Rainbow Snack Tray

Ready to rev up snacking?

step 1: Fill a muffin tin with assorted healthy snacks

step2: Challenge yourself (or your kids) to eat all of it through the day

This tip is a life changer. I do this for myself when I feel I'm in need of more fruits and veggies in my day. I do this for my kids regularly. Is it just me or are kids in general absolutely crazy for snacks these days? Put food out and kids that were enthusiastically playing whatever (that was previously so engaging that when you yelled their name to try and get their attention it was as if you were not there) come flocking to the table in hoards to eat a snack. I find it a little weird. Kids are weird. Snack time is a lot easier with this method becuase there is no "snack time"-they just graze all day whenever they want. And since I don't fill the tray with anything to terribly filling, they are still are hungry for meal times.

Try filing the cups with as many colors of the rainbow as you can (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink). Kids and even adults are drawn to colors. The more the better.

Some ideas:

red: strawberries, red bell pepper strips, radishes, cherries, apple slices, cherry tomatoes, raspberries, pomegranate seeds, kidney beans (um, yeah, my kids like plain beans sometimes-what?)

orange: mango, papaya, orange segments, cantaloupe, mini carrots, dried apricot, roasted sweet potato wedges or butternut squash

yellow: mango strips, golden raisins, yellow bell pepper strips, star fruit, pineapple, peaches, spaghetti squash

green: edamame, cucumber slices, sugar snap peas, pistachios, kiwi, honeydew, broccoli, peas, celery sticks

blue and purple: blueberries, blackberries, grapes, plums, purple cauliflower

pink: watermelon chunks, guava chunks, pink grapefruit

miscellaneous: mixed nuts and seeds, vegetable chips, whole grain pita chips with hummus for dipping, pickled vegetables, hard boiled egg halves, kale chips, olives, roasted and seasoned chick peas.

Be creative. Think outside the box. I once filled a tin with only mint leaves. They are yummy, refreshing and nutritious. And sometimes, I get crazy and freeze the fruit I put in my tins. I love frozen grapes and kiwi chunks.

I should say that I didn't come up with this. I totally stole it from some Juice Plus video I saw years ago.