Keep kids energised and their moods up with this printable list of nutritious after school snack ideas. Make sure healthy food is within reach, allowing them to enjoy a satisfying snack when they get home from school!
By the time kids get home from school it has likely been several hours since they have last eaten lunch, or if you have a child like one of mine, they eat most of their lunch at morning tea so they can play sport at lunch. So by the time the kids get home they are ravenous. When my kids become more independent they prepared their own after school snacks, most of the time (some days I just can’t help myself). I noticed my kids typically ate what tastes good and what’s within reach so I made sure I have nutritious and healthy options available to boost their energy and mood.
I’ve put together a printable list of After School Snack Ideas for you to put on your fridge or back of your pantry door to help you plan ahead to fill the fridge and pantry, ready to feed your hungry kids. And… this after-school snack idea printable is handy for those times they will say “Mum there is nothing to eat”, then get them to check the list and make up an easy snack. Find link below to download.
Kids need to eat healthy snacks to refuel after a very long day. It’s ideal for a nutritionally balanced after-school snack for kids to contain a serving of protein and wholegrain carbohydrates, giving them the energy to continue through the afternoon with homework after school activities and to keep them satisfied until dinner time.
Aside from the homebaked goodies that I make, my family and I have listed below other Healthy After School Snack Ideas that my tweens and teens prepare themselves.
LEFT OVERS
When my kids look for something to snack on they firstly check the fridge and see what leftovers there are from dinner the night before. I keep all leftovers even if there is the smallest amount as the kids can add it to noodles, place on toast, make an omelette, top a tortilla to create a pizza… the list is endless when it comes to leftovers. I typically make double batches of most dinners now to ensure there is enough to feed my growing kids or have for lunch the next day or the kids eat as an after school snack.
FROZEN FRUIT
Frozen fruit makes for a refreshing after school treat on a hot day and as it’s an easy finger food snack options my kids enjoy having it next to them while they are doing their homework. Wash fresh fruit and place in a single layer on a baking tray and put in the freezer overnight. Remove from tray and store in an airtight container or zip lock bag. By freezing them separately it’s easier to take the few pieces needed from the container, if you were to place them in the container to freeze it would freeze as a clump and make it hard to remove individual portions. My kids love to freeze:
- Grapes
- Oranges
- Kiwi fruit
- Banana
- Strawberries
- Watermelon
CRACKERS
I keep a range of different cracker options in my pantry. There are many different healthy ideas and choices on what to put on top of a cracker, here are just a few:
- vegemite and cheese
- cream cheese and tomato
- cream cheese and tuna
- cream cheese and strawberries
- peanut butter and banana
- tuna and cucumber
- vegemite and cheese
- cheese, tomato and avocado
- cheese and tomato
- avocado and ham
- avocado, tomato and fetta
- egg and ham
- mashed banana
- ricotta, grated carrot and sultanas
2 MINUTE MAGGI NOODLES
My kids have been making MAGGI 2 minute noodles independently for many years now, it is one of their go-to after-school snacks. Now available with invisible wholegrain, MAGGI 2 Minute Noodles with Wholegrain still taste the same and have the highest health star rating in the MAGGI noodle range.
Eat the 2 minute noodles as is or as my kids do add some protein and vegetables to make a healthy and tasty afternoon snack. I shared these 5 quick ways to jazz up 2-minute noodles last week:
- 2 minute carbonara
- bolognese noodles
- noodle omelette
- salmon noodle fritters
- DIY Chicken and Vegetable Noodle Cups
DIP AND VEGETABLE STICKS
My girls would take the time to cut up vegetable sticks, but my son wouldn’t. So if you do find your child is ‘lazy’ in this respect you could slice up some sticks and keep them the fridge to make them a more convenient snack. My kids like to dip their sticks into hummus or greek yoghurt. Vegetables that are good to make into sticks:
- Capsicum
- Celery
- Carrot
- Snow peas
- Cucumber
SMOOTHIES
Smoothies make for healthy refreshing drink after a long hot day. This is a great quick recipe, simply add 1-2 pieces of fruit, 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup vanilla yoghurt, 1 tablespoon honey and handful of ice into a blender and blitz. Pour into a glass and serve!
- Pineapple + Peach
- Blueberry + Blackberry
- Raspberry + Banana
- Orange + Carrot
- Banana + Peach
OTHER
- Popcorn
- Granola, fruit and yoghurt
- Roasted Chickpeas
- Guacamole and tortilla/corn chips
- Diced cheese
- Boiled Egg
- Nuts and dried fruit
FREE PRINTABLE AFTER SCHOOL SNACK IDEAS
Keep this list handy to use as a reference when creating your weekly shopping list, to help ensure you have some after school snacks ready for the kids to help themselves after school. And as I mentioned above the kids can use it to help identify what they can make themselves. I’ve also created recipe cards for the 5 Quick Ways to Jazz up 2 Minute Noodles for the kids to have as a handy.
