I promised to share some summertime snack ideas this week. I don't know how it is at your house but at mine I hear "I'm hungry" a lot. Btw, a good response to this is "I'm Mommy, nice to meet you." ;0) For some reason the girls and Benjamin are never impressed with this comeback so we end looking through the fridge and pantry for a snack!
I thought I would try something new and fun for snacks this week. I bought mini cheese crackers, graham cracker sticks, pretzels and fruit bars when we went to Whole Foods on Monday. The bars are already individually wrapped but I divided everything else up and put them in small ziplock bags. This makes grabbing a snack easy, especially if you are on your way out the door to run errands or whatever.
I think fruit makes a great snack too. Pineapples were on sale so I cut it up into small chunks and put them in these reusable ziplock bowls. You could use any kind of fresh or canned fruit instead, cutting up pineapples isn't my favorite thing to do! Frozen grapes are perfect for a hot day. Emily loves mini carrots and Grace is a fan of sliced cucumbers so I bagged up some of those. We have ranch dressing to dip them in.
Cheese is another healthy snack. The little bowls are filled with cubed cheese.
Lastly, a favorite snack are these yogurt tubes. We keep them in the freezer and it's just like eating a popsicle!
I'm not a fan of juice based drinks but I will make lemonade a couple times a week. Other than that, it's plain water. To make it a little more exciting, I found these freezer mugs at Target for $1.99 each. They can be placed in the freezer and will get icy cold. Plus, straws are always fun!
As you can see, no one will be starving around here! I hope I have given you some useful ideas. Feel free to leave some of your favorite snacks in the comments!
42 comments:
Great ideas! This will make it much easier for them.
MMNNN! All of your snacks look delicious.
We love pretty much all of those same snacks: pretzels, cheese sticks, lots of fresh fruit.
We are also big lemonade drinkers in the summer.
I've never tried the yogurt in the freezer...but that sounds good. I'm going to have to buy some the next time I'm at a grocery store.
Thanks for sharing all of these snack ideas.
I forgot to mention we are also big veggie lovers here too: carrot sticks and cucumbers.
We also love peas fresh out of the garden.
I think that is wonderful idea to preplan by putting serving sizes into ziploc bags and small containers ~ it will be so much easier when the "munchies" hit!! Everything looks so yummy and nutritious!
Great ideas!! Thanks for sharing.
One fun thing my kids love to do is poke a pretzel stick into a grape before freezing them. They call them grape popsicles. I just keep a baggie of them in the freezer.
You always manage to inspire me in some way. I had never thought of dividing the snacks ahead of time. In addition to being a great time-saver when in a rush, it's also a great way to control portions so no one overeats.
BTW, I LOVE frozen grapes.
Well, I guess my favouite summer snacks are the vegetables / fruits that we harvest from our garden, like carots, strawberries... very healthy... ;-)))
But of course, yours look delicious, too!
Have a wonderful gardening day!
Anita
Fantastic Idea!!!
Wonderful ideas, Kelli!
I love your organization. Well done.
Great ideas! I should do this for my girls who are always asking for snacks!
Wonderful ideas. I don't have kids at home any more but should do this myself so I'll stay out of the cookier jar!
Susan
What a great idea. I am always running out the door and rushing to grab last minute snacks. I am definitely going to try this.
BTW, I have been making my own popsicles out of orange juice. The girls love them. I also found a recipe for a healthy fudgesicle and if it is good I will post the recipe.
What great ideas! Keeps everyone from grabbing chips and other less than healthy snacks.
Those cups are so cute! Where can I get some?
Your snack ideas are great, Kelli! Having lots of snack bags is great.
Everything looks so shiny and fresh!! I do the same thing with those little snack cups, I buy a huge can of applesauce or Dole pineapple chunks for just a few dollars, then put the food in the little cups and freeze them, and then take out what we'll need for the day in the morning to thaw. The kids love the part in the center that's still icy when I serve it :-)
I had to laugh at you. I raised my kids on that phrase, "I'm mommy, nice to meet you." It was always accompanied with some rolled eyes. But it was a great answer to all the "I'm hungry ... I'm thirsty ... I'm hot ... etc". Good form Kelli! We think alike.
I love your idea for healthy snacks. One of the things I regret as a new mom is giving my kids so much juice, instead of training them to love just plain water. If I had to do that over again I would.
By the way, these snacks are great for ME in my empty nest :)
Thanks for sharing these great ideas. I could have used them last weekend when 2 young grandsons were here. I constantly heard "I'm hungry" so I'm heading to Target and a couple of other stores to get ready for the next batch of grandkids -- and grandpa!
