakd gingerbread bar, excellent recommendation super tasty!
They are the best. I also highly recommend the chocolate orange for a sweet hit! x
What about malt loaf? I love it with a thin scraping of butter. It’s high in fibre, and keeps you full. I imagine kids would like the chewy cake-y like texture too. My little nieces love it. Xx
Oooh, I had forgotten about Malt Loaf. I love it. But maybe with a lot of butter! Will give that a try for the girls as think they may be fans. Thanks x
I wish my little lady loved raw veg sticks, she just looks at me like I’ve gone mad if i even try! She does love hummus though, so may try that with some toasted pitta soldiers.
Her favourite snacks (apart from the typical biscuits/chocolate) are raisins, bananas, frozen raspberries and cheese!
Although after speaking to a friend who is a dental nurse I’m trying to limit the dried fruit. Apparently they are a big cause of tooth decay in under 5’s (along with the rise in popularity of fruit smoothies) due to how sticky they are on your teeth.
Great point Lou B. I’m a dentist and it is really important to avoid snacks containing sugar between meals. This includes these cleverly marketed ‘natural’ sugars. The fruit bars, winders, yoghurt coated fruit chips etc and yoyo fruit snacks are from a tooth point of view as damaging as sweets as they contain high amounts of sugar and are super sticky so collect in the grooves of the teeth and sit there for ages. This is the same with dried fruits such as raisins and malt loaf so they are also best avoided between meals. The sugar is released by the drying process leaving it freely available to the mouth bacteria which use them to create acid which causes tooth decay. The same happens when fruit is juiced for juice or smoothies. The enamel on baby teeth is half as thick as on adult teeth so decay spreads rapidly. I don’t mean to nag at all it’s just to be aware as a lot of the packaging and marketing on these types of products are difficult to fathom and can be misleading, as a parent myself it is difficult and also the ‘no added sugar’ term is very misleading. It’s the frequency of sugar intake that’s important so avoiding sugary snacks between meals is key. Hope this helps.
Thank you so much Em. I’m never sure what is and isn’t good for the littles, especially when it comes to teeth, so this is super helpful. I think I get suckered in to the ‘fruity treats’ and in truth the whole not having time to think. I’ve definitely cut back on all the pre packaged fruit based snacks now and they are only as a treat if we are out and about. Besides, I think they would rather have a digestive! xx
It’s very difficult and you aren’t alone. The marketing is so clever there are rows and rows of these things in the shops. It is heartbreaking when children need fillings or extractions and their parents have done their best to avoid sweets but instead have given these other snacks.