Slice of Life: Healthy after-school snacks
Healthy after-school snacks
By Eileen Goltz
Issue of Sept. 19, 2008
With childhood obesity a major health concern across the nation, hearing “I’m hungry. What can I have to eat?” as the kids come home from school is enough to make any parent take a second look at what’s in their fridge and pantry.
The task of finding foods for the kids (and the 10 friends they bring home with them) that are nutritious and delicious, easy to make and won’t break the bank, can be daunting. The truth is that all children (regardless of the age or gender), benefit from spending time in the kitchen. Not only is it fun face time with the (gasp) parent and guaranteed to generate conversation, but is also helps reinforce math and reading and comprehension skills with the younger kids. It strengthens the spirit of cooperation with siblings they consider public enemy number one, and sometimes even a smidgen of chemistry gets thrown in.
The older, dare I say, more obnoxious teenagers, already familiar with the kitchen, tend to take the initiative and can, when nagged judicially, be convinced to actually make a meal for the entire family.
If all else fails, comfort yourself with the knowledge that following a recipe can also maybe, perhaps, if we’re lucky, develop the ability to follow directions (can’t have too much of that, can we). And, as if all that weren’t enough, when all these lesson sink in, kids are less likely to fight you about eating something (trust me, they find something else to fight about) if they’ve helped make it themselves.
My rules about cooking with kids are simple:
1. No fast food, not too much sugar, and more importantly, snacks shouldn’t take longer to make than they do to eat.
2. Invention makes everything taste better, so encourage them to experiment after they’ve got the original recipe down pat.
3. I try not to have them make snacks that require forks and/or knives. It’s a proven kid fact that anything eaten with fingers tastes better. Spoons for some reason seem to be OK with most kids.
4. I try to keep basic ingredients, like fresh fruit, grated cheeses or cold cuts to pair with low fat baked chips, tortilla wraps or pita bread for microwavable snacks and rice cakes, granola bars or nuts for instant snacks.
PEANUT BUTTER MUFFINS (dairy)
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup banana (about 1 banana), mashed with a fork
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup oil
1/4 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
1/4 cups nonfat dry milk
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
nonstick spray
Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl, beat the eggs and then add the milk, mashed banana, peanut butter, oil, apple juice, and dry milk. Mix until combined and creamy. Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix again. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or lightly spray with nonstick spray. Spoon in the muffin mix. Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 of the way up. Bake for about 15 minutes. Remove from muffin tin and cool them on the wire rack. Makes 12.
MINI FRUIT PIZZA (dairy, from the Pillsbury web site)
20 fruit pizzas
1(18-oz.) pkg. (20 cookies) Pillsbury(r) Ready to Bake!(tm) Refrigerated Sugar Cookies
1(8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup powdered sugar
10 fresh strawberries, quartered
1 kiwi fruit, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and cut into 10 slices
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
Bake cookies as directed on package. Cool 10 minutes or until completely cooled. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, combine cream cheese, limeade concentrate and powdered sugar; beat until smooth. Spread each cooled cookie with 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture. Arrange fruit on top of each. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 hours. Makes 20.
PERKED UP MINI PIZZA (dairy)
4 English muffins, split in half
1/2 small green or red bell pepper, chopped
1 can drained tuna
1/3 cup ready made pizza or spaghetti sauce
2/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese to sprinkle
Preheat the oven to 425. Place muffin halves on a baking sheet. Spread each with about 2 teaspoons of sauce, spoon the tuna and pepper on top of each piece. Sprinkle the cheeses over the top. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and muffin is crispy. Makes 8 pizzas.
QUICK TUNA QUESADILLAS (fish)
12 (6- to 8-inch) whole-wheat tortillas
non stick cooking spray
1 cup salsa
1 cup drained flaked white tuna
1/3 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup corn
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or Mexican blend cheese
Preheat the oven to 450. Arrange 6 tortillas on baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray. Spread salsa on top of tortillas. In a small bowl, combine tuna, black beans, corn and cheese. Spoon equal portions on top of tortillas. Top each with another tortilla, pressing to adhere. Bake 5 to 8 minutes or until cheese melts and filling is heated through. Use pizza cutter to cut into wedges. Makes 6 quesadillas.
PEANUT BUTTER SNACK ATTACK (dairy or pareve)
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons peanut butter
4 cups Chex cereal (assorted wheat and corn)
2 cups mini pretzels
1/3 cup peanuts
1 cup M&M’s or pareve semi sweet chips optional
Preheat oven to 225. Combine honey, butter and peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat until smooth. In another bowl combine cereal, pretzels and peanuts. Pour peanut butter mixture over cereal mixture and toss to coat. Spread on baking sheet and bake for 1/2 hour. Remove from oven and cool. Place mixture in a large bowl. Add M&M’s and mix to combine. Makes about 6 cups.
NO BAKE HOMEWORK COOKIES (dairy)
Crunchy noodles and raisins help when you need to tackle tons of homework.
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
2 cups chow mein or rice noodles
1-1/4 cups salted peanuts or pecans
1/2 cup raisins
Line two cookie sheets with waxed paper. Set aside. In microwave oven, place chocolate chips and butterscotch chips together in 2-quart microwave-safe bowl and microwave at MEDIUM (50 percent power) for 1 1/2 to 4 minutes, until chocolate turns shiny. Remove from microwave and stir until completely melted. Add chow mein noodles, peanuts and raisins to melted chocolate. Using rubber spatula, toss ingredients to coat well. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Place cookie sheets in refrigerator until cookies harden. Store in cold or cool place in airtight container.
“Slice of Life” by Eileen Goltz is a food column that offers recipes, cooking advice and information on new food products. Eileen is a caterer and a writer, and the author of “The Perfectly Pareve Cookbook.” She has a degree in Home Economics from Indiana University and a degree from Cordon Bleu in Paris. If you have a question about cooking, a food item, or a suggestion for a column you can contact her at ztlog@verizon.net.
