After School Snacks

Pesty Melanie here with a great recipe to share.  Are my kids the only ones who are STARVING when they come home from school?  Sometimes I'm tempted to serve dinner right when they get home.  They can't even talk to me - or act like human beings - until they get some food in them.  We've tried a few different after-school snack ideas.  One of my girls' favorite "snack systems" is a basket full of crackers and nuts and things in individual bags.  That really did work well, but I feel a lot better about my mothering when I make sure they are offered healthy snacks - and honestly, there were more cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, and processed snack foods than anything healthy in that basket.  So in my effort to be a better mom who at least offers more healthy foods, I try to keep a veggie tray in the fridge always ready for a quick snack.  It's amazing to me how fast it's inhaled when it's the quickest and easiest thing to eat.  My kids will eat just about anything dipped in Ranch dressing, but when we're really treating ourselves, we make this super yummy veggie dip.  I'm not sure my kids would eat any vegetables other than carrots if we didn't have some great dips to serve with them.  Even cauliflower is tolerable when it's used as a spoon for a delicious dip!  My original family recipe makes a HUGE batch, so this is about 1/4 of the family version and it still makes a bunch.  Beau Monde is a seasoning that I only use for this recipe and it's getting harder to find, but it's totally worth it.  It's great to make this a day ahead and let the flavors meld, but if you can't wait that long, don't sweat it.  Make up a batch and be amazed as your little starvin' darlin's happily eat and eat more veggies than you've ever seen them eat before.  Enjoy!

This recipe card is a little sneak peek of Ramona's newest kit coming soon!