Snackster Sam Blog
Our recipes and activities are always Snackster Sam approved and kid approved.
 INGREDIENTS 1 Watermelon EQUIPMENT Blender Ice cube tray DIRECTIONS: Serves 10 people Cut up watermelon and remove the rind. (You can also use a spoon and scoop it out.) Set watermelon chunks into a large bowl. Put the chunks of watermelon into a blender and blend until smooth. Keep the juice at the bottom of the bowl in a container and place in the refrigerator. Pour blended watermelon into an ice cube tray and freeze until frozen, or overnight. Add frozen watermelon cubes to blender. Add watermelon juice and blend until mixed well. Pour into a glass and enjoy! NOTE: You can keep frozen watermelon longer than you can keep the juice in the refrigerator. Feel free to try different juice, like cherry, apple, or orange. If you want different flavor, add lemon juice or a bit of honey. Did you try it? Tell us in the comments below!
 Orange Planet Lollipops My daughter recently turned six, and she requested a Snackster Sam themed birthday party. We brought the book Snackster Sam's Big Adventure to life with fun and kid-friendly recipes. Figuring out how to create a Snackster Sam approved lollipop was a fun challenge. The result is so delicious... one of the party guests had several in hand at a time! Ingredients
Directions The night prior to serving, cut each apple into eight slices. Place each apple slice onto a skewer. Mix lemon juice and water into a bowl; dip each apple slice into lemon water mixture. Refrigerate overnight. Prior to serving, arrange honey, coconut, and nuts into bowls for dipping. If the coconut flakes are large, first finely chop or blend it into smaller pieces. Allow children to dip apple slices into the honey and then the coconut or nuts. Makes for a tasty (and a little messy) treat! So many variations are possible… try one and share in the comments below. Other variations: Depending on the season, try orange slices instead of apples! Join Snackster Sam on another big adventure with a birthday party! Get all the games, recipes, even templates to make Snackster Sam monster birthday invitations, and everything else you need to know! Did you try it? Share your experience in the comments below! Learn more about Snackster Sam in the lovable, rhyming children's book that helps kids eat healthy.
 Green Planet Watermelon Cake My daughter recently turned six, and she requested a Snackster Sam themed birthday party. We brought the book Snackster Sam's Big Adventure to life with fun and kid-friendly recipes. This watermelon cake is not only fun to eat, it looks beautiful! I am not a baker, so I had a blast being able to make a three-tiered watermelon cake instead. You can even prepare this the night before and refrigerate overnight. Ingredients
Directions First, cut the ends off the watermelon. Then cut off the rinds. If you want to create multiple tiers, slice the watermelon into two halves (to create a third tier you will need another watermelon). Slowly carve the watermelon slice into a circle. (If making the Dinostar Watermelon Lemonade, discard the shaved watermelon into a pitcher). Place the first tier on a cake platter. Shave the second tier into a circle, making it smaller than the first tier. You may need to place the second tier on the first to make sure you are trimming off enough. Repeat this process for the third tier if applicable. Place all the tiers on the cake platter. Place a wooden skewer in the tiers from the top to secure the cake. Slice the fruit for decorations. Feel free to create shapes with a cookie cutter. Decorate the cake on the base of each tier and secure with a toothpick. The toothpicks may work best when cut in half. Refrigerate or serve! Note, there will be excess juice dripping from the watermelon. If refrigerating overnight, place the cake in a dish to collect the juice. Make sure the children remove toothpicks prior to eating. Join Snackster Sam on another big adventure with a birthday party! Get all the games, recipes, even templates to make Snackster Sam monster birthday invitations, and everything else you need to know! Did you try it? Share your experience in the comments below! Learn more about Snackster Sam in the lovable, rhyming children's book that helps kids eat healthy.  Happy summer!
