Tots' Snacks

For other "Tot's Plates," visit the very fun and helpful blog, Totally Tots, which also has crafts, ABC's and Bible ideas, etc. for - well, little tots.

Nothing too original here - pumpkin seeds, grapes, almonds, blueberries, granola, carrots, olives, peaches, and pecans...but this is what I'm trying to do lately. One of my "problems" during the day is having three kids wanting to snack throughout the day. I'm all for them snacking and eating when they feel hungry, rather than at required meal times, but it's gotten a little out of hand. I just feel like I'm in continual "fill drinks and prepare food" mode and constantly up and down the stairs. Having set meal and snack times made it a little better because I could say, "Snack times at 10:30; wait until then." They still try to sneak things out of the fridge that I don't really want them to snack on all of the time, like soy cheese and bread with margarine. So that is why I've been giving this a try, and so far, so good. I fill a mini loaf pan after breakfast sometime, and then either set it out on the table or put it in the fridge for the day. They can pick from it when they want. Since there isn't anything unhealthy, it wouldn't really matter if it "ruined their supper," but that hasn't been the case. Plus, the pan is really easy to carry around.

Granola bars pieces, oranges, avocado, raisins, cashews, and apples...I stirred the avocados and apples in a little orange juice to keep them from turning brown during the day. The fruit usually goes the quickest, which is good, since it is losing its vitamin C after being peeled. I just googled how quickly that happens. All I could find was this about oranges: After only 8 hours at room temperature or 24 hours in the refrigerator, there's a 20 percent vitamin C loss. If that's true, that actually isn't as bad as I thought.

back to Nature Organic Stoneground Wheat Crackers, carrots, blueberries mixed with goji berries, and cheese cubes made from a recipe out of The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook by Jo Stepaniak...great cookbook, probably the one I use the most of any cookbook. The cheese is made out of ingredients like tahini (didn't have any, but I was able to quickly whip some up by food processing raw sesame seeds, olive oil, and water), nutritional yeast, cashews, and agar flakes. I make grilled cheese sandwiches, fondue, nachos, macaroni and cheese, cheesecake, and other foods with recipes out of that book. You can find lots of other "uncheese" or vegetarian recipes at vegweb.com.