20 Time-Saving Ideas for Healthy Kid's Snacks

The last thing I can think about on a busy weekday morning is what I'm going to put in the kid's lunch boxes. I'm tired of throwing away uninspired food that returns home squashed and uneaten at the bottom of lunch pails. I also wanted to stop relying on the old standard of store-bought processed fruit and nut bars and fruit cups full of questionable ingredients.

So, one rainy Sunday I brainstormed a list of healthy, alternatives and stuck it on my fridge. This visual reminder is worth its weight in gold! I'm forever adding to the list when I come across delicious recipes and health boosting ingredients such as maca powder, spirulina, whey concentrate, raw cacao, coconut sugar or agave. Here are my top 20 healthy snacks just for you.

1. Fill a stick of celery with cream cheese or sunflower seed butter for a boost of protein and a slightly nutty sweet taste.

2. Add banana, a tablespoon of honey, blueberries and a dash of cinnamon to cup of fresh ricotta. Stir it around for fabulous feast.

3. Chop up your favourite fruit for a fruit salad. Drizzle the ingredients with fresh lemon juice to stop the browning of the fruit.

4. Nashi fruit is a Japanese cross between an apple and pear. Find it in Asian grocers. Cut into quarters, these nibbles are super crunchy and sweet.

5. Brush olive oil over nori (seaweed) sheets and sprinkle a small handful of poppy seeds onto the coating. (I often sprinkle them with a tiny amount of Himalayan pink salt or celtic salt for extra flavour). Toast the nori pieces in a hot oven for 15 minutes or until they are crisp. Cut into small pieces for an on-the-go snack.

6. Make rainbow savoury skewers by threading bocconcini cheese balls, cherry tomatoes, slices of cucumber and capsicum on sticks.

7. Choc-Goji Berry Balls are a yummy family favourite. Just process 100 gram of goji berries, cup raw cacao powder, cup of dates, cup coconut and cups sultanas with a tablespoon of agave syrup. Use clean hands to roll these into the size of large marbles. Refrigerate for 30 minutes then serve.

8. Apricot coconut 'snow' balls are good too. Process 200 grams dried apricots, 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal, cup sultanas, 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds and cup tahini (sesame seed paste, available in Turkish grocers). Shape this mixture into small balls and roll in dessicated coconut, hence the name 'snow balls'.

9. Roast lengths of zucchini by brushing them with a slight coating of olive oil and a sprinkling of sesame seeds and salt and baking them in a hot oven for 20 minutes. Serve with dipping hummus (made from chickpeas and tahini) or sweet chilli sauce.

10. Top rice crackers with tomato, cucumber and a slice of swiz cheese. To prevent sogginess, put the ingredients into the lunchbox in separate containers or zip lock bags and invite the children to assemble the stack. Mix up plain tuna with either Japanese mayonnaise or cream cheese in a small container. Children can scoop this onto plain water crackers for a nibble snack.

11. Home made pizza quarter snacks can be pre-prepared the night before. Some say that day-old cold pizza tastes even better.

12. A bag of roasted chickpeas can be divided up into portions and sent on their way. It's a crunchy treat. One store-bought treat I do like is roasted broad beans. I keep a 25 gram pack in my bag at all times for a protein hit emergency. Find chickpeas and broad beans in the health food or Asian sections of your supermarket.

13. Strips of cucumber, celery, bell peppers, carrot and zucchini can be dipped into a dip made from cream cheese, chives and dill. Another favourite dip is mint 'raita' (an Indian dipping sauce). Simply mix two cups of plain green yogurt with 1 teaspoon of dried mint, a quarter of a cucumber finely chopped and one tablespoon of honey. This makes four cups.

14. Make a berry bundle. Mix blueberries, slices of strawberry, red grapes green grapes and currants in a container for a rainbow delight.

15. Offer green 'roll ups' of asparagus stalks with a slice of fresh ham or swiz cheese covering. Wrap in foil.

16. Boil up your own fruit puree. Try apple and mango, or peach, mango and banana. Store in baby Tupperware cups with air-tight seals and refrigerate.

17. A cup of plain slightly salted popcorn is a real treat for pre-schoolers. It takes less than five minutes in the morning to pop fresh and they love it!

18. Strangely, cold toast with butter, honey and a few slices of banana is a much-loved treat snack around here.

19. Fill a big airtight container of your own dried fruit snack by chopping up dried apples, apricots, dehydrated bananas, sultanas, cashews, almonds, pecans and sunflower seeds. Scoop out a cup for an on-the-go protein hit.

20. Eat wedges. No, not the potato kind! A wedge of watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe (rockmelon), Brie cheese or apple is the quickest time-saving snack of all.

Be sure that children's lunch bags are packed with freezer packs in insulated carriers or can be stored in the refrigerator to prevent food from spoiling.

Enjoy!

