An Essential List of Easy {But Healthy} Snacks with Printable

I often feel like my children are bored at snack time since I tend to stick with whatever is easiest: crackers, cheese, fresh fruit or fresh vegetables but not necessarily mixed together. Just hand it to them and go!

Since Ruble seems to be endlessly hungry, I decided to try to bump up our snack routine a little, trying to incorporate more of the food groups (especially protein) in our mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks.

If you have been looking for a list of easy but healthy snacks, I hope these ideas for feeding the kids (and momma too!) will inspire you.

Snacks with Apples

Apple Pie Crackers – Graham crackers with cream cheese mixed with applesauce.

Applesauce Slush – Freeze homemade applesauce into portion sizes.

Gourmet Apple Slices – Decorate slices of apples with melted chocolate, chopped nuts, or shredded coconut.

Fruity Kabobs – Place grapes, apples, and marshmallows on bamboo skewers.

Grilled Cheese & Apples – Thinly slice apples and place in a cheese sandwich. Grill over medium heat until the cheese has melted.

 

Snacks with Eggs

Devilish Eggs – Deviled eggs with bell pepper strips faces.

Egg Boats – Hard-boiled eggs halved with cheese sails.

Egg Salad Select – Mix chopped egg, a little mayo, and dill pickle relish together. Drop in rounded teaspoon-fuls on crackers. Top with shredded carrots or bell pepper pieces.

Fried Rice – Scramble an egg and toss with cooked rice, peas, and carrots. Stir fry the mixture in a drizzle of olive oil and a drop or two of soy sauce.

Egg Eyeballs – Slice hard-boiled eggs, place on crackers, and top with sliced black olives.

 

Snacks with Bread

Blueberry Bagel – Mix together cream cheese and blueberries. Spread over half a bagel. Top with additional blueberries and/or shredded coconut.

Mini-Muffins – Prepare your favorite muffin recipe but bake it in a mini-muffin pan.

Tuna Melt – Top half an English muffin with tuna, a slice of tomato, and sliced cheese. Toast and let the cheese melt.

Chicken Crescents – Chop boiled chicken and mix with a little mayo and sweet relish. Serve in a baked crescent.

Morning Glory Muffins – A muffin full of yumminess at The Happy Housewife.

 

Snacks with Cheese

Cottage Fruit – Cottage cheese topped with canned fruit.

Campfire Classic – Place pretzel stick in the middle of a bowl. Surround with grapes. Top the pretzels with zig-zag sliced cheese.

English Muffin Pizza – Spread pizza sauce over half an English muffin. Add choice of meat or vegetable. Sprinkle with cheese. Toast.

Cheesy Quesadilla – Smear beans on a tortilla and sprinkle with cheese. Microwave for 30 seconds and fold in half. Cut into triangles. Serve with salsa or guacamole.

 

Snacks with Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter Balls – Peanut butter and cream cheese mixed and rolled in chopped nuts, coconut, or crushed graham crackers.

Peanut-y Strawberry Sandwich – Spread peanut butter and place sliced strawberries on whole wheat bread.

Peanut Butter Banana Stacker – Peanut butter and banana slices on crackers.

Sweet Pizza – Smear peanut butter on a rice cake. Top with sliced fruit and drizzle with chocolate sauce.

Chunky Monkey Smoothie – Blend together vanilla yogurt, bananas, and peanut butter with ice and milk.

 

Snacks with Bananas

Frozen Chocolate-Covered Bananas – Place half a peeled banana and place it on a stick. Dip in melted chocolate and roll in chopped nuts or coconut. Freeze on waxed paper.

Fluffer-nutter Roll-Ups – Spread peanut butter on a tortilla. Sprinkle with marshmallows and chunks of banana. Roll up.

Banana Tortilla Stack – Spread cream cheese on a tortilla. Cut into triangles. Stack alternating with sliced bananas and chopped nuts.

Sushi Rolls – Spread peanut butter or cream cheese or jelly on bread, crusts removed and cut into long strips. Place a thick slice of banana on one end and roll up.

