School’s Out! Planning Healthy Summer Kids Snacks

It’s Summer!  School is out!  Healthy summer snacks are a must for keeping kids happy and active during time off from school.  Toss out the junk food and start making snack time fun again!

Check out these creative, tasty, and healthy summer snack recipes and ideas for kids of any age:

The Kids MedzoBox – Mediterranean Bento Snack Box

Mini meatballs, edamame hummus, babaganoush, and cucumber yogurt sauce with crunchy veggie sticks

Recipe:

Edamame Hummus

• 1/2 pound frozen shelled edamame (green soy beans), about 1 1/2 cups
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons), juiced
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

 Directions

• Boil the edamame in salted water for 4 to 5 minutes, or microwave, covered, for 2 to 3 minutes.
• In a food processor, puree the edamame, tahini, water, lemon zest and juice, garlic, salt, cumin, and coriander until smooth. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and mix until absorbed.
• Transfer to a small bowl, stir in the parsley and drizzle with remaining oil. Serve with the suggested vegetables, or refrigerate, covered, up to 1 day.

 

Hummus

• One 15-ounce can chickpeas
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, about 1 large lemon
• 1/4 cup tahini (we used Krinos)
• Half of a large garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt, depending on taste
• 1 teaspoon garam marsala
• 2 to 3 tablespoons water
• Dash of ground paprika for serving

Directions

• In the bowl of a food processor, combine tahini and lemon juice. Process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl then turn on and process for 30 seconds. This extra time helps “whip” or “cream” the tahini, making smooth and creamy hummus possible.
• Add the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin and the salt to whipped tahini and lemon juice. Process for 30 seconds, scrape sides and bottom of bowl then process another 30 seconds.
• Adding the Chickpeas…Open can of chickpeas, drain liquid then rinse well with water. Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor then process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl, add remaining chickpeas and process for 1 to 2 minutes or until thick and quite smooth
• Most likely the hummus will be too thick or still have tiny bits of chickpea. To fix this, with the food processor turned on, slowly add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water until the consistency is perfect.

 

Mini Meat Balls

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 pound ground veal
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cups stale Italian bread, crumbled
• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• 1 cup olive oil

Directions

• Combine beef, veal, and pork in a large bowl. Add garlic, eggs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.
• Blend bread crumbs into meat mixture. Slowly add the water 1/2 cup at a time. The mixture should be very moist but still hold its shape if rolled into meatballs. (I usually use about 1 1/4 cups of water). Shape into meatballs.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Pan-Fry meatballs in batches. When the meatball is very brown and slightly crisp remove from the heat and drain on a paper towel. (If your mixture is too wet, cover the meatballs while they are cooking so that they hold their shape better.)

 

Creamy Yogurt Sauce

• 3 cups Greek yogurt
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 large English cucumber, diced
• 1 tablespoon salt (for salting cucumbers)
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill (or both, depending on preference) or 1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 shallot minced

Directions

• Peel cucumbers and dice. Put them in a colander and sprinkle with the tablespoon of salt (draws water out). Cover with a plate and sit something heavy on top. Let sit for 30 minute. Drain well and wipe dry with a paper towel.
• In food processor or blender, add cucumbers, garlic, lemon juice, dill and/or mint, and a few grinds of black pepper. Process until well blended, then stir into yogurt. Taste before adding any extra salt, then salt if needed. Place in refrigerator for at least two hours before serving so flavors can blend.
• This will keep for a few days in the refrigerator, but you will need to drain off any water and stir each time you use it.
• If you can’t find the thicker Greek Yogurt Cheese, you can use regular, plain yogurt that is either full fat or low fat. To thicken, spoon yogurt into cheese cloth that has been quadrupled. Draw the corners of the cloth up and tie together. Suspend above a bowl for 2 hours so that water can drip out. The consistency of the yogurt should be like that of sour cream.
• You can skip this draining process, if you want, but you will have a moderately messier, runnier result.

On a small platter, arrange fresh cut vegetables 2oz of each hummus, 1 oz of creamy yogurt sauce, 1 piece of pita cut into triangles and 2 meatballs cut in half (you can also buy your favorite hummus and tzatziki from your local grocery store and platter up the perfect snack!)

Rainbow Yogurt Parfait

Layered greek yogurt, mangos, strawberries, blackberries, blue berries, kiwi, and granola (colorful and easy to make!)

• Greek yogurt
• Granola
• Chopped fresh fruit

Directions

 

Tune in next week for Kid’s Popsicles!  Nothing sounds more appealing than an icy-cold, fruit-filled Popsicle (homemade).

Photo Credit: Marlin Salazar Photography