Offering smart choices at snack time helps your kids refuel with “the good stuff” — including nutrition-packed produce, whole grains, and calcium-rich fare. These fun, creative treats will win over your little ones with great taste and deliver the vitamins, minerals and fiber their growing bodies need.

Apple Slices with Maple Cinnamon Peanut Butter Dip

Apple Slices with Maple-Cinnamon Peanut Butter Dip

 

Apples and peanut butter are the perfect after school snack, but I’ve made this kid favorite extra tasty with a few special ingredients. Serve up fruit slices with this yummy Maple-Cinnamon Peanut Butter Dip and be prepared to hear your kids begging for more!

Un-fried Cheese Sticks with Marinara Dip

Un-fried Cheese Sticks with Marinara Dip

 

A staple on restaurants’ children’s menus, deep-fried mozzarella sticks are a nutritional disaster with their full-fat cheesy center coated in oil-soaked junky breading. To keep kids smiling, here’s a healthier, unfried version that cuts bad fat without sacrificing flavor. Just dunk a part-skim or reduced-fat mozzarella cheese stick in a dish of warm marinara sauce and swirl it around for guilt-free goodness. This fun finger food delivers a hearty dose of protein and bone-building calcium.

Parmesan Popcorn

Parmesan Popcorn

 

Grab a favorite flick and get the popcorn going for movie night. A bowl of crunchy, air-popped popcorn is one of the easiest ways to get your kids eating more whole grains. Four cups deliver about 5 grams heart-healthy fiber and only 120 calories (fewer calories than a single serving of chips). Jazz up your snack bowl by lightly misting with canola or grapeseed oil and sprinkling on grated Parmesan for a cheesy finish kids love. If you don’t have an air popper, no problem. Get my easy trick for popping plain kernels right in your microwave .

PB-Banana Freeze Pop

PB-Banana Freeze Pop

 

Your little guys will go bananas for this sweet and healthy treat. Split a banana lengthwise and spread one half with peanut or almond butter. Look for all-natural nut butters with no added sugar or oil in the ingredients. Sandwich the two banana halves together, wrap in plastic wrap, freeze solid…and you have a homemade banana pop! Feel free to add on other tasty toppings, like sliced strawberries or a sprinkling of chocolate chips.

Magic Beans

Magic Beans

 

This nutrient-packed super food is a terrific finger-friendly snack for kids of all ages. Edamame — young, green soybeans — are a high-quality source of vegetarian protein. These green goodies also provide calcium and potassium for strong, healthy bones, along with a good dose of fiber to help keep kids regularly going to the bathroom. Steam a few cups of edamame in the pod, and let the kids have some hands-on fun snapping the pods open and popping the “magic beans” into their mouths.

Sweetened Ricotta Cream with Berries

Sweetened Ricotta Cream with Berries

 

Don’t be fooled by how decadent this treat tastes; it truly is loaded with good-for-you ingredients. Naturally sweet berries provide fiber and brain-boosting antioxidants, and the creamy ricotta fills kids up with calcium and protein, essential nutrients during childhood growth spurts. You gotta love a yummy dessert with this much nutrition power!

Chocolaty Chip Yogurt

Chocolaty Chip Yogurt

 

Calcium-rich yogurt is already a kid favorite, but you can turn protein-packed Greek varieties into a special treat by stirring in a sweet surprise. Simply add one tablespoon of chocolate chips to a single-serving container of vanilla nonfat Greek yogurt…and you’ve got a power snack with a sundae-inspired twist. Go for dark or semisweet chocolate chips, which have more health-boosting flavonoids than milk chocolate.

Mini Veggie Pizzas

Mini Veggie Pizzas

 

Pizza-loving kids can get their cheesy fix with this healthy and scrumptious snack-size rendition. Top a toasted, whole-grain tortilla, English muffin, or mini pita with marinara sauce, a variety of colorful vegetables (broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, bell peppers, or any other favorites) and part-skim mozzarella cheese and bake it in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes. These pint-sized pizza pies are the perfect vehicle for getting your kids to eat more vegetables.

 

Find out what else deserves a spot on your kids’ plates.

Intro

Offering smart choices at snack time helps your kids refuel with “the good stuff” — including nutrition-packed produce, whole grains, and calcium-rich fare. These fun, creative treats will win over your little ones with great taste and deliver the vitamins, minerals and fiber their growing bodies need.