Do you dread that regular afternoon question? “Mom, I’m hungry. Can I have a snack?” Uugghhhh…what can I give them for a healthy snack that doesn’t take long. Today, I’m showing you how I tackled our afternoon snack problem with some ideas for healthy snacks for kids. I’ll also show you some ideas for storage solutions and organizing ideas.
I always seem to be in the middle of something else when the afternoon snack train hits our house. I usually tell the kids to wait (which means they get nothing until dinner…such a great mom, right?) or tell them to go grab a bar. They are sick of it and so am I.
I decided I could make them in charge of their own snack. Yay! Independence…gotta love that! I wanted healthy snacks for my kids. I needed snacks that were at the ready for them and healthy. For our house, that meant some snacks could be in the pantry and some needed to be in the refrigerator.
I spent a long time looking for what I wanted at Target and finally settled on the glass jar
(which was only $7) and the baking pan($14). The pan is called a loaf pan…I have no idea why as I’ve never seen a loaf of bread this big. Anyway, it was the right size and shape for what I wanted. It also added a little color to the fridge, which was also on my list. I also figured, since it is a baking dish, it would be fine in the fridge and when we no longer want a snack station in the fridge, I have a gorgeous baking dish I can use! Love double duty!
(which was only $7) and the baking pan($14). The pan is called a loaf pan…I have no idea why as I’ve never seen a loaf of bread this big. Anyway, it was the right size and shape for what I wanted. It also added a little color to the fridge, which was also on my list. I also figured, since it is a baking dish, it would be fine in the fridge and when we no longer want a snack station in the fridge, I have a gorgeous baking dish I can use! Love double duty!
The bottom of the pan was slightly rough. I didn’t want the sliding of the pan to scratch my refrigerator up, so I bought some felt floor care pads to solve my problem. Sounds weird, right?
to solve my problem. Sounds weird, right?
Just stick the floor pads in the corners of the pan. Problem of scratched fridge, solved. It also makes the pan slid in and out very easily.
Here are my ideas of what I consider to be healthy snacks. Right now we have, hummus, yogurt, cheese sticks, and apples. They are small apples, which seem to work best for the space and for what my kids like. I also plan to add applesauce, baby carrots, and the correct organic yogurt(my husband bought the wrong kind).
In terms of organizing this snack tray, I put the stacks in the back so they wouldn’t get knocked over. Same thing with the apples. Then I just keep like things together to make it easy for the kids to find what they want.
Let me also say that my little eco-self had a problem with buying the individual hummus, yogurts and eventually the applesauce. I don’t like the additional trash and plastic containers. I also really wanted my kids to be able to get their own snacks. So I decided to go for convenience in this one instance.
If you have any simple and low cost solutions, I would love to hear them. I had thought about portioning things myself, but I don’t want to use plastic containers(I would use glass) and I’m concerned about things going bad more quickly that way.
I filled the glass jar with dry snacks. We have our usual bars as well as baggies filled with pretzels or goldfish. I also have some baggies filled with what we call our ‘mix.’ Our mix is: pretzels, nuts, raisins or dried cherries, and a few chocolate chips. To keep this jar organized, I put like things together again.
Once again, I am using plastic bags, which I’m not super happy about, but the girls know not to throw the bags away. We have a spot for them to place empty bags so I can refill them. I considered using our fabric bags that we use to pack lunch, but I have noticed that things go stale very quickly in those. If you have inexpensive, eco-friendly ideas, I would love to hear them. For now, we are just re-filling our bags.
Once I had the containers filled, it was time to find a home for them. The baking pan fits perfectly on the bottom shelf of our fridge. It will occasionally make fitting everything in the refrigerator a bit more challenging, but in general it fits and works fine. The snack jar ended up on the counter between the pantry and fridge.
My kids now know they can help themselves to a snack anytime after lunch that they are hungry. They love it!
I have set two rules for them.
- They can pick up to 2 items for their snack, for example, baby carrots and hummus.
- They may not get a snack past 5 p.m. We usually eat dinner at 6 ish or later, so cutting them off at 5(with 2 items max) should help them still be hungry to eat dinner.
