20 Easy, Healthy and Kid-Friendly Snacks

As registered dietitians, our clients (and friends!) frequently request ideas for healthy, quick-to-make snacks that their kids will enjoy.  Here, we have a list of 20 kid-friendly snacks—and chances are you may have most of the ingredients in your very own kitchen!  To keep your kids satisfied and to prevent energy crashes, mood swings and melt-downs, aim to always pair an energy-boosting carbohydrate with a source of protein, as you see we did below.

Also, note that we suggest low-fat (rather than full fat) dairy products to protect against heart disease as it’s the leading killer in our country and even kids show clogged arteries from their diet.

1. Hummus or cottage cheese and raw vegetables such as carrots, jicama, red or green bell peppers or cucumbers
2. Pretzels or celery with peanut butter
3. Low-fat cheese and whole-wheat crackers
4. Banana dog (spread nut butter on a slice of bread and wrap it around a banana)
5. Low-fat or Non-fat Greek yogurt or regular yogurt and a piece of fruit
6. Edamame (boiled soy beans for snacking)
7. Fruit salad or fresh fruit dipped in yogurt
8. Fruit smoothies (add low-fat Greek yogurt or milk)
9. Trail mix made from nuts, dried fruit & whole grain cereal
10. Fruit & Cheese kabobs (on skewers)
11. Whole grain pita pockets stuffed with turkey or chicken or turkey breast, lettuce & mustard
12. Mini pita-pizzas on whole grain pita, with low-fat cheese & veggies (make faces out of veggies or let your kids make them!)
13. Go-go Squeeze (or other apple sauce) and string cheese
14. Yogurt popsicles (simple freeze yogurt in popsicle molds)
15. Quesadillas (use whole grain tortillas, low-fat cheese, veggies & melt in toaster oven; cut into triangles)
16. Make-your-own healthy Egg McMuffin (whole grain English muffin, scrambled eggs & veggies)
17. Whole grain waffles topped with almond butter and peaches (or favorite fruit)
18. Oatmeal with cinnamon, apples, nuts and a touch of brown sugar
19. Air-popped popcorn with nuts and cinnamon or parmesan cheese
20. Rice Cake Pizzas (spread Greek yogurt or favorite nut butter & decorate with favorite fruit slices)