Back to School: After School Snacks

School is almost back in session which means it’s time to start thinking about after school snacks! If your kids are anything like mine, as soon as they walk in the door from school they head straight for the pantry because they know that’s where all of the “not so healthy” snacks are kept! 😉 One way to keep them out of the unhealthy snacks is to have healthier options already prepared and easy to grab when they get home.

One of their favorite things to snack on is a charcuterie board because they have options. They aren’t just eating carrot sticks or an apple, they get to have a variety of colorful foods to choose from which is a huge selling point for my boys. When I’m prepping a charcuterie snack board for my kids, I keep it simple and easy with a combination of cheese, lunch meats, veggies, fruit and I throw in a little sweet treat too. Whatever they don’t eat, I can put back in the fridge for the next day which is also a win in my book.

Here are some of our favorite things for an after school charcuterie board:

• string cheese
• sliced cheese
• lunch meat
• pepperoni
• sliced peppers
• baby carrots
• cucumbers
• goldfish
• grapes
• strawberries
• blueberries
• apples
• pretzels
• hummus
• ranch dip
• chocolate covered blueberries

Here are a few more after school snack ideas:

Hummus & Sliced Cucumbers

This is such an easy snack to put together to have ready when the littles come home. I cut up my veggies when I bring them home from the grocery store and keep them in little snack sized baggies or plastic containers in the fridge. If your littles don’t like cucumbers, hummus is great with carrots, peppers, broccoli or pretzels too.

Better Than Store-Bought Granola Bars

These granola bars are a favorite in our house! My husband requests them on a regular basis and my boys love helping me make them. They are healthy, they taste good and they are cheaper to make at home. You can find my recipe here!

Fruit Kabobs

I usually have strawberries and grapes on hand so I’ll throw them on kabob sticks for a fun snack. You can use apples, oranges, bananas or just about any fruit you have in the fridge. These would also be good with some cubed cheese.

Watermelon Popsicles

My boys love watermelon, but I have to admit that I rarely buy it because I don’t like cutting it up. It’s just too messy! Well, I found a way to give my boys watermelon without the mess! I bought a watermelon, cut off the top and used one of these immersion blenders to puree the watermelon into a juice. Then, pour the juice into these popsicle molds from Ikea and freeze! They’re so easy with less mess!

Pretzel & Cheese Lollipops

For this one, it’s all about presentation. Just grab some pretzel sticks and cubed cheese and put them together. It’s a fun way to switch things up for the kiddos!

String Cheese & Turkey Rollups

I used sliced turkey for my rollups but you can use sliced ham, chicken or even pepperoni for these too! 

Apple Slices with Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chips

These work best with mini chocolate chips but you can use the regular ones too if that’s what you have at home. Slice the apples, apply peanut butter and sprinkle with chocolate chips. It helps if you let the apples come to room temperature before making this one, so the peanut butter spreads on a little easier.

Greek Yogurt with Honey, Sliced Almonds & Blueberries

My favorite Greek yogurt these days is Fage! I serve it topped with granola or sliced almonds, blueberries and a little bit of honey to sweeten it up. If you’re feeling extra nice, you can add a few chocolate chips to this too. That’s what I do when I want to use this as a dessert rather than a snack.

Hope everyone has the best time preparing to go back to school! If you haven’t already signed up for my newsletter you can do that below!