Healthy School Snacks

As I stated before keeping our children healthy, having a healthier school environment and raising healthier children are goals shared by parents, teachers and school administrators.  Another way we can achieve this goal is by bringing in delicious healthy snacks into the classrooms.  Fruits and vegetables are probably the easiest way to accomplish this.

Here’s a short list to give you some ideas:

Fruit

Serve whole, sliced, cut in half, cubed, or in wedges, also consider dried fruits.

• Apples
• Apricots
• Bananas
• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Cantaloupe
• Cherries
• Grapefruit
• Grapes (red, green, or purple)
• Honeydew Melon
• Kiwis
• Mandarin Oranges
• Mangoes
• Nectarines
• Oranges
• Peaches
• Pears
• Pineapple
• Plums
• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Tangerines
• Watermelon

Dried Fruit – Try raisins, apricots, apples, cranberries, pineapple, papaya, and others with little or no added sugars.

Vegetables

Can be served raw with dip or salad dressing.

• Broccoli
• Carrot sticks or Baby Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery Sticks
• Cucumber
• Peppers (green, red, or yellow)
• Snap Peas
• Snow Peas
• String Beans
• Tomato slices or grape or cherry tomatoes
• Yellow Summer Squash slices
• Zucchini slices

Dips – Try low-fat salad dressings, like fat-free Ranch or Thousand Island, store-bought light dips, bean dips, guacamole, hummas (which comes in dozens of flavors), or salsa.