After school snacks - what do you give you hungry children?

[LauraNorder]

Trying to think forward to next week. My DC's often get home from school and the first thing they ask is what can we have to eat. I want to be prepared this term and avoid sweets/chocolates/crisps.

They normally have a packed lunch, we get home at 3pm and dinner at between 5 and 5.30pm (depending on whether DH is home).

Looking for ideas and inspiration!

We have a bowl of cereal or toast or a small sandwich or a cereal type bar. nothing with too much sugar in, but enough to keep them going 2 hours before dinner.

I bring dinner forward to 4 oclock. If I don't DS is just too hungry and will keep snakcing.

We love the MN cheesy flapjacks on the recipe pages. A batch should last a week if you keep them in the fridge overnight.

Hot chocolate

bananas, flapjacks, peanut butter sandwiches

If I bring diner forward then we only eat as a family at the weekend. I really would prefer to eat all together but it is an option.

ritz crackers with cheese
malt loaf
fruit or cheese scone

Thanks for your suggestions, am keeping a log

In the summer I given them things like bread and jam, peanut butter on toast and fruit loaf. They are usually keen to go outside and play so just want something to keep them going. In the winter i tend to do the same as Lynli and give them their dinner early. Otherwise they would snack the whole time.

a bit of home baking

This might sound crazy but my 2yr old loves nuts!

She eats Brazils, Hazelnuts, Almonds, Walnuts and has done for some time. I freaked out to begin with as i was worried about choking, but she crunches them up nicely! A good healthy snack, good fats, and slow release energy.

Alternatively cereal bars, but good ones like 'Eat Natural' or 'Dorsert Cereal' brands which don't contain anything but natural ingredients, you don't want them on a sugar high!!

Or what about good old fashioned fruit!? My DH raves about Mangos, he managed to run the London Marathon on just two beforehand!

Dried fruit is a good alternative too. Just watch out for the added preservatives you don't really need.

Love Brazil Nuts.
Tastees are delicious - meat free, wheat free and made from rice.
Agree about flapjacks, they are good.

Well today my 3 had either toast with Pate on or potato cakes.

It is difficult though because they generally come through the door and demand a biscuit so I end up offering alternatives.

Toast, cereal, yogurt, fruit, flapjacks, smoothies sweets

My 5 yr old DD is just getting to be like this - she never used to want much between lunch and dinner (but would eat a big dinner!) but since starting school is famished when she returns home. I think they don't get time to eat lots of lunch and then on top of that they grow loads and seem to be so energetic at school!

Sooo, when she's at school/summer programmes, and we get home at 3.30ish, she gets a substantial snack and then eats a dinner later on with us.

Typically any of the following:

Peanut butter on toast or fresh bread
Homemade seedy bread or fruit bread with butter and maybe jam
4 cream crackers or 3 hovis biscuits with cream cheese/cheddar/ham and some grapes or apple slices, or celery
Celery with cream cheese or hummus spread on thickly
Celery with peanut butter
Apple and banana slices and plain yoghurt to dunk them in (I love this myself!)
Yoghurt with granola sprinkled on
A milkshake (I blend milk, banana and a bit of ice cream up)

I think they are pretty hefty but she seems to really need them, they are nutritious, and seeing as she is happy to then eat a smallish portion of dinner later (something like chicken, potatoes and veg) I don't worry.

This thread has reminded me to make flapjacks more often

My 12yr old is a weekly boarder at her college. They get given a snack of a piece of baguette with a very thin - about 2cm x 10cm bar of plain chocolate.

Sounds a bit gross, but bread and plain choc can be quite godd.

Milk/hot chocolate with toast/fruit or a couple of biscuits. They get back home between 4 and 5 (depending ob school clubs) and we do not eat until about 7pm when DH comes back from work.

Bread and a bar of chocolate was the ultimate treat when I was little, why gross?

Always a piece of fruit first, followed by any of:

2 or 3 plain biscuits / one or 2 chocolate ones
toast and peanut butter / nutella
home-baked cake / flapjack / other goody

They have packed lunches, so I know that they have eaten enough at lunchtime to survive on a snack till tea-time. It was more difficult when they had school dinners as they often didn't eat the whole dinner and were starving by home-time!

Is really healthy and good for them if they eat fruits as a snack 1or 2 hours before dinner time , but is quite complicate to convince them.
Fish fingers or chicken fingers... Which is a bit to consistent, but if is not to much is perfect.

Rice cakes in this house. DD loves them and she can eat loads without filling her up too much. She has a shocking appetite and often comes home with stuff in her lunchbox. She has to finish that before she gets a snack.

half an apple- if I give any more he won*t eat dinner...