One of my favorite things about summer is the fresh berries and fruit in season. There's nothing like biting into a juicy summer peach or a ripe strawberry (and they are even sweeter when they are wild)! When I think back on my summers as a kid, peaches come to mind. I couldn't wait to go to the the farmer's market or grocery store with my mom and find the juiciest peaches. This is an experience I want to share with my children, too. Well... and let's be honest, I'm still a kid at heart, too! Peaches for the whole family! It's not always easy to get ripe or juicy peaches in the midwest. That's why we've created a summer snack that is delicious, easy, and fun! This is the perfect recipe to use a bruised, over or underripe peach. We added strawberries for a yummy twist, but you can use a variety of fruits based on what's in season and available. If you have kids and don't have a popsicle mold, you're missing out! You can usually get molds for about the same price as store-bought popsicles made with fruit. If you don't have popsicle molds, you can use wooden popsicle sticks and paper cups. Making your own popsicles allows you to cut out added sugar, use bruised and overripe fruit, and of course, make memories! Pair this summer treat with sunshine and shorts!  Who doesn't love cookies? Traditional cookies take forever to make, kids lose interest in the baking process, and the SUGAR... you have to limit how many cookies you can eat in a sitting. It's no fun at all. The cookie battle is over! Introducing... the Banana Cookie. With only three ingredients, it's easy to make, affordable, fun, a crowd pleaser, AND Snackster Sam approved! Get the FREE list of peanut-free, school-approved snacks! My kids loved making these with me, and the plate of cookies was gone in no time. I didn't have to put a limit on how many cookies they could eat either! So are you ready to learn how to make them? Get out a notepad... and then put it away. These are too easy you can memorize it! Which may come in handy when you have 2 lone bananas left on your counter (like I did). Plus, there are so many variations so you can make this recipe your own! BANANA COOKIES INGREDIENTS 2 ripe bananas 2 cups rolled oats 1/4 cup raisins Equipment Blender Variations Dried cranberries Chopped walnuts Sliced almonds Dash of cinnamon or ginger DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 350° F. Mash ripe bananas in a large mixing bowl. In blender, blend rolled oats until it has a flour-like texture. Add oats to bananas and thoroughly mix. Add raisins or other variations. Roll mixture into small balls and place on non-stick baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes in preheated oven, or until edges become golden brown. Place cookies on a cooling rack. (This is the tough part!) These cookies get better with time! Wait until they are completely cool before enjoying. The banana flavor strengthens so the cookies are sweeter! Try it and share your comments below! Danielle S is the mother of two and creator of Snackster Sam. She has been concerned about healthy habits and nutrition for over a decade, and conducted an award-winning scientific study on portion control. She created Snackster Sam to make eating healthy more fun for parents and children. Learn more about the mission here.
I'm on a mission to help kids find the best snacks! Cookies don't make the list of the best snacks, but what if there was a cookie that was better than the chocolate chip bag recipe? Let's work together and create the best cookie recipe! Today, I made cookies and reduced the sugar, added fiber (oats), and protein (nuts)... but there is so much more we can do! What items from my list can you add and what ingredients can you subtract? Tell me in the comments below how you would improve this recipe!   2 cups flour 1 cup rolled oats 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 1 cup butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 brown sugar 2 eggs (hardboiled eggs are on the list!) 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup crushed dark chocolate bar 1 cup chopped walnuts (or nut of choice) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. DIRECTIONS In a small bowl, mix flour, oats, baking soda, salt. Set aside. (Get kids to help stir!) In a large bowl, soften butter. After butter has been softened, add sugar. Mix well. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Slowly add dry ingredients to mix in large bowl until completely mixed. Add ingredients as desired (we added a dash of cinnamon and some more oats). Add chocolate and walnuts. Mix and drop rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown on edges. Let cool on cooling rack and enjoy a couple! Store in an airtight container for another day or store in the freezer. I can't wait to hear how you would improve this recipe! Look for a better recipe coming soon based on your suggestions! -Snackster Sam Searching for the best snacks? Get the list! by Ambassador, Danielle S When you think of kids, you usually think of sticky and messy. And snot. But I think of ICE CREAM. Because my kids always want it (and so does my husband). But ice cream is EXPENSIVE and it's loaded with ADDED SUGAR. The cheaper ice cream usually doesn't even contain the natural ingredients that are used to make homemade ice cream. So on a mission (like Snackster Sam's), I found a recipe to make a knock-off ice cream. I modified it slightly and removed the added sugar. What's amazing about this recipe? It's SO EASY TO MAKE AND CONTAINS 3 INGREDIENTS! AND YOUR KIDS WILL THINK IT'S REAL ICE CREAM. I PROMISE.
Ok... so why is this the best EVER?Glad you asked! A few reasons: It's affordable. I purchased my bananas at a discount - they were bruised and over ripe. Which is exactly what I wanted! If you can't get your bananas on sale, just store your bananas that are overripe in the freezer. Either way, bananas are much cheaper than ice cream. I fooled my kids. Every time I make this, I have the kids go to another room while I make the Bananas for Ice Cream. When they SEE and TASTE it, they BELIEVE it is ice cream from the store. It's actually funny to watch them look in the freezer later and ask for more "ice cream". They have no idea how I make it magically appear! No, it doesn't taste like bananas. If you have a picky eater who hates bananas, just try it. Frozen RIPE bananas taste so much different than non-frozen ones. Plus, if you add a dash of cinnamon or some other fruit on top, it masks any hint of banana. There is so much room for variations! What I love about this recipe is you can change it. For a change of flavor, you could add other FROZEN fruit (just keep bananas as the main ingredient). Let your kids experiment with seasonings (I bet ginger would be yummy!) and toppings. The possibilities are nearly endless! DID YOU TRY IT? Share your comments and experiences below! Bananas are Snackster Sam approved! (Ice cream is not.)Danielle is the mother of two, small business owner, and creator of Snackster Sam. She has been concerned about healthy habits and nutrition for over a decade, and conducted an award-winning scientific study on portion control. Danielle is an author and community activist who is passionate about helping people reach and exceed their personal and professional goals. Danielle is involved in numerous volunteer activities in the area. She believes philanthropy is as important as carving your own path. In her spare time, she enjoys relaxing on Rainy Lake with her family.
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