Suddenly trying to homeschool, manage expectations at work, and keep your sanity? I'm here to help! Maybe you've never had to do snack time before because day care took care of it or maybe you are just plain overwhelmed and ready to throw the kids a giant bag of Oreos and call it a day. During busy season, I often found myself reaching for the granola bar box and cheese sticks at snack time way more than I like to admit. Last year, I took one evening to myself, put away my work and did some research. I poured over blogs trying to find a way I could create quick and easy snacks that I was happy to serve Lucy and she was happy to eat! I quickly realized there were a few things I could keep on hand that would make whipping up healthy snacks a breeze. I still use granola bars and cheese sticks in a pinch but creating a plate that is both pleasing to look at and exciting to taste has become a priority for me. It keeps Lucy experimenting with new tastes and textures and I know that she is getting a nutritious, well balanced snack, that will keep her full for longer!
Below is one of our favorites combinations. Banana slices, sun butter and coconut mana. YUMMY! (seriously, it's so good you will want to make a plate for yourself)!
My three step process:
1. Start with a base.
Fruit slices (apples, pear and banana are great), a piece of sprouted multi grain toast, crackers, vegetable slices (cucumbers, celery sticks, or carrot circles are always a favorite) or rice cakes are perfect.
Fun tip: Use a cookie cutter to cut shapes out of the toast and watch your children gobble up combinations you never thought they would! A tiny star, a fun sized heart, and a large flower are all favorites in our house!
2. Add a base topping. Our gotos are nut butter, hummus, pesto, cream cheese, mashed avocado, cheese slices & mascarpone.
3. Sprinkle something yummy on top! We love coconut, tiny amounts of honey, berries (on cream cheese, yummo!), soaked chia seeds, dried fruit, chopped nuts, & peanut butter powder.
Bonus tip: Vegetables like chopped cucumber, roasted red peppers, and shredded carrot go great on hummus or pesto!
Voila! Choose one item from each step and you have a healthy snack that takes a few minutes to make and that your kids will gobble it up!
Want to shop our favorite pantry items? The links below are amazon affiliate links, meaning, if you clickity over to amazon and purchase something, I receive a small commission at no cost to you. Any compensation from the link goes right into Lucy's warrior fund to help us, help her, battle retinoblastoma. You can follow along on her journey using her hashtag, #lucythewarrior on facebook and instagram. xoxo
coconut mana (this is AAAAHHHHMAZING!! and I can't believe I just discovered it this year)
chia seed (always soak before serving! I just keep a little jar in my fridge at all times)
And so many more! coconut flakes, dried cherries (chopped), dried applies (chopped), dried apricots (chopped), chopped walnuts, chopped almonds, chopped pecans
our favorite cutters for cutting vegetables
A mini set of cookie cutters for things like bread, eggs etc
