This post is brought to you by Big G Cereals and the Midwest Dairy Council. All opinions are mine.
{Project Simple Summer} Simple Summer Snack Ideas for Kids
As a mom I always look forward to the more relaxed schedule of summer and especially enjoying fun activities with my children. While we’re having fun I try to keep them fueled with nutritious snacks and today I’m sharing a few of my best budget-friendly, better-for-you snack ideas.
*Dairy products are a frugal and nutritious option for summer snacking. One of our faves is freezing organic yogurt tubes to make a cool treat that packs nutrition instead of colored sugar water like some freezer pops.
*Smoothies make a lot of sense when it comes to packing in good-for-you nutrients and vitamins – and they can actually save you some “cents” too. In addition to using frozen fruits and veggies why not add other pantry items to boost the nutritional punch like wheat germ, chia seeds, flax or even a handful of fortified Cheerios. Click here for our yummy Peach Mango Smoothie recipe!
*Switch up your smoothies by freezing them to make smoothie pops. Sure it’s easy to purchase a box of frozen pops at the store but why not make your own so you know exactly what your kids are eating. You can find inexpensive freezer pop molds
online or at local discount stores and fill them with fruit juice or yogurt and fruit blends. Try our Blueberry Yogurt Pops.
*Speaking of frozen goodies, frozen fruit makes a simple, nutritious and cool snack for the kids. Our favorites to freeze are grapes, pineapple chunks, banana chunks dipped in yogurt or these super cute Watermelon Freezer Pops.
*Make these fun Apple Flowers by cutting an apple into thin slices and letting your kids cut shapes using cookie cutters. You can spread the slices with peanut butter and top with coconut and raisins, or let your kids dip them in yogurt.
*Young children will love making tiny kebabs. Cut an assortment of lunch meat, cheese and fruit into cubes and let your little ones slide the cubes onto a small pretzel stick.
*If you have pirate lovers in your house make some Pirate “Boats” with bananas sliced lengthwise. Add peanut butter and chocolate chip “pirates”. For extra fun let your kids make flags from sticky notes and toothpicks.
*Increase your kids’ daily vitamin intake with a Rainbow Plate. Place slices of colorful fruit and veggies (cherry tomatoes, carrots, yellow squash or baby corn, green peppers, blueberries, grapes) in rainbow order on a plate and serve with ranch dressing and yogurt dip.
*Cheese Sticks are a simple snack that can be made a little more exciting with dips like marinara or honey mustard on the side. You can purchase the pre-packaged variety or be budget-wise by purchasing block cheese and slicing your own.
*If you have a busy summer planned, make a few batches of this Cherry Chocolate Chex Mix for a terrific on-the-go snack.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Chocolate Chex
- 1/2 cup Honey Nut Cheerios
- 1 cup pretzel twists, broken in half
- 1 cup almond slivers
- 1/4 cup dried cherries
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients into a clean, dry bowl.
- Mix gently.
- Scoop mix into snack size zipper bags and place them in the pantry for a quick, easy-to-grab snack for your next outing.
What are your favorite quick and healthy summer snacks? Leave a comment or a link.
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we like homemade trail mix here………any nuts you like & m&ms mix and enjoy…..we do this because most of us don’t care for raisins. we also eat a lot of fruit, homemade granola bars, pretty much anything homemade……….
Sounds good to me! 🙂