These donut apples make a perfect mid-afternoon snack for you and your kids. Delicious and nutritious, this simple snack will leave you satisfied and happy.
Hello! If you are new to my blog, welcome. It’s a new year and I have lots of exciting blog posts planned.
One of the most common requests I get is for healthy snack ideas. Snacks for moms. Snacks for kids. And, yes, even snacks for dads.
Why you should snack
Most of us all like to snack, right? And that is actually a good thing. Eating every 3 hours or so keeps your blood sugar stable, helps prevent overeating at the next meal, and can prevent “hangry” from striking.
Having a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack is also a good opportunity to get more healthy foods into your diet, like fruit and vegetables–something most of us don’t get enough. According to the CDC, only 1 in 10 Americans is meeting the daily fruit and veggie recommendations!
How many servings of fruit and veggies should you be eating every day? The USDA guidelines recommend that most adults get at least:
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups of fruit per day (3-4 half cup servings), and
- 2-3 cups of vegetables per day (4-6 half cup servings).
Kids need a little less than this, and it will vary by factors such as age and activity level. To get an estimate of how much you or your kids need go to ChooseMyPlate.gov.
A small piece of fruit is about 1/2 cup, a large piece of fruit, like a banana, is 1 cup. Dried fruit is more concentrated, so 1/4 cup is a serving. And for raw veggies and leafy greens, you need 1 cup to make a 1/2 cup serving.
90% of Americans don't eat enough fruits and veggies according to the CDC. Are you? Click To Tweet
Healthy, Simple Snack Ideas
While a plain apple is good, it won’t keep you full for very long. Add some peanut butter, and now you have a complete snack. So to make sure your snack is totally satisfying, include fiber, fat, and protein.
Since I love to see people get more fruit and veggies into their diet, I’ve compiled a list of 20 fruit and vegetable inspired snack ideas.
20 Healthy Snack Ideas
- Apple + almond butter + mini dark chocolate chips (donut apples!)
- Celery + peanut butter + raisins
- Clementines + almonds
- Orange wedges + homemade popcorn
- Blackberries + Greek yogurt + hemp hearts
- Raspberry almond power bites (includes dates + raspberries!)
- Pear + cheese + walnuts
- Carrot sticks + hummus
- Grapefruit + cashews
- Cucumbers + cottage cheese
- Wild blueberries + whole grain toast + ricotta cheese
- Banana + peanut butter + Cocoa Nibs
- Red bell pepper slices + guacamole + whole grain tortilla chips
- Snap peas + granola bar (look for one that has less than 12 grams of sugar)
- Cantaloupe slices + pecans
- Grapes + whole grain crackers + cheddar cheese
- Cranberries + nuts + dark chocolate chips (trail mix!)
- Peach + trail mix cookie
- Salsa + multigrain tortilla chips
- Smoothie with produce + chia seeds
(For even more ideas, check out this post on Healthy Snacks for Tweens and Teens.)
Most of these snack ideas can be prepared ahead of time and then packed “for the road.” Whether that road leads you to school, work, the mountains, the beach, or just “the road.”
Donut Apples
But if you are at home, here’s a fun, simple, no-bake snack you can make: “donut” apples! The combination of apples + protein-rich toppings like nut butter or Greek yogurt will leave you satisfied. And sprinkling on some additional toppings is not only fun but also makes them even tastier, not to mention adorable!
Help fight hangry and up your fruit intake with these adorable donut apples! Click To Tweet
- 2 apples, cored and sliced thinly into rings or donuts
- Desired toppings
- Top each apple with 1-2 tablespoons of something creamy.
- Sprinkle and/or drizzle on any other desired toppings.
Almond butter
Peanut butter
Plain Greek or Skyr yogurt
Raspberries
Blackberries
Chia seeds
Graham cracker crumbles
Hemp hearts
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seeds
Freeze dried raspberries or strawberries, crumbled up
Granola
Cocoa nibs
Chocolate chips
Drizzle of melted dark chocolate
Drizzle of honey
Resources:
References:
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p1116-fruit-vegetable-consumption.html
90% is a scary stat! These apple donuts are adorable though – easy way to get anyone to eat more fruit!
These apple donuts are so cute and fun! Thinking about sharing these at my daughter’s preschool valentine party coming up!
That’s great! I’m sure they will love them. The crumbled freeze-dried strawberries and raspberries add an especially nice color pop. Good luck and let me know how it goes. 🙂
90%? That’s so sad! I love the donut apples, so cute
Yes, I was surprised! It’s a good reminder to bring nutrition back to the basics…for many people, just increasing fruit and veggie intake can have a big impact on health.
Hey, thanks for sharing these healthy recipes. All the recipes seem to be very tempting especially the donut apples so now I can’t wait to make these snacks for my family and my daughter. Keep posting such delicious recipes.
Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoy them. Yes, the donut apples are so fun and easy to make!