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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