Healthy homemade snack ideas make an on-the-go life easier
When you have kids who nap in the afternoon, mornings are your designated time slot for out-of-the-house adventures. In order to fit in a hike or a trip to the zoo or a play date at the park, you have to herd the gang out the door as early as possible and make it back by lunchtime.
It sounds simple, but there are two big challenges in that mix: getting out the door and making it back by lunchtime.
My solution for the latter is pretty straightforward. It’s always helpful to pack healthy snacks or lunches that the kids can eat in the car on the way home. But inevitably, that makes the former even more challenging. I can barely get us all physically out of the house, let alone pack a healthy, on-thego lunch (I know, when my kids start school I’m really going to be in for it).
So grab-and-go is really the only way to go.
There are many options at the grocery store for conveniently portioned and packaged snacks. Some are healthy. Many are not. All are, in my opinion, pricey and wasteful in the packaging department. They’re fine here and there but not something I want to be buying every week.
With some advance prep that can be done in a big batch, it’s actually pretty manageable to create your own stash of homemade grab-and-go snacks. I like to aim for balanced snacks with a good dose of protein so they can pinch hit for lunch if needed. Store them in small containers or snack bags so they’re ready to go when you are.
See below for a list of simple snacks, no recipe required. But if you’re like me and want to make grocery store favorites in a healthier way, here are a few recipes to try.
Protein bars
My favorite good-for-you bars would make a big dent in my grocery budget if I bought them as often as I’d like. If you have a food processor, you can make a large batch of energy bites that taste just as good and cost much less.
I tried three flavors, all sweetened with Medjool dates: chocolate cherry, cashew cookie and peanut butter chocolate chip.
My favorite was the chocolate cherry — almonds and pecans give them a nice crunch, and a dried cherry/dark chocolate combination is always irresistible to me.
My kids preferred the cashew cookie balls. They’re soft and sweet with a caramel flavor. With only three ingredients, they make me pretty happy, too.
The other great part about these snacks is you can add whatever nuts, dried fruit and other ingredients you have on hand. They also store well in the fridge, require no cooking time and dirty only one bowl — the bowl of your food processor.
Fruit snacks
What kid (including me) doesn’t love fruit snacks? Unfortunately, although they aren’t terrible for you, they definitely fall more into the treat category in my book.
It’s surprisingly simple to turn any juice, fruit or vegetable, into homemade fruit snacks — no fancy molds required. There’s also no refined sugar and no preservatives, so have at ‘em, kids.
Just heat the juice with plain gelatin and let it set in a shallow container in the fridge. Then cut into cubes and you’ve got a huge batch of treats suitable for any time of day.
I may have gotten a little too optimistic with my juice choices; carrot juice, even when sweetened with honey, is not highly appealing to 5-yearolds. But the cranberry ginger juice went over fairly well, and I am certain if I used regular OJ my kids would have loved them just as much as the store-bought kind.
Pomegranate or cherry juice, with a splash of fresh lime juice, would make an appealing option, or just grab your favorite 100% fruit or vegetable juice from the refrigerated section of the grocery store. (Wine fruit snacks are also possible ... way classier than Jell-O shots.)
Crunchy things
Chips, pretzels and crackers are traditional snack time essentials, but roasted chickpeas can deliver the same addictive crunch with a healthier résumé.
I seasoned my latest batch with smoked paprika and chili powder for a barbecue flavor. Try chopped fresh herbs, curry powder or even a dusting of sugar and cinnamon.
The crunch of roasted chickpeas can be intense, but if you shave 10 minutes off the roasting time, they’re more chewy than crunchy and still highly addictive.