Today we have a guest blog from Kim Stakal, a.k.a. The Green Gourmet. Kim is a food writer, culinary/nutrition instructor, and recipe developer living in Chicago. She received her culinary training at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health & Culinary Arts in NYC and has been exploring health and good eats ever since. Check out her website at www.the-green-gourmet.com.
The kids come home from school, and the first thing they want is a snack. Sound familiar? It can be easy (or at least not too difficult!) to keep your kids’ meals healthy when you cook them yourself, but when it comes to mid-day and late-night snacks, it can become tedious to figure out nutritious -- and tasty -- ideas. For kids and adults alike, many of us have a particular type of snack attack that hits. Some crave salty foods, some crave sweets, and some just want something crunchy. Here are some fast, family-friendly snack ideas organized into snack-attack category, so that you can hit the snack craving with something both satisfying and healthy. Happy snacking!Crunchy Snacks:
- Light popcorn, or plain popcorn popped in paper bag in microwave with sea salt and your favorite spices
- Crunchy veggie sticks (like cucumber, carrot, celery, pepper, etc) and dip (hummus, bean dip or vinaigrette)
- Whole-grain cereal with dried fruits and nuts added
- Brown rice crackers with natural nut butter
- Homemade granola or muesli with soy milk
- Whole wheat or corn tortillas misted with olive oil, sprinkled with seasonings (cumin, paprika, red pepper, or garlic salt) and baked at 400 degrees until crispy. Serve with salsa or bean dip.
- Organic yogurt and fruit (try mango or pineapple!) or nuts
- One chunk of dark chocolate with natural nut butter on top
- Fresh, whole fruit (for a warm treat, try baking the fruit and sprinkling with cinnamon and maple syrup!)
- Leftover grains (i.e. brown rice, quinoa, spelt) drizzled with maple syrup and cinnamon; add soy milk and bananas, heat and enjoy warm oatmeal-like porridge (or try grains cooked in fruit juice -- apple or orange)
- Frozen yogurt -- freeze your own!
- Sweet vegetables -- yams, sweet potatoes, squashes (acorn, butternut, kabocha) -- score with a knife, sprinkle cinnamon on them and bake until soft
- Banana, split lengthwise, with nut butter spread in the middle
- Low-fat cottage cheese and grapes or apples
- Hard-boiled eggs lightly sprinkled with sea salt and paprika
- All-natural sauerkraut -- it will also knock your craving right out!
- Chopped tomatoes, avocado, onion, olives, and basil
- Sardines packed in mustard, pesto, or salsa, on top of whole-grain crackers
- Tabouleh or hummus
- Roasted peanuts or other nuts (make your own trail mix!)
- Steamed and lightly salted edamame pods (soybeans)
- Greens with soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and sesame seeds on them.
The wellness world was abuzz this week with a new report showing that kids’ snacking has increased in the last two decades – all the more reason to make sure that the snacks they do grab are healthy and satisfying!
What healthy snacks do you like to make yourself?
I work with low income folks. How about coming up with a list of after school snacks that are affordable to all. Could you even compute the per serving cost so I could show folks that whole and natural foods can be cheaper than the processed unhealthy snacks kids ask for. Also, have you tried roasted garbanzo beans? Roast with cumin,paprika, salt and a little olive oil in the oven at 400 for 20 mins. They are delicious.
Posted by: Ann Christensen | March 12, 2010 at 09:58 AM
Hi Ann!
Thanks so much for your response. When coming up with these snack ideas and other healthy recipes, I am always keeping budget in mind. Of the list above, here are some very economical choices to recommend:
Popcorn, whole grain cereal, whole grains and oats, and nuts and beans are all available in bulk sections of food stores, especially ethnic stores, co-ops, or health stores -- and these are actually quite cheap in bulk (as well as much more fresh than the boxed foods)! In addition to these grains and nuts, hardboiled eggs and certain fruit from the list are almost always budget-friendly. Fresh fruit and veggies can be a great bargain in season. While it can be more expensive to source organic produce, many cities and towns have great inexpensive produce shops to choose from, and farmers’ markets for at least part of the year. (Here in Chicago, I love Stanley's Produce for the oodles of cheap, fresh produce year-round.) It can seem more expensive to buy whole foods over processed foods, but when you stick to bulk items and simple fruits and vegetables, it’s amazing how cost-effective it actually is! Every community has different purchasing options, so I love the idea of computing cost per serving based on where you live and what’s readily available. We’ll keep your suggestions in mind for future posts!
P.S. I LOVE roasted garbanzos -- thanks for adding that to the list! :)
Posted by: Kim | March 22, 2010 at 01:51 PM
This is a list I need to keep on the fridge, although I know what we "should" be eating, in the rush of the day it's easy to mess it up.
Posted by: Dexter Ray Knox | August 10, 2010 at 07:06 PM