ArcaMax

After-School Snacks

Everyone wants to give a kid a snack when they get home from school. One thing I’ll start off saying is if the kids eat more protein at lunch they are not likely to be so ravenous when they get home, like they are when they eat carbohydrate-laden meals. Carbs don’t really fill you up or do much to nourish you so they wear off and leave you feeling hungry and unsatisfied.

Nuts. Nuts are a great snack idea to replace chips of any kind. Here’s a pecan mix that’s actually sweet! Leave out the spicy bit if you want a straight sweet snack.

Nut mix. If you feel the need to give them nuts and a sweet bit you can use some dried fruit bits. Just don’t load it with fruit. The ratio can be more like 10:1 (10 nuts to one raisin or apricot bit).

Fruit. When you get your kids off of all the sugar you’d be amazed at how sweet fruit tastes. We are back to the clementine idea. Also plums, peaches and nectarines can be a sweet treat. Just feed them a whole piece of fruit and steer clear of the canned stuff with all the sugar. Berries are a sweet treat that is easy to eat. Steer clear of high glycemic index fruits like grapes, watermelon, pineapple and bananas. If you give them grapes give them one or two. They will taste like gumdrops but they don’t need a whole bunch.

Candy. Yes you can come up with healthy candy. Just serve in moderation. I’m giving you two recipes. If you’re a ‘gourmet cook’ or adventurous in the kitchen you’ll love these. Chocolate truffles, aka chocolate balls. Just leave the liqueur out and replace with water if they kids will be eating them.

My friend Chef Josh offers up this gelee recipe. That’s French for gummie. These are all natural candy with no sugar. They taste sweet nonetheless. Just get a candy mold at the craft or kitchen supply store and you’re set.

Cheese. Kids can snack on cheese cubes. It won’t take a lot of them to fill them up.

Investigate low carb baking. The regular white flour we are accustomed to is full of carbohydrates. There are other options. It just takes a little education on how to replace the gluten that holds baked goods together. My favorites so far are coconut flour and almond flour but there are even more options. Just get on the internet and start to learn. It’s just like going back to home economics class. Fun.

I’m offering up a recipe for strawberry rhubarb bars today. You can switch to other fruits as the seasons go along too. Pie cherries are great in this dish too.

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