Freeze It

ARCTIC ORANGES.

4 oranges
4 cups orange juice
4 cherries
Cut the tops off the oranges in a zigzag pattern. Hollow out the insides, remove the seeds and combine in a blender with the juice. Set the rinds in a muffin tin and fill with the mixture. Drop a cherry inside each orange. Freeze for 2 to 3 hours. Soften the treats for 5 minutes, then serve. Makes 4.


BANANA POPS.

3 bananas
6 Popsicle sticks.
1/4 cup peanut butter, softened.
1/4 cup chopped peanuts or walnuts, granola, crispy rice cereal or sunflower seeds
Peel the bananas. Cut them in half, widthwise, and push a Popsicle stick through the cut end of each half. Spread peanut butter on the bananas, then roll them in the nuts, cereal or seeds. Wrap them in waxed paper and freeze for 3 hours. Makes 6.


FROZEN FRUIT SALAD.

Freeze the following bites for a fast and frosty treat: grapes, pineapple chunks, peach slices, apricot slices, banana slices, apple slices, cantaloupe balls, watermelon chunks, peas, zucchini slices, cucumber slices, orange wedges and fruit leather. .


Make it Bite-Size

Loading up a snack plate with too much food overwhelms a child. Offer children small bites and you will find that they are more apt to eat everything on their plates.


SHRUNKEN SANDWICHES

2 slices ham
2 slices low-fat cheese
12 mini crackers, such as Ritz Bits
Cut ham and cheese (six from each slice) into small rounds the size of the mini crackers. A clean medicine bottle makes a good cutter. Place a ham round on six of the crackers, then add the cheese. Cover each with another cracker. Serves 2.


SEA SHELLS

8 jumbo pasta shells
1 cup tuna or egg salad filling
1/2 cup grated cheese (optional)
Cook the pasta shells. Drain and rinse in cold water. Fill each shell with tuna or egg salad, then sprinkle with grated cheese, if desired. (Or stuff the filling into hollowed-out cherry tomatoes, green peppers or cream puff shells.) Serves 4.


PEANUT BUTTER PINWHEELS
Spread creamy or chunky peanut butter and a little bit of honey on a fresh flour tortilla (available in the refrigerator section of most grocers). Sprinkle with granola, roll up the tortilla, then slice it into bite-size pinwheels. .


PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD

Much like an arts and crafts project, making a snack can become an after-school activity. The bonus: Kids get to eat their artwork, and you get to sneak nutritious foods into their diet. SNACK ART.

Create a work of art using the following elements:
The Foundation Celery, carrots, zucchini or cucumbers cut into sticks or rounds; banana, apple or pineapple slices; melon balls; lettuce leaves; or orange sections
The Cement Peanut butter, cream cheese, cheese spread, yogurt, jam, pizza sauce or ranch dressing
The Decorations Seeds, nuts, grapes, raisins, olives, frozen peas or beans. Lay out the materials and give each child plastic utensils and a plate "canvas." Suggest that they build sharks, monsters, cars, flowers, or have them write their names.

TIP: This makes a great birthday party activity.

WIGGLE WORMS.
Fruit, such as grapes, melon, bananas or strawberries, cut into bite-size pieces
Pretzel sticks
Chocolate sprinkles (optional)

Spear about four pieces of fruit onto each pretzel, as if making a kebab, to create the worms. Leave a tip at the end for the tail. Parents, you can pre-spear the fruit.
Join two worms with a piece of fruit for a longer creepy-crawler. Use sprinkles to make eyes, spots or tiny feet.

COLD-CUT PUZZLER.
Let your child put this puzzling lunch together. Start by making a sandwich with cheese and bologna or other deli meat.
Cut the sandwich into a number of shapes, then separate the shapes, mix them up and place them on her lunch plate.
Have your child reconstruct the sandwich by interlocking the puzzle pieces before she eats it. .

BAG IT
For kids on the go, snacks must be portable. When the kids are full (or, more likely, too busy to eat), they can stuff the bags into their pockets and save them until they're hungry again. TEX-MEX POPCORN.

1/4 cup margarine, melted
1 tbsp. dry taco seasoning mix
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
Mix the melted margarine with taco seasoning and set aside. Pop the popcorn kernels in the oil in a large, covered pot, pop, then pour the popped corn into a large serving bowl. Stir in the seasoned margarine and toss lightly. Serves 4.


