Please Help Me with After School Food Ideas for My Kindergartener

Try http://www.laptoplunches.com/

They have an awesome monthly newsletter with new recipes to use in their lunch boxes. They have super healthy recipes and their cookbooks are great for coming up with snack ideas. I have 3 of their lunch boxes. They are the perfect size for kids and adults with small compartments and we've used them from trips to pre-packing after school snacks for the next day.

laptoplunches.com is a great site imo. You can sign up for their free newsletter too. They have menu ideas, lunch ideas, snack ideas and all are healthy...it gives great alternatives to ordinary lunches...

You got so many great ideas for food. My only suggestion would be to use an ice cube tray and put a variety of all the great foods in them..even the dips. That way she feels like she is picking what she wants. My kids love it. I put raisins in one, apples in one, with the peanut butter to dip in another, cut up veggies with ranch dip..etc.. They love to help prepare it too!

When working in Child Care the State had rules about how long kids could go without food. It was 4 hrs. So our daily eating schedule looked like this.

Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. I tend to be dogmatic when it comes to schedules. L. runs much smoother when things are close to being on time.

I fixed things like Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars, sliced fruit but not too much because it burns off too quickly, anything that has complex carbohydrates and serve it with protein items.

My favorite magazine is Taste of Home, I was one of the first 50 to subscribe and I have never had a recipe turn out wrong.

Here is a link to their kid friendly items.
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Kid-Friendly

My favorite web site is Family Fun, here's a link to kids snack recipes.
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/kids/specialfeature/recip...

Kudos to you Nikki for seeking out advice where your child's diet is concerned. May I comment on something. The most telling sentence in your question was "She's not a big eater until it comes to junk food."
Nikki, our kids are guinea pigs for the fast-food industry. The foods being toted for our children are intentionally addictive with additives and flavorings. If you we not careful, our kids will suck up to the "Norm" that they see other children eat. It is our job to make "R." food fun and appealing.
You obviously have a sense of caution, so please let me encourage you to continue your quest for healthy alternatives. Our children are the only generation that are not likely to outlive their parents! That is all because of the poisons, glucose overload, synthetic and fiber depleted foods they are exposed to, as well as the techno-dominant world they live it. When you combine nutrient poor foods with the inactivity that our society considers normal, you have a combination for all the auto-immune diseases that are now attacking our kids. The rise in childhood obesity is directly correlated with the unnecessary epidemic of type II diabetes. This, by the way had to be renamed, because type II was traditionally called Adult Onset Diabetes. I won't even talk about heart issues that don't have to happen.
Please forgive me if I sound like a tree hugger, I really am not, I am however a wellness coach and applaud you for "Seeing the forest for the trees." Keep up the good work!
Our children are our most precious gifts of all. Let's care for them like we would our own bodies. Hopefully that is well!

Protien is the only thing that fills you up. Yogurt with granola, protien bars, cottage cheese and fruit, PBJ crackers, Tortilla with cheese in the microwave. I know my son goes from one thing to the next if he doesn't have protein. Also chocolate milk with the snack helps fill them up. Good luck.

Hi Nikki, i know this is late and i read all the posts and they are great, also i know what can be a filling healthy snack would be making a fruit shake for her those always fill my kids up, one day make a strawberry shake, i use ff milk and it still comes out tasting great add a banana to it for a strawberry banana shake. I also make orange slushies, i take ice cubes and orange juice and blend it add more ice until its an orange slushy. my kids love those. My kids get home around 230 so i make them before the bus comes and they come right in and drink those and they are satisfied until dinner and we eat dinner at between 5 and 530. I hope helps you out more
S. mom to 5 amazing kids 17yrs,9yrs,7yrs,3yrs and 17 months, check out my sons journey at www.liamlockhart.com

I have three girls (K,2nd,and 4th grade) that always come hungry after school. What I do is this first they have to have a good breakfast, there's no option, they have to eat always their breakfast. Second, I pack very different things everyday, and if one day they just ate cereal in the morning, I know they are going to be hungry for lunch so I give them more. They always have protein and fruit for lunch. I invested in Thermos containers and they take chicken nuggets, pizza, macandcheese, soups, pasta with chicken, or pasta with meatballs and they love those things, and they stay warm,and are more satisfying than just a sandwich. And they always take fruit and maybe crackers or sliced peppers or carrots. So I make sure they get enough for lunch, and if they come really hungry I always check if they ate what I gave them, because they can try to trick me by asking for something else when they didn't finish their fruit, and only after they finish what they didn't eat I can give them something else. A slice of toast with peanut butter, a small plate of cereal, cheese, fruit, crackers with cream cheese. Or even sometimes they have to have an early dinner because their activities won't allow them to eat but until late, so I prefer that if I'm ready with dinner, they can eat early once in a while and in fact is a good chance to have a nice quiet dinner with my husband after they go to bed, but this is very occasional because we think dinner with the whole family is important too. I hope this tips help!

