5 Guilt-Free Snacks That Fuel After-School Adventures

This is what I call my signature combinations of fruit, vegetables, and cheese. What do we have on hand in the kitchen? One day it’s apples, red peppers, cheddar cubes; another time it’s strawberries, carrot slices, and mozzarella. The key is to cut fruit, veg, and cheese — or any combo of those three — into bite-size pieces and distribute it in a container that showcases the colors of the food (I use a kids’ plate with three distinct sections). Yes, even the youngest ones care about presentation!

Handing the kids this baked snack bar is just about the easiest part of a parent’s afternoon. In three tasty flavor combinations of Chocolate & Peanut Butter, Double Peanut Butter, and Apple & Almond Butter, Zbar Filled baked snack bars are soft and chewy on the outside with a creamy nut butter filling inside. And even though I just opened a (gasp) pre-packaged snack, there’s no guilt! These snack bars are crafted with wholesome and nutritious ingredients like organic rolled oats and nut butters that taste great and provide energy. Wins all around.

We all know and love the time-honored combo of apple slices dipped in peanut butter. It’s delicious and will totally fit the bill if those are the two ingredients you have on hand. If you want to make this snack a real treat, though, try slicing the apples into circular cookie shapes, spreading with peanut butter, and adding raisins, coconut flakes, chopped nuts . . . whatever you have on hand in this category. The toppings cling to the peanut butter and make a yummy and fully satisfying snack! (You can also do this one with a banana base.)

Got cold cuts? Got cheese? Put one on top of the other. Roll 'em up. Serve. It’s that easy! For an extra layer, and a little roughage, add a piece of crisp lettuce around the outside. Non-meateaters can serve just the cheese-and-lettuce variety. Something about the swirl of ingredients draws kids in and makes this one imminently appealing.

These are a classic. Jazz things up by rolling them in a little sugar before you freeze, or by dipping them in yogurt when they come out. (Let them thaw for two minutes before offering them up to the hungry hordes.) And yes, this one requires a little prep, but putting clean grapes in a freezer bag and tossing them in the freezer? Even I can do that.

Zbar Filled is snacking made fun – an organic, soft-baked snack bar with smooth, creamy nut butter filling inside to surprise and delight kids. It’s the first of its kind! Learn more at CLIF Kid.