According to Kelsey Nixon, a food lover that I follow on Instagram, snack boards have gained great popularity and are a “stunning way to present really approachable foods.” She did a segment on the boards on the Today Show last year over the holidays and continues to post about them from time to time. She even added a snack board into her weekly meal-planning schedule.
I was very intrigued by snack boards. So, for Super Bowl Sunday, I created my own for my husband and three children. Boy, was it a hit! Everyone ate a TON and was so happy!
Let’s fast forward to now; snack boards have become my best friend in the kitchen!
There are numerous posts on this blog about dinner struggles and kid-friendly foods. A lot of my fellow contributors have brilliant ideas about how to make dinner prep easy or how to keep your kids happy during meals. I honestly thought I had a pretty decent dinner routine until one night when my four-year-old decided that the meatballs I always made were disgusting. So disgusting that they made her gag and throw up (anyone else’s child have a very sensitive gag reflex?)!
So, I sat down with my three children and had them help me plan the meals – I gave them a voice in hopes that they would not be so picky! And just like that, my middle daughter (the one who threw up the meatballs I slaved to make) shouted, “I want self-serve! Remember like you did for the Super Bowl?”
Snack boards! I could be onto something! I can handle a large tray of kid-friendly items that they could choose from. I thought to myself, ‘if I served a snack board for dinner, they would be in control, but I would be controlling the control!’ That might inspire them to eat more and try things they didn’t like!
At least two or three times a week, I serve a snack board for dinner. It sounds intimidating because several different items require prep, but it doesn’t have to be that complicated.
I’m serving children, not adults with fine pallets!
I often choose a fruit or two (sliced apples, grapes, or a can of mandarin oranges are my go-to), a veggie or two (spinach nuggets, cucumber coins, sliced peppers, baby carrots), and some protein options (chicken nuggets, quesadilla slices, pesto tortellini).
Somehow the act of them serving themselves inspires them to pick and choose and fill their little bellies!