Definitely go the protein route - apples slices with peanut butter on them, gogurt, yogurt, cottage cheese, string cheese. My son also likes orange slices (which aren't very filling). We also use applesauce and crackers as snacks. A glass of milk with any of these helps to give a "full" filling.

-L.

how about apple and banana slices with peanut butter and/or trix yogurt to dip in.and if she ;likes them carrot sticks and cucumber slices.

I've used apples with peanut butter, carrots with ranch dip, anything they can dip. Kids like the dips so don't notice what they're putting it on is healthy, so I've found any dip goes over well. I've also done cheese cubes and fruit they can eat with toothpicks. Good luck!

I think I would look at the foods she eats at other times of the day - add some more fiber, whole grains, and water. This should help with her appetite when she gets home.

She might have an addiction to eating those foods when she gets home - so expect a few weeks of her not being too happy!

Tell her you have a new "house rule". (This takes the pressure off of it being "your rule"). Junk food is not allowed anymore! Then, when it comes to supper, make a really good meal, that tastes fatty... but is really healthy! (Like oven fried chicken, sweet potato fries, and salad with tons of fixin's.)

Believe me, this is a slippery slope you are on with her. Don't let her win this one!

And you will have to make sure her grandma is on the same sheet of music!

My daughter was this way for awhile. We just fed her a lite dinner early and then she would eat a very small portion of food with us at actual dinner. This got her to eat healthy foods when she was hungry and allow her the opportunity to be talkative at dinner to tell us about her day.
Hope this helps.

peanut butter on crackers, cheese and crackers, rice cakes-the chocolate ones are yummy, banana with or w/o peanut butter, small bowl of cereal with or w/o fruit

By the way, I used to be hungry after school when I was little, so if I was really hungry my mom would let me eat dinner when I got home around 4 and then have a snack or dessert with the family.

Kindergarteners eat around 11 am. My granddaughter's teacher gives them a snack at school around 2 pm. When she gets home, I give her water first. Something that I keep hearing at Weight Watchers is sometimes hunger is mistaken for thirst.

If she still wants something to eat, she gets something light. Yogurt, fruit, or one of those 90 calorie snacks. If she asks for more to eat, I try to find something for her to do and tell her dinner will be ready soon. Kids will try to fill boredom with eating. Don't you find that adults do that too? Probably started with our after school snacking habits.

Hope these ideas help.

I really like what Christy had to say. She is right - it's all about protein and a carb eaten together.

I have two more suggestions - what if you pack more food for her at lunch, and making sure she is "in the zone" (equal amounts of carb and protein).

Also, is there any way you can give her dinner earlier than 6:30? I realize you work full time, so an earlier dinner might not be an option. If it is an option, however, 5:30 or 6:00 might be better. Good luck!

You've gotten some great suggestions here. I'd just add that hummus with carrot sticks or reduced-fat wheat thins is a great protein snack. My daughter loves hummus. She even asked for it for breakfast the other day. We also like the mini rice cakes, and they come in all sorts of flavors such as caramel, or cheese, or the chocolate ones that someone else mentioned.

My kids went through a similar phase where they were just starving after school. I just started making dinner earlier in the day, so I coule plate a meal for the famished child right away. That way they got a good solid nutritious meal that filled them up instead of continuous snacking that ultimately interfered with their dinner appetite. I had to adjust my routine a bit, but it was kind of nice not to have to rush around making dinner and supervise homework at the same time. If you are firm on a family sit down dinner at 6:30, I'd let your daughter sit with the family, enjoy the time and maybe eat some fruit or more dinner.

Good luck!

My kids have these mini bowls I let them fill with carrots, broccoli or some kind of fruit. They also eat a will fix cereal like honey nut cheerios in them. And of course their water bottles. That usually holds them until dinner.

You've got some great ideas from everyone, I just want to add one more.

My son loves trail mix. It is healthy and has lots of good protein. My son is allergic to peanuts so I mix my own. I go to Central Market, Sprouts, or any place with a bulk section. Then I pick out nuts, seeds, and fruits that he likes. You can make so much more variety than they have in the prepackaged mixes. We do dried pears, mangoes, and pineapple. Sometimes we add in pretzels, "corn nuts," or puffed rice cereal to flesh it out. I don't add any candy pieces because of other allergies, but that's up to you. This would be a good activity to have your daughter help you pick out mixin's for the trail mix.

We had the same problem with my 2 kids and what has finally worked for us is to have a variety of fruits and veggies cut up and ready to eat with a dip for after school snacking. Then we do supper at 5 or 5:30pm and if they don't eat much of their veggies, I don't really worry about it because that is what they had for a snack. This also works well for us because my 2 kiddos don't like cooked veggies that well.

