Back to school and back to a routine means preparing bagged lunches for many of us. Most parents dread making school lunches and find providing healthy snack options even harder.
Lindsay Firestone, mom to three young children, relates to the stress of trying to come up with snacks that her children will eat and which she feels comfortable serving. So, to create fun and healthy snack options, Lindsay collaborated with a local company, foodthought, to launch snaX, the comprehensive School Nutrition Awareness program.
snaX offers students exposure to healthy, international foods in a fun and inclusive manner for five consecutive school days. The program produces students who are fueled with energy and schools that are proud to host an innovative, week-long fundraiser. With tasty treats such as French Sliders and Mexican Antijitos, children are more eager to learn about the health benefits of the snacks they are eating and will often share the knowledge and recipes when they get home.
Slider Sandwich
This French-inspired slider features a bright pink cranberry mayonnaise that kids love.
Ingredients:
1 apple, peeled & sliced into small thin pieces
mixed cinnamon and brown sugar
1 tsp orange juice
1/2 tsp cranberry sauce
1 tsp mayonnaise
whole wheat slider buns
1/2 carrot, shredded
cheese, sliced
1 grape, to skewer
Preparation:
Sprinkle apple slices with cinnamon and brown sugar. In a small skillet, warm apples with orange juice until apples are soft and a very light brown.
Mix cranberry sauce and mayonnaise together. Spread on bottom half of slider bun.
Once apples are warm, place on top of mayonnaise on bun. Add carrot and cheese. ?Place a grape on a skewer or a toothpick ?and slide through centre on the slider ?to hold everything together.
Egg Salad on a Stick
Britain is famous for its egg salad. Putting ?the ingredients on a stick makes it a hit!
Ingredients:
skewer
1 hard-boiled egg
2 slices of cucumber
1 cube of cheddar cheese
grape tomato or pickles, or any other vegetable
multigrain pita, cut into triangles
Preparation:
Skewer egg, cucumber, cheese and tomato. ?Serve with pita.
The cost of the snaX program is $2.50 per student for the five snacks and the suggested price is $5 ?with $2.50 per student going back to the school. ?For more information on how to get snaX ?into your child's school visit www.mysnax.ca.
clockwise: Slider Sandwich, Egg Salad on a stick, Lindsay Firestone and student helpers serving up some healthy snaX at a local school.
