Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Summertime snacks

I've heard a lot of moms (and babysitters) asking what kind of healthy but fun treats to give their kiddos while they're home for the summer. I put together a few easy, organic, (and healthy!) snacks to keep them ready for all of those summer activities. Enjoy!

Ants on a Log (a trusty favorite) Organic peanut butter, organic celery & raisins *You can find store-brand organic peanut butter lines that are a bit cheaper than the traditional organic lines (Safeway, Albertsons, Frys, Trader Joes, etc.). Organic celery is important, since it is one of the top 12 vegetables with the highest pesticides. You can always dice up the celery and add it to some gazpacho or something else yummy. See Organic Arizona - Resource for all things organic in Arizona: Organic on a budget Pt. 2

Frozen grapes Speaks for itself. Buy your favorite organic grapes, rinse 'em off and pop them in freezer bags and freeze. One of my favorites during the summer.

Frozen fruit yogurt pops
(5 LOVE these! Courtesy of Nazarina of Giddygastronome.com) 1 bottle organic orange juice 1 can peaches in light syrup 1/2 cantaloupe approx. 4 strawberries 1 banana 2 apricots 3 peaches 2 oranges 2 small containers organic, vanilla Greek yogurt 1/4 cup evaporated milk 2 tsp. honey Grab some organic Greek yogurt and buy some of your favorite fruit from your local farmer's market; i.e., peaches, strawberries, blueberries, mangoes, etc. Puree the fruit and mix with the yogurt. Blend with remaining ingredients. Fill up popsicle mold of your choice and freeze overnight. Voila! Yummy, cool AND healthy. Every now and then I'll throw in some shredded coconut and pretend I'm on a beach somewhere :)


Raspberry Sorbet / Slush For those that can't eat dairy, this is a great alternative to the fruit yogurt pops. You can alter the sugar content to your liking. 2/3 cup superfine sugar 1 cup water 23 oz. pureed raspberries 1/4 cup lime juice Mix lime juice with raspberries. Combine sugar & water in medium saucepan and stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat to cool. Mix puree and cool sugar syrup. Pour mixture into a square pan. Freeze for approx. 1 hr, remove and scrape mixture, return to the freezer and repeat 2-3 times.

Cheese chips
A tasty alternative to chips. Buy slices of your childs favorite organic cheese. (Swiss seems to cook better). Preheat oven to 325. Cut up slices into chip-sized chunks. Bake for 10-15 minutes depending on how well you want it done.

Monkey Treats Popsicle sticks, bananas cut in half, crushed organic cereal or nuts, melted (organic) semi-sweet chocolate chips. Insert popsicle stick into flat (cut) part of the banana. Freeze for about an hour. Dip banana in melted chocolate then roll in nuts or crushed organic cereal. Wrap the treat in wax paper and freeze until chocolate is melted. Enjoy!

Veggies 'N Dip (or fruit)
Cut up a bunch of colorful, organic veggies/fruit and pair with organic light dressing, hummus or yogurt.

If all else fails, stick with watermelon - you can't
go wrong!