As the fall season begins at Rising Stride, it’s time to think about what snacks to have ready when they get home. As a parent, you probably want to provide healthy fall snacks for your preschool students. Of course, most popular fall snack foods involve huge amounts of sugar, fat, and other less than ideal ingredients. How can you provide fall-themed snacks without resorting to junk food?
Healthy Fall Snacks
A fall-themed snack doesn’t have to be the sugary junk food usually available this time of year. With a little planning ahead, you can easily provide healthy foods your kids will love. Check out a few easy-to-make ideas below:
- Owl crackers
- Apple chips
- Pumpkin granola
- Apple pie popcorn
- Citrus pumpkins
- “Candy corn” fruit snacks
1) Owl Crackers
These adorable, owl-shaped snacks perfectly capture the fall spirit!
Ingredients:
- Apple slices
- Sliced almonds
- Whole almonds
- Raisins
- Bread slices
- Round crackers (like Ritz)
- Cream cheese
Cut the bread slices into circles about 5 inches across and spread them with cream cheese. Using a dollop of cream cheese as glue, place a raisin on top of a snack cracker and attach it to the owl’s face–this will be an eye. Repeat on the other side and place a whole almond between the eyes for the nose. Make the ears and a few feathers out of sliced almonds.
2) Apple Chips
This healthy alternative to potato chips makes a great dessert as well as a tasty snack.
Ingredients:
- Apples
- Cinnamon
Core and slice the apples, and sprinkle the slices with cinnamon. Using a dehydrator set at 115 degrees Fahrenheit or an oven on its lowest setting, heat the apples until they are completely dry but not hard. Cool and enjoy!
3) Pumpkin Granola
Fans of cereal and trail mix alike will enjoy this fall-themed granola. Enjoy it on its own or mixed in with milk or yogurt. Just bear in mind this recipe is a bit more complex and your little ones may require more help making it.
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- ¼ cup ground flaxseeds
- ¼ cup pepitas
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup maple syrup or honey
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- A pinch of salt
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. On a parchment-lined baking pan, toast the oats and quinoa for 10 minutes, stirring once halfway through the baking time. Blend the toasted oats and quinoa in a large bowl along with the flaxseeds, pecans, dried fruit, and pepitas. In a separate bowl, blend the maple syrup, pumpkin, pumpkin spice, oil, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees and, while you wait, pour the pumpkin mixture over the toasted oats and stir. Spread the mixture onto a parchment-lined pan and bake for 20 minutes or until the granola is golden.
Pro Tip: If you or your kids are allergic to gluten, take care to find pure oats. Sometimes oats get cross-contaminated if packaged in the same factory as wheat products.
4) Apple Pie Popcorn
Try making popcorn into a dessert without adding a bunch of candy! Here’s how to do it.
Ingredients:
- 8 cups of popped popcorn
- ½ cup dried apple bits
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 2 tbsps melted butter or coconut oil
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp allspice
- 1 tbsp honey
Mix the spices, honey, and butter in a small bowl. Pour over the popcorn, nuts, and apple chunks and toss well. That’s it! Try the original recipe if you prefer to add sugar.
5) Citrus Pumpkins
This ridiculously easy and tasty recipe is the perfect pumpkin-themed addition to any afternoon snack.
Ingredients:
- Several peeled mini oranges or tangerines (don’t separate the sections)
- 1 celery stalk
Slice off a piece of celery about an inch and a half long, and cut this piece lengthwise into several “pumpkin stems”. Gently push the stems into the center of the peeled orange to make a little pumpkin.
6) “Candy Corn” Fruit Snacks
There are way too many combinations of fruit snacks to list here. For a fall-themed treat, try the fruit trio that most resembles candy corn when stacked together: apples, oranges, and pineapple chunks. Stick these fruits on a kebab stick or cover them in yogurt for a version of candy corn that’s actually healthy.
Give Your Preschoolers a Healthy Choice
Fall snacks for preschool students aren’t just sugar-filled junk food. Creative parents and teachers can find plenty of tasty, easily prepared after-school snacks for the little ones to enjoy. These are just a few ideas. To view more ideas please visit Kids Healy Snack Ideas.
At Rising Stride Child Care Center, we love celebrating the surge of exploration preschoolers exhibit, and we capitalize on it with our Preschool programs. See all that we have to offer in our programs. We think you will love it!