When you’re a parent and summer hits, you know it is time to stock up on sunscreen and make sure everyone in your family stays hydrated. You also know that when the kids are home from school, your home becomes snack central and you need to be prepared to deal with constantly hearing, “I’m hungry. What can I eat?” Seriously, how do kids survive the school year without constantly needing to snack, but whenever they are home it’s like they have to eat every five minutes? It’s a mystery that I don’t know the answer to, but what I can give you an answer to is what easy and delicious summer snacks you can have on hand that your whole family can enjoy.
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Why have a running list of summer snacks that you can refer to? Because then you know what to shop for and have on hand so that you don’t get frustrated when you have to come up with yet another snack option on the fly. You could just buy a bunch of pre-packaged snacks, but so many of those are filled with sugar, salt, and preservatives that your family doesn’t really need. Also, those snacks are pricey. Thankfully, there are plenty of simple, affordable, and even healthy snack options you can prepare yourself or better yet, teach your family how to prepare for themselves. Here you go!
Membrillo or guava paste and cheese is a great summer snack.
Membrillo paste, which is made from quince, or bocadillo, which is made from guava, both pair deliciously with cheese. You can buy the paste premade and cut it—and some cheese—into bite-size pieces that you skewer them together with toothpicks. They will be ready to go when hunger strikes anyone in your home.
Make mini fruit pizzas.
This particular recipe calls for home-baked sugar cookies, but you could easily change it up and serve fruit up on English muffins with cream cheese and then topped with fresh fruit. Options are always good. Get the full recipe here.
These watermelon popsicles are so pretty.
These watermelon popsicles have all the colors of a watermelon. They even include edible pretend watermelon seeds. The white part is made with coconut milk and the green part is made with kiwis. Get the full recipe here.
Make any kind of paleta.
Of course, you don't have to just make watermelon paletas. You can make any kind of paleta you want. Not to mention it's a good way to use up fruit before it goes bad. Buy some popsicle molds and make paletas every week of summer.
Fruit kebabs are a great anytime snack.
You an chop up seasonal fruit into cubes and then have your kids help you skewer it to create fruit kebabs. Have the kebabs ready to go in the fridge so they can be munched on at any time. You don't really need a recipe for this, but in case you want one: Get the full recipe here.
Prep sliced veggies to have with dip.
Sliced veggies with some ranch dressing are always delicious, but you really need to slice the veggies ahead of time to make them a go-to snack. It gets tedious to have to slice them every time you want to snack. But if the veggies are already sliced, it's super easy and convenient. You could even buy a tray of sliced veggies at the grocery store and just stick it in your fridge.
How about some fruit salsa and cinnamon crisps?
Yum! This sweet salsa is made with fresh fruit and a few tablespoons of preserves. You can make the cinnamon crisps up to four days ahead of time. They are made with four tortillas, cinnamon, sugar, and some cooking spray. Get the full recipe here.
Make a classic Mexican snack with cucumbers.
It's pretty amazing how such a simple snack of cucumber with lime and chile can be so darned refreshing and satisfying. It's also ridiculously simple to make and very affordable. If your kids don't like spicy foods, don't add chile.
You can also keep sliced up jicama ready to go.
The hardest part of making jicama with lime and chile as a snack is peeling the jicama. But once you master this technique, you're good to go. Keep the sliced jicama in the fridge along with some sliced limes or lemons and everyone can prepare themselves this snack whenever they want.
Pretzels and hummus could not be easier.
You could make hummus from scratch or you could buy some at the store. This is a great snack because hummus is a good source of plant-based protein. Enjoying it with pretzels is tasty.
Don't forget about guacamole, salsa, and chips.
Guacamole, salsa, and chips are a great snack that you can easily have a home. You could buy everything premade or you can make your own pico de gallo using this recipe and your own guacamole using this recipe.
Cold cut roll ups are a great option.
You can make these with turkey, ham, or chicken slices. Lay out a slice of your meat of choice then put a carrot, cucumber, or celery stick in the middle, roll the meat up around the veggie, and use a toothpick to keep it all together.
Make fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, and basil skewers.
This is pretty much a Caprese salad on a stick. No recipe needed: Just alternate skewering fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, and fresh basil leaves. You could sprinkle some pepper on the fresh mozzarella or even drizzle some balsamic vinegar on it. If your kids don't like basil, you could leave it out, but let them at least try it first.
Stuff some celery.
You can slice up celery and put all kinds of stuff in it. There's the whole ants on a long snack, which just entails putting peanut butter and raisins in a stick of celery. You could also put cream cheese and olives on celery, humus and olives, or any number of combinations.