I have a 14 yr old and she is always hungry when she comes home from school. She always has been....It is moreso now than when she was in elementary school because she is active with cheerleading and always on the go. Most of the time she is at school from 8:15 until 5:30.

I happen to have a very health conscious daughter and healthy eater. She would pick an apple anyday over a bag of chips or candy bar. We have dinner around 6:45 - 7 here so she makes a healthy snack for herself.

Her favorites: a home made smoothie with milk, frozen strawberries and a touch of ice cream, chocolate chip granola bar, TX Rio grapefruits, berries of any kind, string cheese, easy mac single servings, grapefruit or apple juice, veggies and some ranch dip to name a few.

Maybe one of these treats will be a hit with your daughter.

Protein! I was having this problem too. I told my kids they could pick one treat-chips, cookie, etc. And I would pick two good things-usually a piece of protein. Hard boiled egg, piece of chicken, rolled up Turkey and the a piece of fruit. It's been working great and the afternoons have been smooth here!

I would second the recommendation for adding some additional items to her lunch if you aren't already. My daughter is just a bit younger than yours and she really likes to have carrots and ranch in her lunch at preschool. I also either give her pretzels or goldfish crackers and some fruit.

For snack, she likes NutriGrain cereal bars, fruit, cheese sticks (string cheese), Easy Mac N Cheese - single size, veggies w/ Ranch, almonds, yogurt.

Let her go to the store with you and pick out some items to have for snack, of course you have VETO power!

Wow! I was having the same issue, but Amber really gave you some (and I) some great tips! Thanks Amber!

I feel your pain! Now, after school is the one time in the day that I allow for a "treat" like a brownie or some cookies etc. But, they must eat something healthy first. An apple is a favorite around here, and cut up with peanut butter is even better. Yogurt is also a great staple, usually topped with some granola. Cheese and crackers with some fruit also works. They are always super hungry after school, and I allow them to eat almost a "mini meal" I know that they dont eat all of their lunches, and my kids are great about eating dinner, so it has not created a problem. Will she eat veggies with dip?? Or some baked tortilla chips with salsa, or even better, with guacamole? Sometimes, they will even eat a bowl of healthy cereal, not often, but sometimes. We dont have a great variety, but they do eat something. Ohh, and for sure, offer her a full glass of water. A lot of times they are more thirsty than hungry, they just dont realize it! Each of my children has thier own water bottles, that are filled with ice water for when they get home, and it stays with them the rest of the day. Good luck, it is a great time to focus on those healthier eating habits! ~A.~
***OHH, FORGOT TO ADD A BIG FAVORITE FILLER AROUND HERE...SMART POP POP CORN. THEY EAT THAT AND HAVE A FEW MINI PIECES OF CANDY, AND THEY ARE SET!!

I think the most important thing to teach is to eat when you are hungry. Especially with girls. If she is hungry for dinner at 3:00, let her eat dinner then, and give her a snack at 7:00. You might try it. It will probably only be for a little while, but you will be teaching her a valuable lesson about listening to her body's cues.

Nikki,

I have 5 boys (4 of whom are in school) and they are always starving after school. I don't think its a matter of not eating enough lunch, because lunchtime is around 11:00 am and they are kept busy all day with gym, music, recess, etc. by the time school gets out at 3:10 its been 4 hours since they've eaten and of course they are hungry!

I got tired of them filling up on snacks after school and then eating no dinner. I got to thinking that really if they have had their last meal at 11:00 am then to have dinner between 3:30 and 4:00 pm is perfectly reasonable. So thats what we do here now, we have our dinner right after school. My kids go to bed at 8:00pm so bedtime snack is at 7:00 and that leads right into our bedtime routine.

You might try a Banana cut up with jello or koolaide powder spinkles on top
P.

I'm not a nutritionist, but it's been my experience with my son and the children that I watch that the afternoon munchies ARE pretty strong and they could either snack forever on junk, or you could get something with a little starch and protein. I'm budget conscious, so instead of buying premade stuff, I'll do it myself, but I've noticed that an apple sliced up with a little peanut butter is pretty filling. Also crackers with cheese slices or peanut butter, or celery with laughing cow spreadable cheese or peanutbutter. I'd also offer fruit like pears, apples, things with a little substance (pineapples and stuff like that are delicious and go good as a side in lunch, but usually won't do the trick for a 3pm snack). I agree that you could add a little extra to the lunch (a cheese stick, or buy those packs of fruit salad or pudding, or make your own and put them in small leftover containers-we love making fruit salad together). Those fruit smoothies that TF mentioned are awesome and she'd feel like she was having a R. treat, plus you've got a sugar pick-me-up from berries or bananas, and protein from the milk/icecream.
My son is only 2, and weighs a very "petite" 25 pounds, but he eats a breakfast of either yogurt and cheerios (baby parfait? lol), cereal and a banana, or a waffle sliced fruit and milk for breakfast. He eats a snack like raisins or a nutrigrain bar and milk. An average lunch for him is a PBJ or ham and cheese sandwich, a fruit crisp, carrot and celery sticks with ranch, and later another snack like what I mentioned above. Dinner would be a small version of what we're having, unless too spicy. Sometimes they just need a little more than we'd think, especially if there's a growth spurt on the way; as long as it's pretty healthy it isn't a bad thing.

