Ants on a log are an oldie but goody. Just ask most preschoolers. You may choose to cut the celery into halves or thirds to make this snack more manageable for kids.
Raisins
Peanut butter
Celery
Clean celery, dry and chop off excess on ends. Spread peanut butter into the celery. Place raisins on the peanut butter.
Frozen grapes are a classic summer treat in my family, and so easy to make. It’s better if you take the grapes off the stem, but if you’re having a bit of a lazy day, you can skip it. Just clean them off first, dry, put in a container and freeze.
If your kids find fully frozen grapes too much to handle, let them take out a small bowl and have it sit for a little while to defrost a touch.
A snacking garden takes some time to prepare, and it may not last all summer. You see, this is a part of your garden you set up for the kids to enjoy.
Plant foods that will be easy for your kids to pick and enjoy. Cherry tomatoes, string beans, snap peas, grapes… whatever they might enjoy. Fruit trees are another good choice.
The key here is communication about which plants they can freely snack from. If you want to reserve some areas for your kitchen, let the kids know. My kids love to snack on basil, for example. I love my fresh basil, but if I left it to my kids, I wouldn’t have any available for use with meals. They’d pick the leaves much too fast for the plants to cope. It’s one of the plants we talk about how much they’re allowed to take from it.
I also love the snacking garden for how it teaches the kids about the plants in the garden. They’re quick to learn what each is, and especially that some plants are absolutely not edible. They get a nice connection with some of their food. They also learn how to keep an eye on the health of the garden. By the way, weeding is a great kid chore that can go along with having a snacking garden.
So this one’s a little extra fun. Chocolate isn’t necessarily healthy as such, although the darker varieties are better for you than milk chocolate, but it’s sure fun. It’s not all that hard to get most kids to eat fruit, but adding a layer of chocolate might just make them beg for even more of it.
Slice the fruit into easy to eat pieces. Make sure the sliced edges aren’t too damp for the chocolate – it may not stick well if the fruit has too much moisture.
Melt chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds or so until it’s smooth. Try not to overmelt your chocolate.
Prepare a silpat or line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Make sure there’s room in your freezer.
Dip each piece of fruit into the melted chocolate and allow the excess to drizzle off. Place on silpat or paper. Use a toothpick to dip pieces that aren’t easy to manage by hand. A fork will also work.
Freeze until chocolate hardens. It’s best to keep the fruit from freezing in most cases, so 5-10 minutes should be plenty. The fruit may not be as appealing if you freeze and then defrost it.
Yeah, here’s an easy one. Make popcorn for your kids when they want a snack this summer. It’s not ideal, what with GMO concerns and all, but odds are your kids will be very happy.
You don’t have to buy microwave popcorn packages, with all the waste that includes (not to mention the fake butter, etc.). A plain paper lunch bag works quite well, just fold the top over a couple times. I prefer my Stir Crazy popper, but use what you’ve got.
Have a little fun and quit using the basic salt and butter. There are plenty of other seasonings that are just wonderful on popcorn – some sweeter, some healthier, others just fun. You might find a new family favorite.
