4 Fast and Easy Snacks For Kids

If you are a busy mom with small children, you know how tough it can be to find quick snacks to feed to your children. In our house, I avoid the easy choice of feeding potato chips, pretzels, candy bars and other store bought food to our daughter by preparing homemade snacks.

Yes, we should all be feeding our children healthy foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, but there is nothing wrong with letting them snack on crackers, cereal mixes and peanut butter fried tortillas. I believe foods such as these, should be given in moderation.

These 4 recipes have always been a favorite here in our house. You can easily prepare any of these recipes in just a few minutes.

Peanut Butter Banana Tortilla

1 flour tortilla

2-3 tablespoons peanut butter

1/2 banana, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons butter

Place butter in a frying pan and melt over low heat. Spread 2-3 tablespoons of peanut butter on one side of a tortilla, layer sliced banana on top. Fold tortilla in half, place in fry pan and lightly fry on each side for 1 minute or until lightly browned. Remove. Let cool and slice into wedges.

Cereal Snack Mix

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

12 oz. butterscotch chips

1 teaspoon butter

1 box of Chex cereal

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

Place cereal in a large mixing bowl. Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips with butter in a large saucepan, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; pour mixture over cereal and mix well. Pour confectioner’s sugar over cereal. Cover bowl and shake until all ingredients are mixed.

Baked Mozzarella Bites

Mozzarella Cheese

crackers

Cut Mozzarella cheese to fit between 2 crackers and place on a baking sheet. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and put crackers with cheese in them into the oven for 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

Strawberry Cracker Sandwiches

1 teaspoon strawberry cream cheese

2 Ritz Crackers

1 teaspoon strawberry preserves

Spread cream cheese and strawberry preserves onto your cracker. Top with an additional cracker.



By: Shelly Hill

About the Author:

Shelly Hill has been working from home in Direct Sales since 1989 and is a Manager with Tupperware. Shelly enjoys cooking and baking for her family. You can visit Shelly online at: http://www.classybusinesswomen.com or her recipe blog at http://wahmshelly.blogspot.com

Great Information in Introducing Kids to Cooking

If you are considering cooking with children you need to make sure you have the proper ingredients on hand before beginning. You certainly do not want to be caught without that cup full of patience you will be requiring nor do you wish to need to leave in the middle of things for a run to the local grocery store to pick up the missing ingredients.

As if this wasn’t enough to absorb another very important rule when it comes to cooking with children is to clean as you go whenever possible. Trust me on this. While there is part of you who will want to put off the task of cleaning the messes that are made until later or wait till the end and only clean once, this allows the opportunity for messes to layer and compound themselves. Constantly clean throughout the process for the best possible results. For more details go to www.cajuns-recipes.com .You should enlist your children in the cleaning process as well. While it may be easier to do yourself, it is far more important to teach them the basics of cleaning as you go. Remember one day they will more than likely invade your kitchen while you’re not looking.

Cooking With the Little Ones in Mind

Cooking for toddlers and growing children presents some unique challenges along the way. While you want to provide them with those ever so important nutrients, it is often difficult to get them to eat those foods that are best for their growing bodies. We are all probably well aware of the food pyramid and the number of servings our children need of healthy grains, proteins, fruits, vegetables, and calcium products. Getting them to eat these nourishing products is another matter all together unfortunately.

Cooking healthier meals for kids is now easier than ever before. Fresh fruits and vegetables are best whenever possible. However, if you cannot manage fresh, you should avoid canned (fruits especially as they are often swimming in sugary sweetness) whenever possible. Frozen is far preferable to canned when it comes to both fruit and vegetables, as there are often fewer additives.

Perhaps the greatest gift you can give yourself (much greater than the help in the kitchen) by ‘forcing’ your little ones to help prepare dinner is that they will learn to better appreciate your culinary efforts and eat peacefully rather than sullenly. This tactic has met with great success in my household when cooking for little ones. I hope you will enjoy the same degree of success as well.

Quick plus Easy Lunches for the Cooking Challenged

First of all, not all great lunches require actual cooking in order to prepare. Some of them will require the use of the microwave and some of them will need to be cooked or at least prepared before hand and reheated. The choices are virtually limitless once you understand the creative concept that must be in place. You should also find that many of these ideas are so simple you will wonder why on earth you have never thought of them. I certainly hope that some of these ideas will become main features within your own home.

For more details go to www.apples-recipes.com .Try sandwiches with different breads. Believe it or not, my children love trying new things. It’s a rare trait for which I am extremely grateful. Believe me I understand all too well how fortunate I am. My youngest however, has a little difficulty with thick or crusty bread. Her favorite sandwich choice has become Hawaiian sweet rolls. We put the meat, cheese, mustard, and pickle in her roll as if it was a bun and she’s thrilled. Other great ideas include hollowing out crusty rolls and filling them with roast beef and cheddar. You can broil this in your oven for a few minutes for a rare sandwich treat. The cooking part is very minimal and you do not have to have in depth knowledge of anything to prepare or enjoy these simple treats. Other great bread ideas include croissants with ham and cheese or chicken salad, taco pitas (another great favorite in our household), and patinas (this works really well if you have a George Foreman grill or a panning press).

www.cooking-chinese-style.com

www.delicious-candy-recipes.com



By: gurujithree

About the Author:

The Authhor based in chandigarh