nutty banana pops

Jump To Recipe April 24, 2015 by Katie // 2 Comments »

These 4-ingredient Nutty Banana Pops are so creamy and easy to make. Just puree the ingredients which include with banana and peanut butter.They make a perfect kid friendly snack for warmer weather. And they have 93 calories and 3 grams of protein each. When my girls get off the bus in the afternoon, the very first thing they ask is “What’s for snack?” No, “Hi Mom.” Certainly no niceties like, “How was your day?” No no, my girls have one thing on their mind and that is always snack!

One of my philosophies as a parent is to teach my girls how to be independent, and there is no exception when it comes to teaching them about making their own snacks. I spend a lot of time talking to them about making good choices and we look at nutrition labels together and discuss portion size and so on. So I feel pretty confident letting them figure out their own after-school snack while I head back to taking photographs or returning emails or whatever I was doing before the bus arrived. Sometimes I have already made something, and they get so excited, or I will cut up cheddar and apples and make them a snack myself, but I’ll be honest, that is the exception to the rule.

One of the things that I have noticed lately though is that they do great with making the snack and devouring it (we’re still working on cleaning up the mess afterwards) but then they seem to think it is perfectly okay to have another big snack about an hour later. What is up with that?

This means lack of enthusiasm for dinner and it also means we are going through a lot of snack foods.

I decided to do some sleuthing and actually watch what they make. And despite my efforts to explain balance I discovered that indeed they seemed to forget about getting in any protein. Fruit, great, crackers, great, but how about a little fat to satisfy or some protein to keep their bellies full until dinner? I decided that that is my new mission for afternoon snack time.

Then coincidentally, Silk asked if I was interested in writing a post about their plant-based protein and use one of their soy beverages in a recipe. I decided that I shouldn’t look a protein-packed gift horse in the mouth and quickly started thinking of ways to make an afternoon snack for my girls that would have more protein in it. Especially one that they would like to eat now that it is getting warmer.

This is what I came up with, and I can guarantee that I won’t have a hard time convincing the girls that these creamy pops are a good choice for part of their snack. To get a coupon for Silk visit their website here.

QUESTIONS
Parents, do you make snacks for your kids or do you let them fix them on their own?

Do you make home-made pops?

Do you remember being starving when you got home from school?