It is no secret that children can be picky eaters. Inviting your children into the kitchen to help you cook can be a great way to create quality together time and help your child learn and refine some basic skills. According to Berkel Sales and Service, a company that manufactures kitchen equipment, use your time together in the kitchen to teach your children the importance of good nutrition. Children are more likely to eat what they help create. These recipes will help them gain confidence in the kitchen with a creative flair. Who says you can’t play with your food?
Apple Smiles
These are quick, fun, and simple to make. You will need one medium red apple, cored and sliced. Next you will need about 3-4 tablespoons of peanut butter. Finally, and most importantly, you will need a bag of miniature marshmallows. Once your apples are washed and set out with the other ingredients, it’s time to begin creating your smiles. Spread the peanut butter on one side of each apple slice. Once you are happy with the amount of peanut butter, arrange 3-4 mini marshmallows on top of the peanut butter on one apple slice. Finish off by topping the marshmallows with another apple slice. Press the slices together, thus forming an apple “smile”. This is a great snack to pair with graham crackers and a class of cold milk, enjoy!
Dirt Pie
According to Berkel Sales and Service, for this delightfully messy treat, you will need instant chocolate pudding (snack packs work fine, too), gummy worms, crushed sandwich cookies, and cool whip. Add dark colored candies such as chocolate caramels for rocks or dirt clods. This is a fairly simple recipe, and can easily be doubled depending on the volume of children taking part in the creation of this snack. This treat can be made as a whole pie or divided into small plastic cups. The first step is to prepare the sandwich cookies. Place sandwich cookies into a plastic bag. Let the children mash and pound the cookies into fine crumbs, this will be the dirt. Next place equal parts cool whip and pudding into another plastic bag and massage the bags until they are well mixed. Line your crushed cookies in the bottom of the dish or cup. Remember to save half of your dirt for a topping. After the filling is in place atop of the cookie dirt, add the gummy worms, Milk Duds, and then sprinkle the rest of the “dirt” on top of the pie.
Kid Sushi
Let your children help out in making these kid friendly, homemade sushi rolls. This recipe calls for bread, salad dressing, carrots, Swiss cheese, and sweet pickles. First place two slices of white or whole grain bread with the crusts cut off on a flat surface, side-by-side. Using a rolling pin, gently flatten and fuse the bread slices together. Spread a salad dressing of your choice over the inside middle of the flat bread slices. This next step will require adult supervision; while slicing the meat that will take the place of the sushi. Place slices of the meat on top of the ranch dressing. Next, grab some carrots for color and crunch. Place the shredded carrots and Swiss cheese on top of the ham. Place two small sweet pickles horizontally at the bread edge closest to you. Starting at the bottom, roll the bread upwards to make a sushi roll. Using a bread knife, cut the roll into bite-sized pieces approx one inch in length. Plate and enjoy!
Watermelon Summer Salad
This summer salad requires a few simple ingredients and makes for a great healthy snack. To make this salad, you need one quarter of a watermelon cut into cubes or balls, one small seedless cucumber cut into cubes or slices, 10-12 mint leaves, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon honey and the juice from half a lime. Start by cutting up the watermelon and adding it to your bowl. Cut the cucumber up into slices or cubes and add it to the bowl as well. Add in the mint leaves and toss everything together in a large bowl until combined. In a separate cup mix together the olive oil, honey, lime juice and salt until fully blended. Drizzle this over the fruit mixture making sure that all blends together well. Serve immediately and enjoy your cool, refreshing summer salad!
This concludes this list of delicious and nutritious snack recipes for kids. Have fun making these snacks with your family, or introducing them to a classroom of curious learners! Happy snacking!