Tasty and Healthy Treats for the Kids
October 21, 2011
•Le Cordon Bleu
•Los Angeles
• 0 Comments
Tasty and Healthy Treats for the Kids
Healthy snacks are an important part of your child’s day. After a long day at school or before soccer practice children need a good steady supply of lean protein, healthy carbs and fruits and vegetables. In a world of fast food and vending machines it may seem that it will be impossible to get your child to pick healthy snack foods but with a little advanced preparation and creativity your child will be begging for more of these healthy snack ideas.
Dip
Children have a natural inclination to dunk their foods. With a low fat ranch dip, hummus or salsa, plain carrot and celery sticks become much more inviting. Try setting out a wide variety of vegetables in bright colors like red peppers, snap peas and cucumbers, the more variety you offer your child the more likely they are to find something they like. For a sweet and salty snack try melting a little peanut butter and serving with celery and raisins or apples. Another easy snack idea is taking some cheddar or American cheese and melting it in a bowl in the microwave, serve with pretzel sticks, crackers or apples. A fruit cup becomes much more interesting to your young ones when there is a dish of yogurt sauce for them to dunk chunks into.
DIY Treats
Kids are naturally creative and will want to indulge in the culinary arts as much as you do; allowing them to be hands on with their snacks is a great way to encourage your children to eat healthier. Try setting out bowls of tomato sauce, veggies and cheese and let your children make their own English muffin or pita pizzas. Cocktail picks and melon balls make great shish kabobs or try having your kids make little sandwiches out of cucumber slices, cheese and turkey.
Freezer
Most kids will try anything that comes out of the freezer and there are many fun treats that are great frozen. For a classic combo try rolling half of a banana in chocolate syrup and crushed almonds and let set in the freezer for a few hours. Other frozen favorites include frozen fruit, yogurt pops, and smoothies.
Go miniature
Children are drawn to small, easy to manage bites. Try preparing tiny sandwiches of ham and cheese on miniature crackers. Using small cookie cutters you can also make small sandwiches out of slices of whole wheat bread. Tortillas spread with peanut butter and banana can be rolled up and sliced into appealing little pin wheels for a sweet and healthy snack.
On the Go
Most of the time what your child will need is something to grab on the go so it’s a great idea to keep one shelf of your kitchen stocked with healthy portable snacks. Little bags of trail mix, granola bars, cheese sticks, fruit or pre-sliced vegetable sticks are all easy for your child to grab when they are on the go.
If you would like to learn more about the culinary arts and preparing healthy snacks and meals perhaps you would enjoy enrolling in one of several fine Los Angeles cooking schools.
This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles offers culinary arts and pâtisserie and baking training programs in Los Angeles, California. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit Chefs.edu/Los-Angeles for more information.
Find disclosures on graduation rates, student financial obligations and more at www.chefs.edu/disclosures. Le Cordon Bleu® and the Le Cordon Bleu logo are registered trademarks of Career Education Corporation. Le Cordon Bleu cannot guarantee employment or salary. Credits earned are unlikely to transfer.