Summer holidays have hit us. We’ve got 8 weeks of fun as Miss K has now “graduated” from pre-school, yes you now graduate – seriously what is that about?! So in September she starts “big-school” and I will be an emotional wreck for a moment, she is so ready to go that I really can’t be sad about it.
Most of me loves the summer holidays. I love having my kids around, it’s a great excuse to see people we can’t always meet up with, go to different places and have more relaxed times together. Tonight I spent a good 30 minutes extra just reading stories and cuddling Miss K as she didn’t need to be on a strict bedtime and I’ve no Pilates classes to teach. So. Very. Precious.
One of the things that does grate with me is the constant whine of “Mummy I’m hungry”. I cannot tell you how many times a day I hear that one. Especially after a more active than usual day. So this summer I am determined to stay on top of it with a supply of healthy snacks and crafty ideas up my sleeve. Hopefully it will keep us out of the biscuit tin. Although there are also always days you just need a biscuit.
5 Storecupboard Snacks:
1. Nuts and dried fruit. Miss K favours almonds and dried apricots. The J boy prefers walnuts and prunes. Seeing as I didn’t like those types of nuts until I was 30 (yes I am that old), I really didn’t think they would… but they do. So don’t judge what you think they will like/dislike too soon.
2. Breadsticks with cream cheese and grapes. My kids love a dip. The whole process of dipping actually keeps them quiet for a bit too!
3. Trail mix – a mixture of all the forms of dried cereal in the cupboard with some raisins. Really good on a car journey as it takes time to eat, however you may end up with cornflakes in the car seat.
4. Peanut butter and banana on rice cakes/toast. Filling, healthy and quick.
5. “No Junk” cereal bars with some fruit. Often my emergency snack that I keep in the change bag or pull out at home when the flapjack tin is empty (a disaster in my book, the flapjack tin must ALWAYS have flapjack in).
5 Easy Bake Healthy Treats:
1. Banana Flapjack. I’ve been making this since I was breastfeeding Miss K. It’s a staple in our house and I know many others who swear by it too.
2. Peanut Butter Cookies. Now even my husband who doesn’t like peanut butter will eat one of these. Plus the kids can make them with you.
3. Thick American style Pancakes. Make up a stack of these and freeze them. You can defrost them in the toaster or get a few out at a time ready for snack-attack. Serve with a dollop of yoghurt and fruit.
4. Courgette biscuits. I love these in the summer as we usually have a glut of courgettes to use up and it means the kids are eating more veggies.
5. Scones. Super quick to make and you can add fruit of veggies to them. We like broccoli scones or blackberry ones.
5 Freezer Snacks:
1. Ice-Lollies – I’ve invested in a pile of moulds. Personally I love the silicone ones best. However Miss K really likes the ones with the sippy spout on them too. I don’t ever get round to making these with fruit, so ours are just diluted squash.
2. Frozen Fruit – either buy a bag of frozen fruit or freeze what you have. Frozen grapes, berries, banana chunks, pineapple, melon and plums all work well. Or coat in yoghurt and freeze for an extra treat.
3. Frozen Yoghurt. Oh my days I love a bit of frozen yoghurt. I sometimes make my own, or I completely cheat. If you pull the lid off a kids yoghurt, pop a spoon in and freeze, you can them cut off the yoghurt pot and hand them a frozen yoghurt to eat with the spoon as a stick.
4. Frozen peas and sweetcorn. Miss K enjoys this, the J boy just thinks it’s plain crazy. I can see his point, but some kids love it. If they do, embrace it.
5. Banana Ice-cream. If you haven’t tried making 1 ingredrient banana ice-cream before then you are missing out. Go, Do, It.
I would love to hear what healthy snacks your kids love. Drop me a comment or a tweet 🙂
