Remember how June Cleaver always had fresh baked cookies just out of the oven when Wally and Beaver arrived home from school? (If you don’t remember that, you might be able to catch some reruns of Leave it to Beaver on Nick at Night or TVLand!)
Anyway, who doesn’t like fresh baked cookies just out of the oven? However, even if you don’t fancy yourself a June Cleaver, you can still make simple afternoon snacks that your kids will love. By the time they get off the bus or walk in the door they’re usually so hungry they could eat dirt. You’re probably familiar with the well-known picture of your children standing in front of the refrigerator, door wide open, staring inside for something delightful to jump out.
Of course they’d probably love to grab an ice cream sandwich, instead of an apple; a bag of chips over a bag of rice cakes. Give them a snack that’s quick, nutritious, and something they’ll want.
Here are a few suggestions:
Freeze bite-size chunks of fruit. Watermelon cubes or balls, blueberries, grapes, pineapple chunks, 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. They’re hungry – you don’t (and neither do they) want to have to make something after school. Have it ready to pop into their mouth.
Blend cut up fresh fruit with juice or milk and freeze the mixture in a small paper cup, add a popsicle stick and freeze for a nutritious popsicle.
You can make a variety of kabobs. Adults usually like some meat chunks, with a little onion, green pepper, mushrooms, and pineapple on their skewer, then onto the grill. Kids want something different. Marshmallows, cheese cubes, grapes, apple wedges, pineapple, banana slices, pretzels, and slices of rolled up ham or turkey are choice ingredients to stack their kabobs. And, of course, stock the refrigerator with celery and carrot sticks and a dip made with low-fat sour cream, yogurt, guacamole or hummus. Have those waiting in the refrigerator when the kids get home and you’ll hear no whines of “There’s nothing to eeeeeeeeeat!”
Bake homemade cookies made with whole wheat flour or oatmeal and sweetened with honey or applesauce along with a glass of cold milk for a sweet treat.
Celery filled with peanut butter is still one of the most satisfying snacks. Add a few raisins for “ants on a log.”
Cut slices of cheese into shapes with tiny cookie cutters and eat with whole grain crackers.
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 Waldorf salad: carrots, celery, apple, walnuts, and raisins with a touch of mayonnaise and lemon juice. You’ve heard that variety is the spice of life. Your kids will concur. You don’t want the same old – same old, and neither do they.
Eleisia Whitney has a Watkins Home Business. She enjoys cooking and baking with Watkins extracts, spices, herbs, and sauces for healthy meals. Eleisia publishes a Watkins Newsletter called Around the Kitchen Table, that brings you recipes, cooking and health tips, and contests for free Watkins products.
Read the current issue at http://www.everydaynecessities.com/september1-08newsletter.htm
Visit her at http://www.everydaynecessities.com and http://www.WatkinsOnline.com/eleisiawhitney
Meet & Greet