Part of my summer school class that I am teaching to second through fourth graders entails nutrition. I have been using My Plate as a guide, but also incorporating my own tidbits of information.
How do you keep kids engaged when talking about fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy? Feed them snacks, of course! I really wanted them to see how easy and tasty healthy snacks could be, so throughout the four weeks I have shared some of my favorites.
Watermelon: The perfect summertime fruit. Cool, refreshing, and loaded with water!
Fun to eat, too! I cut the watermelon into round slices, then cut those slices into fourths. It made it incredibly easy to cut, hand out, and eat!
Dark Chocolate Almond Milk: I told them how dark chocolate has more antioxidants than milk or white, so dark is a better choice. Like all treats, even dark chocolate should be enjoyed in moderation. We also discussed how almond milk is an alternative to dairy. The kids loved it! I mean, how could you go wrong with chocolate? You can’t.
Orange Pops: Ideally, we would have squeezed our own orange juice, but for the sake of convenience, I bought a big jug of it. I did explain how I chose a natural, not from concentrate, no sugar added container of orange juice. All we did was pour some juice in a little dixie cup, stick in a popsicle stick, and let them freeze overnight.
The next day, you tear off the dixie cup (it comes off surprisingly easy) and wah-lah! Homemade orange popsicles. Another hit!
Cinnamon: Cinnamon can be used as a natural sweetener (read: you don’t have to pour extra sugar on top of already sweet foods!). I had one container of cinnamon and the kids LOVED using it. I’m not sure if it was completely the taste, the idea that it sweetens, or the act of pouring some cinnamon and passing it to their friends that they loved best, but once they started with it, they couldn’t stop!
Coconut Milk: Mild taste and another alternative to dairy, I let the kiddos try some coconut milk. Some liked it, others didn’t, and some thought it tasted like water.
Apple Slices & Almond Butter: Apples by themselves make great snacks, but pairing it with some healthy fats and protein is even better! Most of the kids had never tasted almond butter before, so I was happy to introduce them to that. I gave each child half an apple with a dollop of almond butter. Some children chose to sprinkle cinnamon on the apple slices, almond butter, or both!
Trader Joe’s O’s: Toasted whole grain oats. Cereal doesn’t have to be loaded with sugar to taste great. I really emphasized choosing whole grains over refined, and wanted to prove to them that there is no difference in taste, or it’s better. Of course they sprinkled cinnamon on, and we ate a small bowl for snack with some vanilla almond milk. Another hit!
Whole Grain Pretzels: Another “I told ya so” moment as kids realized that whole grain foods taste the same/better than traditional white stripped of nutrients.
Banana & Sunflower Seed Butter: While some kids had tasted almond butter before, none of the students had ever eaten sunflower seed butter. After they tried it (some were reluctant at first, I encouraged them to at least try), they commented, “It tastes like sunflower seeds!” Oh, the innocence of children. 
Half a banana for some stellar carbs and a spoonful of sunflower seed butter for some added protein and fats. Fab snack! Sunflower seed butter is a wonderful alternative for kids with nut allergies as sunflowers are seeds, not nuts.
High Fiber Fruit & Nut Multigrain Medley: Purchased from Trader Joe’s, a great “cereal” loaded with fiber, not sugar! Again, kids had the option to sprinkle cinnamon, and we ate this with some vanilla soy milk (another alternative to cow’s milk that is packed with protein).
Banana Bar: For our end of summer school celebration, I set up a banana bar very similar to this one. Kids LOVE having a choice and variety! There is no picture because we are actually having the banana bar today. Students will have the option to top their banana with strawberry/vanilla/blueberry yogurt, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, and dark chocolate chips.
Chobani Champion Greek Yogurt: This was the highlight of our snacks at summer school! Since I’ve reviewed Chobani greek yogurt before, I contacted the kind souls at Chobani to tell them about my summer school class. They graciously sent an enormous package of each of their four flavors from their Chobani Champions line that is geared towards kids.
Chobani Champions are the perfect snack for kiddos! Not only are each and every one of their flavors amazing, they come in just the right size. Each cup packs 100 calories and 8 grams of protein. The kids LOVED them!
Thank you, Chobani, for your generosity and for sharing your Cho Love with us! Since we have good manners (aka: I ensure my students always display good manners when they’re with me), the kiddos wrote Chobani thank you notes that included lines like, “The verry berry was berry good!” And, “I’m going to ask my mom to buy me some Chobani!”
Those were all the snacks that we had during my Active Living + Healthy Eating = Happy Kids summer school class! The kids would have preferred to snack everyday, but I did have a budget to stick to. Eating snacks in this class reinforced what I already knew: Kids like healthy food. It’s a matter of teaching them about it, letting them choose so they feel like they are in control, and making healthy food available.
Annette just wrote a great post about how to cure obesity. The bottom line is that parents need to educate themselves on what it means to eat healthy in order to instill a habit and patterns of making healthy choices. Sure, bags of chips and cookies are convenient and inexpensive, but there is NO replacement for the nutrition that fruits and vegetables pack. Not fruit juice, not fruit snacks, simply whole fruit! Ah, I could go on and on about this, but I’ll stop here before my soap box continues.
