Healthy Snacks for School-going Children

Great ideas for mums to give to their children, either in their lunch boxes or as after school snacks:

  1. Fresh fruit – Has to be at the top of the list for health. You can make it more interesting by cutting up the fruit and serving it with cheese. A great suggestion is sliced pear with Ricotta or even cottage cheese. AND don’t forget about avocado – provide a disposable wooden spoon and it can be eaten right out of the skin
  2. Yogurt: Great as it is filling and also a good protein source – try to avoid fruit yogurt and provide some honey instead
  3. Fruit smoothies: A blend of fruit and yogurt (and a splash of milk) – use fresh blueberries, strawberries, bananas or any fruit the kids love
  4. Popcorn: Don’t forget this particularly for teenage girls who are sooooo weight conscious
  5. Nuts (unsalted) or a mixture of dried fruit and nuts: Got to be the easiest thing to provide – just watch out for nut intolerance issues – you can always substitute nuts for pretzel or cheese sticks and mini biscuits. Also think about crunchy chickpeas – see below how to make this really easily
  6. Crudités: A mixture of any fresh, raw vegetable such as sweet baby carrot, celery, mange tout peas, nuts etc. They are fantastic and can be eaten on their own or with a dip such as hummus, tzatziki, sour cream, guacamole – the list is endless
  7. Cheese: Especially low-fat cheese such as Ricotta and Cottage Cheese or just a small chunk of cheddar
  8. Protein and yogurt bars: These are a quick and easy way to provide energy, especially if the kids are playing sport after school

FLAVA & CO. CRUNCHY CHICKPEAS RECIPE:

You will need:

a tin of chickpeas
olive oil
salt
turmeric

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 200o C
  2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas
  3. Place on a baking tray and sprinkle with about 3 tablespoons of olive oil over the chickpeas
  4. Add a sprinkle of ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon turmeric
  5. Mix to coat well and bake for 45 – 50 minutes until the chickpeas are golden and crunchy
  6. Allow to cool thoroughly