Snack Magnets

Sometimes I get tired of the ordeal it is to feed two small kids. At snack time I would generally my precious offspring two or three choices off the top of my head and they would whine about the options. But they’d eventually choose after I would threaten to take away snack time altogether. So I’d serve my reluctant snackers. They’d complain, play, get distracted, make  a mess… you get the idea. Then when it’s all said and done I have to do dishes (again), wipe the table (again) and sweep the floor (again) to avoid an infestation of ants in a matter of minutes. And maybe they never ate anything in the end anyway and so I know they’ll be begging for a snack ten minutes later. I often got frustrated because I feel my kids are unappreciative of all the effort I put into feeding them healthy food!

It wears me out.

So I had this idea. Or I saw a similar idea online? I honestly can’t remember, it’s terrible, I know. I hate to not give credit where credit is due, that is if credit is due… which it probably is! Somewhere!

Snack magnets!

I used Google’s image search to save photos of the snacks we most often have on hand. Fruits, veg, peanuts, raisins, popcorn, fruit leather, muffins, etc. I printed them on cardstock, dug out this old clear contact paper I kept forever and covered the food photos with it. Then I found some magnets left over from some failed project and glued them on the back. Easy peazy.

I put the magnets of the snacks currently available at kid eye level (and explained to the children that the magnets are NOT for removing or playing with). If we didn’t buy watermelon this week or if the muffins are gone, I just put those magnets up high out of sight and they aren’t an option until they are available again.

These are all healthy real food options that I’m happy for the kids to eat.

So now at snack time I just ask them what they would like. They excitedly bound over to peruse all their options available to them and tell me their choice.  Then I serve.

AND THEN… this is the best part… they eat it quickly and HAPPILY because they chose it!!!

It’s amazing.

Another wonderful surprise is that one day my girlie chose to eat a hard boiled egg. I have wanted my kids to eat hard boiled eggs but have never been able to get them to and I quit trying. But one day she chose it for her snack and she ate the whole thing! Little willful stinker will only do it when her Mama doesn’t ask her too…

This day Sweet N was sooooooooo happy (and ridiculously cute) with her watermelon,

and H happily snacked on his popcorn.

Glory!