Kelsi Rea
- Feb 28, 2012
- 3 min read

Nutritious (FILLING) Snacks for the Hungry Ones in Your Life

Our Super Bowl snacks while living in Ecuador.

Ask anyone who knows me well and they will tell you that I like to eat. I.LOVE.TO.EAT! (Have I said this in other posts?) This urge only increases when I’m expecting and so I’m always hungry and constantly walking to the kitchen in search of something to eat. While pregnant with Isa, I found my “fill-up” food – chocolate peanut butter smoothies. I had one of these every day because it actually FILLED me up. And these smoothies actually continued for the following 9 months after she was born. (**Actually, the reason I began to expect I was pregnant this time was because I felt nauseas after eating one!) But alas, this baby does not like chocolate peanut butter smoothies and so I’m on my search for the perfect “fill-up” food!

I know many of you have fast-growing, constantly-hungry children that you are trying to provide a never-ending supply of food for. It can be hard to find nutritious foods to satisfy their bellies. Read: SATISFY. I love fruits and veggies but they just don’t fill me up. Add peanut butter or hummus. Great, but I’m still hungry. Chris on the other hand is literally full after eating one banana. I have never experienced this. Let me eat an entire bunch and I may start feeling satisfied but not full. So, here is my list of healthy and filling snacks to keep your children (and myself) happy:

Baked potato or sweet potato. Super filling and oh, so good! Unfortunately, I rarely have this myself as my hunger hits and I can’t wait ONE hour to bake my tater and then enjoy. But if you know when your children normally become hungry (or have scheduled snack times) then you’ll easily be able to plan ahead.
Popcorn. Cook in coconut oil for some added good fat and a DELICOUS flavor. Sprinkle a little salt over top and enjoy.
No Knead Bread. I make this bread several times a week because it is so good AND so easy! I love it fresh out of the oven with coconut butter. Find my recipe here.
Oatmeal. Chris is laughing at this one. I pretty much detest oatmeal but it’s because I never get the right consistency. I’m a bit (okay, OVERLY) picky about my oatmeal. But when I do get the perfect consistency, oh, it is good. I love it served with a spoonful or two of peanut butter and a handful of frozen blueberries thrown in.
Smoothies. I’ve been enjoying fruit smoothies lately with oatmeal and flax seed added in to increase the “fill-up” factor.
Baked oatmeal. We often have this for breakfast but it is also a great snack. Our favorite is with frozen blueberries or raspberries thrown into the batter.
Kale Chips. Yes, I can easily eat a whole head of kale turned chips but I don’t feel bad doing so. It’s a good source of fiber, protein, folate, iron, calcium and much, much more (source) which is great for baby and with a head of kale costing me about $1/bunch, it’s an affordable snack. Find my recipe here.