Smart Snacking
Encourage healthy eating habits with these wholesome recipes and grab-and-go ideas.
by Janice Newell Bissex and Liz Weiss
Kids love to snack. On average, they gobble up 850 between-meal nibbles every year. The quality of those snacks can make or break a child’s diet, especially since many kids tend to grab cookies, salty chips and other fat-laden foods when their stomachs growl. To improve the nutritional GPA of snack time, try these three super-healthy recipes and a month’s worth of lunch-box snack ideas, all of which add more fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains and calcium to kids’ diets.
Lime ’n’ Honey Black Bean Dip (open/close)
Colin Cooke
Beans are one of nature’s most antioxidant-rich foods. Like chickpeas, peanuts and lentils, black beans are classified as a legume. They are also considered a vegetable because of their fiber, folate and potassium content—great news for kids who shun green veggies. Half a cup of cooked beans counts as one serving.
Lime ’n’ Honey Black Bean
Dip
Serves 7
Per serving (¼cup): calories 60, fat 0.5g (0g saturated fat), protein 3g, carbohydrates 13g, dietary fiber 3g
- 1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/3 cup salsa
- ¼ cup light sour cream
- 2 tbsp. lime juice (juice of 1 lime)
- 1 tbsp. honey
- ½ tsp. ground cumin
- ¼ tsp. chili powder
- ¼ tsp. garlic powder
- In a food-processor bowl, add beans, salsa, sour cream, lime juice, honey, cumin, chili powder and garlic powder. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Serve with baked tortilla chips or sliced vegetables.
For more recipes check out kiwimagonline.com.
Pumpkin–Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins (open/close)
Colin Cooke
Pumpkin, the star ingredient in these irresistible treats, gets an A-plus for containing one of the best immune boosters around: vitamin A. Ground flaxseed, another smart ingredient, adds heart-healthy omega-3 fats to each bite of these mini muffins.
Pumpkin–Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins
Makes 24 mini muffins
Per serving (2 mini muffins): calories 220, fat 11g (2g saturated; 1g omega-3), protein 4g, carbohydrates 28g, dietary fiber 3g
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup whole-wheat flour
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed or wheat germ
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 cup canned pure pumpkin
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup 1% lowfat milk
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly coat 24 mini muffin cups with oil or nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the two flours, ground flaxseed, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
- In a medium bowl, combine pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, milk, oil and vanilla, and stir until well mixed.
- Pour liquid ingredients over dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Mix in the chocolate chips.
- Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake 15 to 18 minutes (if you’re making 12 full-size muffins, bake for 20 to 23 minutes), until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool 5 minutes before removing the muffins.
For more recipes check out kiwimagonline.com.
Chickpea Crunchies (open/close)
Colin Cooke
Crunchy textures and sweet are always winners with kids, so we combined the two for this tasty snack. In addition to high-quality protein, chickpeas provide fiber, folate and magnesium, all of which are important for a healthy heart.
Chickpea Crunchies
Serves 4
Per serving (calculated using oil): calories 70, fat 2g (0g saturated), protein 3g, carbohydrates 11g, dietary fiber 3g
- 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 tsp. canola oil or 1 tsp. butter, melted
- 2 tsp. granulated sugar
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- Pinch dried cloves
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Blot chickpeas with a paper towel to dry them. Spread on a baking sheet, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, shaking the sheet every 10 minutes (to ensure even cooking), until chickpeas are browned and crunchy. Watch carefully for the last few minutes to avoid burning them.
- Remove chickpeas from the oven and place them in a bowl. While still warm, toss with oil. In a small bowl, stir together sugar, cinnamon and cloves. Sprinkle mixture over chickpeas and stir until evenly coated.
- When chickpeas are cool, store them in an airtight container.
For more recipes check out kiwimagonline.com.
