Health Tip of the Month
Enjoy Healthy
After-School Snacks
By Pat Kendall, Ph.D., R.D., Food
Science & Human Nutrition Specialist, Colorado State University Extension
Do your children come home after school with a bad case of the munchies? Many
children need a mid-afternoon energy boost before they crack open a book, go
to after-school activities or go outside to play. Use these quick and easy snack
ideas to help your children fight the after-school snack attack nutritiously.
They are healthful, fun to make and, depending on the age of your child, require
minimal adult supervision.
Fruit Shake-Ups: Combine 1/2 cup low-fat fruit yogurt with 1/2 cup cold fruit juice in a non-breakable container with a lid. Check to make sure the lid is tight. Shake the mixture vigorously, then pour into a cup.
Pudding Shakes: Use the same techniques described above for making fruit shake-ups, but instead mix 1/2 cup low-fat or skim milk with three tablespoons of instant pudding.
Snack Kebobs: Cut a variety of vegetables or fruit into small chunks. Skewer them onto thin pretzel sticks. To keep cut apples, bananas or pears from becoming discolored, dip them in orange juice before placing them onto the pretzels.
Sticks and Dip: Cut carrots, celery, zucchini or cucumbers into sticks, then dip them into salsa, low-fat salad dressing or low-fat dip.
Edible Food Face: Spread peanut butter or almond butter on a rice or popcorn cake. Create a happy face using dry cereal, raisins, currants or other dried fruits.
Sandwich Cut-Outs: Using a variety of fun-shaped cookie cutters, cut slices of cheese, meat and whole-grain bread. Then put them together to make sandwiches.
Banana Pops: Peel a banana and dip it in plain or fruit yogurt. Roll the banana in crushed breakfast cereal, then freeze.
Peanut Butter Balls: Mix peanut butter and bran or cornflakes in a small bowl. Shape them into balls and roll them in crushed graham crackers.
Ants on a Log: Cut celery sticks about 3 inches long.
Fill with peanut butter. Arrange raisins on top.
Fish in the River: Fill celery sticks with cream cheese (dyed blue with food
coloring if you're feeling creative). Arrange goldfish-type crackers along the
top.
Cookies and Cream: Put a small scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt between two oatmeal cookies. If you wish, make a batch ahead of time and freeze them.
A cautionary note: Small, hard, sticky or gel-like foods that don't dissolve easily can lodge in the throat and become a choking hazard. Such foods should be given to children younger than four years of age only if care is taken to minimize the risk. Foods that may choke small children include hot dogs, hard and gel candies, nuts, whole grapes, popcorn, peanut butter and carrots or apple chunks. To minimize the risk of choking, make sure that foods are cut at angles rather than squares and in pieces small enough to easily slide down a throat. Also, it's important that children sit down to enjoy snacks and meals. Eating while lying down, crying, laughing, running or playing hard increases the risk of choking.