“Mom! I’m so hungry!”

More on the Back to School series:

“Mom! I’m so hungry!” - That is pretty much the first thing I hear when my kids come barreling through the front door after school! And let me tell you, I’m no June Cleaver - hot, fresh cookies are not coming out of the oven every day!
And really, that’s a good thing, because, I want to guide my children to eat healthier snacks. I don’t want them to come home tired and depleted of nutrients from all the hard studying and playing they’ve been doing - and then just fill them up with sugar!

Of course they would probably love to grab an ice cream sandwich, instead of an apple; a bag of chips over a bag of rice cakes. But, we can entice our children to eat nutritious snacks by making the snacks a little more exciting. Here are a few suggestions:

Freeze bite size chunks of fruit. Watermelon, pineapple and apple slices tossed into a bag and then into the freezer make a refreshing, crunchy snack. The trick is that you want to have something convenient. Have it ready to pop into their mouth.

You can make a variety of kabobs. Adults usually like some meat chunks, with a little onion, green pepper and pineapple on their skewer, then onto the grill. Kids want something different. Marshmallows, cheese, grapes, apple wedges, pineapple, banana slices, pretzels, and slices of rolled up ham or turkey are choice ingredients to stack your kabobs. Have those waiting in the refrigerator when the kids get home and you’ll hear no whines of “There’s nothing to eeeeeeeeeat!”

If you’re totally at a loss for creativity, then use some fun bowls, plates or cups. Serve fresh fruit in a margarita glass. Put Goldfish crackers in a goldfish bowl and use a fish net to scoop out the yummy aquatic crackers. Use a new net, of course… not the one you use for Gill!
Imagine the look on your kids’ faces when they come home to find an ice cream cone stuffed with a special salad just for them: Carrots, celery, apple, walnuts, and raisins! They will climb up on those bar stools so quickly to eat that yummy, fun, and delicious snack!

We’ve all heard that variety is the spice of life - so let’s all get to spicing up snack time!

GO READ A BOOK!