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:
- 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
- Yogurt: Great as it is filling and also a good protein source – try to avoid fruit yogurt and provide some honey instead
- Fruit smoothies: A blend of fruit and yogurt (and a splash of milk) – use fresh blueberries, strawberries, bananas or any fruit the kids love
- Popcorn: Don’t forget this particularly for teenage girls who are sooooo weight conscious
- 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
- 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
- Cheese: Especially low-fat cheese such as Ricotta and Cottage Cheese or just a small chunk of cheddar
- 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:
- Preheat the oven to 200o C
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas
- Place on a baking tray and sprinkle with about 3 tablespoons of olive oil over the chickpeas
- Add a sprinkle of ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon turmeric
- Mix to coat well and bake for 45 – 50 minutes until the chickpeas are golden and crunchy
- Allow to cool thoroughly