Buggy Bananas – Place two pretzel sticks in half a banana as antenna. Top each pretzel with a grape.

 

Snacks with Vegetables

Bruchetta –  Stir together chopped tomatoes, dry basil, chopped garlic, and a drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle on bread, top with grated Mozzarella and toast until the cheese melts.

Dip Sticks – Slice vegetables in long pieces and serve with ranch, peanut butter, and/or honey.

Bugs on a Log – Slice celery and top with cream cheese, cottage cheese, or peanut butter. Add raisins.

Neat-a Pita – Spread hummus in a pita pocket. Add shredded carrots.

Ladybug Snack Crackers – Smear cream cheese on crackers. Cut a grape tomato in half and then slice again. Place on half tomato on cracker with “wings” spread. Use a black olive for the head.

Quick Nachos – Sprinkle shredded cheese over tortilla chips or crackers. Microwave just until the cheese melts. Top with chopped tomatoes, black beans, and/or avocado.

Kabobs – Serve grape tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, black olives, and sliced yellow squash on a bamboo skewer with dipping sauce.

Cucumber Sandwiches – Stack sliced cucumbers with cheese, cream cheese, or peanut butter in between.

 

Snacks with Yogurt

Frozen Yogurt Bits – Use a plastic bag with a hole cut in the tip to pipe yogurt into a mini ice tray or on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Freeze and serve.

Frozen Fruit – Dip grapes or strawberry halves in yogurt. Freeze on waxed paper.

Yogurt Parfaits – Top yogurt with whole grain cereal, chocolate chips, chopped nuts, and/or fresh fruit.

 

Summer Snacks

Festive Flags – Slice watermelon into stripes. Serve with blueberries as the stars.

Fruity Snowcones – Shave ice and top with fruit juice instead of syrup. Or, shave frozen fruit.

Chunky Fruity Popsicles - Puree fresh fruit and reserving some of the fruit cut into small chunks. Mix together and freeze into popsicles.

Tropical Fruit Salad – Dice and mix kiwi, pineapple, papaya and melon. Toss with marshmallows.

 

Creative Dip Recipes

Spinach & Artichoke – Mix together wilted spinach, chopped artichokes,a little mayo, and minced garlic with cream cheese.

Fluffernutter – Mix peanut butter with marshmallow cream.

Hummus – Cooked (or canned and rinsed) chickpeas processed with olive oil, garlic, sesame oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Black Bean – Process together black beans, lime juice, salsa and cream cheese.

Guacamole – Mash avocados with fresh cilantro, lime juice.

Pudding Pie – Vanilla pudding mixed with chopped bananas and ricotta cheese.

Salsa – Process tomato, garlic, a little onion, and cilantro together in a blender.

 

Snacks with Popcorn

Almond Maple Popcorn Snack

 

Apple Pie Popcorn

Banana S’more Popcorn Trail Mix

 

Cinnamon Honey Butter Popcorn

Popcorn Trail Mix

Salted Caramel Almond Pretzel Popcorn

 

 

 

Homemade Snack Bars & Cookies

Almond-Apricot Snack Bars

Baked Oatmeal Snack Bars

Breakfast Cookies

Breakfast Fig & Nut Cookies

 

 

Chewy Granola Bars

Green Pumpkinseed and Cranberry Crispy Bars

 

Homemade Healthy Snack Bars

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Oatmeal Walnut Cookies

 

 

Convenience Snacks

• Dried fruit
• Fig Newtons
• Dry cereal
• Graham crackers
• Animal crackers
• Whole grain crackers
• Raw vegetables
• Fresh (whole) fruit
• Sliced pineapple
• String cheese
• Packaged yogurt
• Pretzels
• Tortilla chips
• Vegetable chips
• Nuts
• Cereal and milk

Pssst… Hey smart parent reading this… I know you don’t need to be reminded to use your own discretion and be wise about feeding your younger child hard and /or chunky foods. I know you already quarter grapes and soften carrots and all that. So, I won’t waste your time by restating that here.

A free printable for you ~

• Essential List of Easy (But Healthy) Snacks