We've put together a helpful list of healthy snacks as a quick reference guide for whenever the kids (or you!) are hungry and need to grab something quickly - and it's particularly useful for the after-school hunger monster.
Always try and include some protein as this will fill you and your children up more and help you to feel full for longer.
- Boiled egg and cherry tomatoes
- Chunk of cheddar (or other hard) cheese and apple or grapes with walnuts
- Cream cheese on oatcakes with cucumber or tomato slices
- Peanut (or other nut) butter spread on apple slices
- Hummus with pitta bread and chopped vegetables (cucumber, carrots, peppers)
- Ham slices filled with cream cheese and cucumber
- Deli chicken slices/strips with avocado
- Falafel with guacamole
- Banana and peanut butter on rye crackers
- Greek yoghurt and berries
- Plain or salty popcorn with cherry tomatoes
- Nuts (almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews), seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, flax) and dried fruit (apricots, prunes (unstoned), raisins, sultanas)
- Baby mozzarella, olives and cherry tomatoes on cocktail sticks
- Celery with nut/seed butter or cream cheese and raisins
- Melon balls/slices wrapped in parma ham/prosciutto
- Smoked salmon and cream cheese with avocado on toast or crackers
- Feta chunks, olives, cherry tomatoes and cucumber chunks on a skewer
Cucumber 'sushi'
Mix finely chopped peppers, avocado and raw carrot with tinned salmon or tuna. Chop a cucumber into 4cm long chunks and core out the middle. Place the salmon/tuna and vegetable mixture in the middle of the cucumber chunks.
English muffin pizzas
Slice the muffin in half and toast, add tomato sauce/paste, your choice of toppings and sprinkle some grated cheese on top. Grill until the toppings are warm and the cheese is melted.
Home-made energy balls
Select oats, nut butter, honey or maple syrup and your choice of nuts, seeds, dried fruit or chocolate chips with a flavour of your choice (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, mixed spice, vanilla, cocoa powder). Place all the ingredients in a bowl, mix together, roll into balls and place in the fridge to set. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.