Healthy Movie Night Snacks for Kids

I think my kids think they would die if they went over an hour without food. Therefore riding in the car, taking a walk, going to bed, playing outside, grocery shopping, watching movies, and a million other things all must include a food component.

It drives me a little crazy if we’re being honest. But on a positive note, I’ve unintentionally fooled them into a somewhat Pavlovian response of requesting apple sticks whenever they’re watching their afternoon shows. I’ll oblige that one.

4 min read

Ashlee Galyean

Dec 04, 2018

But truthfully if there’s food involved, aren’t we all a little more apt to get excited? When we plan family movie nights, it’s assumed (and rightly so) that there will be treats and snacks. Because I love health almost as much as I love food, more than a few of our treats are sugar-free, gluten-free, peanut-free, soy-free, dairy-free, and sometimes joy-free (mostly when I get too experimental).

And then at other times I make milkshakes and I’m the world’s greatest mom. I guess we’re all about balance around here.

For a recent movie night we stuck with foods that I deem at least decently healthy but are still very tasty. And most of them require very little prep work.

First: Popcorn. Obviously. And the thing about it is that it’s so simple to make yourself and really only requires three ingredients. The key to good popcorn is good kernels, good butter, and a good healthy salt. The other key to good popcorn is to prevent spillage by adorable but disastrous children. Might I suggest the Flippy Snap Cup(Opens in a new window)? You’re welcome.

DSC
Hot Cocoa V

Second: Cocoa. It’s colder weather now so we opt for warm drinks instead of our usual milkshakes. Which means the drink portion of the snack night is actually very healthy. Use a milk of your choice (we use almond, cocoa powder, and honey. If I can get away with it—or more likely after I’ve poured the children’s portions—I’ll add a little salt and chili powder just to spice things up. If I’m feeling extra ambitious, I’ll set up a whole hot cocoa bar(Opens in a new window) for my kiddos.

Third: Fruit. We had apples and pomegranates. I like to keep things festive and seasonal, what can I say? But my kids won’t eat the latter so there’s that. If yours do, tell me how you have successfully expanded your children’s horizons ?

Fourth and lastly: Apple Cake. My brother brought home a recipe book in elementary school with an entry entitled “Grandma’s Autumn Apple Cake” and my family’s been baking and perfecting it ever since. This snack admittedly takes a little more work than the others but it’s still pretty minimal as cakes go.

Grandma’s Autumn Apple Cake

Print Recipe(Opens in a new window)

Ingredients

Grandma’s Autumn Apple Cake:
½ to 3/4 cup honey according to taste
¼ cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 to 1 ½ cup of flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 or 3 dashes of nutmeg
Three small or two large grated/shredded honeycrisp apples

Directions:

1.
Preheat oven to 350℉ degrees.
2.
Peel and grate the apples. Mix the honey, butter, egg, and vanilla until well blended. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well.
3.
Pour batter into butter greased baking dish. Place in oven for 45 minutes or until a knife or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
4.
Serve hot with vanilla ice cream or frost with cream cheese frosting (which is the world’s greatest frosting).

Some tips:

  1. Honeycrisp apples are the bomb always and forever. You can try other varieties but I wouldn’t.
  2. Use a food processor(Opens in a new window) to chop them up real good and tiny.
  3. Bake in a dish that has a lid that seals for easy storing. Like this one(Opens in a new window). We eat this for days after. It’s especially great for breakfast because, simply put, if there’s one thing I truly hate, it’s making breakfast.

So how do you do movie night? What kinds of snacks do you include?

#OXOBetter

Commit every single day with @OXO