Snack Time!

Inevitably when you have children, at some point in time, they are going to want to eat. This inclination does not always fall during mealtimes, and so, snack time was born. This newsletter highlights some of the things I feed my children when they are hungry.

Banana Cones

 For my children, it seems like one of the biggest attractions of ice-cream cones is the opportunity to eat the cone! I recently came up with a healthier alternative that holds as much appeal. I cut a banana in half and place the middle of the banana in the cone. If I have any other fruit lying around, I will accent the banana with it. Strawberries are pictured here, but raspberries and cherries work great too. The crunch of the cone combined with the creamy banana is also yummy on its own. My children love it!

Edible Play Dough

This is one of my favorites that my mom used to make for me. It is made with a mixture of half-and-half peanut butter and honey. Then, to make it less sticky, mix with powdered milk until you have the desired dough-consistency. Because of the strong flavor of the dough, and the price of the ingredients, I do not suggest large serving sizes, especially for smaller children. I have taught my husband how yummy the peanut butter and honey combination is, and when he wants a snack, he will often make this dough without the powdered milk. Sometimes he will add nuts, raisins, and craisins.

You can take this dough-play a step further by adding other ingredients. My son loves poking raisins in his dough, and he tells me that they are rocks. Carrot sticks, celery, chocolate chips, and apple slices have also been used.

Once I tried to recreate the Marshmallow Buildings  project with this dough and pretzel sticks. It didn't work. The dough wasn't sturdy enough to support the structures, but it was still tasty! I did this experiment with my younger siblings, and porcupines, bridges, teepees, and hot dogs were the successful ventures. Pictured here is an animal of some sort.

Other Snacktime Ideas

• Coordinate your snacks with story time. We recently made muffins after reading If you give a Moose a Muffin.
• Come up with your own concoction to go with other school activities. For example, see our Frog Swamp Soup.
• Make a trail mix with nuts, dried fruit, and maybe a little chocolate.
• Dip carrot sticks or apple slices in peanut butter.
• Take the traditional PB&J to the next level by cutting out the sandwiches with cookie cutters. For a less messy alternative, cut single slices first, and then add the topping. In our home, Mommy's share is the crust.
• Use all of those yogurt lids you have accumulated as snack time plates. We buy yogurt by the quart, and one day I was looking at the 50+ lids I had stacked up and realized that I had struck a goldmine.