Cooking Healthy Snacks - Jul 7th
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There can never be too many snack foods, as most children love to snack. The challenge? The pursuit of healthy snacks!
Description:
Snacks are important fuel for little ones, and should be offered throughout the day or whenever children request them. Make sure snacks are nutritious, and avoid junk food. Choose easy-to-prepare foods, so that your child can make them with you.
Step by Step:
- For healthy frozen pops, freeze fruit juice in an ice cube tray. When the cubes start to turn slushy, add craft sticks for handles.
- Make some Jell-O together, then add canned or fresh fruit before it sets. Be sure to cut fruit into small pieces no larger than 1/4-inch cubes for infants and no larger than 1/2-inch cubes for toddlers.
- Let your child help you wash vegetables before cooking them. Serve soft-cooked vegetables such as carrots, asparagus tips, green beans, etc., with a cottage cheese, buttermilk, or yogurt dressing dip.
- Let your child help you prepare raw vegetable strips served with small amounts of creamy peanut butter or cream cheese. (Avoid raw celery and carrots for infants and toddlers, because they are a choking hazard for children in this age range.)
- Make frozen pops from orange juice, yogurt, and water.
- Together, make a fruit shake of blended milk with bananas or a peach and add a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Serve bagels with various soft cream spreads.
- Make tacos together by topping flour or corn tortillas with refried beans, grated cheese, and plain yogurt or sour cream.
- Save the skins of baked potatoes, warm them up and sprinkle with shredded cheese and top with plain yogurt or sour cream.
- Broil or bake English muffins or pita bread topped with spaghetti sauce, and grated cheese.
- Serve quick breads or muffins made with fruit or vegetables.
- Fill pita bread with lean sliced meat (such as chicken or turkey), cheese, lettuce, and tomato.
Note: Limit snacks that are fluids, because children should eat, and not drink, their calories. Avoid sweetened cookies and sticky snack foods that will stick to children's teeth.
Materials:
Fresh or canned fruits and vegetables
Yogurt, sour cream, cheese
Various breads, tortillas, and muffins
Lean meats
Condiments, spices, dressings, and dips
Milk and fruit juices
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