
Every day, all day, every hour, every moment of the day, at the exact second that I become busy doing something else, my children will come to find me and ask, “Can I have a snack?”
They may have just eaten a massive breakfast or lunch: doesn’t matter. They want snacks, and they will whine, and I am over it already, so I give in to their dictator demands more often than I’d like to admit.
But do you hear me, Universe? I am officially over it.
I’m determined to find healthy, easy snacks that they can get themselves.
It’s especially difficult on the days when it feels like we’re all living on top of each other, what with social distancing home schooling.
And there seems to be something about that that makes my kids want to eat, every second of the day.
One hack we’ve been trying since we’ve been staying at home lately is to make the snacks super accessible for kids to get.
We keep them on low shelves, in individual packaging, and make sure that the sweeter, less-healthy options are out of reach.
Read: 39 Kid-Approved After School Snacks and Lunchbox Ideas
So when they come to find me for a snack and I tell them to help themselves, they have no option but to choose cheese cube and an apple, say, over granola bars and a go-gurt. The sweeter stuff is a treat; carrot sticks are considered an actual snack.
Figuring out how to differentiate between those two ideas has helped our snack game considerably.
I also try to pair flavors and food types together; usually, a protein and a fruit or vegetable, with some sort of healthy fat. This combo is best at keeping them full for longer.
I mean, kids can’t stay full on Cheezits alone. Although mine would probably like to try.
A list of easy, “get it yourself” style kids snacks that are healthy, too!
But one mom can only slice so many apples and peel open so many granola bars. So here’s my big, fat list of healthy kids snacks that they can get their own dang selves, so I can finish a thing for once.
- Hummus and vegetables
- Fruit and nuts
- Peppers and sour cream
- Peanut butter crackers
- Cheese sticks or cubes and apples
- Hardboiled eggs and strawberries
- Baggies of pre-popped popcorn
- Spreadable cheese on rice cakes with berries
- Dried apples rings with walnuts or pecans
- Roasted chickpeas and banana
- Whole-milk plain yogurt with jam or honey stirred in
- Graham crackers spread with nut butter, and sliced peaches
- Frozen grapes and cubes of cheese
- Wholegrain pitas with guacamole and cherry tomatoes
- Cottage cheese with pineapple cubes
- Trail mix: pretzel rods, dried raisins, sunflower seeds, and maybe m&ms (if you’re feeling generous!)
And that’s it! Believe me, the snacktime struggle is REAL around here. I feel your pain!
Ruthy Kirwan
Love it, Julie! Anything to make these kids a little more independent!
Julie
Sounds delicious and achievable! I can’t wait to try these with my kids some day!