Creative After-School Snack Ideas

Check out some of these creative ideas for after-school snacks, most of which are also apt to meet parental “must be nutritious” preferences.

Disturbing Stuffed Apples

Get a large Granny Smith apple or the apple of your choice.

Use a melon baller or spoon to core the apple. I used to also carve the outside like a Jack-o-Lantern. Bigger kids may want to try that.

Stuff the apple with peanut butter (chunky is my favorite). You may also add some granola, chocolate chips, coconuts flakes, popcorn (yes, popcorn — it goes great with peanut butter) or whatever you like.

Take a big bite out your apple and watch the peanut butter and the rest ooze out the eyes and mouth.

Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
Whole-wheat bowtie or other shape pasta
Pinto beans or edamame
Lite Italian dressing
Mixed chopped veggies of your choice
Grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta and let cool. Add beans (or edamame)and veggies and toss with dressing. Top with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and serve in a Dixie cup.

Peanut Butter Playdough

1 cup honey
2 cups powdered milk
2 cups peanut butter

Mix ingredients. Use for playdough or make shapes to be eaten.

Make-Your-Own Tostadas

Ingredients:
Tortillas (corn or small-size whole-grain)
No-fat refried beans
Shredded Mexican-style cheese or Colby-Monterey Jack blend
Shredded lettuce

Smear some refried beans on a tortilla. Sprinkle cheese over the beans and microwave one minute.

Top with shredded cheese and serve with salsa, if desired. Easy to do and there is protein in the cheese and (no-fat) refried beans.

Chix Strips

Buy boneless pre-sliced chicken breasts. Coat them in egg whites and roll them in crushed Special K cereal. Sprinkle with salt and pepper or ranch seasoning and bake. This is fast, easy, heathy and yummy. You can make it before the kids get home.

Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/3 cup light olive oil
1/3 cup canola margarine
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1½ cups whole-wheat flour
½ cup flaxmeal
½ cup wheat germ
2 cups “quick” oatmeal
½ package dark chocolate chips

Cream margarine and oil. Add sugars, mix well. Add eggs, beat well. Stir in remaining ingredients. Form cookie dough into balls and bake at 375 degrees (on an ungreased pan covered in parchment paper) for nine minutes.

Fresh Figs

A “purely no-prep snack” with aesthetic appeal. Most people don’t eat many fresh figs, which look weird inside but are very sweet. Because there is no recipe for figs beyond buy-wash-cut-eat, tie this snack activity to the “beautifully illustrated book” The Sweetest Fig by Chris Van Allsburg. How’s that for a cross-promote? A fruit with a literary tie-in. Learn more about The Sweetest Fig

Turkey Roll-Ups

Eat “food” for snacks! This is a more nutrient-rich option rather than typical “snack” fare such as chips and cookies. 

Ingredients:
Turkey slices from the deli counter
Whole wheat tortillas
Shredded lettuce
Tomato slices
Avocado or lite ranch dressing

Roll ingredients in the tortilla, slice, and enjoy.

Perfect Pizza Toast

Ingredients:
A jar of pizza, or any marinara sauce
English muffins
Mozzarella or cheddar cheese
Basil or pepperoni (optional)

Toast the English muffin. When it is done, spread the sauce on top. Then sprinkle the cheese on and microwave until it melts. Finally, add pepperoni or basil if you like for garnish.

This also makes a quick and very good breakfast. Tip: Use leftover spaghetti sauce from dinner if you have some!

Spinach Brownies

Non-stick cooking spray
3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup carrot puree
1/2 cup spinach puree
1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened coca powder
2 tablespoons trans-fat free soft tub margarine spread
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 coat an 8×8 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or over low flame.

In a large bowl, combine the melted chocolate, vegetable purees, sugar, coca powder, margarine and vanilla, whisk until smooth and creamy, one to two minutes.

Whisk in the egg whites. stir in the flour baking powder and salt with wooden spoon.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into squares. (Don’t serve warm; the spinach flavor won’t disappear until they’re completely cool.)

Pita Crisps

Cut whole-wheat pitas into triangles. Brush with olive oil from the Queen Creek Olive Mill and sprinkle with the seasoning of your choice — salt or Italian seasoning. Bake at 450 degrees for five to eight minutes. Serve with hummus. The kids love ’em and they are easy!

Ants on a Log

Here’s a reminder of a fun and traditional favorite for kids who don’t have nut allergies. Just slather some peanut butter (choose the natural kind to avoid trans fats) on a piece of washed celery and sprinkle a few raisins on top.

Applejack Salad Bar

This recipe is not only delicious, but it is also fun to make and surprisingly simple!

Ingredients:
Apples, yogurt, honey, coconut shavings, raisins and nuts.

Directions:
First, get out some apples. Parents can cut the apple up, but if the kids want to do it themselves (with supervision), let them!

