Preparing food is an important life skill for children to learn and enjoy. Students at my zero waste nature preschool are invited to help grow, harvest and prepare food from the garden to learn where food comes from. They also help set the table and serve the snacks that we provide.
To live more in alignment with the earth, as I teach in Closed-Loop Zero Waste, I look for organic, whole-food, unpackaged in bulk (or at least packaged in paper), and locally-grown ingredients. Growing our own food is a great way to meet all of those goals, though buying from local Co-ops is another great way to do so. We create minimal trash when growing or purchasing the food in this way.
We aim to provide balanced meals. One way we do this is to pair a protein or fat with a carb, like an apple with a nut or seed butter. When you have a carb alone, otherwise known as a “naked carbohydrate,” blood sugar spikes. We want our kiddos to have less cravings for sugar and stay full. This method was coined by Lily Nichols RDN, CDE, author of Real Food for Gestational Diabetes and Real Food for Pregnancy. In general, I choose not to add any sweetener into my recipes, or if it needs a little, I substitute added refined sugar with honey or maple syrup.
My goal is to introduce the children to a variety of foods. In order to give children the opportunity to try new things, we typically do not repeat the main component of a snack more than once during the school year. Some of the supplemental food provided with the main snack may be repeated to ensure a mix of protein and carbs.
Here are 50 of our favorite snacks!
- Fruit salad and cheese
- Mashed potatoes and milk
- Homemade applesauce and hard-boiled egg
- Egg salad sandwiches
- Watermelon and chicken sausage
- Cinnamon toast and nut butter
- Zucchini muffins and fresh-cut veggies
- Guacamole and chips
- Hummus and cucumber and carrot slices
- Corn on the cob and beef sticks
- Roasted pumpkin seeds and quinoa
- Homemade potato fries and milk
- Apple cider heated over the fire and cheese slices
- Pomegranates and trail-mix
- Oatmeal, berries, and yogurt
- Grilled cheese sandwiches
- Strawberry banana yogurt milkshake and deviled eggs
- Pancakes, maple syrup tapped from our trees, and sausages
- Banana bread muffins and milk
- Corndog muffins and ketchup (cornbread muffin with a hotdog inside)
- Popcorn and milk
- Mini cheesy egg bakes and mixed fruit
- Kale chips and beans
- Cinnamon baked apples and cottage cheese
- Homemade pretzels and milk
- Celery, Sunbutter, and raisins
- French toast and milk
- Mini cheese pizzas
- Homemade vanilla ice cream and fruit on top (bananas, strawberries, etc.)
- Baked potato and sour cream
- Veggie pizza (crust, cream cheese, and variety of veggies)
- Bruschetta (mozzarella cubed, tomatoes, olive oil, and salt on top of crusty bread)
- Homemade jam on toast (jam with no sugar added) and mixed seeds
- Chicken salad sandwiches
- Stuffing with sausage
- Cheese and veggie omelets
- Homemade salsa and chips
- Homemade granola bars and milk
- Homemade apple pie (sweetened only with honey or maple syrup if necessary) and milk
- Stuffed peppers (bell peppers stuffed with rice, cheese, and seasonings or a sauce)
- Blueberry lemon muffins and nut butter
- Salad (lettuce, tomatoes, croutons, shredded cheese, and anything else that feels inspiring)
- Wild rice and mushrooms
- Friendship soup (have the children bring in the ingredients: potatoes, onion, broth, kale, etc.)
- Homemade apple juice and turkey sausages
- Zucchini pizza (cut zucchini into rounds and top with sauce, cheese, and pepperonis)
- Squash soup (butternut squash, carrots, onion, garlic) and milk
- Fruit smoothie (milk, banana, and other fruit of choice) and pretzels
- Yogurt bar (unsweetened vanilla yogurt, granola, berries)
- Scrambled eggs (from our chickens) and homemade orange juice
