10 Great After-School Snacks

Look below for 10 great after-school snacks.....




...and don't forget to let your kids help out!!

Jelly Cubes

Favorite Juice Jelly Cubes

Even if you're wary of those red and green mystery "fruit" powders, you can still give your kids the jiggly treats they want. The trick is to use a juice with ingredients you approve of and set it in a plain gelatin. These cubes are not only healthier, but they're also just as easy to make as the boxed stuff.

• 2 cups of your kid's favorite juice (we used grape and grapefruit in the photo)
• 2 packets of unflavored gelatin (I am not sure that there is a kosher plain gelatin, in which case you could use regular jello and put in some fruit to make it more healthy but omit the entire "cooking process" of this snack. Do make them in squares or other shapes though...for fun!!)
  
• 1 tablespoon sugar or honey (optional)

Pour 1/2 cup of juice in a bowl and sprinkle gelatin over it. While this sits, heat the remaining juice to boil (can do this in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes). Pour hot juice over juice and gelatin mixture and stir, adding in extra sugar if desired. Pour mixture into the bottom of a loaf pan and chill for three hours, or until firm. Cut into squares.

Kids can help: Measure, mix

Extras: Pour mixture into miniature or regular-sized muffin tins for different shapes.

Parmesan Pita with dip

Parmesan Pita Chips with Mashed Dip

• Whole wheat pitas, opened and cut into wedges
• Grated fresh parmesan
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Basil or other dried herb (optional)
• Can of white beans, drained and rinsed
• Squeeze of tomato or sundried tomato paste
• Glug of olive oil

Cut pitas into wedges and separate their layers. Spread them on a baking sheet, spray them lightly with oil and sprinkle them with parmesan and dried basil. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes at 400 degrees F, until toasty and brown.

Meanwhile, dump beans in a medium sized bowl, add a squeeze of tomato or sundried tomato paste, a pinch of salt and pepper and a glug of olive oil and mash them with a potato masher until a smoother consistency is formed. Serve this with the Parmesan Pita Chips.

Extras: Try other beans, seasonings, or different spices on pita chips

Cucumber Yogourt Boats (Yum!!)

Cucumber Yogurt Boats

• Small cucumbers, such as Kirbys
• Small container of plain yogurt
• Sugar
• Salt
• Cumin

Halve cucumbers lengthwise and scoop out seeds. (A melon baller works great for this.) Mix some plain yogurt, a couple of pinches of sugar, a pinch of salt and a dash of cumin in a bowl. Spread into hollowed cucumbers.

Carrots and Peanut Butter Dip

Carrots with Peanut Dipping Sauce

Trying to break the peanut butter and jelly habit in the under-12 set is no easy task, but this mellowed peanut-sesame dip just might do the trick. It's equally good with carrots or tossed with cold noodles.

What you need:

• 3 tablespoons of peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• A splash of soy sauce
• A few drops of sesame oil
• Water to smooth
• Carrot sticks

Mix everything but the carrot sticks together with a fork or whisk in a bowl. Add water as needed to thin mixture to a dipping consistency (all-natural peanut butter needs more; everyday brands need less).

Mom's Peanut Butter Cookies

Oh-So-Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

• 1 cup smooth or chunky peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg

Mix ingredients in big bowl. Scoop into small balls and arrange on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees F. Let cool on rack.

Kids can help: Measure and mix ingredients, scoop dough.

Extras: Dot each cookie with a chocolate chip or two, flash-freeze already-formed cookies on a tray then pack in a freezer bag so you can bake them a few at a time for future snacks.

Banana and chocolate tortilla

Chocolate-Banana Tortillas

If your kid is obsessed with chocolate-covered frozen bananas, he'll love our healthful approach to this glorious duo. Easier to make than banana bread, these are addictive either hot or cold, for breakfast or dessert. Just don't forget to save one for the kids.

• Pat of butter
• One banana, thinly sliced
• Handful chocolate chips
• Two flour tortillas
• Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Melt butter in nonstick pan. Arrange banana slices over one tortilla and mash them in very lightly with a fork. Dot with chocolate chips and place second tortilla on top. Slide into frying pan and cook for a few minutes on each side, until brown and golden at the edges. Let cool for a minute or two, then slice into wedges and serve dusted with powdered sugar, if desired.

