10 Healthy Snack Ideas for Kids

It’s vital to provide your kids with a healthy eating pattern to support their growth and cognitive development – they’ll not be able to concentrate at school if they’re consistently hungry between meals, so healthy snacking has an important part to play in their diets. And if you’ve got a fussy eater, you can sneak more nutrients into them with the inclusion of enticing snacks into their daily schedules.

Undoubtedly the most important healthy snacks for kids – especially for young children – breakfast is fuel for the body, setting us up for the day. Skipping it can make kids feel tired and ‘hangry’ with a mid-morning mood drop, so whether it’s a hurried bite before leaving for school or a leisurely spread at the weekend, make sure they kickstart the day with a healthy snack.

When time is of the essence in the morning, put together a bowl of plain yoghurt sweetened with honey – both are packed with probiotics, aka ‘good bacteria’ that help digestion and keep young guts healthy. Add sliced fruit, celery sticks (both rich in vitamins, fibre and minerals) or a handful of non-salted nuts like almonds (high in vitamin E, believed to increase brain power) to make a breakfast super-snack.

Time to spare on Sunday morning? Rustle up pancakes in an array of primary colours for a weekend extravaganza with your brood.
 

Ingredients:

• 200g self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon golden caster sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 200ml milk
• 3 eggs
• 25g melted butter
• food colouring in primary shades

Method:

1. Put all the pancake ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth.
2. Divide the batter into bowls and dye it using the food colouring.
3. Melt a knob of butter in a non-stick frying pan.
4. Once it’s bubbling, put spoonfuls of batter into the pan and shape it into circles. 
5. Cook for 2-3 minutes on one side and flip for another minute or until slightly golden.
6. Stack the pancakes in colour order. 

Top tip: Add fresh fruit for even more colour and to make your recipe healthier. Seasonal berries, bananas or sliced peaches are all great options that are sure to go down a treat. 

Keep kids going from lunch until supper time with a healthy post-school/mid-afternoon snack packed with nutrition and flavour. This is a time when you can enjoy cooking together as a family, creating memories to treasure forever.

Popular in Asian countries and now readily available in the UK and Europe, rice cakes are rich in protein, fibre and carbohydrates as well as being sugar- and gluten-free. Get younger kids to help you jazz them up with funny faces, using cress for the hair, carrot slices with olives on top for eyes, tomatoes to represent a nose and a thin sliver of cucumber for the mouth.

There’s no need to eschew sweet treats altogether; these cute-looking snacks combine potassium in the bananas with anti-oxidants in the chocolate, making them a valid healthy snacking choice. They could not be simpler to make either…
 

Top tip: Encourage your kids to use their imagination when decorating the lollipops with nuts, coconut or butterscotch sauce.
 

Ingredients:

• 2 peeled bananas cut into thirds
• 8oz of chopped dark chocolate
• 6 lollipop sticks, straws or wooden skewers

Method:

1. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water.
2. Stir until melted.
3. Insert a lollipop stick/straw/skewer into each banana piece.
4. Dip each banana in the chocolate until covered.
5. Decorate each one with your chosen topping. 
6. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
7. Place the bananas on the tray to cool for 20 minutes in the fridge. 

Bedtime snacks rich in slow-releasing carbohydrates and healthy fats combat disturbed sleep caused by hunger and keep blood-sugar levels stable overnight, helping your growing kids to wake up ready to face the day. Offer something simple so you’ll know they’re really hungry and not just angling to stay up later.

Nothing could be easier to prepare than peanut butter on toast. Go for wholegrain bread high in fibre to keep young stomachs feeling full all night, while peanut butter contains protein and healthy fats; the latter raise serotonin levels, which help your children to relax and sleep soundly.

Eggs are so good for kids, packed with protein in the whites and healthy fats in the yolks to aid brain development. Batch cook the eggs for 10 minutes in boiling water, let them cool and hey presto! You’ve got a last-minute mini-meal to serve up before bedtime.
 

Top tip: You can store hard-boiled eggs in the fridge for up to 7 days.

Fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables always make a healthy snack option for kids – they contain vitamins and minerals, are a good source of fibre, and count towards the recommended five a day.

With no cooking involved, this sugar-free dessert pizza uses wholemeal tortilla wraps as a base. Punch out mini-rounds with a pastry cutter, then add Greek yogurt, honey and vanilla stirred together for the ‘cheese’ layer. For a colourful final flourish packed with antioxidants and vitamins, slice seasonal fruits (anything you have to hand will do) and arrange them as the top layer.

Full of the flavours of the Middle East and a handy source of protein, fibre and healthy fats, hummus is as tasty as it is beneficial for kids. The following recipe is a doddle to make.
 

Ingredients:

• 1 drained can of chickpeas 
• 60ml cold water
• 1 peeled and crushed garlic clove
• 1 juiced and ½ zested lemon
• 3 tablespoon tahini
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, to garnish 

Method:

1. Rinse the chickpeas under cold water.
2. Tip them into a food processor along with 60ml of water and whizz until almost smooth.
3. Add the garlic, lemon and tahini, and whizz until smooth.
4. Add salt and transfer to a bowl.
5. Drizzle with olive oil.

Top tip: serve with sliced and crunchy seasonal veggie sticks.

The key to holiday travel with family is being prepared for all eventualities – and it’s always a clever idea to have non-messy, non-smelly healthy snacks to hand in case the kids are struck down with hunger pangs or don’t like the local food. Go for snacks that are easy to pack, transport and eat.

Cut out any unnecessary cooking and buy in your pittas. It’s the work of moments to stuff these little dough pockets with your child’s favourite fillings, they pack well and are easily eaten on the go.
 

Top tip: Inspiration for delicious fillings include spicy chicken shawarma with tzatziki (yoghurt and cucumber), or shop-bought falafels and hummus.

Here’s a recipe that takes a mere 15 minutes to prep and 30 minutes to cook. Want to make it healthier? Swap the butter for lower-fat alternatives, or simply use less sugar as the dried fruits will already add to the sweetness.
 

Ingredients:

• 100g butter
• 200g porridge oats
• 100g sunflower seeds
• 50g sesame seeds
• 50g chopped walnuts
• 3 tablespoon honey
• 100g muscovado sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 100g of whatever dried fruits your kids will eat

Method:

1. Heat oven to 160°C/fan 140°C/gas 3.
2. Butter and line a 18 x 25cm baking tin.
3. Toast the oats, seeds and nuts in your oven for 5-10 minutes.
4. Warm the butter, honey and sugar in a pan, stirring until melted. 
5. Add the toasted oats, ground cinnamon and dried fruit, and mix until well coated. 
6. Tip into the baking tin and bake for 30 mins.
7. Cool and cut into 12 bars to serve.

Swap out calorific, overly sweet or salty snacks for healthy options that kids can eat between meals, and you’ll know they’re getting the right nutrition to sustain energy levels throughout the day.