Almond Snickerdoodles
After School Snacking
When I was a grade-schooler my brother and I would walk home from school each day. He was one grade behind me. It was about a mile from school to the house. If we didn’t get any other exercise at least we got that.
I do know that we went out to play after school but when we got home and dropped our books on the dining room table we had a snack routine that followed immediately after.
Most often I’d do my snacking in the kitchen. I’d go to the pantry and pick up a donut or other pastry my mother had gotten at the bakery. I’d wash that down with a big glass of milk while I watched TV. My shows of choice were to watch Julia Child whip up a dish or I’d watch Graham Kerr, (another famous chef), cook a meal. Little did I know that interest in cooking would carry on into adulthood and become so integral to my life. My brother had different tastes. He would grab a bag of potato chips and a 16 ounce Pepsi and he’d go off to the den and watch his favorite shows.
After that we went out to play with friends until dinner.
I never really worried about my weight until boys came into the picture. At 12 years old I became rather obsessed with diet and food. It didn’t stop me from eating donuts. My tactic overall was just to eat less and less. The education at the time all revolved around counting calories. I became really good at that. I bought one of those pocket calorie books they had by the cash register at the grocery store. I memorized it.
Now I know that calorie counting was a waste of time. What I needed was a low carb way of eating. I needed options and I needed to eat the right stuff.
So now when I think of what kids could be eating after school, potato chips and donuts assuredly don’t hit the list.
Here are some healthy options you can consider for yourself, your kids or even your grandkids.
My top favorite is apple wedges with peanut butter. I even eat this for breakfast sometimes but it sure makes a great snack. Most kids are capable of slicing up an apple without getting hurt. They can choose smooth or crunchy peanut butter. My only caution is that you look to buy unsweetened peanut butter. There are some brands now that are just peanuts in the jar. I hate the stuff with the oil floating on top but you can now find what’s called emulsified, natural peanut butter. It will say “no stir” on the jar. If you can’t find peanut butter that is just peanuts that you like, you can opt for one that has cane sugar toward the bottom of the ingredients list. At least it won’t be an overload of sugar.
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