Healthy Snacks for Kids - Trini Style

 Here are some ole school snacks from back when I was younger (quite a few of you might remember as well) that I’m sure your kids will love today. They are for sure much healthier than the processed snacks we buy now in the supermarkets. Check these out!

Mango Chow. Making chow is a true “Trini” thing and can be made with a variety of local fruit.  I remember when I was a kid we made chow out of any available fruit we could pick or “stone-down” - mango, plum, half-ripe cherries, pommecythere and pommerac. 

The chow recipe calls for 5 large partially ripe mangoes peeled, cut into chunks and placed in a bowl. Mix in  3-4 blades of shadon-beni, 4 cloves of garlic, ½ tsp of sugar, juice of 1-2 limes and 1 chopped scotch bonnet pepper, seeds removed, this is optional as it is for kids and the pepper is hot. Cover and leave for 30 minutes for the flavours to blend in.

Breadfruit and Cassava Chips. According to simply trini cooking this is just too easy to be called a recipe. Breadfruit, garlic, shadon beni , salt and oil for frying. I tend to bake mine for a healthier option.

Fry Channa (otherwise known as chickpeas or garbanzo beans). Caribbeanpot offers a healthier way of doing this using olive oil.

Cheese Straws An easy, crunchy snack to make, using basic ingredients of flour, cheddar cheese,  butter, baking powder and a bit of salt.

Ice-lollies or ice blocks as it was popularly called back then. While back then Kool-Aid was what filled many an ice tray, a healthier version would be to use the juice from fresh squeezed oranges, portugals or mango puree instead to fill lollie molds and ice trays. A good and natural way for kids to get their vitamin C 

Prunes stuffed with peanut butter. These were a party staple back in the day, served on toothpicks stuck to a grapefruits

Sugar Cane. In its raw state sugarcane is rich in calcium, chromium, cobalt, copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium and zinc. When I was a kid my parents would get a long stalk and peel it and cut it up in long pieces for us suck and crunch on.  Massy stores has it from time to time already precut, my kids love it.

Good Old Jello. Chunks of fresh fruit can be added for a treat that supports and promotes healthy skin, hair and nails growth. It is also a great source of a wide range of amino acids.

I know some of these bring back memories when life was a lot simpler. If you have any  “throw-back” snacks please share them with us.

Happy Snacking Kids!