If your kids are like mine, they love snacking. I mean really love snacking. My kids can make it through an entire day on snacks alone! While this is fine for older children who have a sense of what their bodies need to stay healthy, it can be hard to find snacks that are nutritious and tasty at the same time. Here are some of my favourite healthy snack ideas for picky eaters.
Fruit And Veggie Chips is a Healthy Snack
Use a variety of colours. If you want to use all fruits and veggies, then choose a variety of different fruits and vegetables. Try green bell peppers, yellow cucumbers, orange carrots, and red strawberries.
Use a variety of flavours. Don’t just use one flavour, try using as many flavours as possible! Sweet is always healthy snack ideas but salty can be great too! For example, sweet potatoes + cinnamon; apple + cinnamon; grape tomatoes + basil + oregano; carrots + rosemary + thyme. You get the idea!
Use a variety of textures. Some fruits are crunchy while some vegetables are soft so make sure to include both types! You could also add herbs or spices which can add another texture element to your chips when baked/fried/cooked at high temperatures (see above).
Nuts And Seeds Trail Mix
This healthy snack ideas recipe is a tasty way to get kids to eat some of their daily servings of nuts and seeds. You can use any kind of nut or seed, preferably without added sugar. Add dried fruits such as apricots, cranberries, raisins, or goji berries for extra sweetness. For chocolate lovers: add some chocolate chips! To boost protein content and make this snack more filling you can also add a spoonful of nut butter (try almond or peanut) and coconut flakes/shredded coconut (which adds fiber).
Crunchy Veggie Chips
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes
Serves 4 people as a snack, or 2 people as a side dish. These healthy snack ideas can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week. They’re also great for lunches, so you might want to make more than you need! Each serving of this recipe contains about 150 calories, 6 grams of fat, and 3 grams of fiber.
Stuffed Waffle Sandwiches
Use whole wheat waffles. The fiber in whole wheat is important for your child’s digestion, so make sure to use healthy snack ideas.
Use nut butter, jam, or Nutella. If you’re feeling adventurous, experiment with different spreads like peanut butter and jelly, nut butter and honey, or even chocolate-covered cashews! Try them on their own or as an inside layer on top of the waffle.
Add fresh fruit like strawberries, bananas, or blueberries. Kids love the sweet taste of fresh fruit and it’s a great way to ensure they get their daily serving before lunchtime! You can also add some granola mix to this recipe as well if you want something crunchy but still healthy enough for kids (just make sure there aren’t any artificial ingredients added).
Apple Sandwiches
Be sure to use a variety of apples: Red Delicious, Gala, Granny Smith, and Fuji are all good choices.
If your child does not like peanut butter or almond butter (or if you’re vegan), try sunflower seed butter instead. It has a similar consistency and tastes that kids will enjoy.
Experiment with different types of cheese: Cheddar is classic but mozzarella or Swiss work well too!
If you like, sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top for extra sweetness (and then it’s basically a dessert). Honey is also delicious and drizzled on top!
Other fruits may include sliced bananas or dried fruit such as raisins or cranberries. healthy snack ideas nuts can be added too; unsalted pistachios are especially yummy in these sandwiches!
Quinoa Bites
These quinoa bites are awesome and healthy snack ideas for kids. Begin by making a batch of quinoa flour, but any flour will do. Then, add some chopped nuts and dried fruit to make your own vegan trail mix. You can also add cinnamon or vanilla extract if you like! These are great on their own, but they’re even better when dipped in nut butter or honey your kids will love them!
Frozen Yogurt Drops with Berries
This is a great healthy snack ideas recipe for children who like to snack. Frozen yogurt drops are made from yogurt and fruit, so they provide a lot of healthy nutrients. Add some berries, granola or cereal and you have a healthy snack that’s sure to satisfy your child’s sweet tooth!
Frozen Yogurt Drops with Berries
1 package (or about 25) frozen yogurt drops (any flavour)
1 cup fresh berries (strawberries or blueberries work best)
Granola or cereal – optional but recommended
Spinach Apple Muffins
Muffins are great for kids because they’re sweet and portable, but they can also be unhealthy if you load them up with sugar and fat. Here are some healthy snack ideas and recipes that will get your kids excited about eating spinach!
Spinach Apple Muffins: Use a food processor to mix the batter. Bake in a muffin tin at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until browned on top. Replace oil with apple sauce, use whole wheat flour, add cinnamon and nutmeg to taste, add raisins or other dried fruit (such as cranberries), and add chopped walnuts before baking (other nuts will work too).
Fruit Salad Yogurt Parfait: Layer vanilla Greek yogurt topped with fresh fruit in a glass jar or cup orange slices, banana slices, blueberries and pour honey over top before serving if desired.
Date-Sweetened Chocolate Chip Cookies
These are great examples of “healthy snack ideas” for kids. They’re made with whole wheat flour, oats, and dates. There’s no added sugar! You can make them vegan or gluten-free if you’d like.
Give these snacks a try to see what your kid likes!
Make sure the snack is healthy. Kids need fruits and veggies, but don’t force them to eat something that they don’t like just because it’s “good for them.” If your child doesn’t love applesauce, don’t make him eat it every day when he asks for a snack. Instead of wasting money on items your kid won’t consume, try some of these easy-to-make snacks instead!
Make sure the healthy snack ideas are easy to make (or buy). Some parents have time to spend making elaborate meals from scratch each night but most of us don’t! So, if you’re crunched for time and want an easy way out during those busy days when making dinner seems like too much work, look no further than these quick and delicious ideas!
Make sure the snack isn’t too expensive per serving size (or overall). We all know what happens when we’re short on cash: We start eating fast food four times a week instead of once every two weeks or so as usual and then we wonder why our jeans don’t fit anymore! The same idea applies here: Rather than spending big bucks per mealtime item only once every few weeks while still having plenty left over each month; buy several inexpensive options that will last longer across multiple days without breaking bank accounts in such large amounts right away at first glance before even tasting anything yet either.
Conclusion
There are so many healthy snack ideas to try, but these are just a few that my kids love. I hope you’ll be inspired by them too! If you have any questions about bringing healthy snacks into your family routine, feel free to contact me via email or Facebook. I’d love to hear from you!
