Healthy Snack Food Swaps for a Healthier You

It’s 4:00 pm; there is no food in the house and the kids come home from school complaining of rumbly tummies. This is an every day occurrence in my home and (bad mummy confession) most of the time I am not prepared.  There are so many healthy snack options out there but the truth is, there are also a lot of unhealthy snack options too. And sometimes the processed, easy snacks win out, especially after a long day.

Healthy Snack Food Ideas

If you find yourself reaching for the packaged chips, the after-the-kids-go-to-bed biscuits and the takeaway chips on the road to stop the “Mum I’m hungry!” then you are definitely not alone. And while it can be hard to remain healthy for every meal and every snack every day of the week, the best way to give your kids nutritional snacks is to be prepared – the more ideas you have, the easier it will be to steer clear of the bad stuff.

Well, you’re in luck! Because here at SAHM we have a whole slew of healthy snacks for kids that are easy to make, freeze well and taste great. Our amazing food editor has shared some of these excellent snack food options to help all parents make smart choices for their kid’s snacks.

Swap Chocolate Biscuits for:

Chocolate bickies are a big cave snack for my family. I can’t help but buy them every week (they are always on special and I enjoy a couple with my tea after the kids go to sleep). If you are a sucker for choc biscuits, whether you buy them or make them, then your kids will love this simple snack swaps that offer the nutritional goodness without the fat and sugar content. Swap your packaged bickies for:

• Raw Apricot Slices
• Raw Date Squares
• Milo Chickpea Brownies
• Gingernut Buscuits
• Anzac Biscuits
• Apricot Balls
• Peanut Butter Biscuits
• Pumpkin Biscuits
• Gingerbread Biscuits
• Weetbix Slice

Swap Vanilla Cake for:

Vanilla cake is so easy to whip up. However, if you want something just as affordable and much healthier, then consider these much healthier options. These irresistible loaves are just as easy to whip up and offer your kids a much more substantial snack:

• Banana and Blueberry Bread
• Low Fat Caramel Slice
• Orange and Yoghurt Cake
• Fruit Cake
• Apple and cinnamon Cake
• Lemon Cake
• Banana Cake
• Berry Crumble Cake
• Sultan and cinnamon muffins
• Watermelon Cake

Swap Ice Cream for:

During the hotter months, nothing refreshes quite like ice cream. But ice cream offers very little nutritional value. The good thing about ice cream, however, is that it is fairly easy to ‘duplicate’ by substituting for some of these healthier options instead:

• Banana Ice Cream
• Low Fat Strawberry Frozen Yoghurt
• Frozen Banana Yoghurt Pops
• Fruit salad and frozen yoghurt
• Jelly Whip
• Orange frozen yoghurt cakes

https://www.stayathomemum.com.au/recipes/jelly-whip/

Swap a Milkshake for:

• A Healthy Smoothie
• Coconut Water
• Fruit Juice
• Turmeric smoothie
• Healthy Green smoothie
• banana and blueberry smoothie
• green vanilla smoothie
• breakfast smoothie

Just Need Something Sweet?

Then try some of these:

• Watermelon
• Dates
• peaches
• raspberries
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Cranberries
• Fruit punch

Swap Salty Crisps or Chips for:

Sometimes you need something savoury…. and rather than grabbing a bag of chips or gooey cheese, try some of these options:

• Spring Onion Pancakes
• Cauliflower Cheese Nuggets
• Microwave Popcorn with a little added Vegeta vegetable stock
• Vegetable filled quesadilla
• Celery Sticks dipped in hummus or peanut butter
• Walnuts or Brazillian Nuts
• Quiche in a Mug

Really Hungry and Need More Than a Snack?

Then put together a tasty plate of nibbles.

Many of these recipes are also available through the Once a Month Cooking book, available online through Bookworld, in Big W and in bookstores across Australia.