School Snacks

“What could be more important than a little something to eat?” – Winnie the Pooh

Recess and snack time are important times of the day for kids at school. Keeping snacks interesting and healthy can be challenging at times. For the super busy parents buying healthy and yummy snacks at the store is a top option, but if you have a little bit of extra time we have provided you with some simple and quick snacks that you can create at home for the kiddies and yourself. 

Enjoy. 

Homemade Granola Bars

I love this recipe so so much. I am always making these bars for snacks and to go along with my morning smoothie for breakfast. I found the recipe in Chatelaine but I have tweaked it to make it suit my family and me better. I have provide the link to the original recipe as well as my version.

You will need:

½ cup chopped pretzels

½ cup raisins

¾ Rice Crispies

1 ¼ cup oats

¼ cup margarine

¼ honey

¼ cup brown sugar

1/3 cup chocolate chips

Procedure:

In a pan brown the oats. 

Mix the pretzels, raisins, and Rice Crispies in a medium bowl. Once the oats are browned add them to the mixture.

Cook honey, brown sugar, and margarine in a pan until bubbling and add to the dry mixture. Stir until everything is coated. Freeze for 15 minutes. While in the bars are in the freezer, melt the chocolate chips. Spread the melted chocolate on top of the bars and refrigerate for another 15 minutes. Cut into 12 bars and enjoy!

 http://www.chatelaine.com/recipe/stovetop-cooking-method/chocolate-pretzel-granola-bar/

Dried Fruit and Fruit Leather

Instead of giving kids sugary gummies in their snack, try out dried fruit. I enjoy drying many different kinds of fruit and they are so tasty too. Mangos, pineapple, and apples are so yummy. Other good fruits to dry are, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, plums, the list goes on and on. If you buy a dehydrator there is usually a list provided of good things to dry and how long they take etc. I have a few home dehydrators that you can check out listed below. 

Excalibur Food Dehydrator 3926T black with integrated timer

Nesco FD-37 400-Watt Food Dehydrator, Speckled

Salton - VitaPro Food Dehydrator with Collapsible Trays

Another thing that you can make with a dehydrator is fruit leather. Again your dehydrator will come with some useful recipes but I have provided one that Nicole’s mom uses. 

Applesauce Fruit Leather

2 pounds of apples, cored and quartered

¼ cup lemon juice

½ cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Place lemon juice in blender and gradually add the apples. Puree. Add sugar and cinnamon. Mix well and spread on dehydrator sheet. Dehydrate for at least four hours.

Here is a link to another yummy sounding recipe that I think I’ll try out. 

http://www.choosingraw.com/easy-homemade-diy-fruit-leathers-how-to-recipe/