Healthy Snack Recipes

[KristinCB]

OK I know this is the kind of info I could easily google myself but I like tried & tested type things

I want to start making more snacks instead of buying prepackaged (granola bars etc)

Any good recipes that you got? (good for both my older kiddo for school snacks and my hubby lol)

[LenaGardner]

When Nathan was a toddler I bought these 3 oz. dixie cups and filled them up with things and sat them on the counter. He'd go into the kitchen and grab a cup filled with a couple of cheerios, or a few cut cup up grapes, or two little cubes of cheese, and go to town. He loved that his snacks were in little tiny cups and it was no major creativity on my part :)

[Kim]

we do a lot of smoothies (banana, strawberries, yogurt and OJ blended)
and fruit slices with fruit dip (mashemellow whip and cream cheese)
veggies
Dried fruit
Seth loves sweet potato fries (baked)

[iJenny]

what about homemade GORP?

Raisins, granola, peanuts (or almonds), mini chocolate chips or m&ms, cheerios (plain or honeynut), chex, sunflower seeds, etc. There are tons of GORP recipes online.

[suzann]

I like to make banana bread and substitute applesauce for the oil. Dried fruit, sliced fruit, smoothies, blueberries, Whole Wheat bagels, veggies with dip, celery and peanut butter, string cheese, and yogurt sprinkled with wheat germ.

[Leah]

Frozen yogurt tubes are a hit at my house (and they're great for teething kids as well). We just buy them in the dairy (with the rest of the yogurts) and then I freeze them.

Teddy graham crackers are a favorite with the younger kids, Triscuit crackers with cheese are yummy, we like our rice cakes here...

I'd be interested to see everyone's suggestions! I have an in-home daycare and I try to be creative (most of the time), but some days I'm just not motivated!

[jessica31876]

I love whole wheat bagels with a little cream cheese.

I eat a ton of apples and bananas...sliced up and mixed together or apart or with some plain vanilla flavored yogurt.

[scrapperjade]

I just made a batch of banana bread using applesauce and a bit of safflower oil instead of butter or marg, and it is SO good. Very moist! It didn't rise though... it just stayed a lump, lol. But it tasted yummy, so whatever, lol!!

Something I've done for Avalynne for a fun snack was to take whole wheat Breton crackers, smear creamcheese on one, sugar-free jam on the other, and make a sandwich. I've also made her "lunch" crackers by spreading a light smear of cream cheese on 2 crackers, then cutting out a circle of ham using a cookie cutter and putting it between the crackers. The CC helped hold the ham in place so they weren't sliding all over. They were also relatively clean (well, until the jam ones, lol!!).

Other snacks:
cheese peices & dill pickles
cheerios w/ banana peices
yogurt (I like the PC Blue Choice kids ones - there is some sugar, but Ava LOVES them)
whole grain crackers
raisins and dried cranberries
Sunrype Fruit Bites or Fruit2Gos chopped up
fresh fruit (apples, bananas, grapes or kiwi are big hits)

[scrapperjade]

Okay, those were totally for your kids, lol. For DH, he eats a lot of fruit (fresh or canned), trail mix (like Jenny suggested), crackers. We also like the Smart Pop popcorn, a lot less fat & stuff. I want an air popper though to totally cut out the fat. For me, I like the sugar-free Jello puddings that you get in the fridge aisle at the store, or fat-free, sugar-free yogurt.

OR Lindy has an AWESOME recipe for blueberry bran muffins, seriously the BEST I've ever tasted or made. She gave some of us the recipe when we were doing the Skinny Jeans Experiment, and I've made them at least 3 times. DH can't stay out of them (neither can I!!):

Blueberry Bran Muffins
1 1/2 cups wheat bran
1 cup skim milk
1 egg
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)
~ Preheat oven to 375*F and spray muffin tin with oil (don't put paper liners!).
~ Mix together wheat bran and milk in a small bowl. Let sit 10 minutes.
~ While bran & milk are sitting, mix wet ingredients in large bowl. Add dry ingredients (I sift them together to make them fluffier in the mix). Add bran mixture, mix, then fold in blueberries. Spoon evenly into 12 muffin cups.
~ Bake 15-20 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly tapped.

These turn out nice and moist, and just the right amount of sweet... I also sprinkle the tops with oats before throwing them in the oven for fun, lol! They even rise nice and big! Here's a picture to tempt you:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a336/scrapperjade/bunch%20a%20junk%20for%20forum%20posts/muffins.jpg

[KristinCB]

Thanks for the suggestions so far girls! They are great! If anyone has a granola bar recipe that keeps well I'd love it! :)

We also like the Smart Pop popcorn, a lot less fat & stuff. I want an air popper though to totally cut out the fat.


You totally don't need an air popper! We use the paper bag method for popcorn kernels.. its SO much cheaper than buying microwave popcorn and like you said less fat. I like this better than using an air popper because whenever I use my air popper the popcorn goes all over the place! Just pour kernels into the paper bag and pop as you would microwave popcorn!

[pbumbaca]

Parfait's

Lowfat Vanilla Yogurt
Granola
Raisins
Strawberries
Banana's

Layer in dish and eat, yum!

[scrapperjade]

Thanks for the suggestions so far girls! They are great! If anyone has a granola bar recipe that keeps well I'd love it! :)




You totally don't need an air popper! We use the paper bag method for popcorn kernels.. its SO much cheaper than buying microwave popcorn and like you said less fat. I like this better than using an air popper because whenever I use my air popper the popcorn goes all over the place! Just pour kernels into the paper bag and pop as you would microwave popcorn!

Really??? I had no idea! I'm so trying this! Thanks Kristin!!

Here is a granola bar recipe I found... haven't tried it but it looks yummy! These would keep awesome if you layered them between wax paper, or even wrapped them individually in wax or parchment paper & then throwing them in the freezer:

http://www.joyfulabode.com/2008/04/11/homemade-granola-barecipe-no-high-fructose-corn-syrup-in-these-bars/

[KristinCB]

Jae I made the granola bars today! They are awesome! I used almonds instead of peanuts though.. but yea fabulous! :)