Tips for Nutritious Summer Snacks
By Janis Turk
The kids are home for summer, and they’re ready to raid the fridge and your pantry. What will they find there? Ice cream bars, sodas, sweets and salty crackers?
Why not head them off at the pass by stocking up on nutritious summer treats that will be just as tempting on a hot summer’s day?
Try having these on hand:
Keep a sealable plastic container full of sliced strawberries in the fridge, along with another full of cold watermelon already de-seeded and cut into cubes. How about a big juicy bowl of cherries and another with plump blueberries, too? They’re great for the kids, and great tasting, too.
In the freezer, how about homemade popsicles made from pure lemonade made with only minimum amounts of real sugar (not unnatural artificial sweeteners). Nearby, have a bowl of frozen grapes. Kids think they’re cool, and they make great ice-cubes, for that pitcher of passion fruit and raspberry summer tea you should be making, too.
Make kiwis more fun by serving them with little spoons. Show your kids how to cut off the top of the kiwi and then scoop out the fruit inside. They’re nature’s perfect little containers, and the kids will think it is fun.
Keep plastic jars of dried soybeans or almonds on hand in the pantry. Dried fruits are good, too–tell the boys that the apricots are dried ears. Dried banana chips are a hit with kids, too, but don’t let them eat too many–some are made with lots of added sugar.
Let the kids have at a cantaloupe, honeydew melon or watermelon with a melon ball scooper. They’re likely to put as many scoops in their mouths as they do the bowl you provide.
Food should be fun, but it should also be good for your kids. This summer, prepare your pantry and refrigerator for all the fun soon to come.
Schools out for summer — make sure your fridge is ready.
