Kid Friendly Food- 10 Healthy High Protein Snacks (part 2)

Here are five more creative food ideas that are packed with protein. These snacks have all been kid tested and approved by years of daycare children. See part 1 of Kid Friendly Food -Healthy High Protein Snacks for the first five delicious snack ideas.

6. Nutritional Yeast sprinkled on Popcorn

Be careful with popcorn and very small children because it can be a choking hazard.  When children are old enough to handle popcorn, they quickly fall in love with the snack. We like to make it over the stove, old school style!  My children like to listen in anticipation for the first piece of popcorn to pop. Plain popcorn without salt or butter is a healthy treat but tends to taste a bit bland. Add some nutritional yeast from the health food store and it provides a salty cheesy taste that is high in protein. Just sprinkle it on and enjoy.

7. Eggs (and French Toast)

Eggs are fantastic because you can prepare them in so many different ways.  Scrambled eggs are a soft easy food for young children to chew.  Add a bit of shredded cheese while you are scrambling them to increase the kid friendly factor if you have a picky eater.  Hard boiled eggs sliced into medallions on toast is often a hit.  Soft boiled eggs or poached eggs with toast fingers for dipping is an intriguing activity for young kids.

Some kids don’t like the taste of eggs.  If this is the case, consider serving french toast.  Dip a whole grain bread slice into an egg and milk mixture.  Grill it in a pan until it is golden brown.  Cut it into long strips and serve it with applesauce for dipping. You can’t taste the egg but you still get the protein.

8. Lentils and Rice

A gentle comfort food that is simple to prepare.  Lentils are high in protein and pair nicely with rice in this dish.  Follow the directions on the package to know how much water to heat in a pot. Lentils cook the same way rice does.  When the water boils, add the lentils and rice together in the same pot.  Let them simmer until the lentils and rice are soft (about 20 minutes).

Lentils and rice on their own are very bland, which is why they are very appealing to many kids.  I personally like to add onions and a bit of sea salt to my lentils and rice to bring out the flavour.  To make this meal more attractive to picky eaters, use the ketchup bottle to make a happy face on the lentils and rice the first time you serve them.  Let the child mix in the ketchup and then take a bite.  You can  make your own ketchup if you want to reduce the sugar content found in commercially prepared brands.

9. Sugar Snap Peas

These peas are another great activity food.  You can eat the peas and the pod together or just the peas. The first time I serve sugar snap peas I show the kids how they can peel the pod open to find the hidden peas sleeping inside. The peas taste sweet and are fun for tiny fingers to pluck out of the pod. Pod and peas are delicious and crunchy on their own or you can dunk them into your favourite vegetable dip.

10. Nut Butters

In recent years nut butter spreads such as almond butter are gaining in popularity over peanut butter.  They are high in protein, very nutritious, with little processing.  You can buy them in the smooth or crunchy varieties in most grocery stores.  Nut butters can be spread on crackers, celery sticks or apple slices.  Of course nut butters taste great on toast or in a sandwich.  You can substitute a nut butter in any baking that you would normally use peanut butter. We like to make our own homemade granola bars with almond butter and honey.  Yum!

Above are just a few ideas you can use to get protein into your children’s diet. Happy snacking!