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Today's topic: snacks!
Reader Liz R. writes:
So...I was wondering if you had any tips on after school snacks? I am really struggling to find something yummy, but not too sugary, or anything that is too processed..
I'm so glad you asked, Liz, because I am starting to feel like after school snacks are the focus of my entire day up to that point. When the boys get home from school, they are hungry. I am finding that I need to feed them immediately if we want to have a positive rest-of-the-afternoon. These days, I have the snack waiting for them when they walk through the door.
I have had seasons with the boys when I actually have a pasta dish ready when they arrive home. There are times when it actually works for us to have more of a dinner-type meal at 3:30 or 4 and then a heavy snack to eat with Paul when he gets home. We don't do this as a rule, just during those times when it seems the boys are really, really hungry all the time (growth spurt season, I guess).
Lately, I have been serving hot dogs for snacks. I know that's not really the most healthy choice, but it does the trick -- something hot (which they prefer) that seems to stick to their ribs.
Other foods that work: carrot sticks, peanut butter sandwiches, almonds and raisins (but we do have one boy with a nut allergy, so this gets tricky), and chocolate milk. I put the milk in the blender with some of the calcium-enhanced chocolate powder and ice and we call it a shake.
I also will do frozen pizzas from time to time, or turkey roll-ups and apple slices.
(I find it totally ironic, by the way, that I can go on and on about snacks but am totally fahklempt when it comes to dinners).
What about you? What delicious snacks does your family like?
Monday, September 22, 2008
You're So Money Monday
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20 comments:
My boys love peanut butter on graham crackers, closed up like a sandwich. It's a fairly filling snack with lots of good protein and not too much sugar (and I like it too!).
Don't get me started, I totally love coming up with snack ideas. My kids love to come home to homemade blondies. I also like making them home made pretzels. We do a lot of popcorn after school, as well as apples with peanut butter and veggies and dip. I'm looking forward to reading all the snack ideas!
My boys also seem like bottomless pits when they come in from school. When someone gets very crabby in the afternoon, the first thing I say is "Did you have a snack yet?"
Mine love cheese on crackers melted in microwave, PB&J, apples or bananas smeared with peanut butter, macaroni, cheese quesadillas (just made in microwave), and on a fun day...s'mores!
I have two children, a daughter who is 10 and a son, 7. My son is hypoglycemic, so getting him a snack is vital.
I feed them anything high in protein and or fiber. We shop at Sams, so I get the Hot Pockets with Eggs, Bacon or Sausage, and Cheese. Also the White Castle Frozen cheeseburgers are a hit. Grilled Cheese sandwiches (open or closed) are popular. If I'm really lazy, the Uncrustable PB&J or PB and Honey are always good fallbacks.
Kathryn
go-gurts, fruit (already cut up),crackers and cheese, Nutella sandwiches, all these things work for us. As long as it is not too heavy to spoil dinner, but enough to give them the extra energy to make it through the afternoon. This one my son loves: cheese string rolled up with ham, with a glass of OJ on the side. (We support dairy farming in our house and eat lots of cheese ...)
Frozen burritos. French bread pizza (made at home). Cereal!
A big hit at our house is fried egg sandwiches. I can fry the eggs, put them on a plate in the fridge before I go pick up the boys. If I have the toaster already out, its super-quick. Fried Egg warmed in microwave with a slice of cheese, toasted bread, a little fresh pepper!
And its no wonder my kids are starving when they get home. This is our first year with the boys in a "real" school (the little girls are still home-schooling) and I've realized they only have 20 minutes for lunch/recess!!!
On cold afternoons my mom used to have baked sweet potato rounds, topped with brown sugar and cinnamon or butter, ready for us as we came in the door. Warm homemade applesauce and toast were also a hit. My dc like these. We also do sweet potato fries and baked potato halves with leftover veggies. I have a stove-top panini pan so quesadillas are quick and simple -- a bonus is I can use up any leftover meat(pork, chicken, etc) I have in the fridge.
I have a recipe for these bars (called energy bars) with cheerios, peanut butter, raisins, (can't remember what else) but they really are filling and good. Hits the spot.
