Bert Swope
After a long day at school, kids need something sweet to snack on to help keep their energy up for geometry homework or the piano recital – these kid-friendly recipes will do exactly that!
With their array of sweet, salty, and savory snacks – guaranteed to meet everyone’s cravings – these snacks will satisfy everyone.
Fruits and Vegetables
Snacking can be part of your child’s healthy diet if they choose nutritious snacks such as fruits and vegetables that provide essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber – plus they’re often much cheaper than chips or candy bars!
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, most children enjoy eating fruits and vegetables; however, some may not consume enough. To increase their intake, snack on extra fruits and veggies when providing your kids’ lunchbox snacks.
Whole foods contain natural nutrients like fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, which are better for digestion and decrease their risk for heart disease and obesity.
Try these after-school snacks featuring fruits and vegetables as the stars of the show. Simply combine berries with milk or yogurt for an energizing and nutritious treat that’s both sweet and savory at the same time!
Make their sandwiches even sweeter and tastier by replacing jelly with fruit slices for sweetness and texture, or pair salad greens and veggies with low-fat dressing or homemade hummus as an after-school snack. Also, try turning whole grain Triscuit crackers into mini pizza by layering part-skim mozzarella cheese onto leftover vegetables from steaming sessions and heating until the cheese melts – an easy-to-consume finger food snack.
Breads and Pasta
As soon as kids return from school, they’re hungry. Finding something with protein and complex carbs (e.g., granola bars or cookies) that fill them up will allow them to focus better on homework or their after-school activity of choice.
An after-school snack for children should also be something they can consume with both hands or forks, like a charcuterie board with cheeses, deli meats, and fresh fruits and veggies – this nutrient-rich treat will keep their bellies full until family dinnertime!
Additional snack ideas that make great additions to any celebration include cheese-topped carrot sticks and flaky cheese straws. Both of these snacks can easily be prepared ahead of time to save yourself time in the evening.
One tasty snack idea for kids to keep energy up during geometry homework, basketball practice, or piano recital is making peanut butter banana muffins. With no added sugar and only minutes needed to put these together, these yummy bites provide energy boost for any activity! You could add chocolate drizzle for an after-school treat that won’t disappoint! These tasty treats give kids the energy they need for geometry homework, basketball practice, or piano recital!
Cheese
Cheese provides children with calcium and makes a tasty, satisfying snack; however, be aware that it is also the second source of heart-damaging saturated fat in their diets. Opt for low-saturated fat varieties such as Trader Joe’s Armenian Style Braided or the Laughing Cow Light Original Mini Babybel.
Once they arrive home from school, children are often hungry and need something nutrient-rich and easy to make for after-school snacks. Instead of reaching for candy or processed snacks like chips and cookies, try some of these tasty, nutrient-packed afterschool snacks instead.
Salty or sweet, these recipes will keep your children content until dinner time arrives. Packed with protein and fiber to reduce mindless snacking.
Muffins, bars, parfaits, and dips are easy to prepare and fit in your kids’ lunchboxes or backpacks as after-school munchies. On weekends, you could prepare jar snacks they can grab when they return from school, such as homemade guacamole, zucchini bread, or dill dip with vegetable sticks. Homemade popcorn made with parmesan cheese also provides ample amounts of vitamin E and antioxidants, while trail mix or fruit smoothies remain popular choices as after-school treats.
Nuts and Seeds
Nuts and seeds provide a nutritional powerhouse of protein, heart-healthy fats, and dietary fiber in one convenient package. These treats contain many important vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and plant chemicals that may help protect against cancer, obesity, high cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease. A one-ounce serving of nuts or seeds offers 3-7 grams of protein along with 1 to 3 grams of fiber for 160 to 200 calories! Choose nuts low in saturated fat, trans-fat, and added sugars to reduce excess calories.
Children often come home after a long day on the bus and in class feeling hungry and fatigued, making healthy after-school snacks essential to ensure they don’t turn to unhealthy options such as chips, cookies, and candy bars.
Kids who snack on whole grain snacks like granola bars and fruit are likelier to consume whole foods with higher nutrient intakes. Use these simple recipes that combine whole grains with other nutritious ingredients for filling snack ideas that your children will enjoy eating.
These crunchy, savory, and sweet bites make an excellent afternoon snack or quick breakfast option, packed with flavor without added sugars.
Meat
Kids often come home hungry from school and need something tasty and energizing to snack on after they’ve spent all day at school. Instead of turning to chips, cookies, or other processed snack options as their go-to option for afterschool treats, try some of these nutritious after-school snacks instead!
This word refers to foodstuffs such as food, provisions, diet, and fare. Also called sustenance. Victuals is another synonym.
Fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, fats, and carbohydrates make healthy after-school snacks for kids that will energize them until dinner is ready. Give your children healthy after-school snacks to stay fueled up until it’s time for dinner.
Create delicious and healthy after-school snack recipes featuring meat as the star ingredient, such as chicken, turkey, beef, or pork. Other ideas for these snacks could be veggie and hummus wraps with turkey and cheese roll-ups or homemade jerky; homemade fruit smoothies would be an extra fun surprise! Before giving these to your children, though, be sure to consult them about possible allergies; additionally, only offer them after school and not before dinner as this may tempt them into overeating; water or other low-cal beverages would make more ideal than high-cal beverages like sodas and juices when serving these treats to kids!
Fruit Juices
Your kids might crave chips and cookies after school, but incorporating homemade healthy snacks can give them something tasty to munch on after class. Try these recipes for sugar-free banana bread, better-for-you crackers, spelt muffins, or veggie-packed fritters as quick grab-and-go options that you can store in the fridge to provide quick access at snack time.
Fruit juice and fruit-flavored beverages are popular choices, but it is important to remember that they do not provide any additional nutrition compared to whole fruits. Furthermore, many of these beverages also contain high amounts of sugar, which your body treats just the same as any other source.
To avoid added sugars in most fruit-flavored drinks, read labels carefully and choose juices made from 100 percent real fruit – look for “made from 100 percent real fruit,” or review ingredient lists. Drinks that have less real juice tend to be labeled fruit cocktail, drink, punch, or nectar, which could contain lots of added sugars.
Ranch Pretzels are not only quick and easy to make but are an ideal snack for after-school snacking, game day fun, summer picnics, or long road trips. Packed full of protein and fiber for optimal nutrition, these pretzels can even be customized to your child’s tastes with different herbs or spices to fit their preferences!
