This colorful snack tray is sure to catch the eyes of the kiddos at snack time! All the different colored fruits will help maximize their nutrition intake.
Hey Friends!
“Eat the Rainbow”!
My family loves a good snack board! Especially one that offers both nutritionally dense foods (hello fruit) with a hint of sweetness. If you have followed along with my blog for long you know that my nutrition philosophy is really about balance! The board is primarily made of fruit and popcorn with a few M&M’s throw in along the way.
What equipment do you need to make this board?
- A medium-sized tray or platter – I used a large ceramic platter/plate
- Small dishes – I used a variety of shapes and sizes both ceramic and plastic. You could keep it simple and use circular dishes that are all the same size if you don’t happen to any shaped dishes in your cabinets.
What foods/candy do you need?
- Popcorn – I went with packaged pre-popped popcorn from TJ’s
- Red fruit – Strawberries, cherries, red apples
- Orange fruit – Oranges
- Yellow fruit – Bananas, gold kiwi
- Green fruit – pears, green apples, green grapes
- Blue(ash) fruit – blueberries
- Color coated candies – M&Ms
How to prepare board:
- Arrange smaller dishes on the board as desired in a diagonal shape
- Prepare any fruit – chop, peel, slice as needed (I added a few drops of lemon juice to the bananas and pears to avoid browning)
- Place fruit in desired dishes to form a rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue).
- Fill the remaining space of board with popcorn
- Sprinkle colored candies on top of popcorn – try to sprinkle near corresponding colored fruit
- This board could be made a few hours in advance, but its best enjoyed when served immediately.
How does this board offer a nutrition-packed snack for my family and friends?
Fruits and vegetables offer a variety of health benefits. Typically the color of a fruit or vegetable helps indicate the nutrients within the food, and thus the health benefits. Most fruits and vegetables of similar shades offer similar nutrition benefits. Therefore eating a variety of fruits and vegetables by “eating the rainbow” will help maximize your health benefits. Below is a chart to help guide you!
It should also be noted that both the popcorn and fruit sources offer high amounts of fiber. Fiber has many health benefits including improvement with bowel regularity, blood sugar control and enhanced satiety (thus hopefully decreasing portion sizes).
Enjoy this festive board!
Kid-Friendly Fruit & Popcorn Rainbow Snack Board
Ingredients
- Red-colored fruit
- Orange-colored fruit
- Yellow-colored fruit
- Green-colored fruit
- Purple/blue colored fruit
- 3-5 cups popcorn
- Colored candies (red, orange, yellow, green, blue)
Instructions
-
Arrange smaller dishes on the board as desired in a diagonal shape
-
Prepare any fruit – chop, peel, slice as needed (I added a few drops of lemon juice to the bananas and pears to avoid browning)
-
Place fruit in desired dishes to form a rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue)
-
Fill the remaining space of board with popcorn
-
Sprinkle colored candies on top of popcorn – try to sprinkle near corresponding colored fruit