We really like frozen bananas right now. Dip in chocolate or a peanut butter sauce, and they're awesome! Admittedly sweet though.
I whip up what my Mom did - grilled peanut butter sandwiches, like a grilled cheese, but with peanut butter inside.
My kids loved Apple slices with Peanut Butter on the side for dipping. also sliced pepperoni and cheese with a favorite cracker. were my most popular requests and they only take a few minutes to prepare. I always had baby carrots and ranch dressing in the frig as a go to snack when I just had no time for anything else. Now they are grown they still look for carrots or celery and ranch dressing when they come home to visit.
Our little one isn't quite old enough for after-school snacks, but I've been making after-work snacks for my hypoglycemic and nut-allergic DH for several years.
Peanut butter on whole-wheat toast is a classic, as is popcorn or gorp (Good Ol' Raisins and Peanuts). He also likes hummus on pita chips and veggies or toasted cinnamon-raisin whole-wheat English muffins.
Actually, we're both big fans of toasted stuff in the afternoon with a cup of hot tea once the weather gets cool!
We also do Go-gurts, granola bars, fruit leather, cereal. "Healthy" chips--the ones made from sweet potato or oats (like the Flat Earth Veggie Crisps)have a 1/2 serving of vegetables. If I have the opportunity, I'll make pumpkin muffins with mini-chocolate chips on top (so it's like getting chocolate without too much)that are mostly oats/oat flour, or sometimes, you just gotta have cookies and milk.
My kids love popcorn with melted cheese poured over it (the cheese hardens after a minute and just sticks to the popcorn). High in fiber and some protein to boot.
Cereal! I try to feed them eggs and fruit in the morning, so after school is when they get their much-desired cereal fix. And cereal they can serve themselves if I'm tied up.
When we still lived in the US, I would frequently volunteer to pick my elementary-school-aged nephew up after school and take him to some sports practice or even to accompany me and my son to something, like a late afternoon trip to the library. I found a perfect snack for him was the sushi from the grocery store. His favorite is the California roll. He could eat them with his hands, either in the store or the car or at the table, and it really got him through the afternoon.
I smiled when I read that you're feeding the boys hot dogs. My husband often mentions the multitude of hot dogs that he and his four brothers devoured when they came home from school. He claims they could eat a box a day. And you know what, I bet they could.
Whereas in my house, with three girls, Mom, and Dad, six hot dogs were dinner (Dad got two). I always wondered why he wanted chili and slaw on top. Then I thought it was a Southern thing, but now I recognize that perhaps he had a little bigger appetite.
from scotch meg who can't figure out how to make the ID stuff work
Yogurt Parfait:
Layer 1: fruit (your fav fruits--cut up bananas, blueberries or cut up strawberries)
Layer 2: Low fat vanilla yogurt
Layer 3: Granola from Whole Foods
REPEAT!
Serve in an appropriate container (not too big), I like using a smaller juice glass.
Warm Peanut Butter Toast
Toast bread well. The minute it's done put peanut butter on it. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. YUMM!
Fruit Kabob
Buy those wooden kabob sticks from the grocery store. Put cut up fruits on it.
Nachos--Tostitos with non fat refried beans and grated cheese
Cover cookie sheet with foil. Lay out chips. Mix Refried beans in can with spoon. Spread beans on chips. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Broil in oven for 2 minutes, watch it so it does not burn. Set cookie sheet in middle of table and let the boys grab!!!
My fmaily always ate at 5pm because of the way my dad's work schedule worked out he was home then. So we never had afternoon snacks, but we had "midnight snacks" around 8-9pm. You realy don't want heavy foods then.
What we loved best was hunks of cheese, popcorn, pretzels(we're from Philly soft pretzels!) occasionally pepperoni hunks.
As I grew up I would come home super late from High School and the snack turned into Ham and cheese Sandwiches. My mo knew I was home by the sound of the fridge and me slicing against plates.
PB & apples is a favorite here. micro'd quesadillas are another easy, satisfying treat. I also bought some of those individiual pre-made pizza crusts..the kids can slap on their favorite toppings and either micro or bake for 7 mins. They love it. My son just had one with leftover spaghetti as his topping. They love french bread so I always have a loaf of that around.
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