Balanced school snacks: 10 DIY snack ideas

To help your children face their long school days, prepare them a balanced snack that's easy to take with them! Discover all our DIY snack ideas.

When snack time comes, we tend to give our children store-bought cookies. But these industrial cakes are often too fatty and too sweet. It is therefore better to favor homemade treats, free from additives like colorants and preservatives. To inspire you, we have selected fifteen DIY snack ideas.

For a balanced snack, ideally offer your child a dairy product, a cereal product, and a fruit. It is nevertheless possible to occasionally prepare more indulgent snacks, such as those based on chocolate, for example. On the other hand, be aware that the morning snack is not recommended as it would increase snacking behaviors, disrupt eating patterns, and promote weight gain. So, we save the cakes for the 4 PM break! To get a full load of ideas, check out our selection of snack ideas to slip into your child's backpack for their afternoon snack!

1. Cereal bars

Cereal bars

This very simple energy bar is made with numerous seeds, honey, puffed rice, dried fruits, oats, and dates.

You need:

• First, pour the oats, puffed rice, and the rest of the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl.
• Next, chop the dates into small pieces and add them to the mixture.
• In the saucepan, mix the butter, sugar, and honey and heat over low heat until you achieve a silky mixture.
• Pour the syrup into the mixing bowl and stir until everything is well incorporated.
• Spread the mixture on the baking sheet (previously lined with parchment paper). Even it all out with a fork.
• Put the dish in the oven (at 180° or gas mark 6) and wait for 10/15 minutes.When it comes out of the oven, pre-cut rectangles while it is still hot.
• Finally, let it rest for 8 hours (if possible in a cool place: on the windowsill if the temperatures are low or in the fridge...)

And there you go, these cereal bars will be perfect for satisfying your daily cravings!

It's beautiful, it's delicious, and it's 100% homemade.

2. Puffed rice cakes

healthy snack : Puffed rice cakes

A great recipe idea for a healthy snack! Steps of preparation :

• Mix the oil, milk, honey, and agave syrup in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until you obtain a syrup.
• Remove from heat and mix with the other ingredients.
• Shape the patties using cookie cutters.
• Place them on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes at 180°C.

3. Healthy cookies

cranberry cookies

Filled with chocolate and dried fruits, these cookies provide a boost of energy!
These healthy cranberry cookies are bursting with autumn flavors. The base of this cookie is a is a simple combination of oats, wheat germ (t-e-x-t-u-r-e!), salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg—no flour here!

cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg—no flour here! Our liquid ingredients are eggs, honey, unsweetened applesauce, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. And our mixes include dried cranberries, pecans, and apricots. Each cookie is Each cookie is also filled with 3 semi-sweet chocolate chips.
These cookies are so amazing that you'll have a hard time believing they're good for you. that they are good for your health. But that's the case!

4. Jam-filled shortbread cookies

Jam-filled shortbread cookies

This easy-to-make recipe will allow you to prepare several snacks in advance. Don't hesitate to mix things up by alternating the jams. Preparation: 30 minutes Waiting time: 30 minutes Cooking: 12 to 15 minutes.
For about thirty cookies:
250 g of flour, 60 g of almond powder 140 g of diced butter 140 g of powdered sugar 65 g of eggs, Icing sugar.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour with the almond powder, the butter, and the icing sugar. Work the ingredients with your fingertips to achieve a sandy texture. Then add the egg and pour everything onto the work surface to combine the shortcrust pastry. Form a ball and flatten it. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Place the rounds on 2 baking sheets and bake them for 10 to 12 minutes; the cookies should be barely golden. Let cool.

5. Fig cookies

This fig-based recipe will help your child recharge with energy.

Fig cookies

Dough 1/2 cup of unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling ½ cup of whole wheat pastry flour 1/8 tsp of baking soda 1/8 tsp of kosher salt 1/8 tsp of cinnamon 5 tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/4 cup of packed brown sugar 1 tablespoon of honey 1 tablespoon of orange juice 1/2 tsp of orange zest, 2 egg yolks.

Topping 3/4 cup of dried Mission black figs, halved 2 tablespoons of unsweetened applesauce 1/2 tablespoon of orange juice 1/2 tbsp of honey 1/2 tsp of orange zest and 1/8 tsp of cinnamon.

Try our post : Food as Medicine: Investigating Nutritional Therapy's Healing Potential

6. Granola-style cookies

Granola cookies

Even better than the industrial ones! Granola cookies were my favorite when I was a child! I couldn't resist them...

For the cookie dough (22 granolas):

Ingredients:

• 125 g of white flour
• 75 g of whole wheat flour (T150)
• 50 g of brown sugar
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar
• 75 g of butter
• 1 egg
• 1 level teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Preparation:

• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flours, yeast, sugars, and salt.
• Add the egg and then the softened butter.
• Knead until the dough is smooth and homogeneous.
• The dough is very crumbly, and you need to knead it for a while to finally get a ball. It's normal!
• Wrap the resulting ball in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
• Think about taking it out 30 minutes before working on it.
• Preheat your oven to 180°C.
• Place the dough on a Silpat mat or a sheet of parchment paper and cover it with another sheet of parchment paper to roll out the dough.
• This allows you not to add flour and therefore not to alter the texture of the dough.
• Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 5 mm.
• Using a 6 cm diameter cookie cutter, cut out circles from the dough.
• Bake for 15-17 minutes until they have a nice golden color.
• Take them out of the oven and let them cool on a rack.

