By Sarah Glunz, MS, CNS, LDN
Kids are busy learning, growing, and playing — and they need the right food to fuel their adventures. If your kid is anything like mine, snacks are life, and after school, they’re essential. After a busy day, my son is ravenous, and if I provide the right choices, I feel better letting him listen to his hunger cues.
When it comes to snacks, I like to focus on variety and balance. Variety helps keep things interesting and encourages trying new foods (because food should be enjoyable!). Balance is key, so he feels full and satisfied for longer, and doesn’t resort to grazing all evening. The best way to achieve that is to pair a carbohydrate with a protein or fat. Foods like bread, crackers, chips, and fruit fall into the carb category, while nuts, avocado, cheese, and meat offer protein and fat.
Here are some balanced, after-school snack ideas to get you started:
The Good Crisp Company Potato Crisps
Try Sour Cream and Onion + plain yogurt or Original Potato Crisps + guacamole, or Sea Salt & Vinegar Potato Crisps + hummus! Can you tell we love these stacked potato chips? They’re allergen-friendly and free of gluten and artificial ingredients — a chip you can feel good about at snack time, in school lunches, or as a post-game snack everyone can enjoy. In addition to pairing well with any dip, The Good Crisp Potato Crisps are the best crunchy little vessels for chicken or tuna salad.
Fruit + nut butter or nuts
We love a banana and peanut butter, but this combo works just as well with dried cranberries and almonds or an apple with sunflower seed butter. You can also mix a little Greek yogurt into some nut or seed butter for a creamier, more dippable texture.
Anything + cheese
It’s true, everything goes with cheese. Melt it over tortilla chips (or The Good Crisp Potato Crisps!), pair a string cheese with fruit, top crackers with slices, or make an individual charcuterie plate with cheese, meat, nuts, and fruit.
Adventurous snackers
Keep things exciting with options like roasted chickpeas and dried fruit, chia pudding, smoothies made with new fruits or veggies, toast topped with ricotta cheese and fruit, or dried dates stuffed with goat cheese or almond butter.
Thankfully, these snacks work for adults too — and we need them just as much to keep up with our busy lives!
Sarah Glunz, MS, CNS, LDN, is a nutritionist with more than 15 years of experience — and a mom who knows that feeding a family isn’t always easy. At Savory, she’s passionate about creating balanced meals and snacks that are both nutritious and family-approved.
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