Amber Greene is an advocate for Creativity and this includes being creative with food and well-being. For more ideas about healthy eating, visit http://www.mamamoontime.com/2010/01/importance-of-diet-for-health.html
For a whole bunch of (mostly) healthy recipes for snacks and meals, visit the Recipes section of MamaMoontime. http://www.mamamoontime.com/search/label/recipes

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How To Make Ghee - A Simple Healthy Recipe

Ghee is regarded as one of the best food sources in the Ayurvedic diet and it is considered beneficial for everyone in moderation.

The yogis and practitioners of Ayurveda consider it to be a very healthy, balancing and harmonizing food because it lubricates all the muscle tissues of the body.

Making ghee gets rid of impurities (fats and milk solids) and water out of the butter so you are left with healthy clarified butter.

Ghee can be used in most recipes for flavoring and cooking. Here is what you need to make your Ghee.

Ingredients & Materials:

1 pound unsalted butter (organic if available), a large pot or sauce pan, a few sheets of cheesecloth, a strainer, a clean container or one pound glass jar with a lid.

1. Melt the butter in a large pot or sauce pan on low to medium until it comes to a boil. You will start to hear a popping sound. Do not stir.

2. Continue to cook the melted butter over low to medium heat. It should continue to pop and bubble and some foam may appear on top. You can skim off and discard the foam if you like but leaving it won't affect the ghee.

3. Remove from heat when the popping sound and bubbling noise quiets down. Sediment at the bottom of the pot will start to turn golden brown. The ghee will turn to a clear golden or amber color. This usually takes about 20 minutes. A darker color means overdone ghee so it's important not to leave the ghee on the heated stove.

4. Leave the heated ghee to cool for 10 to 20 minutes and then line a strainer with some cheese cloth and strain the ghee into clean containers (sterilized jars work great).

Note: Ghee at room temperature looks yellow and has semi-solid texture. Ghee does not need to be refrigerated and if it is properly made and not exposed to contaminates, it will keep for over a year, even outside the fridge - it melts quickly when exposed to heat. Remember to always use a clean spoon to scoop out ghee for use.

How To make flavored Ghee - Infused With Herbs

It is very easy to make flavored ghee using the recipe above and infusing some Ayurvedic herbs or spices such as cloves, cardamom or mint

To infuse the herbs, add them to the butter at the start or at any point in the process that results in them being dissolved into the ghee. I have experimented with adding herbs at different stages and I found the infusion strength to be best when added right after the butter has melted (just beginning to bubble).

I would recommend a quarter teaspoon of herb for each pound of butter. When making clove or cardamom ghee, I use 6 to 8 cloves or cardamom pods to the butter and it tastes great.

Jai Kai is an Ayurvedic Consultant, Wellness Coach and Blogger for Planetwell.com - an ayurvedic diet blog. He is also the author of the book Ayurvedic Diet Secrets promoting an ayurvedic lifestyle and ayurvedic recipes.

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Stretch Your Food Budget With Cheap Healthy Meals

Budgets are tight these days so it makes sense to have foods on hand to make cheap, healthy recipes. There are many easy combinations a creative cook can come up with to make something tasty and nutritious with what is in the cupboard. There are many ways to incorporate leftovers with other items to create new budget-friendly recipes. Most frugal recipes cost no more than $5 per meal. Here are a few money-saving tips to help you get started:

Take stock of what items you have on hand. Check cupboards and pantry for noodles, rice, canned soups and seasoning mixes. A basic casserole recipe includes 1 grain, 1 meat, 1 vegetable and a creamy base like soup, sour cream or gravy. Cheese and bacon can be added into the casserole or sprinkled on top after baking. So for example if you have a package of chicken thighs and some rice you can make a cheap meal by making a casserole of cooked chicken, rice, green beans and cream of chicken soup or chicken gravy with a little sour cream and shredded cheese on top.

Another cheap easy recipe for chicken is chicken enchiladas. Cook chicken and debone; heat corn or flour tortillas to make them easy to roll up. Mix cooked chicken with creamed soup, sour cream and a little cheese and place by spoonfuls in the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in baking pan. Cover the tortilla rolls with remaining soup or enchilada sauce and top with cheese and sliced green onions. Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes.

Another idea for a cheap meal is to cook rice, noodles or a baked potato and top it with vegetable soup, canned beef stew, or chili and top with cheese and onions. Try out different combinations of soup and grain dishes to create a quick family favorite.

An old stand-by is grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato or cream of broccoli soup. To dress up the meal add a slice of tomato and thin slice of deli ham to bread and cheese before grilling. Add some garlic-flavored croutons to the soup and top with a dab of sour cream and crumbled bacon.

When you have school-age kids in the house it is always a good idea to have some ramen noodles or instant noodle bowls on hand for after-school snacks and quick meals before soccer practice or the big game.

Most noodle or pasta recipes can be adapted for any type of noodles, even ramen noodles. Ramen is a versatile noodle because it cooks faster than traditional spaghetti noodles and can be topped with different sauces, vegetables and condiments. Noodle shops in Japan are very popular with students and tourists for their cheap, filling meals. For more fast and budget-friendly noodle dishes visit my Frugal Dinner Recipes

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