I will now need to refill the containers once a week. Once a week should work great and be easier than the daily, “Can I have a snack?” 🙂
What eco-friendly ideas do you have for snack storage? Do you have other ideas for healthy easy snacks? Please share in the comments below, myself and other readers would love to hear them.
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This is a fabulous idea KC, I need to implement it at our house! Thanks for sharing:)
Krista
Thanks, Krista! It has been really helpful here. The girls really like it (and so do I…it helps me grab a healthy snack late at night, too!)
Take care,
KC
Glad to see that Goldfish made the list! Whew!! I was worried there for a minute!
Yes, of course we had to have goldfish…we still have the industrial sized box from when you were her last. Shocking, right?
Love you,
KC
I was trying to come up with something similar for awhile but now we just have the selection in the “snack closet” and the kids know how many they can have each day. I like the way yours looks better though!
Yours sounds like a good solution as well. I think it seems like as long as they know where to go and what they are allowed to take/eat…it works out well for them to be independent. I know my girls really like that. Thanks for the compliment on how mine looks. I thought I should put a cute label on it as well, but I just didn’t have the time or care quite enough ;-).
KC
This is a fantastic idea! I saw your link over at Today’s Creative Blog and had to stop by to pin it.
Christine @ https://idigpinterest.blogspot.com
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it! It is working really well for us.
KC
I love this and need to start implementing it because we face the same thing every afternoon! And I’m also guilty of the “in a second” thing which turns out to be not until dinner and then I wind up with a whiny, hungry kid!
Yes, and the whiny, hungry kids are NOT AT ALL pleasant to be around! ;-)Hope this helps you with a solution in your own house.
KC
This is a great idea! I always try to make sure my kids have access to healthy snacks so they make smart choices 🙂
Thank you! Sounds like you have this down with your kids…more power to you!
KC
Great ideas!!
Thanks!
KC
This is a great idea! I would love for you to share this at https://hickorytrailblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/assets-and-efforts-linky-party-2.html
Thank you,
Angela
Thanks so much!
KC
What a great idea! My kids are constantly asking for a snack, so this would work well for us. https://suburbsmama.blogspot.com/2013/05/sunday-link-party-7.html
Mine are, too and this has really helped! Thanks for stopping by!
KC
Looks great! I really need to do something like this. My kids are mostly older, so they really can get their own snacks, but I still find myself answering the “what can I eat?” question a million times a day. It’d be nice to have a visual answer I can point them to 🙂
Thanks! Yes, I think you would find this helpful so you don’t have to answer the question.
Take care,
KC
awesome idea. I have a place in my pantry but I think I will make a place for them out so they can get them 🙂
Thanks! It sure is handy when they are easy for the kids to access. It is working really well at our house.
Take care,
KC
Awesome! I love how there are so many options, and it’s so kid friendly. Thanks for sharing at Pinworthy Projects.
Thanks, Carrie! It is working out really well and the kids seem to like all the options, which is great.
KC
Okay, I need to make one of these ASAP for my kids. I always thought it would take so much work to put together, but yours looks so simple, plus it’s visually pleasing!
Mine really was simple to put together. It took the longest to wander Target to figure out what I wanted and to photograph it. The putting it together really was easy. It is working out really well for my girls. I hope if you give it a try, it works really well and is really easy for you.
KC
really great idea for the snack station KC! I think this would work great for anyone, even grownups that get that hunger pang, and grab the wrong snack!
catching you
gail
Yes, I have enjoyed having it as well. It has helped me make better late night snacking choices… always a good thing! 🙂
KC
This is great. I need to make this for my husband and son. Thanks for sharing.
Your welcome! It has worked out really well for us…hope it does for you as well. Enjoy!
KC
Love this idea. So smart and handy for the kids especially for summer! I will be featuring this. 🙂
It sure has been handy…since we homeschool it is a bit like summer all year round. It works out really well.
KC
Hopping over from Blooming Homestead. =)
I would love for you to share and link up at my weekly TGIF Link Party if you haven’t already this week. The party is open every Thursday night and closes Wednesday’s at midnight.
https://apeekintomyparadise.blogspot.com/. AND starting Wednesday June 4th I will be hosting a Wordless Wednesday link party. Hope you will join us! Have a wonderful week!
Hugs, Cathy
Thanks,
KC