It’s snack time! Children always look forward to taking a break from their studies to eat something delicious. Snack time at school gives your children a chance to refuel, helps them remain alert for the rest of the day, lets them stave off hunger pangs, and helps them to not overeat at lunch. As a parent, you’re always looking for ways to teach your children how to eat right and provide the best meals possible, so try the following inexpensive snack ideas to prepare nutritious and delectable treats that your children will crave when it’s time to eat a snack at school:

1. Use one half of a whole wheat pita and create a veggie pocket by adding fresh vegetables like lettuce, cucumber slices, shredded lettuce, and hummus.
2. To make a snack that contains lean protein, try unsalted nuts or a hard-boiled egg.
3. Treat your children to whole grain snacks like popcorn, whole wheat breads, and whole oat cereals, which are high in fiber and low in sodium, saturated fat, and added sugars.
4. Use snack-size bags to control serving sizes.
5. Slice vegetables in advance and store them in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
6. Spread peanut butter on celery and add raisins to create “ants on a log.”
7. Make a fruit-based snack, which is quick and easy to prepare with fresh, canned, or dried fruit. Here are some fruits that make great snack food: apples, apricots, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, cherries, dates, grapefruit, grapes, honeydew, kiwi, mandarin oranges, mangoes, nectarines, oranges, peaches, pears, pineapple, plums, raisins, raspberries, strawberries, tangerines, and watermelon.
8. Slice vegetables or serve them raw. The following vegetables make great snacks with or without a dip: broccoli, carrot sticks or baby carrots, cauliflower, celery sticks, cucumbers, peppers (red, green, yellow or orange), snap peas, string beans, tomatoes, yellow squash slices, and zucchini slices.
9. Create a trail mix by combining some dried fruit, popcorn, and unsalted nuts or some dried pineapple chunks, banana chips, shredded coconut, salted cashews and chocolate chips in a snack-size bag.
10. Prepare some applesauce using the following recipe: 2 pounds fresh apples (Braeburn, Gala or McIntosh) peeled, cored, and slice; 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, 1.5 tablespoons dark brown sugar and 3/4 cup room temperature water. Using a large pot, bring the apples, lemon juice, and water to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or so until the apples are soft and squishy. Add dark brown sugar. Mash the apple mixture until smooth by hand or by using a food processor. Let cool. Transfer to airtight containers.
11. Make a small salad with lettuce, celery, olives, tomatoes, shredded carrots, and salad dressing.
12. Fill a snack-size bag with dry cereal that’s low in sugar (Honey Oats, Grape-Nuts, Cheerios, Wheaties, or Raisin Bran) or a granola-based cereal (Quaker Natural Granola Oats & Honey & Raisin or Heartland granola cereal brands).