It’s never too late to adopt healthy eating habits. However, when we start showing children how to eat healthy at a younger age, they can have a better understanding of how to prepare healthy, nutritious meals as they become more independent. This can lead to better overall health and help prevent serious chronic illnesses.
We all know that kids can be picky eaters! One way to help them try new foods or transition to making healthier choices is if they prepare the food themselves. Snack time is a perfect place to start! Here are three snack ideas that kids can make and people of all ages can enjoy!
Crunchy Berry Parfait
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
- 1 cup of blueberries and/or strawberries (frozen or thawed)
- 1/2 cup crunchy whole grain cereal
Instructions:
- Spoon yogurt into a glass, top with fruit and cereal.
Apple Nachos
Ingredients:
- One Apple
- 1/2 cup of yogurt (your favorite flavor)
- Optional Toppings: honey, peanut butter, berries, raisins, crushed graham crackers, sliced almonds, pepitas, flax seeds, mini chocolate chips, coconut flakes, or whatever sounds good!
Instructions:
- Cut your apple into slices and place them on a plate.
- Talk to the kids about safety with this one. Some older kids can start to use knives with adult supervision as long as they practice safe cutting technicques. An apple slicer is great for this too, just be sure to instruct them to keep their fingers out of the way!
- Drizzle yogurt over apple slices.
- To make this easier for the kids they can spoon the yogurt into a plastic zip top bag and cut a small piece off of one of the bottom corners. Then squeeze the yogurt through the small whole to drizzle the yogurt.
- Top with any additional toppings.
Berry Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of frozen berries
- 1 banana
- 1 cup of spinach
- 1 cup of vanilla yogurt
- 2 cups of orange juice
Instructions:
- Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until there are no chunks remaining.
*We call this the Purple Monster Smoothie at our house. Feel free to get creative with the names if certain types of food deter your kids.