Hi Nikki- I have the same thing going on. My kindergartener is tall, lke me and her dad and eats like she knows a drought is coming! hahahah! I let her eat as much as she wants but healthy foods. She loves slices of cheese, string cheese, yogurt, bananas, and watermelon. I also let her eat as many sugar free popcicles as she can handle. These snacks are harmless. However, she doesn't want a lot of dinner. Every time I take her to the doctor, he states how healthy she is. Good luck.

S.

My little one is not in school yet, but loves his snacks, the junkier, the better. So I have to throw out some good healthy ideas and usually he is more bored than hugry so him helping me fix snack is a great way for him to be a helper and keep him occupied. He loves string cheese and cucumber bites dipped in ranch dressing. Or cheese and crackers he loves! Yogurt or a granola bar is good too. he will eat virtually anything with cheese on it, which is great to get his dairy in so most of our snacks are grilled cheses, string cheese, cheese crackers, etc. My mom had a trick too, on the weekends, she would just set out fruit in the kitchen. You would be amazed that without thinking about it, we would eat 2 bunches of grapes just becuase they were there. we would seek them out but loved it when they were there. Oh and a gal i babysat loved fruit cups, esp the mandarin oranges. that can help fix a sweet craving. hope that helps

My daughter loves baby carrots with ranch dressing or apple wedges with peanut butter. Cheerios makes a good snack too.

My kindergarten daughter eats lunch at 10:35, so I would be shocked if she wasn't starving when she got home. Especially if they are still a little overwhelmed by eating in the big cafeteria and don't eat as much. I pack my daughter's lunch every day so she will eat, but I am at school a lot and notice that kids that eat the tray lunch sometimes don't have much time to eat and some just don't like the food so they don't eat. Anyway - because we went through the same thing with my son, we try to have something filling to eat - soup, sandwich, fruit. As long as it's healthy, I let them eat it. Then we eat dinner around 6. It's not an ideal situation, as sometimes they don't eat as much dinner, but I can't see letting them starve. I say ditch the snacks and offer R. food.

I didn't read the other posts, but my suggestion is to not get so hung up on dinner being at dinner time. I'm the type that gets hungry around 3 too, so I eat my "dinner" around then, and then a "snack" at dinner time. I find myself not eating as much or as unhealthy things, and as long as you are all sitting down together for dinner, does it really matter if she's eating a snack portion? Good luck, I'm sure it's not easy.

The other moms have posted some great, healthy ideas. I would add that maybe she could use a little more in her lunch. Carrot sticks, fruit, crackers, something like that. We've also bought the rice crackers that WalMart is carrying now, and they are quite tasty. I forget the brand name, but they have four or five flavors, and my two year old loves them. As do I!

Since I'm late in my responce, I will take a differenc route. My mom is not well and I have been between my home and her home for a week and a half. I am tired and it is time for me to return home and get some of my things done. We planned meals for the next week and purchased what we need for that meal. I chopped and bagged all the veggies for each meal, cut the meat and she will just cook it. I am hoping it will reduce her time on her feet and in the kitchen. Hopefully that is something you can do since you sound pressed for time after school.

Mine likes apples with peanut butter, cheese sticks and crackers, LOVES grapes and bananas (although she has to eat a ton to fill her up). The apples and pb and cheese sticks usually fill her up enough to last until dinner. However, it doesn't spoil her dinner. Plus it is healthy food so it doesn't matter. Also, a glass of milk with a snack can fill her up as well. Good luck!

My kids loved home made egg nog, with some furit after school.

My little kids love to eat grapes and baby carrots. I let them eat all the raw food they want.

Great question! I have the same issue with my 1st grader. Both she and my 4 year old are really ready for an actual meal around 4 or 5 p.m. so I've made some adjustments in when and how we eat.

You've already gotten lots of great suggestions that I agree with. We especially like hummus dip with veggies and crackers, and popcorn. Another good one is the Laughing Cow Swiss Cheese with crackers (and we usually serve grapes along with that). I second the notion of making sure she is drinking enough water, because I know both my girls need to be reminded, and it's good for them to learn at an early age that thirst sometimes is mistaken as hunger.

Good luck!