Hey Bloom Readers I'm Anne's cousin, Christina, and I am excited to be here for a couple of days sharing snack ideas. I am a mom of three and a wife to a super-sexy guy. We just recently moved to an acreage on Whidbey Island where we are raising our crazy kids, a bunch of chickens and a couple of ducks. I love to cook for my family and am happy to share some of our favorite fruity snacks with you today! You can find more of me here.
One thing I'm always on the look-out for is healthy snacks for my kids (and me). As a young mother with my first, I thought "snack" meant juice boxes, pre-packaged granola bars, and fruit snacks by the 40 pack (thank you, Costco). However, as I've tried to eat healthier and live more simply, I've realized that even if it says "Organic" on the label, it doesn't make it good for me or my kids. Now, you won't find any of those things in my pantry; although my kids still ask for them whenever they see them. Some of my favorite snacks now are some of the simplest - the kids love them, and I love how wholesome they are. Here are three snacks that we enjoy often:
My father always gave us plenty of treats when I was growing up and one of my favorites was bananas and cream for breakfast. Just slice up some bananas, sprinkle a little sugar and top with cream. My kids love this snack - they love it with strawberries too, and I use half and half or whole milk depending on what I have in the house. I tried to give up bananas earlier this year in an attempt to eat more locally, but it didn't last long. I love bananas - they are so convenient and so yummy!
Another favorite afternoon snack of ours is smoothies. We have smoothies almost every day. I have a freezer full of fruit - I have been trying to stock up on local fruit when it's in-season and buy in bulk.
I don't normally follow a recipe, but this is the general idea:
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 banana
1 Tablespoon honey
1 cup milk (more or less for how thick you like it)
And if you make a little too much you can make the leftovers into popsicles and then you have a snack ready for the next day!
What's your favorite fruity snack?
One thing I'm always on the look-out for is healthy snacks for my kids (and me). As a young mother with my first, I thought "snack" meant juice boxes, pre-packaged granola bars, and fruit snacks by the 40 pack (thank you, Costco). However, as I've tried to eat healthier and live more simply, I've realized that even if it says "Organic" on the label, it doesn't make it good for me or my kids. Now, you won't find any of those things in my pantry; although my kids still ask for them whenever they see them. Some of my favorite snacks now are some of the simplest - the kids love them, and I love how wholesome they are. Here are three snacks that we enjoy often:
My father always gave us plenty of treats when I was growing up and one of my favorites was bananas and cream for breakfast. Just slice up some bananas, sprinkle a little sugar and top with cream. My kids love this snack - they love it with strawberries too, and I use half and half or whole milk depending on what I have in the house. I tried to give up bananas earlier this year in an attempt to eat more locally, but it didn't last long. I love bananas - they are so convenient and so yummy!
Another favorite afternoon snack of ours is smoothies. We have smoothies almost every day. I have a freezer full of fruit - I have been trying to stock up on local fruit when it's in-season and buy in bulk.I don't normally follow a recipe, but this is the general idea:
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 banana
1 Tablespoon honey
1 cup milk (more or less for how thick you like it)
And if you make a little too much you can make the leftovers into popsicles and then you have a snack ready for the next day!What's your favorite fruity snack?
Smart to freeze fruit in bulk b/c I have the hardest time keeping fresh fruit in my house. It goes SO quickly--even when I buy massive quantities from Costco.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the smoothie recipe. I was actually looking for one recently and I like the sound of yours :)
Love the "freezing extra smoothie" idea!
ReplyDeleteMy boys love smoothies too... we don't use a recipe either but what we do is similar to what you posted--except that instead of milk and honey we use orange juice.
ReplyDeleteAs for healthy snacks... i'm not too good at it. But my boys DO love fresh grapes or dried apricots.
My favorite snack is fruit leather. I've spent the last 2 months puree-ing peaches from my tree and drying it, so now I have a big pile of peach leather. Better than fruit roll-ups because the only ingredient is peaches!
ReplyDeleteMmmmm. we just love fruit in all its forms. we eat a lot of frozen berries (my kids love them right from the freezer and I love to be able to stock up on a good sale this way). And frozen grapes. We love smoothies, too. And fruit sliced over yogurt. Apple slices dipped in PB.
ReplyDeletetoo many ways to list!
Apples and peanut (or almond) butter must be eaten everyday! We also like sliced fruit in plain, nonfat yogurt with a squirt of agave nectar.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah! I thought of one more. Kind of like a smoothie, maybe more of a slush? A frozen banana and vanilla soy or rice milk (one of the sweet ones) all blended up. Really smooth and refreshing. Add peanut butter to that for a Monkey Shake. Skip the p.b. and add ice if you want more of a slush-effect.
ReplyDeleteOOH you just reminded me of one of my favorite breakfasts. Peaches and cream. I'll have to pick up some stuff for that next time I am at the store.
ReplyDeleteThat smoothie picture is making me drool! I love throwing in a few handfuls of spinach into our smoothies. (It's the only way I can get one of my kiddos to eat some greens!)
ReplyDeleteI don't think I would ever try something like this had I not seen it. While I ate fresh strawberries all summer, the prices have skyrocketed so I have freeze dried strawberries that I buy in bulk #10 cans. I always have bananas on hand, so I thought why not try this with the freeze dried strawberries.... Wow! It is so yummy! I eat it as breakfast and it fills me up. Thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteI should clarify, I was talking about the bananas, strawberries and milk. :-)
ReplyDelete