What Are The Best Non-Fried Snacks For Kids? Listen From Indian Moms

Non-fried snacks for kids: Choosing the right snacks for kids could be tricky. Why? Because along with taste, you have to take care of the nutrients it contains and how it can affect your child’s health.

Often, fried and junk food is not advisable snacks for kids. Their bodies are still growing and developing their immunity. And it is not wise to expose them to ingredients that might have an undesirable impact on their health. So based on the suggestions of Indian moms, we have compiled a list of healthy, quick and non-fried snacks that you can serve to your kids

1. Cupcakes

Cupcakes are healthy and the favourites of kids. It is also easy to make and preferred by Sherin Singhal for her 3-year-old girl. The Ganganagar-based mom says the cupcakes can be made healthy by adding vegetables and fruits like pumpkin, carrot, apple, peach and blackberry among others. You can also use your creativity in decorating cupcake and creating stories and characters out of it. In this way, the cupcakes will not only fill the tummies of your kids and boost their health but also make them creative

2. Apple Pie Smoothie

Sherin Singhal told SheThePeople Parenting, that apple pie smoothie often tops her list of non-fried snacks. Easy to make, Apple Pie Smoothie is delicious with hidden vegetables and fruits that your kids might not even notice. This smoothie contains simple and nutritious vegetables and ingredients like apple, banana, cauliflower, milk, oats, hemp seeds and spices. You just need to blend this mixture for 1-2 minutes, add more milk to it to make the smoothie thick. And there you go, delicious Apple pie smoothie is ready!

3. Pitha, Bihar’s delicacy

“Best way to replace fried snacks for kids is pitha,” says Shikha Sahu, born and brought up in Bihar and a mother of a 4-year-old girl. Pitha is one of the most favourite and healthy snacks for people in Bihar. Also known as rice flour dumplings, pitha is vegan, steamed and stuffed with spicy lentil fillings. The presence of rice and dal in this non-fried snacks make it highly nutritious for the kids. It is also easy to make.

Take some rice flour and make a paste by adding water to it. Then take some dal, let it soak in water for a while and blend it. Add salt and green chilli to the mixture to make it spicy. Then make hollow rounds of the rice flour and stuff it with the lentil fillings. Steam the stuffed rice flour dumplings and serve the pithas with chutney.

4. Cornflakes, dry fruits and fruits

As far as light and healthy snacks for kids are concerned, Shikha Sahu keeps going back to basic options because why not! Cornflakes, dry fruits and fruits are the most healthy snacks for kids and no doubt they taste good too. If you don’t feel like cooking or you are occupied with some urgent work, you can always serve dry fruits and cornflakes to the kids for their evening snacks. In fact, fruit mashes are also easy and healthy option of non-fried snacks for kids. Here is a list of some fruit mashes that your kids will love. 

5. Chila

Every moms' favourite, multigrain chila is a healthy and light food that may be served as quick snacks for kids. It is nutritious due to the presence of grains and it can be made more healthy by adding vegetables to it. Chila is also easy to cook. You need to mix the grain flour (it can be wheat, besan or ragi) with water, chopped onions, capsicum, carrot and tomato. Add turmeric powder and salt to it and blend the mixture into a smooth paste. Then heat a tawa and spread a scoop of the batter on it. Roast it until the batter become solid and slightly golden. The chila is now ready to serve.

6. Apple Kheer

Sherin Singhal suggested Apple Kheer as one of the non-fried and healthy snacks that she serves to her child. Apple is less allergic and rich in fibres and nutrition. Adding milk to it further increases its nutrition level. It is also easy to cook. Boil the milk and stir frequently till it reduces to half. Then add cardamom powder and raisins to it and let the mixture cool down for a while.

Meanwhile, Chop apples and sauté it with sugar in a pan and then add this mixture to the boiled milk. Or else, you can straightly grate the apple and mix it with the boiling milk. Add sugar and stir it for a while. Let it cool down and later serve it.

7. Salad Sandwich

Sandwiches are a popular non-fried snacks option for kids among moms. Sanjana Sahu, mother of 5-year-old and Sherin Singhal both agreed that salad sandwiches are one of the best options to calm kids’ hunger pangs in the evening and also make them healthy. To prepare it, chop salads like carrot, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumber and onion (optional). Then, spread mayonnaise on the bread and arrange the chopped salads on it. Toast the sandwich with butter on a Tawa and serve it.

8. Fruit chat

When it comes to healthy and tasty snacks for her kid, Sanjana Sahu often prefers fruit chat. Because it is highly nutritious and very easy to make. To make fruit chart, first chop a mixture of sweet, sour and juicy fruits. You can make the fruit chaat look attractive to your kids by adding colourful fruits like oranges, black grapes, blueberry and strawberry. Now add chaat masala, pepper, cumin powder to the fruits and mix well without mashing the fruits. If you want, you can also lemon juice to it. The fruit chaat is now ready to serve. Remember, fruit chaat should be served immediately after being prepared.

9. Sewaiyan

Vermicelli kheer is one of the best sources of carbohydrates and energy. Sherin Singhal often prepares this kheer for her child who loves it. Preparing Sawaiyan is also quick and easy. Just boil the vermicelli in milk with added sugar, cardamom or nuts. Stir the mixture till the vermicelli is properly cooked. And then it will be ready to serve.

10. Idli

Another most recommended non-fried snacks for kids is idli. It is light, healthy and tasty. Prepare the idli batter by blending rice and urad dal into the smooth and fluffy batter and ferment it for 8 hours. Then, take scoops of batter and place in idli plate. Steam it till the batter become solid. Serve it with chutney or sambhar. Here are some more creative ways to serve idli to your kids.