Preparing Quick and Easy Snacks for Kids

I don’t know about you, but when I was getting ready to become a mom for the second time, and found out we were having a boy, I talked to everyone I knew about everything I’d need to know about raising boys. (We’d already had a girl. Pshhh. She was a piece of cake.)  Boys were a big unknown.

My goofy awesome family.

I heard from several friends that had older boys that they are always eating. I did not take this information seriously. Boys. Eat. All. The. Time.

When we moved to California we had a nice surprise, there was a “brunch” break in the middle of the morning. The kids had a 10 minute break when they could grab something to eat from the cafeteria, or that they’d brought from home. There was no mid-afternoon break though – and apparently that time between lunch and getting home was just too long. He was always super hungry when he got home from school and grabbing a snack was usually the first thing we did after getting home.

Prepping quick and easy snacks for during and after school really seemed to make a difference – in my day and his.
It really helped to have snacks prepared so when he came home from school he could take a few minutes to eat before starting homework or heading out to play. I tried to make sure I had snacks on hand that were quick and easy to prepare – like crackers, veggies and ranch, or fruit.

Now that the kids are teenagers they pack their own lunches for school, but my son still packs snacks to eat throughout the day. He is still snacking and eating all day.

I love this video from Kellogg’s – it’s a fun take on packing up snacks – and something I wish I’d thought of when the kids were younger. It would have been fun to pack up snacks super fast with them, or compete to see who could do it faster. And we would have had a bunch of snacks packed and ready to go for the week!

For me, I’m often running around and get so caught up in errands or projects that I forget to eat. I love Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats for breakfast but I’d never have thought of packing them up for a snack. I think I’ll be packing some up to keep in the car for snacking on when I’m out and about!

Kellogg’s® believes that From Great Starts Come Great Things®. So we’re helping Moms start every day with a tip from the top athletes of Team Kellogg’s™ and Team USA dietitians. The thirty days leading up to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games will each feature fun pieces of advice to help families fuel just like the athletes of Team Kellogg’s.
To see all 30 tips, visit Kelloggs.com/GreatStartsTips.

Compensation was provided by Kellogg’s via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Kellogg’s.

So I would love to hear – do you have any tips on snacks? Do you pack up snacks for after school?