Another school year is up and running, and most parents are familiar with the plaintive cry of kids returning home from a day of hitting the books: “I’m hungry!”
Rather than reaching into the freezer for additive-loaded microwaveable junk food, try one of these easy-to-prepare snacks that kids will love.
They’re portable too, so if you have soccer/hockey/football/gymnastics on the calendar after school, you can pack these along.
Granola Nugget Bars
¼ cup butter
2½ cups old-fashioned oats
½ cup sliced almonds
1⁄3 cup honey
¼ cup packed brown sugar
½ tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt
½ cup chopped dried cranberries
¼ cup mini chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350º F. Toast the oats and almonds on a foil-lined baking sheet for seven minutes. Remove them from the oven and transfer them to a large mixing bowl.
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt together the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla and salt, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Pour the mixture over the oats and almonds.
Stir together until completely combined with no dry spots. This will take two or three minutes. Add the cranberries and chocolate chips and stir again until combined.
Spray the inside of two plastic ice cube trays lightly with nonstick spray. Press the granola mixture firmly into the ice cube trays; let the nuggets cool completely before removing them from the trays. Store in an airtight container or plastic food bags in the refrigerator. Makes about 24 nuggets.
Easy Cheesy Crackers
1½ cups grated, sharp cheddar cheese
4 Tbsp butter, softened, cut into four pieces
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp coarse sea salt
1 Tbsp milk
Preheat oven to 350º F. Using a pastry blender, combine the cheese, butter, flour and salt in a large bowl until mixture forms pea-sized crumbs.
Stir in the milk and form the dough into a ball using your hands.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to one-eighth-inch thickness. With a pizza cutter (or mini cookie cutters to make it more fun), cut the dough into small shapes.
Place the crackers on an ungreased baking sheet, leaving about one-quarter-inch space between them. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges of crackers are golden brown. Place the baking sheet on a wire to cool. Store crackers in a sealed container at room temperature.
Awesome Trail Mix
2 cups popped microwave kettle corn style popcorn
½ cup whole, natural almonds
½ cup honey-and-nut flavoured “O”shaped cereal
¼ cup banana chips
¼ cup dried cranberries or blueberries
¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl until well combined. Package half-cup servings in individual snack-size plastic food bags. Makes eight servings.
Apple “Cookies”
1 large, crisp apple
1⁄3 cup peanut, almond or cashew butter
Toppings: Chopped dried cranberries, cherries or blueberries, mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, chopped toasted pecans or walnuts, granola
Use an apple corer to remove the core from the apple. Slice the apple crosswise into thin rings (a bit less than half-an-inch thick). Spread one side of each ring with peanut butter, then sprinkle on an assortment of the toppings.
Serve immediately or place each “cookie” in a small plastic container (if you’re not going to serve these right away, it’s a good idea to brush the apple slices with a 50/50 mixture of water and lemon juice so they don’t go brown). Makes about four to six cookies, depending on how big the apple is.
Angela Shellard is a self-described foodie. She has done informal catering for various functions. She can be reached via email at [email protected].
