Snacks

WARNING: Young children can easily choke on nuts, seeds, popcorn, raw vegetables, grapes, peanut butter, meat sticks, and hot dogs. Do not give these foods to infants. Cut foods into small, easily chewed finger food for toddlers and preschoolers who are still learning to bite and chew. Watch children of all ages closely whenever they are eating.

"INSTANT" SNACKS

    Dried fruit (un-sulfured)
    Chunks of fresh fruit covered with yogurt (messy but delicious!)
    Apples dipped in peanut butter
    Carrots dipped in peanut butter or cottage cheese
    Cooked veggies, plain or covered with yogurt
    Try cooked beans (green, kidney, or pinto beans) as finger foods. Pinto or kidney beans can also be cooked, blended, or mashed into a dip for crackers, bread pieces, and carrot or celery sticks.

HEALTHY SNACK GUIDE

FRUIT OR VEGGIE KABOBS (Healthy Start Kid's Cookbook)
Take your favorite fruits or vegetables, and cut them into squares that are at least 1 inch on each side. Take a wooden skewer stick and put the pieces on, alternating.
Here’s how:

For a fruit kabob:

    ½ Red apple
    1 can Pineapple chunks
    1 bunch Red grapes
    1 bunch Green grapes
    1 Small banana

    1. Cut the apple into 1-inche wedges. Leave the skin on to make our kabob colorful.
    2. Drain a can of pineapple chunks in a colander over the sink.
    3. Wash the grapes and remove them from the stem.
    4. Peel the banana and slice it into ¼-inch thick rounds.
    5. Now take the skewer stick and first put on an apple wedge, then a pineapple chunk. Next put on a red grape, then a banana, and then a green grape.

    Keeping doing this until your kabob stick is covered end-to-end with fruit. Serve these kabobs on the stick and watch how everyone enjoys them.

For a vegetable kabob:
    1 stalk Celery
    1 Small carrot
    12 Small cherry tomatoes
    1 Small green pepper

    1. Wash all the vegetables and pat them dry with paper towels.
    2. Cut the celery into ½-inch pieces.
    3. Cut the carrots into ¼-inch rounds.
    4. Clean the green pepper, being sure to get out all the seeds. Cut the pepper into pieces about ¾-inch square.
    5. Take the kabob stick and place a celery piece on the end.
    6. Add a piece of carrot, a tomato, a green pepper square, another celery, another carrot, another tomato, and so on until the kabob stick is full.

    This is a good snack to use with a Vegetable Dip.

GRAHAM CRACKER FACE-UPS (From *Kids' Team! Curriculum Cards,* University of Nebraska Lincoln, Cooperative Extension)
1 graham cracker
1 tablespoon peanut butter
Add-ons: 1/4 banana, sliced; 2 tablespoons applesauce, 2 tablespoons crushed pineapple
Sprinkle-ons: 1 teaspoon each of raisins, sunflower seeds, crisp rice cereal, granola, coconut

Break each graham cracker into two squares. Using a table knife spread each square with peanut butter. Select one of the add-ons to spread on top of cracker. Sprinkle one or more of the sprinkle-ons on top.

CARROT RAISIN ROUNDS (From *Kids' Team! Curriculum Cards,* University of Nebraska Lincoln, Cooperative Extension)
1 carrot, grated
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup walnuts
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 slices raisin English muffins (could be toasted)

Clean carrot and shred into small pieces. Mix all ingredients except bread. Spread on English muffin halves. Serve.

BAHAMA BAGELS (From *Kids' Team! Curriculum Cards,* University of Nebraska Lincoln, Cooperative Extension)
1/3 cup low-fat cream cheese
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon crushed pineapple
2 bagels, sliced in half

Mix cream cheese, pineapple, and nuts in small bowl. Spread on each half of the bagels. Serve.

BANANA ROLLS (From *Kids' Team! Curriculum Cards,* University of Nebraska Lincoln, Cooperative Extension)
6 bananas
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup coconut
1/4 cup rice cereal

Peel and cut bananas in quarters crosswise. Spread with peanut butter. Roll in coconut and rice cereal. Serve immediately or chill until served.

YOGURT PARFAITS (From *Kids' Team! Curriculum Cards,* University of Nebraska Lincoln, Cooperative Extension)
16-oz. carton lemon or vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup Grape Nuts
1/4 cup fruit of your choice

Sprinkle Grape Nuts in the bottom of a dessert cup. Add a spoonful of yogurt. Add fruit and top with more yogurts. Sprinkle Grape Nuts on top.

BUGS ON A LOG (Food Tips and Recipes, Better Kid Care Project, University Park, PA: Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences)

    Make "logs" from any of these foods:
  • celery stalks (cut to about 3 inches long)
  • apples (cut in halves or quarters with cores removed)
  • carrot sticks (cut to about 3 inches long)
    Top the logs with a spread:
  • cream cheese and pineapple
  • cheese and pimento
  • peanut butter
  • egg salad
    Sprinkle "bugs" on the spread:
  • raisins
  • unsweetened cereal
  • sunflower seeds
  • golden raisins
  • chopped peanuts

HONEY MILK BALLS* (Food Tips and Recipes, Better Kid Care Project, University Park, PA: Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences)
1/2 cup honey or corn syrup
1 cup dry milk solids (powdered milk)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup raisins

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well; then knead by hand until blended. Shape into small balls. Makes two dozen balls.

(WARNING: Do not use honey in beverages and uncooked foods for infants under the age of one year. Honey may contain botulism toxins.

ORANGE FROSTY (Food Tips and Recipes, Better Kid Care Project, University Park, PA: Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences)
1/2 cup frozen orange-juice concentrate
1 cup milk or plain yogurt
1 teaspoon sugar, optional
4 to 5 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend. Yields four 1/2-cup servings. For variation, add a ripe banana, a ripe peach, or a cup of fresh strawberries.

APPLE PUDDING(Food Tips and Recipes, Better Kid Care Project, University Park, PA: Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences)
1 cup leftover cooked rice
1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
1 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix rice and applesauce together in a large bowl. Add cinnamon and yogurt. Stir well. Spoon into dishes and serve. Yields six 1/2-cup servings.

JUICY FINGER BLOCKS (Food Tips and Recipes, Better Kid Care Project, University Park, PA: Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences)

    3 envelopes unflavored gelatin
    3/4 cup boiling water
    1 12-oz. can frozen apple, orange, grape, or other juice concentrate

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add juice and stir until mixed. Pour into a lightly greased 9 x 13-inch cake pan. Chill in the refrigerator about 2 hours until firm. Cut into squares or use cookie cutters to make shapes. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

HOMEMADE POPSICLES (Food Tips and Recipes, Better Kid Care Project, University Park, PA: Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences)
Freeze any fresh fruit juice (except pineapple juice, which does not freeze well,) and pour it into small paper cups or ice cube trays. Insert Popsicle sticks. Freeze until solid. Remove Popsicle from cup by running under hot water for about 10 seconds. Blending yogurt with fruit juice is another option.

COOKIES & MILK (Food Tips and Recipes, Better Kid Care Project, University Park, PA: Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences)
Don't eliminate cookies from your list of snack foods! Take your favorite cookie recipes and make them more nutritious by:

  • reducing sugar. Use half the amount of sugar in the recipe. For example, if the recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, reduce that amount to 1/2 cup.
  • reducing fat. Use one-third the amount of fat in the recipe. For example, if the recipe calls for 1 cup of shortening, oil, or margarine, reduce that amount to 2/3 cup.
  • adding fiber. Replace all or part of the white flour called for in a recipe with whole-wheat flour or rolled oats put through a blender.

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