The kids are back at school and that means lots of catching up to do once they head in the door each afternoon.

I like to have some snacks for them after school (food always seems to increase the details I get about their day 😉 but I’m a big one for healthy eating.

Kids in the Kitchen — Helping with Preparations

I think it’s important to ask the kids to help out with snack prep in some way.  By encouraging kids to help in small ways, you are teaching them some great life skills.

My first tip is let them ‘look the part’.  Have an apron handy for them to wear — dressing for the part is always fun.

 

Here’s a few ideas for ways children can help in the kitchen:

• Set out plates, napkins or other items for the table

• Mix together items for dips

• Arrange food on fun plates

• Pour glasses of water

• Wash fruit or veggies in the sink

 

 

Even these little things go a long way to helping kids learn their way around a kitchen and helping them to be more self-sufficient.  And make sure that everyone gets involved in the clean-up too!

 

Healthy & Easy Afterschool Snacks

There are a number of fun & healthy options you can have on hand for easy after-school snacking.  I use the ‘rule of 3’ in our house:

1. Fruit or veggies (I stick with whole fruit & vegetables)

2. Something salty or sweet to compliment the fruits/veggies

3. A fun dip or spread (usually to provide some dairy or protien to the snack)

Plus a glass of water to drink!

 

Healthy Snacks the Kids will Enjoy:

• Apple slices with peanut butter and melted dark chocolate

• Sliced fruit such as grapes, kiwi or strawberries with vanilla yogurt dip and graham crackers

• Fresh veggies (carrotts, peppers, etc) with spinach dip and Green Giant^TM Veggie Snack Chips

 

We love to enjoy our afterschool snacks outside on the deck

 

Remember when I said ‘healthy snacks’ — I’m not a big fan of regular tortilla chips and I’ll be honest with you, it’s really hard to find a good tasting snack chips that are healthy.  We received two flavors of Green Giant Snack Chips to try with our family and the all around opinion was TWO THUMBS UP!

My husband and son aren’t crazy over sweet potatoes so they were a little hesitant when they saw one of the flavors was a Multigrain Sweet Potato Chip – Barbecue.  But they really like bar-b-que so it was easy to get them to give it a try.  And they LOVED the flavor – said they couldn’t even taste the sweet potato in the chip.  My daughter and I also really liked the flavor.

And we thought that the Roasted Veggie Garden Ranch Tortilla Chip tasted even better!  Wonderful ranch flavor in the chips but not too strong that it overwhelms you.  Perfect for a healty salty snack too as the chips are made with real veggies and sweet potatoes.

And yes, my kids like spinach dip — the secret is that you can’t taste the spinach!  Oh, and the other secret is to NOT call it spinach dip until they know they like it.  You can name it ‘swamp dip’ or ‘seawood dip’ — kids always want to eat cool stuff like that, right?!

Easy Spinach Dip

Mix together: 

1.5 cups chopped frozen spinach, thawed

1.5 cups light sour cream and

1 cup grated parmesean cheese

Chill for 1/2 hour and then eat.  Easy, peasy!  {I’m sure there are recipes out there but this is just one we’ve ‘thrown together’ and it’s been a big hit!}

 

 What healthy snacks do your kids enjoy? 

 

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.