7. Jam tarts

Jam tarts

It's the classic of our favorite kitchen recipes; the creative and gourmet shortbreads are often on the menu. They bring joy to both young and old. Simply arranged on pretty plates or on cake stands for a delightful tea time with friends, or given as gifts in small transparent bags, these blackberry tartlets will disappear like magic.Quick and easy to prepare, you can plan several batches to satisfy your guests.

Others posts :

Food Safety: How to Handle and Store Food to Prevent Illness

8. Chocolate muffins

Chocolate muffins

Feel free to revisit this great classic by adding bananas, pears, or even hazelnuts to its preparation.
These chocolate muffins are a delight! Thanks to their melting center, they will delight all chocolate lovers. And for good reason, from breakfast to snack time, this muffin recipe manages to satisfy all chocolate cravings. And if you happen to have any leftover white chocolate squares, add them to the center of the mold. From the first bite, the two chocolates will mix and create even more of a surprise. If you like the combination with fruits, you can also include banana slices or raspberries. Before serving your chocolate muffins, dust your little cakes with powdered sugar. Finally, play with the temperature. Barely out of the oven, serve your muffins with a scoop of vanilla or mint/chocolate ice cream as an accompaniment. You are going to love it!

• 2 eggs
• 100 g of dark chocolate
• 60 g of flour
• 100 g of sugar
• 100 g of melted salted butter
• ½ tsp of yeast
• Melt the chocolate with the butter in the microwave for 2 minutes.
• Smooth the mixture.
• Add the sugar and the eggs one by one.
• Whisk with each addition.
• Pour the flour and the yeast.
• Whip just enough so that the flour is no longer visible.
• Pour the mixture into small silicone muffin molds.
• Bake for 18 minutes at 180°C.

9. Vanilla-chocolate shortbread cookies

shortbread cookies

Accompanied by a fruit and a dairy product, this shortbread will make an ideal snack.
They have already tasted the apple tart (I had doubled the doses and baked it in a 23 x 23 mold), the French cookies, the pear and chocolate cake...
Here I took the recipe from Fashion Cookies; I just rolled out the dough a bit more to get more spirals.
For the vanilla dough:
300 g of flour 150 g of sugar 100 g of soft butter 1 egg 2 tablespoons of milk 2 tsp of natural vanilla flavor.
For the chocolate dough:
270 g of flour, 30 g of bitter chocolate, Van Houten type 150 g of sugar, 100 g of soft butter 1 egg, 4 tablespoons of milk.
For the preparation, nothing could be simpler: just put everything in the robot bowl fitted with the paddle and stop as soon as the dough comes together, or in a large bowl with your hands. We wrap the two doughs in film and store them in the fridge for about an hour; the dough will be easier to work with later.
For the next steps, lightly flour the work surface and then roll out the two doughs to form two squares about 2 mm thick. Place them one on top of the other (you can also roll out on parchment paper, which is quite handy for handling). Cut these 2-layer squares in half and stack the rectangles on top of each other. Roll out again finely with the rolling pin, then form a log from the cut side (which will be the center of the sablé).
Refrigerate again for 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 160°C, then cut into 5 mm wide slices, place on parchment paper, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes depending on your oven's power, let cool, and enjoy!

10. Twix-style chocolate bars

Twix-style chocolate bars

This chocolate bar, made with a crunchy biscuit base and topped with a layer of salted butter caramel and milk chocolate, promises to delight your little schoolchildren!

Ingredients

• 400 g of chocolate breakfast-type biscuits
• 240 g of soft salted butter caramels
• 60 g of unsalted butter
• 150 g of sweetened condensed milk
• 340 g of milk chocolate
• 2.5 cc of oil

Preparation

• Start by preparing the mold (24x24cm) by lining it with sheets of parchment paper (this prevents the preparation from sticking to the sides).
• Finely blend half of the chocolate biscuits (like breakfast biscuits) and coarsely chop the other half.
• Cut the soft salted butter caramels into small pieces, then set aside.
• Separately, heat the unsalted butter and sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan over low heat. Mix well.
• In a container, mix the chopped and blended biscuits, the soft caramels, and then the melted butter-condensed milk mixture. Mix to thoroughly moisten everything. Pour the mixture into the mold, pressing down firmly with the bottom of a glass. Put it in the fridge afterwards.
• Prepare the topping by melting the milk chocolate in the microwave. Add the oil to the melted chocolate, mix well, and pour over the biscuit base. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Remove the mold 15 minutes before serving (slicing will be easier…).

Final tips

Remember to prioritize variety in snacks to avoid monotony. Also, adjust portions to your child’s age and needs. Finally, involve your kids in preparing snacks. This will make them even more excited to enjoy their homemade creations