After School Snacks: Delicious and Nutritious Treats
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There’s nothing scarier than 3pm, when the school bell rings and throngs of wild, hangry children are released from the classroom back into their parents’ custody. After a long stint of learning and play, these ravenous creatures come in hotter than a grease fire and demand not only your undivided attention, but immediate sustenance to get them through to their next big meal. You wonder, did they even eat lunch? Are they growing? My goodness, do they have worms?! Mealtimes are important and every kid has a favorite, but the quick afternoon snack grab is essential to growing and maintaining a happy and healthy child.
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Snack Attack: Armor Up with an Edible Arsenal
Some kids take down a massive breakfast while others devour the foods served at dinnertime, but somehow they all manage to collectively converge on that sweet spot in between their three squares. Targeting the refrigerator or pantry, no fruit snack, granola bar or potato chip is spared when these hungry kids get home from school. But this snack savagery does not have to be a full-on kitchen apocalypse. Snack time is an opportunity to introduce healthy food choices that might fill not only a void in a growling belly, but a nutritional gap as well. Few kids would turn away a midday ice cream cone, but swap that craving for a bowl of yogurt topped with fresh fruit and you’ll be checking many, many more nutritional boxes. If your kids are light on their veggie intake at dinner, the afternoon snack is a great place to supplement. They’re more likely to inhale a huge serving of carrot sticks dipped in a little ranch dressing at 4pm then they are to scoop up every bite of dinnertime peas when other more appealing options are present. Consider snack time a window to add some tasty and healthful variety to your kids’ diet and everyone will emerge victorious.
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After School Specials: Menu Ideas
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Sliced fruit and dip/spread: Pick your fruit, any fruit will do. Apples, bananas, pears, strawberries… there are no bad choices. Proceed to step two and pick your dip or spread. Peanut butter, Nutella, honey, whipped cream. Sure there’s a little sugar in this snack but so what. If your child has a sweet tooth, this alternative to a candy bar will give them a tremendous amount of nutrients and vitamins and a little bit of that sugar high they’re craving.
Popcorn: This low-calorie food is packed with fiber and antioxidants and can satisfy the hungriest of snackers. Sprinkle it with anything you’re craving. A good seasoning start is a splash of olive oil and a few dashes of salt, but doctor it up with some garlic powder and oregano and Buongiorno, you have some Italian style kernels. In the mood for fiesta corn? Hit your air popped goodness with some Tajin and hot sauce and you can olé all day.
Protein: Hard boiled eggs and meat sticks are a dream snack. They’re filling and super easy to throw in a bag when you have to take your food on the road. Not all snacks can be enjoyed at a leisurely pace and after-school activities mean you might have to grab that snack and go! These durable foods have a decent shelf life (a week for refrigerated hard boiled eggs for instance) that make them an easy, tasty, and satisfying choice for the busiest of kids after school.