This post brought to you by The Frozen Food Foundation. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Beauty Through Imperfection.
Are you looking for quick and healthy snacks for kids?
My kiddos have reached the point of constant eating. My son will literally walk away from the breakfast table asking for more food. It is both crazy and exhausting! With the increase in snacks, I’ve felt the need to find healthier solutions. I don’t want to be shoving crackers in my kids’ faces all day, so I’ve found a few other things that are quick and easy!
One of my son’s absolute favorite things to eat is edamame – I know, that is such a random food item, but when my aunt fed them to him one day he was immediately hooked. Major bonus points because you get to “play” with the food by squeezing the little bean out and they are very high in protien so it is an awesome snack for a growing little boy.
What I do now is buy edamame from the frozen food section. Bird’s Eye brand has them in microwaveable bags so I can literally throw the frozen veggies in the microwave and then serve them minutes later. My kids obsess over the fun of playing with the beans as they eat them, and I get a little break from cooking 15 times a day, while also knowing that my kids are snacking on something healthy.
Another great option is straight frozen fruits and veggies – my kids love eating food while it is still frozen. For the longest time this was the only way to get my son to eat vegetables consistently. They feel like it is a special treat to eat still-frozen foods so they will happily crunch on frozen broccoli, cauliflower and lima beans, while serving these same veggies steamed would have a much different response.
The same goes for frozen fruit. I can buy it by the bag and dump some of the cold fruit on their plates. It seems to taste sweeter when it’s cold and they have fun crunching on things that are normally soft. You do have to be careful that your kids are old enough to handle serving things frozen, I didn’t let my youngest join in this fun until she was big enough not to choke.
Smoothies are another awesome snack choice! One of our favorites is an apple-berry-spinach smoothie. My kids and I HATE spinach, so we sneak it in our smoothies where we can’t taste it!
These are simple to make, and you can freeze them seprately so you are able to pull a few out when you need them.
To make these I use
- 3 red apples (sliced)
- 2 cups frozen berries
- water (to taste)
- 1+ cups of spinach
- Sliced banana (optional)
Add all the dry ingredients to your blender and then pour water in to reach about half as high as your fruits and veggies. Blend away! You can add more or less water depending on what you want the consistency of the smoothie to be. I play around with the amounts every time, depending on what I have on hand. The berries are always a nice touch to use instead of straight ice. Ice-berries are much yummier! – If the spinach makes you worry, you can try this Great Start Smoothie recipe!
I have been fascinated lately by the Frozen Food Foundation‘s studies showing that frozen fruits and veggies are generally as rich in nutriets as the fresh counterparts. I love their saying “freezing is nature’s pause button”. It really is an easy way to combat things like the cost of fresh produce, the cost of fresh ‘out of season’ produce and issues like fresh fruits and vegetables spoiling before you’re able to prepare and eat them. For awhile I struggled with guilt about doing frozen foods, like I was doing something wrong, but that is so silly! Frozen is a great opportunity to give my kids healthy foods in a way that is easier and more convenient for me. Truly a win for every one!
I’m always looking for new ways to get fruits and veggies in our diets because fruits and vegetables are major contributors of essential nutrients in our diets, and consuming fruits and vegetables is associated with reduced risk of many chronic diseases, Given the increase in the rates of chronic diseases among all age groups, eating a diet rich in a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables is more important than ever. A variety of factors may contribute to low consumption, including cost and convenience. A recent study revealed one easy solution: frozen. – For more info you can Follow Frozen Food Foundation Twitter and Frozen Food Foundation Facebook
Do you have any quick and easy snack ideas for kids? I’d love to hear about them!
raydounahammed says
Our child future depend on her health but health is always depend on good food. As soon as possible we should try to provide good healthy food.