7 Healthy Summer Snacks for Kids

With summer well under way comes the inevitable need for tasty summer snacks. We came up with 7 healthy variations that are easy to make and most importantly, fun to eat!

1. Smoothies - A smoothie is a great refreshing beverage for those hot summer days. Some tips to making your smoothie the coldest of them all is to use ice and/or frozen fruit. Simply sticking a banana in the the freezer will also increase your smoothie’s chill factor.

2. Apple Pops - If the popularity of cake-pops have taught us anything, it’s that everything tastes better when it’s decorated and on a stick. Apple pops are a fun way to get that apple a day. Simply cut up the apple(s) into wedges, put a lollipop stick into the centre of the wedge length-wise. Top the apple wedge with yogurt, and add your topping of choice (like shredded coconut, mini chocolate chips or cinnamon).

3. Frozen Grapes - This is a favorite among kids and adults alike! Grapes are naturally very watery and thirst quenching, but by freezing them, it makes them that much more refreshing. It’s like eating bite-sized slushies free of anything artificial. It takes minimum effort and yields maximum taste.

4. Vegetable Sticks with Frozen Yogurt - Instead of serving your raw vegetables with ranch dressing and unhealthy dips, a dip consisting of plain greek yogurt and dill is both tasty and a healthier modification to the beloved veggies and dip.

5. Fruit Popsicles - Summer is a great time to take advantage of all of the fresh produce available. All you need is fruit, a blender, and popsicle moulds. Blend the fruit into slush and freeze the slush in popsicle moulds. These popsicles only contain the natural sugar of the fruits, so your kids won’t get insane sugar highs, and a cold snack on hot day is a colossal combination!

6. Fruit Kabobs - Sometimes, plain fruit is the best summer snack. A cool way to always have some fruit ready to eat is to make fruit kabobs. By cutting up the fruit and having them on the kabob skewer, there is always fresh fruit that is ready to eat when the kids are craving a snack. The convenience of the fruit kabobs will have children grabbing skewers instead of sweets.

7. Trail Mix - Eating trail mix can be a good way to fuel up when you’re on the go. With homemade trail mix, you can customize your concoction to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters. Simply add unsalted nuts (or seeds for those with peanut allergies), dried fruits (sub in banana chips and pineapple chunks for the anti-raisins bunch), cereal/pretzels, and a little sweetness (like M&Ms or mini marshmallows) to mini ziplock bags, and BAM! Instant snack packed with protein, fibre, vitamins and fun!

Let us know if you try any of these out, or if you have some cool summer snacks of your own!