Home made snacks for little ones

[Phoenix]

I have gotten lazy with making snacks for my little ones and I was wondering what your favourite and easy to make receipes are.

I love incorporating veges into muffins and cakes, does anyone have a good zuchini cake?

Thank you in advance :)

Oh and I prob should mention that I only have a food processor.

[mamma]

hommus with veg sticks, sometimes i add sundreied toms to the homuus, or herbs

sesame snaps

[mrs fox]

Hommus and home made tortilla chips are a fav.
DS2 is alway eating carrots and I find the leftovers(ends) bank in the fridge.
Cup cakes are alway a hit.
veg piklets with a cream cheese spread

[Rinelle]

The best zuccini cake recipe is Jackie French's. I'm sure if you google it you'd find it. Of course, it has a LOT of chocolate in it too, so not sure if it could be called healthy...

I've been making home made museli bars recently, which Ezri has been enjoying. Otherwise, I'm not too good at actually healthy snacks, so I'll be watching this thread for some new ideas.

[Phoenix]

I've been making home made museli bars recently, which Ezri has been enjoying.

How do you make your own? I am not much of a baker and am wanting to change this. I always have healthy treats but they are costing me a fortune and I am trying to cut back on the spending.

Are they store bought sesame snaps? Or do you make your own?

I find that B thinks that vegie sticks are an insult to him, but he loves dip.

[emd]

Pumpkin bread and hommous are popular at our house.
I used to make muffins a lot, and the Minister for Household Finance likes to make biscuits, but now that we have two working parents there just doesn't seem to be enough time for everything and the home-made snacks are few and far between.

[Rinelle]

Well, I'm not sure exactly how healthy they are, as they take a bit of sugar and honey to get sweet tasting. I tried some of the 'healthy' ones which were based on apple juice and the like, and I couldn't eat them. My taste buds obviously need more training. I make mine with about 2 tablespoons of butter, one of honey, and half a cup of sugar. I figure at least the oats/nuts/coconut etc are healthy...

[Phoenix]

LOL, I just hate all the extra stuff that is put into food. My DS goes nuts on some foods so I like to know what is going into him. Although I have to say that I am not perfect, and when he goes to Nanna's he is loaded up with lollies and icecream and all the things that he NEVER gets at home. But that is what Nannas are for apparently. he he.

[Phoenix]

How do you make vegie piklets Mrs Fox?

[Kathryn]

Mmm... Zucchini Cake. The only way my lot will eat zucchinis without complaining. I use Nigella Lawson's courgette cake... I'll dig out the recipe....

Flora's Famous Courgette Cake

For the cake:
60g raisins (optional)
250g courgettes (zucchinis), which is about 2-3, weighed before grating
2 large eggs
125ml veg oil (I use mild olive oil)
150g caster sugar
225g SR flour
1/2 tsp bicarb
1/2 tsp baking powder

For the filling:
Lemon curd with a squeeze of fresh lime juice
(or lime curd, but I've never found it and had a disaster trying to make it)

For the icing:
200g cream cheese
100g icing sugar, sieved
juice of 1 lime or more to taste
2-3 tbsp chopped pistachios

Preheat oven to 180
Cover raisins in warm water to plump up.
Wipe zucchini and grate (without peeling) using course grater then put in a sieve over the sink to remove water.
Beat eggs, oil, and sugar until creamy.
Sieve in flour, bicarb & baking powder and continue to beat.
Stir in zucchini and drained raisins.
Pour mixture into 2 x 21cm sandwich tins and bake for 30mins until slightly browned and firm to the touch. (Mine never takes this long - more like 20mins, but my oven is funny.)
Leave in tins for 5-10mins, then turn onto a rack until cool.

Beat cream cheese until smooth
Add sieved icing sugar and beat.
Stir in lime juice to taste. (and taste, and taste...)

Assemble cake and scatter pistachios just before serving.

[Phoenix]

OH MY Kathryn, that sounds delicious! I will be buying zuchini tonight!

[lizlea]

easiest healthy snack is fruit!

[Phoenix]

I agree Liz and we do a lot of fruit but I have trouble giving my older child vegies.

[lizlea]

carrot sticks and avocado dip are a huge hit here

[SeaStar]

I make muffins, banana bread, popcorn, fruit, dried fruit, carrot and hommus, scones, carrot cake, some slices and piklets etc. What I make usually goes with dp and 4 girls. I am trying to make more atm to reduce our packaging waste!

[Karena]

carrot sticks and hommus are a huge fav here.
Also cooking up some mountain bread with a little sea salt and pepper with said hommus is a real treat.

[SpringMumma]

Mmmm, that cake looks fabulous - will have to try on the weekend after my trip to the markets on sat morn.

