We are often tempted to bake or buy snacks for after school snacks. Have you ever considered that your pantry has a wealth of healthy snacks that you can tap into? Instead of filling your pantry with highly processed snack foods, here are 12 natural foods that will keep kids satisfied until dinner time.
Canned beans and vegetables are easy to serve and great sources of fibre. You can buy some in tins of 125 grams or around 200 grams, which can be either one or two serves of vegetables. They are so much more filling than crackers and will stave off the hunger pangs until dinner time. Some only come in 400 gram tins, so dividing them into two serves or serving half and keeping the remainder in the fridge for a few days is an option. You don’t even need to heat them – they can be drained (if required) and eaten straight from the can.
Hungry children also need protein. Tuna is a great source of protein, so having some tins of tuna in oil (it tastes better than tuna in spring water) is also a good after school snack. Braver families than mine also eat sardines.
12 HEALTHY TINNED SNACKS
- Kidney beans
- Chick peas
- Baked beans
- Corn kernels
- Creamed corn
- Mexican corn and beans
- Three bean mix
- Cannellini beans
- Butter beans
- Lentils
- Tuna in oil
- Sardines
Older children may baulk at introducing some of these options, but it is worth trying with kids of any age as they may just take you up on it when you offer them. If at first you don’t succeed, try again as they say. Often new foods need to be offered a number of times before they become accepted by kids. Kids also imitate their parents, so having a tinned pantry snack yourself every so often will help your kids adopt this idea. It also means as they grow older they can simply serve themselves these healthy snacks when they get home from school.
Setting up these healthier habits with kids will hold them in good stead for adult life too, and ultimately a healthier idea of what snack foods can include.
Apple slice
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