With a little creativity, you can turn “junk food snacking” into cool healthy eating for your kids. During the summer months, snacking is a great way to eat cool and refreshing snacks that are fun to eat and flavorful. Fresh juicy fruits and veggies at our Harvest Home Farmers Markets can make tasty snacks that satisfy hunger, and keep your kids refreshed and healthy.
SLURP: Have slices of juicy peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots and melon. Have fun and make shapes with them on a plate, use a cookie cutter to turn melon into hearts or stars.
LICK: Make refreshing popsicles loaded with fruit flavor:
Icy Treats: Mash up a melon and freeze it in ice cube trays or small paper cups.
Creamy Treats: Mix together in a blender or mash 2 cups of fruit and banana together with 2 cups of plain or vanilla yogurt. Pour into Popsicle molds, paper cups or an ice cube tray. Add sticks or toothpicks for easy eating. Freeze for 5 hours.
Quick tricks: Adding avocado makes popsicles creamier, plus adds healthy fat for energy, along with lots of vitamins like C, E, K, and B.
SIP: Fruit slushes are better than soda. Blend fruit and ice for a refreshing way to cool down. Try 2 cups of fruit, cut into cubes with 1-2 cups of ice and blend. Add water if it’s too thick to sip through a straw or more ice to eat with a spoon. Try different combos with your favorite fruits.
CRUNCH: Fill celery sticks with peanut butter; dip carrot sticks in peanut butter for quick protein. Peel broccoli stalks until light green; cut into sticks for dipping in any salsa or try Chocolate Hummus (see below).
Have an “art class” with your kids and make veggie figures.
RECIPE: Chocolate Hummus
A nutritious snack made of chickpeas, peanut butter, and antioxidant-rich cocoa powder. Kids LOVE it and it's a great way for them to eat more fruits and vegetables.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cup chickpeas (garbanzo beans) or black beans
4 tablespoon cocoa powder, unsweetened
2 tablespoon peanut butter, all-natural
1/4 cup maple syrup, pure
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
PREPARATION:
Mash all the ingredients together or add them into the cup of a large food processor. Puree until smooth. Very good with apple slices for dipping.
TIPS: A Kid’s Chance to Play with Food
Use sliced veggies to make pictures with your kids. They'll have fun doing it and will end up eating more veggies. Use whatever looks and tastes good.
VEGGIE STICKS:
Carrots, cut into small sticks
Broccoli stems, peeled and cut into sticks
Celery stalks cut in 2-3 inch pieces
CIRCLES:
Cucumber slices
Banana slices
DECORATIONS:
Berries and peas, use for eyes and noses on faces
Sliced peppers: red, yellow and orange are best
Cherry tomatoes cut in half
Coconut flakes
Cauliflower florets, good for clouds
"GLUE":
Peanut butter or hummus can hold things together.
PREPARATION:
Let your kid's imagination go wild. Broccoli makes beautiful trees. Bananas or cucumber slices can be wheels on a carrot cart. Berries and peppers make great faces. Chocolate hummus looks good as "dirt."
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