15+ Healthy Snacks For Kids With Fruit
15+ Healthy Snacks For Kids With Fruit – In a snack rut? Try one of these kid-approved healthy snacks with fruit! (Gluten free, vegan & paleo options!)
Pretzels, crackers, granola bars.
Pretzels…crackers…granola bars.
Pretzels……crackers……you get it.
Getting into a snack rut is a real thing, and if I’m not mindful about it, it’s easy for us to get caught in a pretzels + crackers rut that leaves everyone bored (and hungry again half an hour later).
Over the last few summers, we’ve been trying to think of snacks as mini meals, and that’s helped us have more variety. Today, I wanted to share 15+ of our favorite FUN, healthy snacks with fruit. They’re colorful, fresh, better than basic, and totally DELICIOUS!
A Few Tips To Keep In Mind For Parents:
- Nutrition is cumulative, so we get our nutrient needs met over days and weeks. Every single meal and snack doesn’t need to be perfectly balanced to be part of a healthy lifestyle. We shoot for a mix of protein, fat, and carbs at each meal, but not *every* single meal is nutritionally perfect. I’m 100% okay with this. (You do you!)
- Kids’ serving sizes are smaller than adult serving sizes. (The USDA suggests the following servings sizes for fruit for kids each day: ages 2-3 = 1 cup, ages 4-8 = 1-1.5 cups, ages 9-13 = 1.5 cups). These fruity snacks make it easy to squeeze in a serving or two!
- Don’t force your kids to eat. Kids are naturally intuitive eaters. That is, they’re naturally in tune with their body’s hunger cues and can tell when they’re hungry or full. You can absolutely remind them “it’s snack time, now. We won’t be eating again until dinner,” but don’t force a child to eat or finish everything on their plate. (It will mess with their natural hunger cues.)
- Feel free to invite them into the kitchen with you! Even picky eaters are more likely to try new foods if they’ve had some role in the meals or snacks. Let them choose a snack from this list, pick a new fruit or veggie from the grocery store, or help you drizzle, sprinkle and mix. (Need more ideas? Try these 20+ easy recipes to cook with kids.)
Now, here are our 10 healthy snacks with fruit…
1. Apple Nachos
I’m convinced that parenting is like 90% marketing, so thinking of fun names makes anything more fun. And, let me tell you, calling this snack “Apple Nachos” makes it a WHOLE lot more appealing to my kids than asking “who’d like some apple slices?” Apple nachos are sliced apples drizzled with nut butter, and any fun garnishes you like.
- GET ALL OUR FAVORITE WAYS TO MAKE APPLE NACHOS HERE.
*You can easily make this a nut-free treat by swapping a nut-free butter (like Sunbutter), and sticking with homemade or nut-free granola.
2. Healthy Homemade Popsicles
Hands down, one of my favorite healthy snacks with fruit = popsicles! Healthy homemade popsicles skip the dye and sugar and are almost entirely made from fresh fruit. All you need is a blender and a popsicle mold to get started.
some of my kids’ favorite homemade popsicle flavors:
- Strawberry Orange Sunrise Popsicles (pictured)
- Dole Whip Popsicles
- Strawberry Watermelon Popsicles
- Healthy Raspberry Sorbet Popsicles
- Lava Flow Popsicles
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Popsicles
GET ALL OUR FAVORITE POPSICLE RECIPES HERE.
3. Healthy Banana Splits
Now, THIS fruity snack is a treat that feels extra fancy and fun. We build our healthy banana splits with a few simple ingredients, but you can get as creative with toppings as you like. Depending on what you top them with, you can even serve these for breakfast!
- GET ALL OUR TIPS & TOPPINGS FOR HEALTHY BANANA SPLITS HERE.
4. Kid-Friendly Smoothies!
Smoothies are another one of our favorite healthy snacks with fruit. My kids are still pretty averse to most veggies, but they’ll happily sip them in a smoothie! A yummy, refreshing smoothie feels delightful on a hot summer day, and if you make your smoothies extra thick, it’s almost like healthy soft-serve ice cream!
some of my kids’ favorite smoothies:
- Blueberry Peach Smoothies (Pictured)
- Healthy Pineapple Julius Smoothies
- Chocolate Cherry Smoothies (spinach blends right into these!)
- Pineapple Coconut Lime Smoothies
- Strawberry Orange Sunrise Smoothies
EXPLORE MORE OF OUR SMOOTHIE RECIPES HERE.
5. Healthy Chocolate-Dipped Bananas
This healthy fruit-filled snack is one of our favorite Disneyland treats made gluten and dairy free! We make a batch of our healthy chocolate shell and dip frozen bananas into it. The REALLY fun part is deciding what fun toppings to add!
