Dinner Diva: 40 fast snacks

I can’t tell you how much I detest those 100-calorie snack packs you find in grocery stores nowadays.

Those packages are full of highly processed foods heavy on sugar and chemicals. I know you would rather feed your child something nutritious, so I’m going to give you a list of easy snack ideas! Every one of them would be perfect in your child’s lunchbox.

1. Raw veggies and dip (Experiment with cauliflower, broccoli and pepper strips)
2. Celery sticks with peanut butter or almond butter and raisins (ants on a log!)
3. Homemade trail mix (Mixing dried fruit and nuts couldn’t be easier)

4. Sliced apple and blueberries, sprinkled with cinnamon
5. Mixed berries (Strawberries, blackberries and blueberries make a wonderful snack)
6. Popcorn (Invest in an air popper rather than buying microwave popcorn. Choose organic, non-GMO popping corn)

7. Muffins (Bake healthy muffins with fruit and flax and other good things)
8. Banana (The perfect snack with peanut butter or almond butter, it can even be considered a meal)
9. Cheese (A few cubes of cheese make a wonderful snack)
10. Nuts (A handful of nuts provides an excellent protein boost)
11. Popsicles (Invest in some of those plastic popsicle molds and fill them with homemade juices or yogurt mixed with fruit)
12. Yogurt (Buy plain Greek yogurt and sweeten it with fruit to avoid unnecessary sugar)
13. Cucumbers (Make a sandwich out of cucumber slices and cream cheese)
14. Homemade granola bars (Find a recipe that your family will love and create your own version of this lunchbox staple)
15. Hummus (Served with raw veggies and/or pita slices – Yum!)
16. Pasta salad (Cold pasta salad with cheese, veggies and meat? Yes please.)
17. Dried fruit (Kids love sweet, so give it to them with lots of fiber and minerals by packing dried apricots, dates, cranberries, pineapple . . . the list goes on!)
18. Chips and salsa (Some multigrain chips and salsa make a great snack)
19. Banana bread (Experiment with recipes low in sugar until you find the one your family loves best)
20. Boiled egg (Pack it with the shell on for older children so they have the fun of peeling it)
21. Applesauce (Core and slice some organic apples, simmer them down and sprinkle with cinnamon. Ta da . . . applesauce!)
22. Orange (An orange is another great snack that comes in its own biodegradable wrapper!)
23. Grapes (Wash some organic grapes and snip off a bunch for a delicious sweet treat.)
24. Melons (Make a salad of honeydew, cantaloupe and watermelon)
25. Broccoli trees (So healthy! And if you tell Junior that you’ve packed tiny trees in his lunch, he may be more eager to eat them. Maybe toss in a toy dinosaur to help with the visual?)
26. Milk (A glass of milk contains many vitamins and nutrients. It can be a snack in itself.)
27. Roasted chickpeas (When you rinse chickpeas, drizzle with oil and roast at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or so, you get a delicious crunchy snack.)
28. Fruit kabobs (Make fruit more fun by sticking it on a skewer! Provide Greek yogurt for dipping.)
29. Peanut butter or almond butter (Kids love nut butters apple slices, bananas and celery are all great friends of peanut butter and almond butter.)
30. Kale chips (How much healthier can you get than kale? Make a batch of kale chips and see how fast they disappear.)
31. Sweet potato fries (Slice some sweet potatoes and bake them on top of a rack for a fast and healthy snack.)
32. Smoothies (Whiz up some goodness into a drinkable snack!)
33. Pears (So sweet and juicy. Pears bruise easily so they’re a better after school snack than one for the lunchbox.)
34. Raisins (Everyone loves these little guys!)
35. Dark chocolate (A couple nibbles of dark chocolate can satisfy the sweet tooth while providing lots of antioxidants.)
36. Pineapple (On its own or as part of a fruit salad, sliced pineapple is heavenly.)
37. Mango (Speaking of heavenly, mango has got to be one of the most deliciousfoods on the planet.)
38. Caprese salad (Sliced tomato, mozzarella cheese and a couple of whole grain crackers.)
39. Sweet peas (Children love shucking those pea pods. Toss a handful into their lunchbox.)
40. Homemade fruit rollups (Puree some fruit, pour it in a thin layer on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake it at your oven’s lowest temperature for 6-8 hours.

Leanne Ely is a NYT bestselling author and the creator of SavingDinner.com, the original menu planning website, bringing families back to the dinner table for over 15 years.