Creative Summer Snacking Ideas

As summer is approaching, I’m trying to be ahead of the game.  I’ve got a “schedule” of sorts in place for our days at home.  I’m working on gathering some activities (which I’ll post about soon) to put away for those extra hot days when we don’t want to be outside, or I need them to be away from the tv and using their brains.  I even have day trips planned for a few days this summer.  But even with all these good intentions and distractions, my kids still have to eat.

Here are some good, healthy, fun to eat foods to serve the kids this summer.  I might even find myself eating these!

1.  Smoothies~ These can easily be made with low fat yogurt, some crushed ice, and any fresh fruit you have on hand. Just put it all in the blender, and blend until it’s smooth.  If it’s too thick, add a little milk.  If it’s too thin, a little more fruit, yogurt, or ice should do the trick.  To make it a little more fun, add a fun twisty straw.

2.  Frozen grapes~  My boys L.O.V.E these.  This is probably the simplest healthy snack for a hot summer day.  When I clean the grapes from the store, I simple put about half of the bunch into a bowl and stick it in the freezer.  They keep coming back all day to grab a few at a time to snack on.

3.  Fruit kebobs~  Hey, for some kids, it’s all about the appearance and fun factor of eating.  Strawberries, melon, and pineapple are great for kabobs.  You could thread them on a fun straw to decorate your smoothie :).  Or, thread the fruit onto a straw and put a plate of kebobs in the refrigerator.  Then, they can grab one or two to eat on the way out the door.

4.  Orange Boats~Again, it’s all about the appearance and fun of eating, right?  So, cut a circle around the top of the orange-large enough to get a spoon in so you can scoop out the insides.  Scoop out the insides and save the orange peel.  Put the orange slices, some crushed ice, and a little bit of orange juice in the blender and blend until smooth.  Then, spoon the mixture back into the orange peels.  Freeze until slushy, and eat with a spoon, right out of the orange peel.  How fun!

5. Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips-Cut various fruits into small pieces and toss together.  Serve some cinnamon pita chips or cinnamon tortilla chips alongside.  To easily make these yourself, you can cut pitas or tortillas into triangles.  Brush with a little bit of melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon or cinnamon/sugar.  Bake at 350 for about 5 minutes, or until crispy.

How can I keep all this fruit fresh and ready to eat?  I simply make it part of my weekly grocery trip to get a large amount of fruit.  It’s so versatile in the summer, and can be stretched a long way when you freeze it or use it in something like smoothies.

While all these ideas are fruit based, I can manage to get my kids to eat vegetables, too.  One way to do so is to put it out on the table when they are drawing or coloring.  As they’re coloring or doing activity books, they’re reaching for the baby carrots and cucumbers that I’ve put out for them.  Sometimes I have to distract them 🙂 to get them to munch on the veggies.  Also, salsa is a fun food for kids in the summer.

My kids are go, go, go, especially in the summer.  I know they’ll need to eat and hydrate a lot, so I’m happy with serving them some fun fruit snacks because I know they’ll be hydrated, too.

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