Quick, Heathy Kids Snacks To-Go

Quick, Healthy Fresh Fruit To-Go

I'm constantly looking for really quick snack ideas for my kids. As easy as it is to throw some pre-packaged snacks into their lunch boxes (and this certainly happens more times than I wish), I prefer to give them something more pure. Because of this, I spend a lot of time cutting up fresh fruit every week... and sometimes, it's just too chaotic to do that. And then I saw these bags of jumbo navel oranges on sale at the supermarket. I got them, mostly because it was a good price. I figured I'd have to spend time peeling them for the kids, which is a bit of a pain, but since the clementines were starting to not look so good anymore, it was a citrus substitute, if nothing else.

But then one night soon after, my husband and I got takeout "movie boxes" from our favorite Japanese restaurant. One of the items you get as a dessert is cut up fruit--oranges that look just like this. Take-out is a special night for us, and we try to at least have one decent conversation while we eat, so we often end up bribing the girls to engage in a quiet activity by telling them they can have our fruit when we've finished eating. And they get SUPER excited about it. Really. When they see we've gotten takeout from this place, they immediately ask, "Can we have your fruit?!"

It's amazing that the simple act of cutting a piece of fruit into pieces completely changes its appeal. And sort of baffling that it took me this long to figure it out. But, alas, I did, and now these orange slices have become our new favorite snack! So easy to prepare, and perfect to throw in a lunch or snack box.

I'm always looking for more easy, healthy snack ideas. Please share some things that work for you!