Quick & Easy Kid-Friendly Snacks from the Garden

It may officially be fall, but the plants in my garden are still going strong! We’ve got heirloom and cherry tomatoes for days, squash and carrots that are still growing and lots of herbs, onions, and potatoes! We’ve talked extensively on this website about the benefits of gardening with children and how fun and easy it can be to grow fruits, veggies, and flowers. And while it’s an absolute blast to dig in the dirt and care for your plants, the real fun comes when you get to eat them! Today, we have Wisconsin mom, photographer, and homesteader Brandi Rondinelli here sharing four quick and easy ways to make kid-friendly snacks from the garden. These snacks are the perfect way for you to enjoy the fruits of all your hard work with the kids in a healthy, easy, and delicious way!

Gardening with kids

There is nothing more rewarding than growing your own food! Am I right or am I right? Having the ability to go into your yard and gather food for dinner, lunch and snacks is so neat! It’s a novelty that still amazes me every year. And my kids love it just as much as I do! The whole gardening process is an amazing experience for both kids and adults. From choosing the plants we want to grow to planning the garden and then carefully planting the seeds, my kids are involved in the process from day one. They love having a say about what we’ll grow, and they learn so much about the life cycle of plants.

Watching the sprouts come in and tending to each plant daily over the course of the summer is also quite an experience for the kids. We love taking care of our plants, nurturing them, and singing to them. But in my opinion, harvesting your crop of fruits and vegetables is my favorite part of the process! There’s nothing like biting into a strawberry you grew with love or serving a meal to your family that you took care of together.

Benefits of gardening with kids

There are so many amazing benefits of gardening with kids. Creating a garden with your children is a wonderful way to spend quality time with them outside and teach them about nature and the environment. Kids get the benefits of fresh air, sunshine, and outdoor activity. It teaches them responsibility for caring for living things by watering, pruning, weeding, and fertilizing. Gardening teaches them patience and tenacity. It makes them think about where their food is coming from and encourages them to eat healthy. Planting a garden is a cheap and easy activity that educates and nourishes. It’s a great life skill, and of course, it’s fun!

Easy kid-friendly snacks from the garden

My kids love being part of the gardening process, but they really get excited about our harvesting days. When our plants are ready, we’ll spend the whole day harvesting, canning\storing & eating all of our goodies! Just the pure joy on their faces pulling out the carrots that they’ve watched grow for months is worth every dirty fingernail. I definitely try to transfer this excitement about harvesting into eating our haul! Here are a couple of quick and easy ways that we make kid-friendly snacks from the garden.

Straight from the garden snack ideas

My favorite way to eat the goodies from our garden is straight off the plant, outside in the sunshine! There’s something absolutely divine about plucking a cherry tomato off the vine and tasting the warm sweetness of it! It’s heavenly, and I highly recommend you try it! There are so many different fruits and veggies you can plant that you can eat straight from the garden, with little to no prep work. Here are a few kid-approved snack ideas straight from the garden!

• sliced cucumbers
• strawberries
• cherry tomatoes
• sugar snap peas
• green beans
• bell peppers

Tips for enjoying veggies straight from the garden

Letting kids eat veggies straight out of the garden can be a fun and educational experience, but it’s important to ensure their safety and health. Here are some tips for parents:

1. Thoroughly Wash the Vegetables: Even if they’re homegrown, you may want to wash the vegetables to remove dirt, insects, and any potential contaminants. Use clean, running water, and consider using a vegetable brush for root vegetables like carrots and potatoes.
2. Teach Proper Handling: Show kids how to properly pick and handle vegetables to avoid damaging plants and ensure cleanliness. Encourage them to use clean hands or tools.
3. Inspect for Pests: Check vegetables for signs of pest infestation. While some insects are harmless, others can carry diseases. Remove any insects before consumption.
4. Avoid Chemical Pesticides: If you use any pesticides in your garden, ensure they are safe for food crops and follow the recommended waiting period before harvesting. Organic and natural pest control methods are often safer for gardens where children will be eating the produce directly.
5. Supervise Younger Children: Always supervise younger children to ensure they’re not eating plants or parts of plants that aren’t safe for consumption. Educate them on which vegetables are safe to eat and which are not.
6. Introduce Gradually: If your children are not used to eating raw vegetables, introduce them gradually to avoid any digestive discomfort. Start with small quantities and observe how they react.
7. Emphasize Cleanliness: Encourage good hygiene by having kids wash their hands before and after handling garden produce.
8. Educate on Edible Parts: Teach kids about which parts of the plant are edible and which are not. For example, tomato leaves and stems are not edible, while the fruit is.
9. Be Aware of Allergies: Keep an eye out for any allergic reactions, especially if it’s a new vegetable your child is trying for the first time. Consult with your pediatrician if you have concerns about food allergies.
10. Use Safe Water Sources: Ensure the water source used for your garden is safe and clean, as contaminated water can transfer pathogens to your vegetables.

By following these tips, you can ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for your children as they explore and enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of their gardening efforts.

Kale chips from the garden

One of our favorite super easy kid-friendly snacks from the garden is kale chips! We plant kale in the spring and pick handfuls of it throughout the summer for chips, salads and side dishes. The kids loves making kale chips and we try to keep it around all the time for a quick easy grab-and-go snack that’s healthy and delicious.  The recipe couldn’t be easier and within minutes of picking, you have a tasty snack for the whole family!

