Recess, Morning Tea, Snacks… call it what you will, but often finding or creating nutritious, appealing and easy-to-eat options to pack for primary and preschool aged kids is more of a challenge than preparing their lunch options. Whilst snacks are useful to stabilise blood sugar levels, they can also fill up tummies and dampen appetites for the main meal scheduled just an hour or two later.

Finding the right balance here can be tricky –  at Wholesome Child we have some suggestions for mid-morning tea and recess snacks that will help to get some nutritionally-packed goodies into your kids, as often they are ravenous by this time and willing to munch on new things. There’s no need to plunge in at the deep end and stop all your old favourites at once. With kids it’s best to start out slowly, and together learn what they like, what they’re not so keen on, and what they’d like to help you create for their school snacks.

Top tips for recess or morning tea

• Include PROTEIN – most kids’ lunchboxes lack protein of any kind, so aim to include a protein as part of their snack for recess. This is the best way to stabilise blood sugar levels and increase concentration span. (see protein chapter in Wholesome Child: A Complete Nutrition Guide and Cookbook  for more ideas on how to boost protein)
• Try to steer away from providing pre-packaged snacks which are high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats – and recognise that plastic packaging also has a damaging effect on our environment, so try go “waste free for morning tea”.
• Younger children will normally have their mid-morning tea provided by their childcare centre – this is ideally fresh fruit and vegetables, as their lunchtimes are much earlier than school-aged children – talk to your day-care provider if you have any questions or concerns about the food being offered to your little ones.
• Start to train your kids not to expect their food to only arrive in brightly coloured “one serve” packaging – rather start to interest them in creating their own little snack packs which also teaches them that non-processed and pre-packaged snacks are enjoyable options too!

Best home-made snacks

Five minutes prep or less snack options:

• Boiled egg in fun-shaped moulds
• Veggie sticks with home-made dips
• Simple seaweed wraps – seaweed strips, shredded veggies, shredded chicken that kids can wrap up themselves
• Natural yoghurt and mixed fruit in a reusable container (freeze the night before so it’s slushy by the time kids eat it)
• Cheese, tomato and cucumber salads (cut cheese into fun shapes)
• Fruit, veggie and cheese skewers
• Trail mixes: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sultanas, popcorn, coconut flakes, carob nibs
• Sourdough toast fingers with Betta than Nutella Choc Spread (school friendly)

Options which require a little more prep:

• Home-made muesli bars
• Savoury veggie and cheese muffins (make a batch and freeze them)
• Sweet potato pikelets
• Crackers with butternut hummus
• Home-made veggie chips
• Home-made sushi rolls 
• Mini salmon quiches
• Popcorn with coconut oil, cinnamon and sea salt
• Home-made chickpea nuts with garlic salt or cinnamon (baked chickpeas in oven)
• Baked sweet potato wedges with home-made tomato sauce or tahini and miso sauce
• Mini home-made cauliflower pizza bases with melted cheese
• Healthy banana bread
• Betta than Nutella muffins

Wholesome Child’s favourite store-bought staples

• Low-sodium cheese: mozzarella, swiss, ricotta, quark, cream cheese, bocconcini
• Wholegrain crackers, seeded crackers, brown rice cakes
• Veggie- filled dips: hummus, tzatziki or babaghanoush
• Wholemeal Pizza Bases
• Seeded low-sugar muesli Bars
• Lightly salted popcorn

Mandy’s book Wholesome Child: A Complete Nutrition Guide and Cookbook is available for purchase online and through iTunes. Connect with Mandy on Instagram and Facebook. If you’d like more practical advice on nutritional lunch box ideas, then you may be interested in Mandy’s workshop: Wholesome Child Lunchbox Solutions.  For more information contact Mandy Sacher.