Best way to make snack time fun? Let the kiddos do the cooking (well, kind of)!

Although we love dinner (for obvious reasons), snack time holds a pretty special place in our food-loving hearts. And stomachs, too. There’s just something about the nostalgia of that after-school snack that gets us oddly excited for the 3:30pm hour to roll around. A creamy banana with a heaping tablespoon of peanut butter, thick Greek yogurt with nutty granola, salty pretzels double dipped in our favorite hummus… we could go on forever.

But however much us adults love this sacred afternoon ritual, getting kids to eat something balanced and wholesome to tide them over until dinner is not as easy as it sounds. That’s why we tasked our expert chefs with creating colorful snack recipes easy enough for kids to make themselves. We also paired each recipe with a slew of questions and conversation starters.

Now you just sit back and watch ’em gobble up all those fruits and veggies.

Before we get to the good stuff, let us know what you think about kid-friendly posts like these. If you love ’em, we’ll keep ’em coming.

1. Apple “Pizza”

Customization is the name of the game here. All parents have to do is core and thinly slice the apples before letting the little sous chefs slather, top, and sprinkle to their heart’s content. For young children who haven’t yet learned basic knife skills, we recommend parents slice and dice the fruit as well.

Table Talk: 

• What are your favorite apple pizza toppings?
• If you were stranded on an island with an unlimited supply of one, and only one, type of fruit, what would it be?
• Describe the taste and texture of your apple pizza slice.

2. Rainbow Skewer Swords

Let’s be honest… nothing’s more fun that food on a stick. And when these fruit and veggie skewers (we mean swords) are this colorful, you can bet even the pickiest of eaters will want in on the fun.

First up, no-cook fruit skewers with strawberries, clementines, bananas, pineapple, kiwi, grapes, and blueberries. Challenge kids to place fruits in the order of the rainbow, or let them experiment with their own patterns. And for an all-purpose dip (we mean, goo), swirl some honey into thick Greek yogurt.

For a sweet and savory twist, combine fruits with veggies. Charred pineapple pairs perfectly with zucchini, bell peppers, red onions, eggplant, and juicy tomatoes. For a fun (but organized) way to get all the skewers filled, create an assembly line. Assign each little one the task of spearing one or two foods onto the skewer. But don’t forget — the last step should be brushing the produce with a dash of olive oil and sprinkling with coarse sea salt before these colorful beauts make their way onto the grill.

Table Talk:

• What color pepper is your favorite? Orange, yellow or green?
• Who can name three other green vegetables?
• What does it sound like when you bite into a tomato? Is it the same as when you bite into an onion?

READ MORE: 5 Road Trip Snacks To Fuel Your Summer Adventures

3. Frozen Blueberry Bites

These frozen treats are nutritious enough to make mom happy, simple enough for kids to master, and sweet enough to make everyone smile.

In a small bowl, combine 1 cup Greek yogurt, 1 teaspoon honey, and the seeds of 1 vanilla bean. Pierce each blueberry with a toothpick, dip it into the yogurt, swirl it around to thoroughly coat, and gently place it on a lined baking sheet.

Freeze until berries are completely frozen, about 45 minutes, then try your best to be the mature adult in the room and share with everyone.

Table Talk:

• What is the difference between a blueberry and a strawberry?
• Think of a name for this snack. The more creative, the better!
• How many blueberry bites do you think are in this bowl?

READ MORE: 6 Simple Fruit Salad Ideas That’ll Save Snacktime

4. Rainbow Honey Lemonade

All that fun in the kitchen would make anyone thirsty, and this tiny tummy-approved rainbow lemonade is the guaranteed thirst quencher.

Simply warm 5 cups water and 1/3 cup honey in a pot. Stir about 1 minute to dissolve the honey, then add 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice. Chill, then toss in whatever fruit you’d like.

Table Talk:

• Do you prefer fizzy or flat drinks?
• Where does honey come from?
• If you had to rate this drink on a scale of 1-10 (1 being the worst, 10 being the best), what score would you give it? Why?

For more simple and easy snacks for kids, try out these ants on a log or sweet potato toasts.