April 09, 2014creative

Healthy Spring Snacks

With spring upon us, the days of looking for ways to spend time indoors and away from the cold are behind us! Getting outside for some fun in the sun can make spring a pretty busy season — your little ones are always on the go, whether they’re chasing butterflies or playing catch, they don’t have much time to stop the fun and refuel with snacks! This week we want to offer some fresh, fun and easy-to-make snacks that kids can enjoy this spring season.

Fruit “Pops”

This snack option is convenient, healthy, and fun for kids! Simply choose a fruit (various melons are a great option for this snack, such as watermelon or cantaloupe), cut it into a fun shape using different cookie cutter stencils, such as stars or hearts, and stick the fruit onto a lollipop or kebab stick. Voila — healthy fruit pops are ready to be enjoyed by the whole family, and they look pretty neat too!

Frozen Yogurt Strawberries

This fruity and sweet snack is great for a warm day. All that is required are strawberries, yogurt (any kind will do, however Greek yogurt is a great consistency for covering the strawberries), and some time in a freezer! Dip the strawberries in the yogurt one or two times or until the strawberries are evenly coated, and leave them in a Tupperware container lined with parchment paper in the freezer until the yogurt is frozen solid! When you’re ready to indulge in these delicious treats, just take them out about 5 minutes before serving to make sure they soften up a bit for tiny teeth.

Apple Sandwiches

Apple sandwiches are the perfect, refreshing and filling snack for a warm spring day spent outside playing. First, take an apple, core it, and cut it cross wise into half-inch thick circular slices. These apple slices will serve as the “bread” to our sandwich! Anything that caters to your little one’s taste-buds can be spread between the apple slices, but an especially delicious combination is to spread peanut butter onto the slices, and then sprinkle some granola on top. Mmmm!

Peanut Butter Banana “Sushi”

Banana “sushi” is a great finger-food for kids, and is incidentally much simpler to make than actual sushi — no fish or seaweed wrapping required! Simply take a tortilla, spread peanut butter across it evenly, lay a banana horizontally across the tortilla, roll it up, and cut into pieces! This snack is especially delicious when washed down with a cool glass of milk.

Veggie Hummus Rolls

Veggie hummus rolls follow a similar technique to peanut butter banana “sushi”, but they are a great lunch option and way to get your child to eat a variety of vegetables — they will never know how good what they’re eating is for them because it will be so tasty and fun to eat! Take a tortilla, spread hummus evenly across it, and layer with shredded lettuce, cucumbers, julienned carrots, onions and any other delicious vegetables you can think of! Then roll them up tightly and serve.

Spring is a busy time for families, after spending so many months cooped up to avoid the cold winter weather! These snacks are just a few examples of the easy, kid-friendly options that are out there that require minimal time and materials. They are healthy, refreshing, fun and simple for kids to eat because they are all bite-sized. Your children will be able to get the necessary energy for playing all those fun games, and you will have the time to play with them because you won’t be tied up in the kitchen! You can even turn making these snacks into a fun activity by bringing the kids in to help you prepare, whether they dip the strawberries, spread the peanut butter onto their apple sandwiches — or perhaps taste test some samples — you can turn snack time into a fun time.

There are many resources available to help you create delectable foods for your children all year round! Check out this cool article from Canadian Living, for a great list of kid-friendly and healthy snacks to make this spring season a healthy one: