These donut apples make a perfect mid-afternoon snack for you and your kids. Get the recipe for this simple snack here plus 20 more ideas here!

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.

Now before I continue, here is why I longer use the word “healthy” when it comes to describing food.

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 nourishing foods into your diet, like fruit and vegetables–something most of us don’t get enough of. 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, and 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.

Nourishing, 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 Nourishing 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 or dark chocolate chips
• Red bell pepper slices + guacamole + whole grain tortilla chips
• Snap peas + granola bar (read my energy bar to know what to look for)
• 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 Healthful 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!

“Donut” Apples

These "donut" apples make a fun and tasty snack for the whole family. Simply core and slice up an apple, spread something creamy, and top with something colorful, crunchy, or just plain tasty!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Course Fika, Snack

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 2 apples
• desired toppings (see suggestions below)

Instructions

 

• Wash and core apples. Slice into rings or "donuts."
• Top each apple with 1-2 tablespoons of something creamy. Then sprinkle and/or drizzle on any other desired toppings. (See suggestions below.)

Notes

Topping Suggestions:

Almond butter
Peanut butter
Greek or Skyr yogurt
Raspberries
Blackberries

Freeze-dried raspberries or strawberries, crumbled up
Chia seeds
Hemp hearts
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seeds
Graham cracker crumbles
Granola
Cocoa nibs
Chocolate chips or shaved dark chocolate
Drizzle of melted dark chocolate
Drizzle of honey

 

Keyword vegetarian

Resources:

My Plate

References:

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p1116-fruit-vegetable-consumption.html