Beat the Afterschool Slump with Kid-Friendly Snacks

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Sweet and Saltines

FN_Sweet-Saltines

Photo by: Marshall Troy ©2012,Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

Marshall Troy, 2012,Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

The end of summer is a big deal for kids. If your young ones have already gone back to school, they’re transitioning from camp and family vacations to rowdy rides on the school bus, binders filled with homework and snacks before soccer practice. If they haven’t gone back yet, those days are coming up fast. This school year, ease their back-to-school shift with easy kid-friendly snacks. These recipes for kid-friendly midday refueling will satisfy and re-energize your kids while still leaving room for dinner. Here are some wholesome, homemade Food Network favorites:

Salty square crackers are suited to so much more than out-of-the-box snacking. Take it from Trisha, who drizzles saltines with butter, brown sugar and chocolate for Sweet and Saltines (pictured above), reaching that perfect cross between salty and sweet. Hey, it’s a whole lot better than passing kids a candy bar.

Homemade Granola Bars

FN_Homemade-Granola-Bars

Photo by: Marshall Troy ©2012,Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

Marshall Troy, 2012,Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

Instead of peeling open a store-bought granola bar, hand your kids a bar that was made right at home. Once they try these nourishing squares of oats, nuts, coconut and dried fruit, the only granola bars your kids will be begging for are Homemade Granola Bars.

Apple Chips

Recipe courtesy of Alex Guarnaschelli Recipe courtesy Alex Guarnaschelli SHOW: The Cooking Loft EPISODE:The Big Apple

Photo by: Jackie Alpers ©2014 Television Food Netword All rights reserved

Jackie Alpers, 2014 Television Food Netword All rights reserved

Before you unleash a bag of greasy potato chips on your kids, think about giving your kids a crunch factor that won’t slow them down. Alex Guarnaschelli bakes Apple Chips by the batch, sweetening the thinly sliced fruit with an easy-to-make simple syrup to make them shiny and even crispier.

Pumpkin Seed-Dried Cherry Trail Mix

Pumpkin Seed Dried Cherry Trail Mix; Claire Robinson

Photo by: Tara Donne

Tara Donne

You could buy trail mix by the bag, but fixing your own loaded batch is definitely the way to go. For Pumpkin Seed-Dried Cherry Trail Mix, just toss pumpkin seeds, slivered almonds and sunflower seeds in pure maple syrup before baking. You can store cooled trail mix in an airtight container so it’s ready when the kids fly in the door.

And that’s just the start of it. Food Network’s guide to Snacks for Kids is a go-to resource for parents and kids, loaded with wholesome, out-of-routine homemade snacks. Have them ready to go after school, or load up plastic baggies for on-the-go snacking.

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