Moooom!!! I’m HUNGRY!!!” I’m not sure how frequently other moms hear this but I hear it constantly. My nine year old son is super active…and super hungry. And, because I feed him a whole foods diet, he requires a large volume of food in order to get enough calories to meet his high energy requirements (by the way, whole foods take up a lot of bulk and space in your stomach, so they work mechanically to make you feel full faster…this is great if you are trying to lose weight, but if you have a growing child to feed you need to make sure you give him or her a lot of food!)

Anyway, kid snacks (adult snacks too!) need to be as jam packed with as many nutrients as possible. This is great in theory, but let’s face it, nutrient-dense foods (think kale!) don’t often appeal to kids. On a whim, I just decided to Google “healthy kids snacks” to see what popped up and sure enough empty calorie processed foods such as pretzels, were right on top of the suggested snacks. Feeding your kids nutrient-poor foods (like pretzels!) are a surefire way to get them on the fast track to becoming overweight and simultaneously undernourished. You can absolutely meet a child’s energy (calorie) requirements by feeding him spoonfuls of sugar (which is basically the nutrition pretzels provide) but don’t you want your kid to also get the nutrition they need to support growth and a healthy immune system? But yes, I do actually “get it”, I know convenience rules. I’m a busy frazzled mom and I too need snacks that are fast and easy.

Smoothies Save the Day!

Finding creative snack recipes for kids isn’t difficult at all…what’s challenging is finding HEALTHY creative snack recipes that your kids will actually eat. Smoothies are one of my favorite “go to” fun healthy kids snack foods because they pack a super nutritional punch in a yummy, creamy almost dessert-like package. And, they are quick and easy enough that your kids can pretty much make themselves. Watch my nine-year old in action below =)

Ingredients (Serves 1)

3/4 cup plain unsweetened almond milk (such as Blue Diamond) or soymilk (such as Silk)
1 frozen banana, cut into chunks
1/2 cup frozen organic strawberries
1 tablespoon all-natural peanut butter (or raw almond butter)
2 teaspoons all-natural strawberry jelly (this is completely optional, it’s really sweet enough without the jelly!)

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth and creamy. Drink cold.

P.S. This is also a great recipe for a super speedy breakfast.