Real Potato Chips bli Oil

6-Minute Potato Chips

If you're still telling your kids to not eat potato chips, it's probably because you didn't know you could make them in your microwave without a smidgen of grease. For real. I could tell you more, but I suspect you're already in the kitchen trying this out.

• One Russet potato sliced paper thin
• Salt (optional)
• Parchment paper

Cut a sheet of parchment paper to fit a plate. Lay discs of potato on top in a flat layer, none touching. Sprinkle layer with salt, if desired. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper. Microwave for 5-6 minutes. Discs will have become lightly browned potato chips.

Kids can help: Cut paper to shape, lay out slices of potato

Extras: Season with some salt, paprika, garlic or onion powder

Crackers and Creme

Strawberry "Cheesecakes"

• 3 ounces of cream cheese, softened for 10 seconds in the microwave
• 3 tablespoons strawberry jam
• A few sheets of graham crackers, broken into squares or rectangles

Mix the softened cream cheese with the jam. Spread a little of the mixture on top of each graham cracker. Either eat right away, or chill for 30 minutes. The grahams will soften and become more like a cheesecake crust, and the topping will firm up.

Kids can help: Break up grahams, stir cream cheese and jam

Extras: Use different flavors of jam, top with a slice of fresh strawberry

Fruit and Yogourt dip

Cherries with Brown Sugar Dip

This tangy-sweet dip could be used for any number of fruits or berries, and the cherry stems make dipping extra fun.

• 1/4 cup yogourt
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Cherries with stems attached

Stir yogourt, brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Rinse cherries and arrange them for dipping.

Kids can help: Mix ingredients, wash fruit

Extras: Use apple or pear slices, strawberries or other berries if they're in season

Tortilla Pizza

Tiny Tortilla Pizzas

What you need:

• Small corn tortillas
• Salsa
• Shredded cheddar cheese

Mound a little salsa and cheese on each tortilla. Cook on foil-lined tray in toaster oven until cheese has melted and is brown at the edges.

Kids can help: Assemble the "pizzas," cover the tray with foil

Extras: A layer of refried beans under the salsa, cilantro for garnish, a dollop of sour cream or a sprinkle of finely chopped green pepper

Back-to-school blues

The Back to School Blues

Excitement, Anticipation, Sleep Deprivation

Back to school is usually a time of excitement....starting new schools, meeting new friends or re-connecting with old ones.

But with the end of summer comes the end of sleeping in. School seems to be starting earlier every year and earlier in the day as well.

This is particularly hard on teens. With school, homework and extra-curricular activities....teens tend to be getting (on average) about seven or less hours of sleep a night.

Teens need between 8 1/2 and 9 1/4 hours of sleep every night. In addition to that...they need the sleep earlier in the evening than adults. The biggest problem that teens have with getting enough sleep is that (unlike adults who just start to wind down from the day at about 10 in the evening)...teens speed up at night. So if they go to sleep very late...they will have already gone into the "speed up"

Teens need between 8-1/2 and 9-1/4 hours of sleep. For reasons not fully understood, teens need more sleep than adults. Plus they need it earlier in the day. Adults start to slow down by ten in the evening, but the internal clock of teens causes them to speed up. This may be due to the amount and time of melatonin secretion from the pituitary gland.

With early classes, teens have to be up about six in the morning. To get the sleep they need, they should be in bed by nine. That's almost impossible in today's hectic society. Many kids don't get to bed until eleven or later. There is too much to lure them away from their beds -- the internet, video games or just chatting on the phone with friends.

The result? Many students are unable to stay alert and concentrate on their classes. Lack of sleep is detrimental, not only to learning, but also to the immune system, motor skills, memory and creativity. And it's also detrimental to relationships. Let's not forget the "attitude" problem!

But there are some things parents can do. Dr. Anju Sikand, adolescent medicine specialist at Children's Hospital of Michigan offers these tips to help your teen cope with chronic slee