Healthy Snack Recipe for Kids

Healthy snack ideas for kids aren’t always easy to find (or easy to convince little ones to eat!) so we made a list of simple, tasty snack recipes that kids will love.

Healthy Snack Ideas For Kids

A sure-fire way to get kids excited about eating healthy food is to get them involved in making it. Preparing and presenting their very own recipe offers your child a sense of accomplishment, especially when the finished product looks (and tastes!) so amazing.

Our healthy snack recipes are designed so that kids can get involved throughout the process. Whilst some steps are, obviously, for grown-ups only (using the oven etc.) there’s plenty for little ones to help with.

There are plenty of learning opportunities to explore when cooking. Involve your child when measuring out ingredients for the recipe to help them practise numeracy in a practical task. You could also highlight the scientific element of baking, encourage your child to observe how heat changes the appearance, texture and taste of the ingredients. Whether you’re helping them to hold a whisk, sprinkle toppings or spread one ingredient over another, there’s plenty of tasks that will help to refine your child’s fine motor skills.

Baking and cooking together is an excellent opportunity to talk with your child about the benefits of healthy eating and why certain foods can help us feel better in both our bodies and our minds. It is also important to discuss that treats can be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet, as long as they are in moderation. Beginning these discussions at an early age helps your child to establish a healthy, lifelong relationship with food.

Of course, the most important thing is to have fun! Plenty of learning happens without you or your child being conscious of a “task”. Think of the above as some helpful prompts to bolster the natural learning process cooking provides to your child.

Grab your ingredients and let’s go!

Healthy Banana Bread

Banana bread is a go-to bake for so many of us! This sweet treat is a great bake for kids as it’s so easy and absolutely delicious. Banana bread satisfies your child’s sweet tooth using natural sugars, so it’s the perfect healthy sweet snack.

You Will Need

• 140g wholemeal flour
• 100g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 300g overripe bananas, mashed
• 4 tbsp honey
• 3 eggs
• 150ml low fat yogurt
• Optional: dark chocolate chips, diced walnuts

How To Make Banana Bread:

1 Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3.

2 Line the loaf tin with baking paper, making sure that the ends of the paper are above the top of the tin.

3 Pour the wholemeal flour, self-raising flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder into a large bowl.

4 In a separate bowl, mix the bananas, honey, eggs and yogurt.

5 Stir the banana mix into the bowl with the flour. If you would like to add any optional extras (diced walnut, chocolate chips) then do so now.

6 Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and allow to bake for one hour and fifteen minutes. The banana bread will be ready when you can stick in a skewer and it comes away clean.

7 Take the banana bread out of the oven and allow to cool for a couple of minutes. Carefully pinch the baking paper either side of the tin and lift it out and onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool for at least ten minutes before tucking in!

Peanut Butter Bears

Let your kids play with their food with these super cute peanut butter bears! This healthy morning meal will keep little ones going until lunchtime and is a playful way to get fruit and protein into their diets. Encourage them to get involved with assembling the bear faces and even get creative with their own toasty designs! While your kids munch their healthy meal you can read them some fantastic facts about bears - polar bears to be precise. We have compiled a list of 10 fascinating polar bear facts that you and your kids will love to read.

You Will Need

• Bread
• Peanut butter
• Banana
• Blueberries

How To Make Peanut Butter Bears:

1 Take a slice of bread and toast it. Spread your favourite peanut butter over the toast.

2 Chop a banana. Use one banana slice to make a nose in the middle of the toast. To make little bear ears, place two banana slices on the top two corners of the toast.

3 To finish off, place a blueberry on the bear’s banana nose. To make the bear’s eyes, place a blueberry either side of the bear’s nose as shown.

4 Pour a glass of orange juice and enjoy your peanut butter bear toast!

Peanut Butter Apples

It’s not always easy persuading kids to eat fruit! However, combining fruit in a fun, novel recipe, that they can help to prepare, encourages them to give it a try. This delicious recipe provides a healthy source of carbohydrates and protein that they’re sure to love!

You will need

• Apple
• Peanut butter
• Chocolate sprinkles
• Knife
• Small round cookie cutter, or an apple corer

How To Make Peanut Butter Apples:

1 Slice the apple into rings. You might want to do this before you get the kids involved. You could add a little splash of lemon juice to the apple slices to stop them going brown as you piece together your creations.

2 Use a cookie cutter to cut out the centre of each apple ring.

3 Spread peanut butter onto each apple ring.

4 Scatter chocolate sprinkles onto each apple ring.

4 Tuck in, and feel a little less guilty about it!

SHARE YOUR CREATIONS WITH US

We’d love to see your creations, so why not share them on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #toucanBox. Our favourite snaps could feature in the next issue of toucanBox Magazine!

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