Snow Themed Snacks

Here's a recap of the cute snow inspired snacks we had over the last month! My kiddos love having themed food and I love sneaking in some extra fruits & veggies into snack time.

Igloo Snack - slice an apple in half and carefully take out the seeds by cutting the away the middle portion. Lie it on the plate with the cut side down. Cover with a sticky substance, we chose peanut butter since it has some nutritional value. (Fluff or Cool-whip would be white and possibly look nicer but neither are healthy choices.) Give the child a small bowl of mini marshmallows to create their own igloo. I wanted my kids to share one igloo so I pre-cut it into slices before spreading the peanut butter. Both kids LOVED this snack and it was voted the best of the snow snacks I made this month!


Igloo made Vermont Style (a.k.a. Cabot Cheese House) To make, I laid down a small glass bowl to act as the base. Then I sliced the best cheddar cheese in the world. To build, I started at the bottom and worked my way to the top. My kiddos liked this igloo almost as much as the marshmallow one, can you believe that? It came in a very close second place.



Snowman Lunch Scapes - I used cucumber slices for three snowballs of the snowman, and carved a simple cucumber hat. I made the arms and nose from a carrot by slicing them to size. Raisins for eyes and buttons. Since I was making lunch - I cut a sandwich into fourths and laid it at the bottom of the plate as the snow that the snowman would stand on.

Tortilla Snowflake - fold a flour tortilla into fourths and cut away a few sections to make a snowflake. Warm in an un-oiled frying pan then sprinkle with cheese. Serve with salsa or bean dip. I saved the scraps and microwaved them until they were crispy, so nothing went to waste!

Hard Boilded Egg Man - cut the eggs in half and arrange on a plate. Add carrot noses and raisin or chocolate chip eyes & buttons. For a snowy base we used oyster crackers. Turning one egg upside down and filling with peanuts was cute idea my son thought of!

Apple Snowflake- arrange six slices of apple in a snowflake shape. We added craisins to the center but a little bowl of yogurt or peanut butter would be fun to dip into! My son pointed out that this did not really resemble a snowflake but it was eaten despite being 'not-so-cute'!

Cheesy Snowman - lay circular pieces of cheese (provolone is our favorite). Add a mini carrot nose, raisin or cheerio eyes & mouths, grapes sliced in half for buttons, and pretzel stick arms.  We made a full snowman body with our cheese slices but just one slice of cheese for snowman face would be fun too!

Why can't I rotate this pic...hmm?

Snowman "Open Face" sandwich - either a bagel half, rice cake, English muffin, or slice of bread cut into a circle. Lay on either lunch meat cut to size or spread with a topping such as cream cheese or peanut butter. Add features for the face with whatever fruits or veggies your kiddos would enjoy! Use just one circle as head or two as a head and body if you want a heartier snack or a lunch. This idea could be made into a breakfast version as well!

Snowman Breakfast - make silver dollar pancakes and serve three small pancakes arranged as a snowman. Another less labor intensive option is to use a snowman cookie cutter. Serve a small bowl with raisins, craisins, fruit slices, etc. for your kiddos to decorate their own pancakes. And don't forget to serve Vermont Maple Syrup for a true feast!

Cracker Man - three circular crackers spread with flavored cream cheese, pretzel stick arms, veggie features! Easy and super cute. This would be easy to serve to a large group of kids.


Snowman Noses - just a really cute way to say we are eating raw carrots. I sent some in my son’s lunch box and wrote on the Ziploc, “Uh oh, some snowman is now missing his nose!” (Six year olds like that kind of humor!)


Banana Man - three circles of banana, peanut butter for buttons & facial features, mini pretzel sticks for arms. Anything with peanut butter and banana is a favorite in this house hold. This could be made with honey if PB was an allergy concern.




On the list still to make:


Snow Ice Cream : 1 Cup milk, 1/2 Cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 6 cups of clean and fluffy snow. (Put out a clean bowl and gather a batch of freshly fallen snow to use.)

Mix together milk, vanilla, and sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Slowly add the snow, stirring constantly, until it is thick or a consistency you like. I am thinking of making "Cold Cocoa Snow Cream" so we’ll add 2 T. cocoa powder, 1/4 C chocolate chips, and a sprinkle of mini marshmallows on top!


Shaved Ice Snow cones - kind of chilly for us to make right now, but I know the kids would love to make these! Maybe I'll revisit some of these snow themed snacks this summer for Winter in July?


After reading Snowmen at Night, I want to make iced cocoa (i.e. chocolate milk). The book mentions that the snowmen drink iced cocoa and that can lead into a great chat about why snowman can't drink hot cocoa. Then have a taste test, Hot Cocoa vs. Chocolate Milk, and make a simple graph.



Some more yummy snow themed snack ideas on-line:


Lots of winter themed snacks available here:
http://www.kidactivities.net/post/Winter-Snacks-and-Fun-Food-for-Kids.aspx

Ice Cream Snowmen - http://teaching2and3yearolds.blogspot.com/2012/01/ice-cream-snowmen.html


Mixed Up Snowman Snack - http://www.gourmetmomonthego.com/2010/12/ive-been-crazy-busy-lately-and-it-has.html