Back to school with healthy snacks

StatePoint – During back-to-school season, many families find time is at a premium. With routines changing from summer’s slower pace to tighter schedules jam-packed with work, school and extracurricular commitments, it can be hard to keep kids fueled for the day and eating healthfully. 

With limited time to eat between the dismissal bell and soccer games, art class and homework, speed sometimes supersedes nutrition. Fortunately you don’t have to make that kind of compromise. There are plenty of quick, convenient and healthy foods to keep everyone on schedule and your kids properly fed.

Make a mini-wich

Sandwiches are a classic, portable meal, but when your kids just need a snack, try a “mini-wich.”

Making one is as simple as quartering a PB&J or grilled cheese sandwich into a bite-sized, pop-able snack. Add in a few baby carrots or a handful of raisins on the side and you’re all set.

It’s a tiny, attractive combo that will come in very handy when your son or daughter needs an extra boost after getting off the bus or energy for an early start on homework.

Leftovers

One man’s dinner is some kid’s snack. While that’s not exactly how the saying goes, “waste not, want not” should ring a bell...

Try dicing up last night’s chicken and broccoli and mixing them in a small Tupperware container. Throw in a side of ranch dressing and a colorful safety fork and voila: Your kids have an instant, bite-sized snack ready for spearing.

When school starts back up, it’s hard to carve out time for healthy food preparation, but when the going gets hectic, imaginative parent can fall back on these snacks.

Whether it’s grabbing a ready-made healthy snack or cutting a quick, delicious mini-wich, your kids will thank you for something small, tasty and playful – and you’ll gain confidence that a more hurried time doesn’t mean a less healthy time.