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One of the hardest parts of motherhood (in my opinion) is feeding your kids. It’s hard to find the time and energy to cook nutritious meals and snacks and constantly come up new recipes, not to mention that kids can be super picky eaters! So today I wanted to share a few of the snacks that my kids have been loving recently (and please, feel free to share what your kids are loving in the comment section – we can all learn from each other!). I like to pick a few of these recipes and make them on Sundays so that the girls have plenty of snacks on hand throughout the week (I store everything in these glass storage containers for easy access!). Having healthy snacks prepared makes it sooo much easier to eat healthy during the week, otherwise it’s all too easy to grab a processed snack from the pantry (I’m lookin’ at you, goldfish!).

Peanut Butter Banana Yogurt Bark

This is our most recent creation – we have only made it once and we still have leftovers in the freezer (it makes a bunch!). The great thing about this recipe is that you can easily switch up the flavors according to your kids’ preferences. I think next time we’ll try a variation with strawberry and peanut butter!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plain whole milk yogurt (this is the best yogurt if you can find it!)
• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 Tbsp honey 
• 2 Tbsp natural peanut butter

Directions:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, mash one banana. Add in the yogurt and honey and stir until combined. (If you’re using Greek yogurt like we do, you may want to add an extra tablespoon of honey!)
3. Pour the yogurt mixture onto the baking sheet and spread with a knife until you have a smooth layer.
4. Swirl on the peanut butter. If your peanut butter is too thick, you can place it in a small bowl and heat in the microwave in 20-second increments. Slice the remaining banana and place it on top of the yogurt. 
5. Place the baking sheet in the freezer for at least 5 hours. Take the baking sheet out of the fridge and break the yogurt bark into chunks with your hands. 
6. Serve and enjoy! You can store the leftovers in the freezer.

Tart Cherry Gummies

This is another favorite that my kids LOVE. I originally got the recipe from my Real Food for Pregnancy book, but it’s truly a kid classic because it looks and tastes exactly like Jello (but it’s WAY healthier!). Gelatin (especially gelatin from grass-fed cows!) is so healthy for you and benefits everything from your gut lining to your liver, joints and skin. And instead of added food dyes, this jello gets its coloring from pure tart cherry juice!

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups tart cherry juice
• 4 Tbsp gelatin, ideally from grass-fed cows (this is the brand we use)
• 1 Tbsp honey

Directions:

1. Mix ingredients in small saucepan. Let gelatin sit for a few minutes to help it dissolve.
2. Heat the saucepan at medium-low heat.
3. Stir with a metal spoon while the mixture heats, so the gelatin completely dissolves.
4. Once you no longer see gelatin granules, remove from heat and pour into a glass dish.
5. Place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes, or until gelatin sets.
6. Cut into bite-sized pieces with a knife or use cookie cutters to make fun little shapes. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Fruity Popsicles

The girls looooove popsicles in our house. I mean, we go through all four of these ice pop molds in a day, so we are constantly making new ones. I’ve made a lot of different popsicle variations over the past several months, and this combination is without a doubt their favorite!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup frozen mango
• 1/4 cup frozen strawberries
• 1/4 cup frozen peaches
• 1/2 cup plain full-fat greek yogurt
• 1 scoop chia seeds
• 1 cup orange juice

Directions:

1. Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend, blend, blend. You may need to add extra water depending on the strength of your blender!
2. Transfer the fruit mixture to the ice pop molds and freeze until solid, about two hours.
3. You will probably have leftovers, so we like to put them in silicone ice cube molds and freeze!

Blueberry Muffins

It took me forever to find a recipe for healthy blueberry muffins that ACTUALLY tasted good! We found this one and I’ve adapted it slightly for the girls. Kennedy in particular loves these so much, she can eat five or six in a one sitting! We also like to bake these in a mini muffin pan, since they’re a more appropriate size for little hands.

Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ cups plus 1 teaspoon whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 eggs, preferably at room temperature
• 1 cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 Tbsp turbinado sugar (also called raw sugar), for sprinkling on top

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (if necessary, grease all cups on your muffin tin with butter).
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ¾ cups of the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix them together with a whisk.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oil and honey and beat together with a whisk. Add the eggs and beat well, then add the yogurt and vanilla. Mix well.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a big spoon, just until combined (a few lumps are okay). In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the remaining 1 teaspoon flour (this helps prevent the blueberries from sinking to the bottom). Gently fold the blueberries into the batter. The mixture will be thick, but don’t worry.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups . Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with turbinado sugar. Bake the muffins for 16 to 19 minutes, or until the muffins are golden on top and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
6. Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool. If you have leftover muffins, store them, covered, at room temperature for 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can freeze leftover muffins for up to 3 months!

Cheddar Cheese and Broccoli Egg Bites

Eggs are sooo good for you, but it can get really boring eating scrambled eggs for breakfast every morning! We occasionally like to switch it up, and these cheddar cheese and broccoli egg bites were a huge hit in our house. And they made breakfast in the morning a breeze – just pull one out of the fridge and pop it in the microwave! We do like to add ham to ours, but only if we can find an organic/natural brand at the store.

Ingredients:

• 7 eggs
• 2 Tbsp milk of choice
• 2/3 cup broccoli, very finely chopped
• 1/3 cup ham cut into small pieces (optional)
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 and lightly grease a mini silicone muffin pan with butter. (I’ve found that the silicone pan really helps with getting the egg bites out easily.)
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper until well combined.
3. Evenly distribute the broccoli, cheddar and ham into each muffin cup until they are halfway full.
4. Evenly pour the egg mixture into each muffin cup until the each cup is roughly 2/3 full.
5. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until eggs have firmed and tops are golden brown and bubbly.

If you have any other recipes that your kids love, please let us know!