Yum Yum! I'm always ready for a snack.
Great ideas and easy to do! Thanks for sharing.
Blessings,
Trella
Kelli, thank you so much for the wonderful snack ideas. My kids have been hounding me about getting some new snacks, and I absolutely love your idea about pre-packing them in small baggies so you can grab them quickly as you run out for an errand. Good for mommies too, that have low blood sugar problems (like me), and constantly find myself out and about and feeling sluggish.
Love your blog, been reading for a couple of months now. You have such a lovely way of writing, and decorating.
~dawn
Your kids are so lucky to have a mommy like you:-) Great idea on the snacks...I remember my boys coming in from school or playing and saying "I'm hungry"! lol I use to always have cut up carrots and celery sticks with some dressing...that was their favourite! Or soda crackers with peanut butter and a slice of apple on it. I love your ideas since it can all be prepared ahead of time!! xox
Hey Kelli - this is a great idea! We have a 'snack cupboard' filled with the very same kinds of yummy things! Fruits and veggies are always on the menu here too!
I hadn't thought of snack packaging everything, but I will now - actually - The Dreamer is old enough to do that little jobs, ans since The Storyteller just inherited a few of her old jobs - she is in need of a new task - I think she'll love being in charge of the snack cupboard!
Also, I am trying to teach portion control and self control also, and have found a simple 'that's enough for now' to be the best response. Kids don't need to snack until they are stuffed to the gills - any more than we do!
Also, would you believe I have NEVER eaten a frozen grape???? If the kids hadn't eaten the last of the grapes for lunch I would be putting a cluster in to freeze right now - they sound decidedly refreshing!
Have a wonderful day!
Heather
Your snacks look yummy. I have the grandkids here several days per week (even during the summer) We like watermelon cubes, peanut butter on celery, cheese sticks, smoothies, and laughing cow (light) wedges on whole wheat crackers.
We love cherry tomatoes picked from the garden and most raw veggies with or without a yogurt dill type dip.
They also love hummus, which I make in the blender..
Thanks for sharing your ideas!
xo
Great ideas ~ you are such a good mom!! And I love those little mugs.
Debbie
Thank you for sharing, Kelli!
I really like the ideas of putting snacks in individual bags. I think this will help with my daughter's independence. (Putting several choices in a basket in the bottom of the pantry. Then when she wants a snack, she can get it herself!)
Hi, Kelli. Love your snacks, and as for the reply to "I'm hungry"...I've used it for years...even in the classroom. It seems to work pretty well!
I love your idea of putting things like mini cheese crackers, graham cracker sticks, pretzels in small ziplock bags. It's an excellent idea, for many reasons.
Plus the idea of putting many snacks in small containers ahead of time.. is super. Takes some time, up front. But oh so nice to have on hand, for some time after.
Mari-Nanci
Great idea to pre-package them for easy grabbing. Congratulations for taking the time to do all of that. Thank you for sharing your ideas.
~ Christina
woohoo, I am joining you this summer. You are such a good mommy. And organized, I love it.
Blessings
Hey Kelli? I'm hungry ;-)
I loved all of your little snack ideas. They look like they would be quick and easy.
We are big snack people here also. thank for the Idea
What cute cups! Let me guess... Green-Benjamin, Red-Grace, Pink-Emily! Am I right!? :D
Those look like great snacks, I forgot about the go-gurt tubes, I'll have to try soon for the kids.
Wonderful snack ideas! They all look so lovely packaged up and ready to go! I also hear the same thing here with my son and grandchildren. They are always starving and never full! :o)
I was just telling a friend of mine that my kids are always hungry! Perhaps it is because they are out running around more in the summer. I feel like I never have enough food, good food, to fill them up! What's it going to be like when they are teenagers?
Ohhh, summertime snacks. What a good idea. Healthy, convenient and easy, too! I like those mugs, I may have to make a trip to find me some:)
Kelli ~ how fun to read this post and your kitchen re-org post [kitchen looks great by the way! :o)].
We tend to snack on fruit mostly ~ but also veggies, pickles, boiled eggs, pretzels, popcorn, trail mix, chips, and homemade cookies.
Mmmm - now I'm in the mood for a snack! ;o)
I love to take the large size packaging and make it into individual portions. It saves money and time in the long run. Plus, it keeps my snackers from eating way to much at one sitting.
Frozen grapes...what a great idea....you have has some awesome ideas.
So many WONDERFUL ideas here! Thank you for sharing!
Jennifer
some great tips and ideas for the likes of me who are just starting out on a healthy eating plan, simple yet effective, thankyou.
hugs wendy xxx
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