Black Eyed Pea Salsa

Let's Take a Dip

Kids love anything they can dip! Here are some ideas for them to have fun while dipping and eating something healthy and delicious.

1.) A baggie full of carrot and celery sticks, cucumber and bell pepper slices, sugar snap peas and cherry tomatoes will disappear like magic if there's a bowl of dip to go with them. Make a dip using low fat ingredients. Like hummus, low-fat ranch dressing, bean dip or salsa.

2.) Baked tortilla chips and whole wheat crackers or pita triangles are perfect, nutritious and kid-pleasing accompaniments for dips, too. These can be served with guacomole, black-eyed pea salsa, or hummus.

3.) Sliced fruit takes on a whole new appeal as well when it's accompanied by a sweet, creamy dip. Good fruit dips to include along side the fruit are: flavored yogurt, applesauce, low fat cream cheese sweetened with honey or brown sugar, peanut butter or almond butter.

Mini Pizza Pockets

Be Constructive

Let kids construct their own snacks. You'll keep them occupied and they might be more likely to sample whatever nutritious foods they're working with.

Here are just a few ideas"

1.) Fruit Kabobs: Stick melon balls, berries, pineapple chunks, and cubed peaches, pears or apples onto frilled toothpicks.

2.) Mini Sandwiches: Use crackers or cut-up bread--or give the kids a few slices of bread, lunch meat, and cheese, and a couple of miniature cookie cutters to make tiny, fun-shaped sandwiches.

3.) Pizza: Who can resist pizza? Pizza can be a perfectly healthy snack. Use half an English muffin, a whole pita, or a tortilla as a pizza crust. Let them smear on a bit of bottled tomato sauce, add a light sprinkle of low-fat mozzarella cheese, and then top with chopped vegetables and maybe a bit of lean meat. Heat for a few minutes in the toaster oven or microwave, then cut into triangles for extra kid-appeal. You can also use already prepared pizza dough and make homemade Pizza Pockets.

Oatmeal Cranberry Dark Chocolate Cookies

Healthy Substitutions

Even traditional desserts can become healthy, well-balanced snacks.

1.) Make cookies and muffins with applesauce in place of some of the fat, and add oats, dried fruit, nuts and whole wheat flour. One of my families favorite cookies are Oatmeal Cranberry Dark Chocolate Cookies. They are packed with oats, whole grains, dried fruit, and sweetened using apple butter.

2.) Achieve the cool, creamy deliciousness of ice cream with low fat frozen yogurt, or pudding made with nonfat milk and frozen into pops.

3.) Top a big, fluffy slice of angel food cake with fresh fruit to add vitamins and fiber, or cut it into cubes for dipping into fruit-flavored yogurt for an extra dose of calcium.

Snack Zone

Another idea when it comes to afternoon snack time is setting up a "snack zone". When hungry kids burst through the front door after school, they grab whatever is easy and available. So it's best to have a few things prepared in advance. Designate one shelf of the refrigerator and/or pantry as the "snack shelf," with the understanding that anything that's on that shelf is okay to eat without having to ask permission first. Then, stock the shelf with several choices--a little healthy variety to hold the kids' interest and keep you from worrying about them overloading on junk.

Chewy Granola Bars

Extracurricular activities keep some kids at school throughout the afternoon. Fruit, vegetable sticks, crackers, cheese, homemade chewy granola bars, healthy cookies, and muffins, and peanut butter sandwiches are all high-energy foods that hold up well in a locker until your hungry kid is ready for a homemade pick-me-up.