Quick Healthy Snacks for Children
Kid-Friendly Cottage Cheese, Tuna and Pizza Inspired Snacks
May 3, 2008
When children are hungry between meals, it’s imperative for snacks to be healthy and, just as important, easy to make. These following mini-recipes fit that criteria – and will satisfy hungry adults as well.
Triscuit Pizzas
- Take 7-10 Triscuit crackers and arrange them on a plate that can go into the microwave.
- Add a small spoonful of tomato sauce on top of each cracker.
- Sprinke desired amount of grated cheese over the tomato sauce. Jack and mozzarella cheese taste the best, though chcddar or other cheese works as well.
- Microwave briefly until cheese is warm and melted. Serve immediately (careful: tomato sauce can be hot!)
Alternative serving suggestion: If desired, add a vegetable as well, such as finely chopped onions.
Cottage Cheese
There are so many healthy and tasty ways to serve cottage cheese.
- Mix cottage cheese and a handful of raisins in a bowl. Place on a plate with desired amount of any type of cracker. Use a spoon to scoop cottage cheese mixture onto crackers and enjoy!
Alternative serving suggestions:
- Instead of crackers, use pretzels.
- Or use Frito’s chips (especially the large “scoop” kind) to eat the cottage cheese. For an extra treat, add guacomole or salsa on the side (about a third of the amount of cottage cheese).
- Or serve cottage cheese and raisins with fruit, especially apple or pear slices.
Tuna
Serve tuna without the sandwich:
- Make tuna as usual. For extra flavor, add finely chopped pickles to the tuna (sweet baby pickles taste best.)
- Place tuna in bowl and serve with tortilla chips for dipping into tuna.
- For fans of tuna melts, melt cheddar or jack cheese onto tortilla chips as if making nachos. Let cool slightly (so that cheese is warm but not super-hot) and then top with tuna.
Goat cheese is a delicious cheese not to be missed. Spread on soft butter crackers.
Or make a goat cheese sandwich:
- Choose bread that's slightly firm, such as a long roll.
- Spread a thin layer of goat cheese on the inside of bread.
- Add thin slices of turkey on top of goat cheese.
- Then add desired extras: lettuce, tomato slices or onion slices all do the trick.
Additional healthy snacks:
- Hummus and pita bread
- Avocado rolls (usually available in sushi aisle at supermarkets) with soy sauce
- Baby potato pancakes (found in frozen aisle at supermarkets) with applesauce and sour cream
- Baby quiche (again in frozen aisle, microwaveable)
- Apples with peanut butter and raisins
- Fish sticks with tartar sauce
These ideas won't disappoint! Most of the ingredients can be kept in the refridgerator, freezer or cupboard for some time, so they're easy to make at any time. Enjoy!
Need more than a snack? For meal time on the go or at home, check out Healthy To-Go-Lunches and Quick Easy Healthy Lunches.
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