Fast School Snacks to Pack
by Michelle Archard
http://www.familycalm.com

Snacks are something I continually forget to provide each school day. My kids are experienced enough now to check before they leave so that they can wail "Where's our snack?" just when I had begun to relax. I then beat a hasty retreat to the pantry for inspiration. It usually comes in the form of microwave popcorn or crackers. I decided to come up with some snacks that can be prepared in bulk, ready to throw in at a moment's notice. They had to be light on sugar, so as not to cause a mid-morning slump, but substantial enough to ward off the hunger pangs until the next meal.

After many, many variations of scones I finally hit a winner with this ham and cheese variety. The homemade granola bars also disappear very quickly (I hide them at the back of the fridge). And best of all? Both recipes are really quick to make.

Ham & Cheese Scones

After some good advice from my Australian friend Leanne (use sour cream instead of the normal milk and butter) and my Welsh friend Dianne (cut them small so they rise) I finally achieved light, fluffy and flavorsome scones. Believe me, they came a long way from where they started (the pumpkin version is best kept secret)!

2 cups self-rising Flour
1 teaspoon mustard powder
2 oz (60 g) cheese, grated (use a sharp cheddar)
2 0z (60 g)] ham, chopped (use a smoked ham rather than a sweet honey ham)
approx. 1 cup low fat sour cream (use a 8 oz (225 g) tub)

Pre-heat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C).
Sift the flour and mustard into a mixing bowl. Add the grated cheese and ham and mix well. Mix in enough sour cream (it usually takes the whole tub) to make a stiff dough. Dump the dough onto a floured surface. Working quickly, pat the dough into a rough square, about 1" (2 cm) thick. The trick is to handle the dough as little as possible and get it into the oven quickly, before it starts to rise. Cut the dough into 1.5" (4 cm) squares. Place these onto a floured baking tray (or a non-stick surface) and bake them in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until they start to brown on the top.

Eaten warm, these tangy morsels don't really need any additional butter, but you might like to split and butter them if you are going to freeze them. You can then take them straight from the freezer to the lunch box. Makes about 20.

Printable recipe:
http://www.familycalm.com/idea/school_lunches/ham_cheese_scones.shtml

Homemade Granola bars

Note: Granola is the North American term for muesli. Rice Crispies and Rice Bubbles are the same thing - toasted rice cereal.

This is a very flexible recipe. You can vary the dry ingredients as long as you keep the total volume the same e.g. if you don't have any granola on hand, add 1/2 c more Rice Crispies. The Rice Crispies and the chocolate are to entice the children. The fiber and wheat germ are to convince me that they are healthy. I also like the calcium the condensed milk provides. After many variations the kids couldn't tell the difference between the batches made with and without butter. Nor could they tell the difference when I used nonfat condensed milk, so the only fat contribution comes from the chocolate chips and a little from the wheat germ.

2 cups Rice Crispies
3/4 cup whole wheat (whole meal) flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup nonfat granola (the toasted kind, not the raw kind)
1/4 cup bran
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate bits
1 can of nonfat condensed milk (use full fat if you can't get the nonfat variety)
1/2 cup dried cranberries or apricots, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 °F (180 °C). Mix everything together. Press the mixture into a greased, ovenproof tray, approximately 12" x 10" (30 cm x 20 cm). The bars should be quite thick, about 1/2" (1 cm) as they hold together better if they are thicker.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Cool and then cut into bars. I like to individually wrap the bars in foil and keep them in the fridge, ready to throw into lunch boxes. For real street appeal, print some labels from your computer and stick them onto the foil.

Printable recipe:
http://www.familycalm.com/idea/school_lunches/granola_bar.shtml



Family tip: Preventing scratches and sticky fingerprints on your mobile phone, digital camera or PDA screen. Kids love to play with all those electronic devices you've come to depend upon. The screens of those same devices soon start to show wear and tear as they are dropped, scratched and fingered. To protect the screen, use a screen protector sheet, cut to size to fit your mobile phone or digital camera. When the film gets worn just peel it off and replace with another. And yes, they will even work on GameBoys. Get a packet of screen protectors from your local office supply store.

Copyright 2003, Family Calm, LLC, All rights reserved



Michelle Archard is the founder and CEO of
Family Calm, LLC ( http://www.familycalm.com ),
based in Austin, TX. She enjoys torturing her children with new
foods and is pleased that the years of torment are finally paying
off. Her children (aged 6 & 9) now eat a wide range of foods. She is
currently researching recipes that offer healthy school lunch
alternatives (as well as coming up with new products & ideas to
soothe other areas of life with kids). Subscribe to Michelle's
newsletter at http://www.familycalm.com/newsletter/signup.shtml .