Take Nutrition on the Move: 5 Healthy Summer Snacks for Kids

As summer temperatures start to climb, the amount of time worth spending in a sweltering kitchen drops faster than your sweat. Factor in the complications of keeping kids entertained (Sports camp! Dance class! Impromptu nature hikes!) and it’s no small task to keep everyone fed and happy.

Combating hunger on the go takes intention, sure, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. There’s a world of excellent, nutritious snack choices that will keep everyone from toddlers on up ready to rally for summer fun—no gas station candy bars required. Here, we’ve compiled our five favorite summer snack recipes for road trips, beach, and picnic snacks.

5 Healthy Summer Snacks For Kids

We get it; summer exertion makes everyone a bottomless pit of hunger. These quick, convenient snack options are great hacks to have on hand. 

Homemade Real Fruit Popsicles (Makes 4 Ice Pops)

Channel the indulgence of an ice cream shoppe without the upcharge with these real-fruit popsicles. Whole milk yogurt adds a punch of protein that keeps kids full, but the sky-high antioxidant levels mean the whole family can come back for seconds guilt-free.  

Ingredients: 

• 2 pouches White Leaf Provisions Biodynamic Mango, Carrot, Banana & Pear Sauce (You can also substitute our Pear, Banana & Kiwi sauce).
• 1 cup organic, grass-fed, whole milk plain yogurt
• ¼ cup organic honey or organic agave

Instructions: 

• Mix all ingredients in a bowl and adjust sweetness to your liking. 
• Pour into molds and freeze for a minimum of 6 hours.
• For best results, take your pops out of the freezer 10 mins before serving.

Apple Sauce Blender Muffins

Made with applesauce, yogurt, and almond flour, these muffins are naturally sweet and packed with fiber. Your family will benefit from zero added sugars, flavors, and GMOs in this healthy snack made from pantry staples like cinnamon, vanilla, and your choice of our biodynamic applesauce. The best part? No need to dirty multiple dishes; the batter is blender-friendly. 

Muffins make for a wholesome and delicious snack for the whole family, especially picky toddlers. Stow some in the freezer for a real crowd-pleaser this summer. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 pouch applesauce, without added sugar or no sugar added
• ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt (sub: coconut yogurt)
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups blanched almond flour
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed (optional)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

Note: There’s plenty of room for creativity with your applesauce selection in this muffin recipe. Consider adding a boost of the tropics with a mango and coconut applesauce pouch from White Leaf Provisions. Other flavors include pear, blueberry, and banana, or you can add almond extract, blueberries, chocolate chips, and more.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Line a muffin tin with muffin liners.
3. Add all ingredients to a high-powered blender. Blend until combined (30 seconds – 1 minute). Pour into liners.
4. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are browned.

Bonus: Freeze and store these muffins for on-the-go nutrition that stays fresh for up to two months. Just wrap the muffins securely in foil or use a Stasher bag or Tupperware, and store them in a single layer to prevent them from sticking together, and label all packages with the name of the recipe and the date. Then, when you need the best toddler-friendly snack, you have them ready to pack.

Dairy-Free Fruit Smoothie

Very Best Banana Bread

It’s a bold statement, we know, but we stand behind it. This banana bread recipe is worth writing home about. It’s inspired by an addiction to toasted vanilla, warm, buttery bread, and the joy of unexpected texture that comes from adding blueberries, raisins, nuts, and seeds. This recipe also freezes perfectly, even by the slice, for those smaller toddler appetites. 

Ingredients:

• ½ cup Wholesome Biodynamic Cane Sugar
• 1/3 cup melted unsalted organic butter
• 2 pasture-raised eggs at room temperature 
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 ½ cups of white whole wheat flour, sifted
• 3 pouches organic banana applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ cup roasted walnuts or pecans pieces (not salted)*
• ½ cup organic blueberries or chocolate chips (optional)*

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375f. Grease a loaf pan with olive oil or a little butter.
2. Whisk together mashed bananas, melted butter, sugar, vanilla, and eggs.
3. Mix all dry ingredients together, then add to the banana mixture.
4. Stir through the nuts and blueberries, if you'd prefer, the chocolate chips. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
5. Let cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pan.

*If allergic restrictions do not allow you to consume nuts, berries or chocolate, the bread recipe can be made without or substituted.

To serve, unwrap, place on a small tray under the grill and grill until slightly crispy on each side. Serve with Greek yogurt and fruit. Enjoy. 

Sugar Free Toddler Cookies

Is there anything more satisfying than a gooey chocolate chip cookie? A well-thought-out recipe won’t require extra sugar to taste like pure decadence, and thankfully, we’ve got one ready to share.  

But here’s a secret—this 20-minute, toddler-friendly chocolate chip cookie recipe from @tativegancooking sneaks in beets! There’s no chopping required, thanks to the convenience of a White Leaf Provisions puree.

Ingredients: 

• White Leaf Provisions pouch- apple, sweet potato, and beet flavor
• ¾ cup almond flour
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 4 tablespoons stevia or sweetener of your choice
• ½ powder baking powder
• ¼ baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Chocolate chips, optional

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. In a bowl, combine all ingredients except the chocolate chips until a dough texture is achieved.
   
3. Shape cookies and place them in a lined baking tray. Add chocolate chips on top and bake for 10-12 minutes. 

We hope you and your families love these easy summer snack ideas!

About the Author

Lydia Noyes is a freelance writer and agriculture journalist for publications that include Mother Earth News, EcoWatch, Farm Show Magazine, and Agriculture Dive. When she's not staring down the nightmare of a blank Word Doc, she’s working in the garden with her two daughters, surrounded by nuisance goats and heritage breed pigs.