Kale chip cooking directions:

1. Rip the kale into small/medium pieces and place in a large bowl
2. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the kale (be sure not to drench as they will end up soggy)
3. Add salt or seasoning of your choice (e.g. garlic salt, ranch seasoning packet, etc.)
4. Toss to coat
5. Bake in the oven at 300 degrees for about 8 minutes or until crispy
6. Enjoy!

Juicing from the garden

Juicing is another wonderful way to incorporate your garden goodies into kid-friendly snacks from the garden. Making our own juice is one of our favorite ways to get more fruits and vegetables into our meals. The benefits of juicing are plenty! From lowering cholesterol to building your immune system, boosting your energy and improving digestion. But the best part about juicing is that it’s so easy! You can use whatever you have on hand. Feel free to throw in fruits and veggies from your garden, but also anything you have in the fridge (not from your garden).

There are a million different juice recipes and you can customize any of them to your taste or needs. If you grow celery, you can juice just celery for some amazing benefits!  Carrots with beets, cucumbers and kale make a great juice, using all ingredients from your garden.

One of our favorite green juice recipes is made by blending the following: 2 apples, 2 bunches of kale, 1 thumb of ginger, 2 cucumbers, 1.5 lemons, 1/2 a pineapple, and 6 oz of water. Oh man, this one is good! It’s green, but the kids love it!

Garden herb-infused water for kids

Herbs are another fun plant to include in your garden and use in various ways. You can use herbs for seasoning meals, making teas, infused oils and even soaps, if you are feeling creative 🙂 This year, we grew the following herbs: Mint, Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme, Lavender, Sage, and Basil. We used all of these herbs in so many different ways, either fresh from the garden or dried for later use.

One of our favorite ways to incorporate fresh herbs into our diet is to make herb-infused drinks for the kids. The subtle flavors of infused water are so much better for kids and adults than the overly sweet flavor of most juices. Also, most fruit juice also contains a lot of sugar, which you avoid with infused waters.

There are so many great combinations of fruits, vegetables and herbs to add to water to make it more fun and flavorful. Infused water is best 2 to 4 hours after you’ve made it. Or, you can let it infuse overnight in the refrigerator. Here are few delicious and herb-infused waters for kids:

• cucumbers and rosemary
• basil and strawberries
• lemon (or lime) and mint
• orange slices and basil
• honeydew and mint
• watermelon and basil
• red pepper, pineapple and basil
• apple and thyme

More garden snacks for kids

Here are a few more creative ways kids can eat and enjoy vegetables from the garden. These ideas can help make vegetables more appealing and enjoyable for kids while incorporating the freshness and nutrition of garden-grown produce.

1. Veggie Sticks with Dips:
   • Slice cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers, and celery into sticks.
   • Serve with a variety of dips like hummus, ranch, or yogurt-based dips.
2. Homemade Veggie Chips:
   • Thinly slice vegetables like zucchini, sweet potatoes, or beets.
   • Toss with a little olive oil and bake until crispy.
3. Garden Fresh Salsa:
   • Combine diced tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and cilantro.
   • Add a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt for a fresh salsa to enjoy with chips or as a topping.
4. Veggie-Packed Smoothies:
   • Blend spinach or kale with fruits like bananas, strawberries, and a splash of juice or milk.
   • Add a spoonful of honey for sweetness if needed.
5. Zucchini Bread or Muffins:
   • Incorporate grated zucchini into a bread or muffin recipe.
   • These can be a sweet and healthy snack or dessert.
6. Stuffed Peppers:
   • Hollow out bell peppers and fill with a mixture of quinoa, black beans, corn, and cheese.
   • Bake until the peppers are tender and the filling is heated through.
7. Cucumber Sandwiches:
   • Slice cucumbers into rounds and use them as a base for mini sandwiches.
   • Add fillings like cream cheese, smoked salmon, or turkey slices. Serve them at a fun outdoor tea party! 
8. Veggie Pizza:
   • Top a pizza crust with tomato sauce, cheese, and an assortment of garden vegetables like cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, and spinach.
   • Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
9. Carrot Cake:

• • Use freshly grated carrots in a homemade carrot cake recipe.
  • This can be a delicious dessert that sneaks in some extra veggies.

Garden snacks for kids

I can’t tell you enough how much I love gardening with my kids and enjoying the fruits of our labor together (pun intended). I highly recommend that you try gardening with your kids so you can enjoy so many of the wonderful benefits. If you don’t have the room or the time to maintain a large garden, there are still options, like indoor potted plants, window sill herb gardens and community gardens.  Kids will reap benefits from even the tiniest of gardens, so don’t let size stop you.  I hope your little ones like these kid-friendly snacks from the garden as much as mine do!

What’s your favorite way to eat from your garden?

About the author

I’m a wife, published photographer & mother of two little wolves. We are a homesteading family & love everything about the outdoors. We have traveled all around Wisconsin and hiked 21 state parks in just 2 years. From raising chickens, kids, having a full garden & a photography business, you could say we stay busy but we always have time for an adventure and new memories.

You can find Brandi online in the following locations:
Instagram: @motherhenshomestead
Website: www.soulshinephotographer.com
Run Wild My Child posts: Brandi Rondinelli