Norman — Homemade snacks can be a challenge. You might not have time to bake cookies, breads or muffins. You can offer snacks with minimal prep work, such as fresh fruits and raw vegetables, string cheese, yogurt or cream cheese on raisin toast, but these get boring if you use them too often.
The following recipes can be made quickly and will work so well when you want to have something a little different for after school or on weekends. They’ll help you avoid packaged snacks, and the last three can be made ahead.
Fruit burritos
4 fresh strawberries
1/4 cup fresh blueberries
1 fresh peach
4 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
4 6-inch flour tortillas
1 banana
4 tablespoons vanilla yogurt
Wash fresh strawberries, blueberries and the peach; peel peach, halve and remove pit. For each burrito, spread 1 tablespoon peanut butter evenly on a flour tortilla. Onto each tortilla place in a line along the center of 1/4 sliced banana, 1 sliced fresh strawberry, 1/4 thinly sliced peach and about 1 tablespoon blueberries. Drizzle 1 tablespoon vanilla yogurt over the fruit. Carefully fold one side of tortilla over the fruit, tucking the edge under the fruit. Roll the folded and tucked portion of the burrito toward the other side; the peanut butter will help hold it together.
— Joy B., Tennessee
Apple toast
1 tablespoon butter
4 slices bread
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
cinnamon, to taste
brown or white sugar, to taste
Set oven to broil. Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread. Place apple slices on buttered side of bread. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top. Place bread on a baking sheet. Place in oven until toasted.
— Ellise, South Carolina
Mix and match cereal snack
3 cups cereal: Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, corn flakes, Golden Grahams, Trix, Wheaties
1 cup nuts: almonds, mixed nuts, peanuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts
1 cup fruit: banana chips, dates, chopped currants, dried apricots, dried fruit mix, flaked coconut, raisins, dried pineapple
1 cup treats: butterscotch chips, M&M's, Reese's Pieces, chocolate chips, mini-marshmallows, peanut butter chips, vanilla milk chips, animal crackers, teddy grahams, Goldfish crackers
Choose one from each category or a combination of more than one. Mix well in a large bowl. Store in an airtight container. Serve inside an ice cream cone or plastic baggie.
— Lori, Illinois
Toasted pecans
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
1 pound pecans
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat egg white with water until frothy. Stir in pecans and mix to coat evenly. Combine sugar, cinnamon and salt and stir into pecan mixture. Spread on a baking sheet. Bake in oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container.
— Hannah, Ohio
Sara Noel is the owner of Frugal Village (www.frugalvillage.com), a Web site that offers practical, money-saving strategies for everyday living. To send tips, comments or questions, write to Sara Noel, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., 4th Floor, New York, NY 10016, or e-mail sara@frugal village.com.
