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5 Healthy Snacks (even kids will love)

Snacking is a big part of all of our lives. Every school day I send my son with a snack. I snack several times a day. We try to not get a lot of junk food. Leading a healthy lifestyle is important to us so healthy snacks are a must. Finding snacks that we all love is always a bonus. Here are 5 healthy snacks that even your kiddos will love and keep asking for more!

Baby Carrots & Almond Butter

This one I came up with during the time that I tried Whole30. I needed snacks that fit the guidelines of Whole30. I love baby carrots. We also love to dip them in ranch dressing. Dairy is a big no-no while on Whole30 so that was out, legumes are also not allowed so that meant no peanut butter either. I had a jar of almond butter in the pantry and decided to give it a try. Man, was it tasty! to this day it’s still one of my favorite snacks. My son loves it too!

 

Sliced Bell Peppers & Ranch Dressing

This one is a long-time favorite in my house. Since my son was a toddler he’s always loved raw red bell peppers. He legit will not eat cooked peppers but he LOVES them sliced raw plain or with ranch dressing (I mean, who doesn’t LOVE ranch dressing). Simply slice up some of your favorite color pepper (we like red, yellow and orange) and add some ranch dressing or just eat them plain! If ranch dressing isn’t your thing you can always use hummus. The non-green peppers have a natural sweetness that you’ll just love.

Fruit Smoothie

Another favorite in our house is the smoothie. We all love smoothies and they are a great way to get some additional servings of fruits and veggies in. I used to make blueberry spinach smoothies for my son all of the time. He had no idea that the green stuff was in them.

Here’s a super simple recipe that your kids will love!

Berry Smoothie (2 servings)

• 1 cup (30 grams) baby spinach
• 1 cup (30 grams) frozen berries of choice (I like a triple berry mix or blueberries by themselves)
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) plain yogurt (try Greek yogurt!)
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk of choice (we love unsweetened almond milk)
• 1 1/2 tsp (10 grams) honey (optional, I think it’s sweet enough on its own)

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend. One tip on this, blend the spinach and milk first so it is all the way broken down. Once smooth, pour into 2 cups and enjoy! You can always add in a scoop of your favorite protein powder to make it more of a meal replacement shake. We do strawberry vanilla or chocolate, peanut butter, banana all the time!

Homemade Fruit Leather

Who loved Fruit Roll-Ups as a kid? I know I did. My son does now as well. I don’t like that they are full of dyes and sweeteners and other icky stuff. As I mentioned before we try to not buy too much junk food. Here’s a great recipe that anyone can do at home!

Fruit Leather

• 3 cups total fruit (see notes for suggestions)
• 2-4 tbsp raw honey (as needed)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2-4 tbsp water (as needed)

Measure 3 cups of fruit total (fresh or defrosted frozen). Then put the fruit, honey, lemon juice and water (if needed) into a saucepan. Cover with a lid and cook on low until the fruit is cooked down and thickened. When cool, puree in a blender or food processor (or use an immersion blender right in the pan) and puree until smooth. Then spread evenly onto a dehydrator sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Dehydrate at 135 degrees for 6-11 hours depending on the method used. Turn the tray occasionally since the fruit can dehydrate unevenly sometimes. You will know when the fruit leather is done when it is tacky, not sticky. Once done, peel off the sheet and cut it into strips. Roll in parchment paper and store in an airtight container or a zip bag and enjoy!

For oven dehydrating use a baking sheet and the oven temp of 140 degrees is ok.

Sone of my favorite combinations are strawberry, apple blueberry, apple cinnamon, strawberry watermelon, apple kiwi, blueberry strawberry. You can use any combination of fruit you want, experiment and enjoy!

Energy Balls

Energy balls are fun little balls that taste like cookie dough but are filled with good ingredients instead of a lot of sugar. These are healthy alternatives to granola or other snack bars that are oftentimes high in sugar.

Energy Balls

• 1 cup (80 grams) oats
• 1/2 cup (125 grams) nut butter of choice (peanut, almond, cashew, sun)
• 1/3 cup (115 grams) raw honey
• 1/2 cup (55 grams) ground flaxseed or whole chia seeds (110 grams)
• 1/2 cup (80 grams) dried fruit or chocolate chips (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well combined. Once combined, roll into 2″ balls, store in an airtight container in the fridge.

There are many different options for healthy snacks. These are just some of my favorites. I’d love to add to the list so leave a comment and let me know what you think. I hope you enjoyed these 5 healthy snacks that even your kiddos will love. For more great ideas check out my post on Healthy Eating on the Go! Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog so you won’t miss a single post!

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