Nine after school snacks for your kids

After a long day of learning, kids come home hungry and exhausted. I can assure you that the first thing they’ll say is that they’re hungry. In fact, you’ll already know that they need something to eat when they’re from school.

When choosing a snack for them, don’t pick something that’s too heavy. Otherwise they’ll be too full for dinner and they’ll have a hard time concentrating on their homework.

Sometimes it’s hard to come up with ideas for snacks that are light enough to leave room for dinner and heavy enough to deal with the hunger.

To help you, consider thinking along these lines

i.Make them a sandwich

You have the freedom to choose what ingredients to use. Even when you have just a few ingredients in the fridge, you could come up with a delicious sandwich recipe for your kids to enjoy.

Make a ham, egg, avocado or veggie sandwich and serve with tea.

ii.Fruity salad

This is a go-to after school snack that’ll keep them full until dinner. This saves some time because you only need to chop them up and serve.

Your kids will get essential vitamins from the salad which is a much better option than unhealthy sugar-packed snacks.

iii.Oatmeal bars

They won’t have to wait until breakfast to enjoy some oatmeal. Baking them transforms the usual porridge to a snack that they can have anywhere, anytime.

They can even have this snack on their way home in case they’re really hungry. Prepare your customized oatmeal bars at home if you have spare time or buy some at the store.

iv.Assorted nuts

Mix some macadamia nuts, cashew nuts and peanuts for them. They’re a good source of protein and fiber. Switch things up and give them some honey coated nuts for extra flavor.

v.Carrot cake

If you’re looking for that good balance between nutritious and delicious, carrot cake is the way to go.

They’ll have all the nutritious benefits of carrots which include vitamin K, fiber and healthy carbs. It’s better to prepare your own carrot cake because others are usually packed with sugar.

vi.Yoghurt

Your kids will appreciate this snack. It’s nutritious because it’s good for the gut which will prevent digestive problems in future. If your kids are lactose intolerant, get for them some lactose-free alternatives. Mix in some fruits or muesli to make it more filling.

vii.Fruit and vegetable smoothies

Try a variety for smoothies as a snack for your kids. You should even involve them while picking out and blending the fruits or vegetables, which is a way of encouraging healthy living. They’ll be more excited when they get to choose what type of smoothie they want.

viii.Cinnamon toast

Prepare this by mixing some sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Toast a few slices of bread, coat it with butter or margarine then sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar mix. With this recipe, you have control of how much sugar they’re consuming, which is an added advantage.

ix.Popcorn

Spend some quality time with your kids making some popcorn. They’ll have fun helping you prepare this snack. You can have the plain salted popcorns homemade, caramel popcorns or add nuts, raisins or butter. This is a great after school snack to usher in the weekend.

It’s okay to have a balance between healthy snacks you’d want them to have and delicious snacks they enjoy. Every parent would like their children to have a healthy lifestyle but there should be room for some feel good food once in a while.

One way to encourage healthy eating is getting a bit more creative with nutritious foods and snacks so that they’ll enjoy eating them more.