6. Coconut Lime Energy Bites
I love introducing my kids to new fruits and veggies, and these tasty energy bites are a great way to introduce your kids to dates. Another big bonus: these lovelies are nut free! They taste like a fresh piece of lime pie and pack well for pools, parks, picnics, and school lunches. So good!
more kid-friendly energy bite flavors to try:
- Chocolate Mint Energy Bites (that taste like Thin Mints!)
- Lemon Energy Bites
- Chocolate Cherry Energy Bites
7. Acai Bowls
Is there anything more refreshing than an Acai bowl!? We LOVE these tasty smoothie bowls. My kids’ favorite part? Adding the toppings! I usually cut up a few kinds of fresh fruit and we pull out some granola, nuts, or paleo granola to sprinkle on top. They’re colorful, fresh, and loaded with goodness! The perfect fruity snack.
try one of our yummy acai bowl recipes:
(PS – Not an acai fan? You might like one of these 5 fresh smoothie bowls!)
8. Trail Mix
Trail mix is one of my favorite snacks with fruit. It’s SO easy to prep ahead! I love letting each child put together their own trail mix. You can mix up a single serving or make a bigger batch to last a week (my preference). Then, you can just pop it in some reusable bags and it’s super easy to toss into your pool bag or purse. My kids (and I!) think it’s really fun to get to mix and match options with dried fruit, freeze-dried fruit, nuts, seeds, and fun extra goodies.
9. Watermelon Star Sparklers
I’m rarely one to take the time to make something look cutesy, but we LOVE these watermelon star sparklers! They’re a delicious healthy snack or make a fun appetizer at a summer cookout when everyone’s hungry and waiting for dinner to be ready. Make them like we did with blueberries and watermelon stars, or mix and match different fruits to make fun color combinations (rainbow anyone?)
- GET THE FULL TUTORIAL HERE and Don’t miss our lime yogurt dip to fill this out a bit more!
10. Chocolate Brownie Hummus
Yes, really! It sounds crazy (and I wouldn’t have believed my hummus-hating kids would ever love it), but both of them happily dip, dunk, swirl their fruit into this chocolate brownie hummus. It feels like a fun treat, and keeps them full longer than just plain fruit!
11. Watermelon Slushies
Turn your watermelon into watermelon slushies! One of my kids has texture issues with watermelon, and these watermelon slushies are a great way to help them enjoy this yummy fruit. These frosty slushies are made with 100% real-food ingredients and taste AMAZING on a hot day. They’re one of our favorite snacks with fruit!
12. Fun Flavors Of Toast!
I usually eat my toast at breakfast, but it can actually make a GREAT healthy snack when you load it up with something more substantial than butter or jam! (And don’t get me wrong, I love toast with butter and jam).
I created six different fully-loaded, delicious toast options, and several of them include fruit. These hearty toasts help keep my kids full till dinner!
13. Rainbow Fruit Salad
One of the best parts of fruit-filled snacks is eating the rainbow, and this salad takes it to the next level! This rainbow fruit salad is a perfect way to have your kids take the lead. Let them help you choose fruits that match each color of the rainbow. Then, you can decide whether to mix everything together with the dressing, or whether to lay each color out in rainbow order first. One thing’s for sure: this’ll be the most colorful dish you eat all week!
- GET OUR RAINBOW FRUIT SALAD RECIPE HERE.
(PS – You might also like our Peach Berry Fruit Salad, Cherry Berry Fruit Salad and our Honey Lime Fruit Salad)
14. Watermelon Pizza
Aren’t these cute!? I first had them at a friend’s house who was having a birthday party but due to some medical issues could’t have most treats. It’s an adorable option! Here’s how you make a watermelon “pizza”:
- Slice your watermelon into rounds, then cut into wedges (so they’re pizza slice shaped)
- Spread with coconut whipped cream or your favorite vanilla yogurt. (We like SoDelicious dairy free yogurt or CoYo Vanilla Bean yogurt)
- Add fresh berries (blueberries and strawberries are nice!))
- Finish with a little fresh mint and lime zest if you’re feeling fancy.
That’s it! Such an easy way to be a fun mom.
15. Pineapple Guacamole
Chips + guacamole is a REALLY tasty summer snack, and this pineapple guacamole can be a super delicious twist. I’ve got lots of ways to make this guacamole more kid-friendly if you need to avoid onions or don’t want things spicy. My daughter LOVES it! This recipe also works with mango, if you want to experiment there.
- GET OUR PINEAPPLE GUACAMOLE RECIPE HERE.
BONUS IDEA: Popcorn Snack Mixes!
I know I said 15 ideas, but I *had* to include these popcorn snack mixes. I’ll walk you through how to make your own microwave popcorn + LOTS of different ways to mix-and-match snack mixes using dried and freeze-dried fruit. (It’s kind of like popcorn trail mix!)
Now, it’s your turn! What are your favorite fruit-filled snacks?
Shout them out in the comments below!