GOBBLEDY GOOK.

4 cups oat or crispy rice cereal
1 cup chopped peanuts
1 cup raisins or chopped dried prunes or apricots
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup chopped pretzels
3 tbsp. margarine, melted (optional)
Place all ingredients in a 2-quart sealable plastic bag, seal and shake until mixed. Serves 6 to 8.


Sip It

It's amazing how much good nutrition you can sneak into a drink. In fact, a single glass of 100 percent juice supplies one of the recommended five daily servings of fruit or vegetables. Offer the drinks in mugs, cartoon glasses or wine glasses. Don't forget the crazy straws.

BANANA SCREAM.

3 bananas (the riper the banana, the sweeter the shake)
2 tbsp. nonfat milk
Peel the bananas, cut in half width-wise, wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze until firm. Place in a blender,
add milk and puree until creamy. Serves 4.

JUNGLE JUICE.

1 1/2 cups nonfat milk
1/2 cup grape juice
1 banana, sliced
Put milk, juice and banana in a blender and mix until smooth. For more vibrant color, add a few drops of purple food coloring. Serves 2.

MAKE-A-SHAKE.

Combine two favorite drinks to create a refreshing new taste. Try grape juice and orange juice, strawberry nectar and pineapple juice, lemonade and soda water, or chocolate milk and 2 teaspoons of melted smooth peanut butter. For a frosty drink, add ice and blend.

DIP IT

Here's a tip: Dip!
Like countless other picky eaters—kids often believe that food tastes better when it is dipped before it is eaten. They feel like they are making their own snack.

FISH IN A POND.

1/2 cup low-fat cream cheese or cheese spread
Fish-shaped crackers
4 celery ribs, stems removed
Scoop the cream cheese into a bowl. (You can tint the cream cheese with blue food coloring to make it look like a pond.) Place the goldfish in a separate bowl. Let the kids dip the celery sticks into the cheese, then into the bowl of crackers to "catch" a fish. Serves 2.

APPLE FONDUE.

1/2 cup low-sugar, low-fat chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup crispy rice cereal
1/8 cup raisins
2 green apples, cut into wedges
Mix the peanut butter, cereal and raisins in a small bowl. Let the kids dip the apple wedges into the thick peanut butter mixture. If you prefer to thin it, melt the peanut butter in the microwave first, then add the cereal and raisins and serve warm. Serves 2.

SAY CHEESE.
Heat your favorite cheese spread or cheese (try cheddar or Brie) in a glass bowl in the microwave until just melted. Be sure to watch it closely: cheese melts fast. Offer the kids a variety of snacks to dip into it, such as pretzel sticks, apple wedges, grapes, breadsticks or carrot sticks and other cut-up veggies.


For more ideas go to www.familyfun.com

Sandwiches
Kids get bored when their favorite sandwiches become the same-old sandwiches. We have a fun solution – banish the bread and use a pita pocket instead!
A pita is a fun cross between bread and a tortilla. They can be filled with just about any sandwich item.

Chicken Salad Pita Pocket
1 large celery stalk
2oz cooked chicken strips
1 Tbsp. raisins
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise, egg-free, low-fat or nonfat
1 mini (4 inch) pita pocket
Rinse and chop celery; chop chicken strips and mix with celery and raisins and mayonnaise until well blended. Serve in pita pocket. Makes 1 serving. Nutritional values per serving: 220 calories, 6g fat (2g sat), 16g protein, 27g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 35 mg cholesterol, 580mg sodium and 10g sugar.

Roast Beef Wrap
This delicious roast beef wrap will provide your child with the nutrients he or she needs. It's so good you're whole family will want one.
1 whole wheat (approximately 6-inch diameter) tortilla
1/4 cup chopped or sliced cucumber
1 Italian plum tomato
1/2 cup lettuce, romaine or lettuce of choice
1 Tbsp. dressing, Italian low-fat
2-1/2 oz. sliced, deli roast beef
1. Warm tortilla per package directions.
2. Chop cucumbers and tomato; shred lettuce.
Toss cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce with dressing until well mixed. 3. Layer roast beef on tortilla and top with vegetable mixture; roll up and serve
Makes 1 serving. Nutritional values per serving: 190 calories, 4 g fat (1.0gsat), 16g protein, 27g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 25mg cholesterol, 930mg sodium and 2g sugar.