Quick and Easy Snacks for Children

As parents, we are always looking for quick and easy snack choices for our children. Children love to snack around the clock but sometimes they get stuck in a rut of sodas, chips and candies that are very unhealthy for them, and you for that matter. Here are a few healthy and very easy to make snacks that are good for you and your children.

Popcorn is a great snack option for children of all ages. It's also a very easy option, especially with microwave popcorn bags. My children like the little single serving 100 calorie microwave popcorn bags. This way they each get their own bag and I don't have to worry about them eating junk foods. In order to keep popcorn a healthy snack option for your children you will need to steery clear of the extra butter and salt. But that does not mean that the popcorn has to go without any flavor. There are many flavoring options on the market from low calorie butter flakes to sprinkling with garlic and/or chili powders.

How about throwing together your own trail mix? Just mix together several different kinds of healthy snacks into one big bowl and let your children dig into this healthy and easy snack. Add in some pretzels, sunflower seeds, raisins and even some dried cranberries. You can add almost anything to this mix that is healthy and fun.

Homemade popsicles are a great healthy and easy snack idea. All you will need are some cheap popsicle molds and some of your children's favorite 100% fruit juice. You can get the popsicle molds at almost any store that sells kitchen supplies. I've seen them at several "dollar" stores around here and I've seen them at Wal-Mart, so they should be easy to find. I think that Tupperware also sells popsicle molds. You simply pour the juice into the molds and pop them into your freezer. They will be set in a few hours and your children can enjoy this quick, easy and healthy snack at anytime. My freezer stays stocked full of these popsicles during the hot summer months. If you want to add a little treat to these popsicles then you can throw in some sliced fruit pieces with the juice and they will freeze inside the popsicle. Another alternative to this popsicle is to use your blender and puree some fresh fruits, like strawberries, and pour the puree into the mold. You may need to add some fruit juice to the puree to make it the right consistancy for the popsicles.

A twist on the fruit juice popsicles above are homemade pudding popsicles. I'm sure many of you remember the "Pudding Pops" from the 80's. You know, those commercials with Bill Cosby. I loved those pudding popsicles and was very disappointed when you could no longer find them in the grocery stores. Well, with popsicle molds and chocolate pudding you can make your very own pudding popsicles. I use low-fat or fat-free chocolate pudding, mix it up and pour it right into the molds. Pop the molds into the freezer and in a few hours you will have pudding popsicles for you and your children to enjoy and this popsicle version only takes a few more minutes to make than the fruit juice version.

Fresh fruits are always a great option for healthy, quick and easy snacks for children. Simply slice up some apples, strawberries, grapes, oranges, pineapples, bananas or any other fruits that your kids enjoy. To keep them fun you can serve them with yogurt or peanut butter that your children can use to dip the fruits into. Another option is to serve the fruits on skewers with some chocolate dipping sauce. My children love fruit kabobs!

Cheese quesadillas are another quick and easy snack for children. There are kitchen appliances out there on the market to make quesadillas but for this you simply need a microwave. Just take two tortillas with a slice or two of cheese between them and microwave it until the cheese is melted, about 45 seconds. Cut them into triangles and serve with a dipping sauce of your choice. Some children enjoy ranch dressing, some enjoy salsa and others just like to eat them plain. If your children prefer a little more to their quesadillas than just cheese then you can add a slice of lean ham or turkey into the quesadillas before heating them.

If you have a sandwich grill, you can create tastey grilled cheese sandwiches very quickly. It only takes a few minutes to grill up a cheese sandwich and it's a healthy alternative to a chocolate bar or gummi bears. Serve the grilled cheese sandwich with some carrot sticks and some ranch dressing to dip them in. Just like the quesadillas, you can add lean ham or turkey to these before grilling them.

These are only a few of the healthy, quick and easy snacks for children of all ages. There are many more out there, like rice cakes, tofu, veggie trays, cheese cubes, animal crackers, graham crackers with peanut butter or frozen chocolate covered bananas on a stick. You just have to be creative. All of these snacks are great for a family movie or game night. Anything that helps a family spend more time together and still provides great nutrition is a winner in my book.