Healthy Snack Ideas for Kids

It's our job as parents to ensure our children consume the proper amount of protein, carbohydrates, and vitamins, yet feeding kids can often be a chore, but I don't think it has to be. My two little boys, ages almost 4 and almost 2, are both great little eaters and when people ask me how I get them to eat fruits and veggies, I simply answer "It's just what I offer them." It really was that easy for me, I just offered a wide variety of both fruits and vegetables are every meal and snack and they just naturally gravitate towards healthy foods now.

This doesn't mean that I don't have to keep it exciting and fun. I do. They're still kids and kids have notoriously picky palates. Presentation really helps, as does allowing them to choose what they want to eat. It's easy to do if you replace the sugary and salty snacks in your pantry with more nutritious options... if it's not available, they can't eat it.

I make all sorts of things out of graham crackers, peanut butter, a couple banana slices and some berries. One easy idea is to make a police car, simply spread a graham cracker quarter with the peanut butter, and add 2 banana slices for wheels and a few blueberries and/or strawberry chunks for the lights on top. Sometimes I make my kids a baseball field for a snack, and I use the same concept. I make a "diamond" out of a half of a graham cracker spread with peanut butter, turned diagonally. Next, I place a few banana slices flat on the cracker for the bases, and I stand a Teddy Graham up on the bananas as players, and I drop some grapes and berries around the plate for the balls.

"Ants on a log" is another fun one; it's also something that my mom used to make for me as a kid. Simply spread some peanut butter or cream cheese on a celery stick and top it with a little line of raisins as the "ants". You can make a silly clown face out of a tortilla spread with hummus, eyes made from olives, a cucumber nose, a carrot mouth with two cherry tomato slices at the end of the mouth for the cheeks. Sprinkle the face with soy nuts for "freckles"!!

Kids also love to dip. Fruit dipped in vanilla yogurt with a dash of cinnamon is a big hit at our house. I often offer a dip made of cream cheese mixed with fresh herbs for a dip along side fresh cut peppers, carrots and celery. Purchasing a few unusual containers that you reserve just for dips is a great idea, a small dump truck or a small teapot are fun options. Sometimes I make a variety of dips just by mixing a teaspoon or two of few different ingredients into yogurt that I've portioned into three different sized stacking cups: cinnamon, cocoa powder and orange rind are good ones for fruit, as are basil, ranch dressing and mint for veggies.

I find that by mixing it up and making it exciting, my kids dig right in. They may play with their food a little longer, but that just means I have extra time to clean the kitchen!