Snack Time Inspiration: Spiced Up Popcorn

Whether I am craving Mexican spices or something more exotic, popcorn is a simple way to satisfy my snack-tooth.  Using different spices to create a popcorn sampler is a fun way to introduce the family to international flavors.  For the recipes, head over to my other blog, Swirls and Spice.

Also, Spiced Up Popcorn can be turned into a ranking activity, where each person chooses their favorites.  Or you could make it into a guessing game, for more advanced palates.  Placing the popcorn in cut-off paper bags is not only convenient for serving, you can write labels or numbers on each bag.  I hope you enjoy these fresh new flavors as much as we did!

A Springtime Picnic Snack

Today is graduation day for the college students in our tiny town.  While my husband dons an academic robe, I am home with the kids, two of whom are asleep.  On my second daughter's list of things to do today was "surprise for Mom." After lunch, she invited me outside for this:

 

 

Vanilla Sprinkle Ice Cream Bites

Ice cream sandwiches are the ideal summer treat in my world.  They are cool, sweet, and easy to assemble.  And they be eaten without a dish, which means less clean up!

All you need are these three ingredients:

• Vanilla wafers or cookies
• Vanilla ice cream
• Candy sprinkles

These colorful bites may be tiny, but they are just as delicious as my other favorite, Summer Spice Ice Cream Sandwiches.  Stay tuned for more ice cream variations in the weeks ahead.  As my husband likes to say, "There's always room for ice cream!"

I am also sharing this at Tasty Tuesday.

DIY Grape Lollipops

After-school snacks are a regular part of our week. Freshly baked cookies and muffins would be nice, but I am not prepared to bake that often.  Yesterday, my seven-year-old washed some grapes for everyone to share. I also offered her some honey wheat sticks (a new product by Nabisco). She soon came up with the grape lollipop combination, which was a big hit!

These lollipops are fun to assemble, filling, and healthier than their corn syrup-laced predecessors.  A new tradition is born.  (And if you don't have honey wheat sticks, you could use pretzel sticks, so long as they
are thin enough to poke the grape.)

A preschooler-approved..

...easy-to-make snack!

I'll be linking this idea to AP Tuesdays and WFMW.