Back to School Solutions from Table365
Week 4: Snacks for school, sports, and after school
The last days of summer are upon us. It’s time to relish the August produce bounty and start getting ready for back-to-school schedules. This is the time to stock your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer with healthy snacks to fuel the kids for their long days. Fall sports have already started practice and growing athletes need a steady supply of healthy options to support their growing muscles and energy output.
Use this printable SNACK INSPIRATION LIST for a shopping list, and then load up your pantry and refrigerator to make those busy days easier with grab-and-go snacks.
Ten Healthy Snack Ideas*
*Beyond the usual snack items (like fruit, cheese, crackers, pretzels, etc…)
- Hummus with raw veggies and pita bread.
- Fruit smoothies.
- Themed snack plates like a “Mediterranean” snack plate with crackers, cheese, olives, and grape or cherry tomatoes.
- Mini muffins: bran, carrot, blueberry or slices of quick breads like banana, pumpkin, zucchini, or cranberry bread.
- Plain yogurt with a variety of toppings: granola, honey, jam, fresh fruit, berries, dried fruit, nuts.
- Hard boiled eggs or deviled eggs.
- Cubed proteins: chicken, ham, tofu, turkey, sausage.
- Cold or room temperature roasted vegetables and kale chips.
- Dried fruits with or without nuts for trail mix.
- Seasoned and roasted edamame or chickpeas.
Just like with meal planning, the key to having healthy snacks ready for your family is to follow the same steps:
1. Make a list of your family’s favorite snack foods (or foods you can make into snacks).
2. Stock your pantry (and freezer and refrigerator) with these items.
3. Post the list for easy reminders for family members to check when they are hungry or when you are packing bags for the car and outings. We both have Table365’s printable SNACK INSPIRATION LIST posted on the inside of our kitchen cupboards. It’s helpful for making shopping lists and coming up with new ideas.
Offer variety
We usually focus on trying to get different “food groups” on a plate for mealtimes, but it isn’t a bad idea to think similarly for snacking. Ellyn Satter, a registered dietitian and author of Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family, recommends choosing one item that is a carbohydrate or fat and one that is a protein. I try to think of that when picking snacks for my kids. This is something we probably do a lot instinctively (e.g. crackers and cheese, granola with yogurt, a nut or seed butter with toast, etc…), but it’s a good reminder for snack time.
Serve it in a new way
For younger kids, a good way to add variety to snacks is simply serving up the same items in new, fun ways. For kids that are old enough, for example, you could serve cut up fruit on a skewer, or have kids pick up fruit or cheese with fancy toothpicks. Pieces of toast with a nut or seed butter could be cut into fun shapes with a cookie cutter you already have on hand. Make sandwiches out of crackers with various fillings like cream cheese and fruit or jelly.
See our sports snack post for more ideas for student athletes.
Blueberry Muffins Recipe from The Gourmet Cookbook, edited by Ruth Reichl
Similar to a bagel, muffins can double as a breakfast food and a snack. Take advantage of fresh summer produce to make blueberry, zucchini, and carrot muffins. Muffins freeze well and defrost quickly, so you can get out just one for a snack. Mini muffins are a great size for toddlers and preschoolers. Click here for our post with a delicious recipe for pumpkin muffins.
- 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (can use 1/2 whole wheat flour or a GF flour)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (12 ounces) blueberries
1. Put a rack in the upper third of oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Generously butter muffin cups (or use silicone without butter). Melt butter in a small saucepan over moderately low heat; remove from heat. Whisk in milk, egg, yolk, and vanilla until well combined. 2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add milk mixture and stir until just combined. Gently but thoroughly fold in blueberries. 3. Divide batter among muffin cups and spread evenly. 4. Bake until golden and crisp and a wooden pick or skewer inserted into enter of a muffin comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then run a knife around edges of muffin tops and carefully remove from cups. Serve warm or at room temperature.
