The holidays are a wonderful time for the family, especially for kids. The trouble is there is so much candy, sweets and treats in their faces all the time it’s so hard to say no. Sure, the occasional treat doesn’t hurt but with this list of 16 easy to prepare healthy snacks for kids for the holidays you can still ensure they are eating healthy while having a bit of fun.
What you’ll need to keep on hand
This is a brief list of ingredients you’ll need to keep on hand in the fridge, pantry or freezer to make some of these healthy snacks. The list is not exhaustive so feel free to add your favourite fruits, vegetables and other pantry staples you know your family loves.
Also, buy seasonal produce to ensure you’re getting the best quality for this time of the year and you’ll also find the fruit and vegetables in season are more affordable.
- Fruit: Strawberries, blueberries, bananas, green or red grapes, kiwi, orange or mandarin segments, other berries, dried fruit like currants or cranberries for decorating
- Vegetables: Carrots, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, avocado, red or green peppers, fresh herbs for decorating and adding to cream cheese fillings, black or green olives
- Dairy: Cream cheese, cheese of any kind, Greek yoghurt
- Extras: Pretzels (normal and sticks), marshmallows (small and large), red and green M&Ms for decorating, large sprinkles for decorating (or use a frosting pen if you have it), sliced bread, tortillas, bread buns, eggs, sandwich fillings (ham, chicken, spreads, cheese, mayonnaise etc), rice cakes, crackers, nuts, seeds
- Non edible: Toothpicks, skewers, popsicle sticks, serving platters
We all know how a lot of these holiday snacks are required last minute so in order to help you save time:
- prep fruit and vegetables by cutting into pieces when you bring them home from the store or market
- freeze any ingredients you might need for these treats ahead of time
- if you don’t have time to bake from scratch, buy premade from the store but make sure you’re selecting the most nutrient rich product
- make sure you have popsicle sticks, toothpicks or other things on hand to put together some of these healthy snacks
- get the kids to help you put them together. This can be a fun holiday activity for them and they get to eat the rewards afterwards.
Easy to Prepare Healthy Snacks
Cucumber & Carrot Christmas Trees
Banana & Strawberry Santa Skewers
Vegetable Christmas Tree with Creamy Herb Dip
Celery & Peanut Butter Reindeer Sticks
Cucumber Christmas Tree Sandwiches
Christmas Pinwheels on a Stick
Christmas Tree Fruit & Cheese Platter
Avocado Christmas Tree Tortillas
Reindeer Bliss Balls (Healthy Carrot Energy Bites)
Reindeer Sloppy Joes (or use any sandwich fillings)
I trust you love this round up of healthy snacks for kids for the holidays. Remember, if you don’t have a particular ingredient, use what you have and have fun with your children this holiday season.
