Easy and Nutritious Snacks for School

The days of after-school snacks are here! Your children will need healthy, simple snacks and lunches to ensure they have the energy to learn, play, and grow. All of these recipes can also be customized to suit your children’s tastes—just add, remove, or substitute ingredients!

No-Bake Energy Balls 

This recipe doesn’t require any cooking, can be prepared in less than 30 minutes, and stay fresh for up to a week, which means it’s the perfect recipe for busy au pairs!

Ingredients:

• ½ cup mini chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup toasted coconut flakes
• Vanilla extract
• ½ cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)
• 1 cup dry oats
• 1/3 cup honey or agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon flax seeds

Steps:

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. Refrigerate the mixture for 10-20 minutes.
3. Shape the mixture however you’d like—balls, bars, etc.

Peanut Butter Bears

These are a great way to let your little ones help in the kitchen! Let them design their own animal faces using berries, bananas, and pretzel sticks.

Ingredients:

• Sliced bread
• Peanut butter or other nut butter
• Banana slices
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Pretzel sticks

1. Cut a circle from the slice of bread.
2. Spread the peanut butter on the bread, covering the surface.
3. Arrange banana slices, berries and pretzel sticks on the bread to create a fun animal face! You can make bears, cats, dogs, or any other favorite animals!

One-Ingredient Banana “Ice Cream”

This recipe only uses one ingredient - bananas! It’s a perfect snack for hot, end-of-summer days. 

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe bananas

1. Peel the bananas and cut them into 2-inch chunks. Freeze them for at least 6 hours.
2. Remove the frozen bananas and blend until smooth.
3. Serve immediately, or freeze 2 more hours, depending on your preferred texture.We hope you’re feeling ready to take on the new school year! For more information and ideas, check out our Advanced Online Training Courses, Food and Nutrition for Kids and (insert name of school course).