Kids: Here’s the secret to safe cutting: Take a piece of apple and make a “bridge” by placing your thumb on one side and your pointer finger on the other side. Next take the other hand (the one with the knife) and cut down, between your thumb and pointer finger. Got it? Give it a whirl, but be sure to have an adult watching to make sure you’re being safe! Now that the hard part is done, make way for fun!

Take some little bowls out for your toppings: peanuts (or any kind of nuts), raisins, coconut shavings and anything else you think would be yummy. Place the apple slices in a bowl and then add some yogurt and honey to the mix. Once you have done this, add your toppings and stir. It’s time for eating!

Toasted Cheese with Fresh Vegetable Confetti

Ingredients:
One slice whole wheat bread
One slice part skim mozzarella cheese
6-8 fresh red, yellow, and orange pepper slices (thinly sliced)
2-4 black (or green) olive halves
4-6 persian cucumber slices (We get these small cucumbers at Trader Joe’s)

Directions:
Place cheese on bread then toast in toaster oven. Remove. Top toasted cheese bread with fresh, red, yellow and orange peppers slices, cucumbers, black olive halves or any fresh vegetable of your choice. Nice combination of soft, chewy and crunch. Enjoy!

Homemade Trail Mix

Make your own trail mix with almonds, raisins, yogurt chips, dark chocolate chips…or whatever crunchy/salty/sweet mix your family enjoys!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Yeah, it has chocolate chips — but most of the rest of the ingredients are really healthy

Mix together:
2 cups finely ground whole wheat flour (Trader Joe’s 100% White Wheat Flour works great)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flaxmeal
1/3 cup brown sugar

Stir in:
3 medium ripe bananas (smashed up)
1 egg
1 cup low-fat milk
1/3 cup light olive oil (the “best for baking” kind)
1/2 package Nestle’s mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Stir just enough to moisten. Pour into two medium-size loaf pans (first spray with Pam). Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Edamame Snacks

Edamame (pronounced ed-ah-MA-may) is soybeans in the pod. Trader Joe’s sells them frozen and you can steam, boil or microwave them. Squeeze the pod open right into your mouth. Sprinkle a little salt or seasoning on them if you want. Add them to a salad. Edamame is a good source of protein without the saturated fat of meat or cheese

Strawberry-Banana Smoothie

1 ripe banana, sliced
6 strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup ice

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on high. Enjoy!

Fruit Salad and Dip

Choose a selection of fruits that are in season and wash, slice or chop. (Try blueberries, strawberries, cantaloupe chunks, raspberries, peach slices, apple slices, grapes and orange or tangerine slices.) Combine in a bowl.

For dip:
2 cups plain or vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup orange juice
Honey
Cinnamon

Combine plain or vanilla yogurt with orange juice. Add honey and cinnamon to taste — usually about two tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon. (Dip can be made ahead of time.) Makes two servings.

Cheese Faces

Let the kids carve their own designs in slices of Tillamook medium cheddar. Though cheese has a lot of fat, the absorption of nutrients from vegetables is enhanced when they are eaten with some fat. Plus the calcium in cheese is good for kids. Cheese faces can be carved to match the seasons — think Halloween and Valentine’s Day.

Peanut Butter Fudge

One 11½-ounce bag of milk chocolate chips
1 cup chunky peanut butter
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a medium glass bowl, combine chocolate chips, peanut butter and milk. Microwave on high for one minute. Stir well. Microwave again for 35-45 seconds, or until the mixture is melted and smooth when stirred. Stir in vanilla. Scrape mixture into a foil-lined 8 inch square pan. Refrigerate until set, 30 to 60 minutes. Cut into 25 small squares. Refrigerate leftovers.

Vegetable Pita Pizzas

2 large whole-wheat pita bread rounds
Nonstick cooking spray
1/2 cup assorted fresh vegetables (such as small broccoli or cauliflower, red sweet pepper
strips, sliced fresh mushrooms and/or chopped carrot)
1/4 cup pizza sauce
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese

Place pita rounds on a baking sheet. Bake in a 400ºF oven for five minutes. Coat an unheated small nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat over medium heat. Add the assorted vegetables; cook and stir until crisp-tender. Spread pizza sauce on pita bread rounds; sprinkle with cooked vegetables and cheese. Bake in 400ºF oven for eight to 10 minutes, or until light brown. Serve warm.

Chickpea Crunch

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas. Pat excess water with a paper towel. Brush chickpeas with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for about 15 minutes or until crispy. Serve immediately.

Yogurt Parfait

Plain yogurt is good for teens, who probably aren’t getting enough calcium, but the taste may be kind of boring. Spruce it up with berries, sliced peaches and crunchy cereal flakes, nuts or seeds. Plain yogurt can also be used for healthy, low-fat veggie dips.