5 Ways to Make Snack Time Easier at Home (for you and your kids)

(This post is sponsored by Harvest Snaps. All opinions are my own.)

Snack time is always in full effect at our house, but with four kids I need our “snaptime” (thanks to Harvest Snaps) to be quick, easy and of course, fun. My kids are currently newly 9, almost 6, almost 3 and 6-months-old, and I refuse to create individual snacks, so I also need foods that will make EVERYONE happy. Here are 5 ways I make snack time easier at home:

1. Create a Snack Formula: This makes it easy, so I’m not having to reinvent the wheel each time. I do a fruit, veggie, protein/fat and a better-for-you starchy carb like Harvest Snaps, which you can find in the produce aisle.
2. Get a good snack plate: The snack plate I use most often has four sections (which makes my snack formula even easier). I have four of them too, in case it’s a day where I can tell certain individuals are not into sharing. Having a plate with separate sections also makes things better for picky eaters in case they don’t like their food touching.
3. Switch up your snack time location: Snack time is usually a break from whatever we are working on or playing, so it’s best if we take our snack to a new location away from any distractions. This also means no screens, which allows them to better recognize when they are full. If the weather is nice, going outside for snack time is fun and on special days (usually a rainy day) we will even set up a picnic inside. Hint: Using a round beach towel to sit on is nice because then you can just shake out all the crumbs afterwards. (I will basically do anything to make up clean up time easier on myself.)
4. Free choice snacks: I sometimes like to give the kids some control in the snack time decision making (the toddler in particular), so I’ll offer them choices: Do you want carrots or celery? Strawberries or bananas? Pepperonis or cheese? Almonds or walnuts? Harvest Snaps or pretzels? These days Harvest Snaps are a big winner. The Lightly Salted Original is everyone’s favorite, but we recently tried out the Tomato Basil too which the baby especially liked (Note: I do baby-led weaning instead of purees, so my baby is very comfortable with real food.). P.S. Harvest Snaps are fun to put on salads too, and you can find them in the produce aisle at your local grocery store.
5. Get inspired: When I need new snack ideas, I have a few Instagram accounts I like to refer to. My criteria is that their ideas must be realistic as I’m not the mom who has the time or desire to be crafting out food characters at snack time. LOL Here are a few of my faves (Please share yours in the comments too): Weelicious, What Robin Eats, Plant Based Juniors, Hannah from California and Feeding Littles.

I hope these snacks tips and tricks help make snack time a little more efficient for you and a lot more fun for your kids!