Healthy Snacks for Little Hands

As this pregnancy has gone on, I have found myself feeding the children more and more cereal. It all started quite innocently, for smells turned my tummy and cereal was something easily served cold. But then, they decided they liked it. And I decided it was convenient.

Last week, I started to feel guilty. It’s not that there is anything particularly wrong with serving children cereal, it’s just that I had this great habit of serving extremely healthy snacks back when E. was an only child, and I feel like A. is getting the raw end of the deal. {By raw, I mean processed food.}

Anyhow, I remembered last week that I had two recipes that provide a pan full of snacks that are healthier than most snacks. I mean, it is obviously very healthy to cut up a piece of fruit or two, but that is not easy to grab and go if headed to the park. These are healthier grab-and-go snacks.

I will offer up the healthiest of the two first. This was given to me by an old aquaintance. Don’t let the name cause confusion. A four-year-old will easily eat these if the amount of sweetening agent is doubled or tripled.

 

Baby Teething Bars
Ingredients
1 beaten egg yolk
2 Tb. real maple syrup OR raw honey {okay…I use 4-6 Tb. in real life}
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 Tb. olive oil
1/4 cup milk
1 Tb. uncooked rolled oats {not quick-cooking}
1 cup flour {I use whole wheat pastry flour, but anything works here}
1 Tb. soy flour {optional}
1 Tb. wheat germ {optional}
1 Tb. nonfat dry milk {optional}
Also consider tossing in shredded carrots, zucchini, bananas, apples, or pears.

Directions
Blend wet ingredients, then add dry ingredients. Dough should be fairly stiff, but it really differs depending on what is tossed in {for example, pears are juicier than carrots, and this changes the texture}, so add flour and oatmeal if needed until the dough sticks together better. Roll out the dough into a small (ungreased) cookie sheet {I think mine is about 12″x8″ or so}) and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Allow to cool a bit, and then use a pizza slicer to cut into squares or strips the perfect size for little hands. These do not have preservatives, so unless you have many children, it is a good idea to store them in the refrigerator. The added chill also soothes toddlers who are teething.

And here is the next recipe. I think I may have originally found it on AllRecipes, though I’m not positive. This one also has a lot of options to toss in at the end, meaning that the end result can be different every time. Our favorite combination thus far was a combination of slivered almonds, dried cranberries, and raisins. And before one completely throws out the ideas of using seeds, please keep in mind that seeds offer some great health benefits. I remember reading once that a tablespoon of sesame seeds has all the calcium a woman needs for a full day!

 

Homemade Chewy Granola Bars
Ingredients
4.5 cups rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup raw honey
1/3 cup packed brown sugar {this is the healthiest part, right?}
2 cups total add-ins…consider: mini semisweet chocolate chips, sunflower seeds, raisins, chopped dried fruit, mini m&ms, chopped or slivered nuts, sesame seeds, etc.

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease one 9″x13″ pan. In large mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda, vanilla, butter, honey and brown sugar. Stir in the 2 cups of add-ins. Lightly press this mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 325 for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes, then cut into bars with a pizza slicer. Let the bars cool completely in the pan before removing or serving.