[mrs fox]

I make the veg piklets with a normal batter but i just add some grated carrot or zucchini, corn then add salt pepper to taste.
mashed pumpkin tried that once, was a bit too heavy.
I love using my bread maker for banana bread and sea salt and rosemary forccica for dipping into dhukkah.

[Joey]

I make vege fritters with besan flour, water and any veg lying around, delcious, easy and nutritious

[mrs fox]

Besan flour...thats a new one for me.....more info please?

[jodiemiller]

Besan flour is ground chickpeas. You can buy it from health food stores, delis and international supermarkets. Also used to make chapati - yum!

[Mercurious]

I do have a zucchini cake recipe somewhere.

[Stardust]

Besan bombs are yum, but fried so a sometimes treat.
Hummous and vegie sticks
Homemade bread
Muffins (no sugar ones)
Banana cake
Pikelets with maple syrup
Porridge!
Scrambled eggs
Biscuits (I put lots of LSA into these, cakes too)
Snack plate with veg and hummous, rice cakes, cut up boiled egg, pear
apple, banana
Dried apple/banana (I do these myself in a very slow oven). Would love a dehydrator!

[emd]

Well, I'm inspired. My Friday arvo happy kids plan is to dress up and we can make pikelets and popcorn.

[Savannah]

We do lots of fruit and veg. I will make fruit kebabs with two or three different types of fruit. Veg platters with homemade dips or mashed avo.

Mountain bread, with honey, chopped nuts and banana. You roll it up and then slice it into inch pieces, like sushi.

[emd]

The mountain bread idea is great! We also like cream cheese or macadamia paste with banana or honey or jam or Mighty Mite.

[SeaStar]

MMmmm mountain bread!

[Rinelle]

I just posted my museli bar recipe on my blog, if anyone is interested. Not completely healthy, but very yummy.

[michelle_j_r]

they don't qualify as recipes, but for snacks popcorn and homemade custard are two treats here that are yummy-scrummy and a big hit.... not totally healthy! but healthy enough.

[~kaoss~]

I made these for an afternoon snack the other day....
http://rachelsrecipes.blogspot.com/2007/09/chocolate-balls-raw-style.html

other snacks are mainly cheese, pickles, scones with jam and cream, corn fritters, popcorn....

[Phoenix]

That is a great recipe Kaoss, thank you.

I will need to get my baking cap on I think!

[skn]

We do lots of fruit and veg. I will make fruit kebabs with two or three different types of fruit. Veg platters with homemade dips or mashed avo.

Mountain bread, with honey, chopped nuts and banana. You roll it up and then slice it into inch pieces, like sushi.

That sounds brilliant!! I'm not into banana, but everyone else here does and would love that. Hmm, might try something similar for myself with avocado (probably would have to be savory instead).

[SungaiKecil]

I've just popped a carrot loaf in the oven that I will portion up and freeze for during the week. One loaf usually lasts us about 3 or 4 days of snacks (morning tea etc) if I ration it.
Same goes for things like pikelets, vegie patties etc... I bulk cook at night when they're in bed and freeze most of it.

[chooky]

is there any bikkie recipes that aren't so naughty? I usually make the standard bikki recipe but its awefully sweet

[Savannah]

That sounds brilliant!! I'm not into banana, but everyone else here does and would love that. Hmm, might try something similar for myself with avocado (probably would have to be savory instead).

Avo, tomato, pesto, hummus, grated carrot, beetroot, etc. Go with your favourite flavours.

I am really enjoying pesto and tomato at the moment, so I make that combo a bit.

You can use lettuce instead of mountain bread too. Even with the banana :yes


Chooky I make bikkies with rolled oats and sultanas.

3 tablespoons of butter, creamed with 1/4 of raw sugar (I generally just use a tablespoon of honey)
Beat in 1 egg and 2 tablespoons of milk
Sift 1 cup of SR flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 nutmeg.
Add to the flour mix 1 cup of rolled oats and 1 cup of sultanas or raisins
Stir through the butter mix

Spoon onto baking trays (I get 16 biscuits per tray as they don't really spread) and bake for about 12mins in a moderate oven.

[JAHJ]

Sungai Kecil,
would you be able to post the recipe for the carrot loaf please? Sounds yummy.

[Stardust]

I load up my bikkies with LSA, Rolled rice, millet. And use maple syrup instead of sugar.

[SungaiKecil]

Sungai Kecil,
would you be able to post the recipe for the carrot loaf please? Sounds yummy.
I usually just google eggless carrot cake and stick it in a loaf pan instead tbh. Will is sensitive to eggs... otherwise, I'd just use a regular carrot cake recipe.
The one I made last night was a disaster because I was doing too many things at once LOL.