Obviously, healthy snacks are not just for kids. I chose these snacks because they are what I eat, too! (Ok so maybe I have never made the orange pops before, but I think I will now! ) If you’re a parent, please please please fuel your child with the nutrients he/she needs to live a long, healthy, and active life!
You tell me: What is YOUR favorite snack?
Reading with my 6 yo at my side. We are getting us some DIXIE CUPS today!!
Awesome! So many possibilities with something so simple!!
Oh,these are such wonderful ideas to get kids into eating more health-conscious without lacking on the taste!
I think it’s really important to teach them “healthy” does not mean “disgusting”,especially nowadays. Also,it is always shocking for me to see how many parents don’t seem to care about what their children put into their little mouths! There are far too many children who eat sugar-loaden cereal every day without even KNOWING about it! 
Anyhoo,I personally cannot eat watermelon because it upsets my stomach somehow,but you could also cut it out in funny shapes – I bet the kids would like that,too!
My favorite snack is fruit with nut butter,no doubt! Aplles and almond butter is gnaaaah… Incredible!
Yes!! I completely agree!! It’s frustrating that the school district still serves very unhealthy food, but at least the group of kids I taught have begun to learn what it means to be healthy!
These are all awesome ideas! I love the banana bar… so creative. And we’re making lots of popsicles in our house these days.
Thanks! Popsicles are such a fun summer treat!
You are AMAZING for doing this with your students. Hearing about nutrition from and early age and being able to try the healthy alternatives, can make a real difference in not only their lives, but the lives of their families. If all school taught things like this, obesity could become a thing of the past.
Aww thanks!! I hope I made a slight difference!
I love this!! I just found you 2 different ways this morning… A) I saw your comment on my guest post on The Lean Green Bean, and B) I read about how sweet you are on A Dash of Meg
So it was meant to be that I came to read your blog today! I love all your snack ideas. I do think the “regular” Chobanis are a bit better than the Champions variety because the Champions have almost double the sugar content. 
I use the Champions ones frozen in the freezer as more of a once in awhile “treat” and the regular “adult” Chobanis as an every day go-to for both me and my 2 year old daughter. Her favorites are Strawberry/Banana 2%, Blueberry, and Mango. I look forward to getting to know you more and following along on your blog!
Thanks, Kelly!! I did see the sugar content in the Champions, however in the long run I do think it’s a much better snack than some more traditional alternatives. I have never tasted a Chobani flavor I didn’t like, but I do prefer the regular ones, too. Thanks for reading!
How awesome that you are teaching kids about nutrition – that is overlooked FAR too often. One day they’ll look back and remember that Ms. Linz helped them learn more about their food.
I hope so!!
I love this post! I’m going to grad school in the fall to pursue an MPH and though I’m not completely sure what I want to do with it yet, I’d love to work with kids and join the childhood obesity effort. I never remember learning anything like this when I was a kid, that’s for sure!
That would be AWESOME!! I don’t remember learning much about healthy eating either growing up!
This is WONDERFUL Linz
You are so creative. Especially with the cinnamon thing. I didn’t start using cinnamon like I do now until I started blogging. I love that you introduced it to them! I only used cinnamon in recipes before and maybe on an apple a few times! Now the little kids will be adding it to their cereal every morning 
hehehehehe!
I love a wide variety of snacks! I always make sure I have a source of protein
I love Greek yogurt for a quick snack. It’s probably my go to 
Thanks, Meg!! I agree.. It has definitely been within the last year that I have fallen in love with cinnamon and it was so fun to see the kids get excited about it!
You.ARE.AMAZING. Wow!! I bet those kids’ eyes have now been opened!! Eating delicious does not have to be yucky, in fact, it’s SO tasty. ANd you just taught a whole bunch of kids that. GOOOOO you!! You are definitely a healthy inspiration
YES!! Hopefully it sticks.. even just a little would be a start!
Do I have to choose just one snack, Linz? Okay, if I must, I would say that my favorite snack is baby carrots dipped in roasted red pepper hummus.
Haha! Ooooh hummus is always a great option!
Hahaha I LOVE kid snacks. I have child-like eating habits sometimes
Banana “ice cream” (pureed frozen bananas) are a great kid snacks!!!
I have not yet done the pureed frozen banana thing yet, but I def want to!! Actually we have 4 very ripe bananas that need to be used…! Hmmm!!
Watermelon is the best summer snack! I need some for this weekend I think!
I agree!! My husband and I go through it SO fast!
I am dying to try out the Chobani Vanilla Chocolate yogurt – sounds SO good
My favorite snack would be dates stuffed with peanut butter.
Oooh I love dates, but have never stuffed them before! LOVE that idea!
yummy that watermelon almost made me leave my apartment to buy some.
haha you should!
I love peanut butter on a cut up apple – YUM:)
def my go-to!
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very cool ideas for me and my family to try to make thanks a lot.
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