Need some fun and healthy preschool snack ideas!

codapea

My daughter goes to a cooperative preschool, which means that it is completely run by the parents. We all take turns providing the snack and drinks on the days we work in the classroom. I need to bring the snack this Friday, and I feel like I've used all my cute snack ideas.

Of course it has to be healthy, and the kids get so excited when it is fun, too (I put stickers on unpeeled bananas once). There are 24 kids and the only limitation is that one kid is allergic to tree nuts so peanut butter is out along with other nut butters. All these kids are not picky eaters, we even had baked kale chips and hummus one snack and they loved it.

I would really appreciate some great ideas to get me through the rest of the school year!

cleotherio

My daughter went to a co-op too. A lot of times I made muffins, usually with veggies hidden in them. I made sweet potato muffins a couple times, or apple zucchini. Usually I just brought fruit and cheese sticks, though! One mom made cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches and most of the kids ate them. Pinwheel slices (spread a wrap with creamcheese, avocado, hummus, etc, roll it up and then slice it).

binia91

Maybe try making banana and oatmeal cookies?

- 1 banana
- 1 cup of rolled oats
- handful of raisins

(this makes roughly 6 cookies)

All you do is mash up the banana with the oats in a bowl with your hands, then pat into circles about 1.5-2 inch in diameter. Then place them on a bakng tray lined with baking parchment (to prevent sticking) and put in a pre-heated oven at 180C (350F i think) for 20 minutes.

There you have clean, healthy cookies with absolutely no added sugar, just the natural sugar from the fruits.

Obviously you'd have to change the quantities to get 24 cookies (4 bananas and 4 cups of rolled oats I think), and you can add other stuff in there apart from raisins.

Linli_Anne

Grape and Apple Race cars - basically wedge and apple, cut 2 grapes in half (for each apple wedge) and using uncooked pasta or toothpicks, put the grape halfs on as wheels.

Fruit Kabobs

Cheese cut out into fun shapes with different cookie cutters, served with a variety of crackers.

Boil up some macaroni/rotini noodles into water with food colouring added - make one of each colour of the rainbow, and then the kids can taste the rainbow...serve wtih some parmesean cheese for sprinkling, and some cherry tomatoes.

Check on Bent On Better Lunches for some awesome inspiration!

Dreajewkes

Frozen fruit kabobs, mr (apple, orange, pear) head; use tooth picks to combine different shapes of fruit, veggies, or cheese to the whole fruit. Smoothies, mini pizza's, chips and salsa, popcorn necklaces, cherio necklaces, mini muffins, veggie art: use vegetables to form a picture on a main dish