Children's Snacks to Pack for Traveling

1. No-Bake Cereal Bars

INGREDIENTS

½ cup honey

¼ cup peanut butter

3 cups toasted oat cereal

1 cup yogurt chips (save ½ cup for melting)

½ cup unsalted toasted almonds, chopped

½ cup dried cranberries

1 teaspoon coconut oil (optional)

PREPARATION

1. In a bowl, mix honey with peanut butter. Microwave for 45 seconds, stirring every 15 seconds, or until melted.

2. In a large bowl, combine oat cereal, ½ of the yogurt chips (save the other half for later), chopped almonds, and dried cranberries.

3. Pour the melted honey mixture into the bowl and stir until well mixed.

4. Pour into an 8x8 baking pan lined with parchment paper, and gently flatten the mixture evenly around the pan.

5. Freeze for 30 minutes, or until the mixture has hardened enough to cut it into 8 pieces.

6. Melt the other half of the yogurt chips in the microwave for 15 seconds at a time, until melted. (Optional: adding 1 tsp of coconut oil will help with the melting process)

7. Dip the bottom of the bars in the melted yogurt chips and place on a piece of parchment paper. Freeze for another 15 minutes.

8. Wrap each bar in parchment paper & store in the refrigerator or freezer for up to 3 months.

9. Enjoy!

2. Turkey & Cheese Pinwheels

Ingredients
for 1 serving

1 large tortilla
2 tablespoons mustard
2 ½ slices cheese, your choice
3 slices turkey

Preparation

1. Spread the mustard on the tortilla, and lay down the cheese and turkey.

2. Tightly roll up the tortilla, and cut into slices.

3. Serve with a clementine and sliced bell pepper.

4. Enjoy!

3. Homemade Cheese Crackers

Ingredients
for 6 servings

8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons ice water

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F (180˚C).

2. Using a hand mixer or standing mixer, combine cheese, butter, and salt in a large bowl.

3. Once combined, mix in the flour and add the ice water one tablespoon at a time.

4. The dough should hold together but crumble apart if you break it up in your hand. If it seems too dry, add a little more ice water.

5. Separate dough into two halves and pack together into discs. Wrap in parchment paper and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

6. Roll out dough to ⅛ of an inch (½ cm), pinching the cracks on the ends.

7. Cut into 1 inch x 1 inch (2 ½ x 2 ½ cm) squares and pierce a hole in the middle of each square for ventilation during baking.

8. Place the separated crackers on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

9. Bake for 13 minutes, or until golden brown.

10. Enjoy!

4. Healthier Brownie Bites

Ingredients
for 16 brownie bites

DRY

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup cocoa powder
WET

2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
½ cup honey
½ cup greek yogurt
1 banana
1 avocado
2 cups fresh spinach
½ cup chocolate chip

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F (180˚C).

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder.

3. Blend eggs, vanilla, honey, yogurt, banana, avocado, and spinach until pureed.

4. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.

5. Fold in chocolate chips.

6. Line muffin tin with baking cups/liners. Using an ice cream scooper or spoon, fill the muffin tin cups with the batter.

7. Bake for 20 minutes, or until fully cooked.

8. Enjoy!

5. Slice & Bake Rainbow Cookies

Ingredients
for 24 cookies

1 cup butter, softened
2 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pinch salt
3 eggs
3 ½ cups flour
¼ teaspoon red food coloring
¼ teaspoon orange food coloring
¼ teaspoon yellow food coloring
¼ teaspoon green food coloring
¼ teaspoon blue food coloring
¼ teaspoon purple food coloring

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F (180˚C).

2. Using a hand mixer or standing mixer, beat butter until creamy.

3. Add powdered sugar and beat until combined. Add the eggs, vanilla, and salt. Beat until well combined.

4. Gradually, add the flour until dough is moist and holds together, but doesn’t stick to your hands.

5. Place dough on a cutting board and form into a ball. Cut in half, then cover one half with plastic wrap and set aside.

6. Divide the other half into 6 pieces. The outer layers of the rainbow will need a little bit more dough, so make two of them slightly larger than the others.

7. Dye the dough with food coloring by placing a ¼ teaspoon of dye on the ball of dough and kneading it until it is one solid color. Gloves optional but suggested.

8. Starting with purple, roll the dough into a log about 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) long. This will be the center of the rainbow.

9. Next, roll out the blue dough with a rolling pin until it’s about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick, slightly longer than the purple, and wide enough to wrap around the purple dough. Repeat with the green, yellow, orange, and red doughs. The further away from the purple you get, the wider the dough needs to be to go around the previous color, making the red dough the widest.

10. Wrap the blue dough around the purple, pinching together any cracks that form, cutting off any excess dough. Repeat with the rest of the colors.

11. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

12. Once chilled, remove the plastic wrap, and cut the dough in half to make 2 rainbow shapes. Set aside.

13. Cut the reserved dough in half, roll out to ¼-inch (6 mm) thickness, and make it slightly longer than the rainbow log.

14. Place the rainbow dough in the center and wrap the plain dough around it, again, pinching together any cracks and smoothing out the surface.

15. Repeat with the other halves. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill for another 30 minutes.

16. Once chilled, remove the plastic wrap. Slice cookies about ½-inch (1 cm) thick and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

17. Bake for 20 minutes or until the bottom has browned slightly.

18. Cool on a cooling rack.

19. Enjoy!