Healthy Snack Ideas for Kids & Double Chocolate Muffin Recipe

A ravenous little one is no joke. And after finishing the first snack course, they’re always looking for more. So I stock my kitchen with a wide variety of snack options, and they are definitely not all homemade. I always make sure to have some convenience items on hand for those all-day munchies. Because no one wants to face a hangry toddler unarmed!

Some of our favourite toddler snack ideas:

Dried Fruit – Apricots, dates, cranberries, and their number one favourite raisins can always be found in my cupboard. My kids can down raisins like nobody’s business.

Fresh Fruit – I’ll wash berries, cut up grapes, and peel some oranges when I get home from the grocery store. That way, fresh fruit is always prepped and ready for snacking.

Cheese and Crackers – This also happens to be one of my all time favourite snacks. I pick up whatever crackers catch my kids eye and have some cheese strings (for them) and old cheddar (for me) cut up and ready to go.

Granola Bars – Sure, you could make your own, but honestly, I just don’t have time for that. So I always have a box of nut-free granola bars on hand for easy on-the-go snacks and school lunches.

My children’s new favourite snacks are muffins. Muffins of all shapes and sizes, from oatmeal to blueberry to these Double Chocolate Muffins. While baking a batch of granola bars can be a bit time consuming and finicky, these muffins are the exact opposite. There are only 10 ingredients, and I bet you have them all in your kitchen right now. They’ve got whole wheat flour for some fibre, Greek yogurt for a dose of protein, and chocolate chips for added deliciousness. The kids gobble these up – so do yourself a favour and bake up a double batch and store them in the freezer. A quick zap in the microwave and you’ve got homemade muffins any day of the week.

Double Chocolate Muffins

Makes 9 large muffins

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

½ cup sugar

¼ cup cocoa powder

¾ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

2 eggs

½ cup plain Greek yogurt

½ cup 2 % milk (or any milk you have on hand)

¼ cup canola oil

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9-12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray
2. In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl whisk together eggs, yogurt, milk and canola oil
3. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just combined. Add in chocolate chips and mix to evenly distribute.
4. Divide muffin batter evenly among 9 muffin cups. Bake for about 20 minutes, until muffins are cooked through. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from tins and let cool completely.