If you are a mom with kids in school, chances are you will have kids who come home starving. By creating a snack station, you can avoid the hunger monsters and their tendency to get in the way while you are fixing dinner.
My girls (and sometimes my hubby) come home acting like they haven’t eaten all day despite their lunch boxes appearing to have been emptied at lunch time.
In order to satisfy the kiddos and get them through until dinner, have a small snack station out on our kitchen island for them to grab a quick snack while they do their homework.
Create your own snack station
Pick a place to keep the snacks
Pick a place that’s easy to access but out of the way so that if you are in the kitchen trying to prepare dinner, the kiddos will not be in your way. I typically keep a stock of snacks in the pantry but once school starts, and for easier access, I bring out a few options, including some healthy snacks, and put them in a tiered tray on our kitchen island. If the homework station wasn’t on the kitchen table, I would likely have the snack station there.
Use something to keep all the snacks contained
You can use a tiered tray, platter or basket, bowls…anything to keep it all together so they don’t get scattered all over your kitchen counters. As I mentioned above, I use a tiered tray with jars and bowls to keep like items contained.
Fill up your snack station
Filling up the snack station with snacks your kids will eat might be the most difficult part of this process. Here are some healthier ideas you could use:
- Granola bars
- Packs of peanut butter or cheese sandwich crackers
- Apples, bananas, grapes
- Graham crackers (or this graham cracker treat)
- Fruit Cups
- Applesauce
- Cheese Sticks
- Yogurt
- Mini bags of microwavable popcorn
- Juice boxes or bottles of water
For portion control and to save money, buy in bulk and buy a box of the snack size storage bags and portion out things like crackers, grapes, etc.
Obviously, I don’t keep the refrigerated items out at all times. I usually pull them out right before they get home and after they’ve chosen their snack, it goes right back into the fridge. It’s just easier, for me, than to have littles rummaging through the fridge and getting under foot when I’m trying to make dinner.
Do you have a snack station? What are your (or your kids’) favorite snacks? Please share in the comments!
