After School Snacks

It never ceases to amaze me how many little stages of life there are, and how much each new phase we enter as a family dramatically alters our routines and processes.

With our oldest in school full time, we've recently entered the school-aged kid phase.

Children, even small, six-year-old ones, come home from school famished from all the learning and socializing they've been busy with all day long. I love being able to offer my son nutritious, whole food snacks when he gets home. 

After school snack time is also the best time to re-cap the day and share the events we missed out on with each other. 

An after school snack needs to be sustaining without being too filling. It also must be appealing to the palate of a child, but not too sugary.

Here are a few of our favorite after school snack options.

Ants on a log - celery with nut or seed butter and raisins or other dried fruit (cranberries, chopped dates or figs are a great option!) and some organic tortilla chips with melted Daiya brand vegan cheese shreds.

Loaded rice cake. There are so many ways to enjoy an unsalted rice cake. This one has homemade oil-free almond butter, unsweetened coconut shreds and raw cacao nibs. Other delicious combos might include coconut butter with pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of honey, or peanut butter and banana slices and chopped

 peanuts. 

You can also take a savory approach and spread on some hummus or mashed avocado and add chopped veggies to make a rice cake monster! My kids think these are hilarious.

Keeping with the monster theme- Slice some grape tomatoes in half, smear on some avocado and add a black olive. Voila! Monster "eye balls".

Sometimes your child may have had a particularly taxing day and need a little extra boost. I like to keep mini-tofu omelettes around. They're from the Isa Does It cookbook and I add pureed spinach. A few of these with some peanut butter, apple slices and minimal-additive or homemade crackers makes a great mini-meal for the afternoon.

 We make a lot of popcorn around here. Air popped popcorn sprinkled with either pink himilayan salt, or cinnamon and stevia goes great with some hot cocoa.

A simple crudite platter is always a good option. Here I have some homemade oil-free hummus, veggies and sprouted lentil flatbreads.

Apple "nachos". Core and slice two apples. Melt some chocolate chips in the microwave. Stick the apple slices in the oven at 400 for 10 minutes or so, just to warm and soften them. Drizzle the chocolate on top and then top with whatever else you like. Mine here have cinnamon, chopped peanuts and unsweetened coconut shreds. Serves two.

If you've been in a snack slump, I hope these have given you some inspiration! 

What are some of your favorite after school snacks?