Real Food Snacks for Kids and Parents!

Creighton eating a tomato he found in the fruit basket as we packed for our move.

Snack time seems to be all the time at our house. I am both intrigued and confused by how much my boys eat each day. And it's not just the 2 and 6 year old, my husband also loves to snack. Well, I guess I shouldn't try to exclude myself from this category... especially at 24 weeks pregnant, I also relay on snacks to get me through the day.

Quick hunger attacks can often lead to unhealthy trips through the drive thru, expensive stops at vending machines or gas stations or simply causing you to consume to much of something at home.

Here is where planning makes a huge difference! Not only to aid in making nutritious choices and to save money, but preventing I'm hungry/ low blood sugar melt downs.

Plan to Be Hungry

Whenever we leave the house for more than an hour, I plan to be hungry. I will throw a couple of snacks in the bag just in case. Typically I just grab some fruit or raw nuts for a short trip. However, when I know we are going to be gone for a couple hours I will pack a more filling snack like veggies and guacamole/hummus, Lara bars/ protein bars, or chicken salad and crackers. If you or your family is anything like mine... being caught hungry in the middle of errands usually leads to disaster.

Pre-Plan to be Hungry

On Sunday, as I plan my meals for the week, I also plan snacks. This way the items I need make it on my grocery list. Unlike my meal planning however, I don't plan specific snacks for specific days. I make a list of snacks we have on hand and place it on the fridge. When we eat up that snack I cross it off the list so we know what is left.

Muffin Tin Snacks

Somedays I feel I don't get out of the kitchen. And the constant "I'm Hungry"s wear me out. I can't remember where I heard the idea first of keeping snacks in muffin tins for the day but the Boys and I are going to try it. The idea behind it is that you fill up a muffin tin with snacks in the morning, and throughout the day when the kids get hungry they can help themselves to a snack without asking mom to fix something for them. Although it requires some prep work on our part I think I like the idea for several reasons.

1. The child can choose what he wants to eat and when. (independence and decision making)

2. Although there are enough snacks for the day, it teaches them to plan for later by not eating everything at once (which I am pretty sure my boys will do the first couple days).

3. It allows the parent to create a balanced nutritious snack plan for the child and not have to constantly be thinking how many vegetables did he have today?

4. The parent doesn't have to be in the kitchen preparing food all day.

We are going to try this idea in our house and I will keep you updated on how it works for us. 2 new muffin tins are on our shopping list for the weekend! I am also considering a third for myself...

I would like to share some of our favorite snacks and things that will be going into our muffin tins. Although most of these are "snack foods" remember there is no rule telling you what is meal food or what is snack food. Salads, bowls of soup, or wraps make nutritious treats anytime. As you will see we keep things really simple. We enjoy whole real foods and the bonus of that is quick prep and easy eating.

Nutritious Real Food Snacks

Sliced Apples with Almond Butter and Honey

Celery and Peanut Butter/Almond Butter with Raisins on top (Ants on a Log)

Brown Rice Cakes with Salsa and Raw Cheese

Cultured Plain Full Fat Yogurt with Frozen Blueberries and Stevia

Homemade Protein Bars

Raw Nuts and Raisins (trail mix)

Stove top Popped Popcorn with Sea Salt

Lara Bars (homemade or purchased)

Flax seed Crackers and Hummus

Veggies (peppers, celery, carrots, cucumbers) and Guacamole

Grapes, Bananas, Peaches, etc

Cucumber Slices with Lemon and Sea Salt

Baked Apples with Butter and Cinnamon

"Cheesy" Kale Chips

Smoothies

Green Lemonade

Almond Cookies

Dehydrated Fruit Leathers

Granola and Almond Milk

Tips

Kids love to dip. Often kids will try new vegetables when they get to dip it in something. Hummus, guacamole, and aal-natural salsa make easy, nutrient packed dips. If it is the dip that is new let them use a familiar dipper like a cracker or pretzel.

Eat with a stick. It may sound a little dangerous and don't tell my mother-in-law I do it, but... I let my kids eat with toothpicks. They love picking up cut up fruit, vegetables, or cheese chunks with toothpicks. Taydem will also make patterns on kabob sticks with different fruits.

Boost Vegetable Intake. Although the standard american diet does not portray it, fruits and especially vegetables should be the main staple in our diet. But we have been told that these are not kid foods. Well that is a sad lie. However, in reality it can be hard to get kids to eat enough vegetables each day. I find it is essential to use snack time to add servings of fruits and veggies.

Forget Portion Size. When your kids eat whole real foods like the ones listed above you don't have to be concerned with portion sizes. They can eat as much as they want. But the truth is they will eat less than if they were eating processed "food". That is because your body gets filled up on nutrients not amount of food. They will be able to eat more Cheetos (anti-nutrients) than apples (packed with nutrients) before they reach full.

Fun Names. We've called green lemonade and green smoothies Hulk Drinks, protein bars Mr Incredibles Muscle Snack, and veggies and dip Pumba's Grub Snack. Make up fun names for new foods and your children will be more interested in trying them.

What are your kid's favorite snacks? How do you keep your sanity with the million I'm Hungry's?