The Gourmet Mama

My sons love crackers, but I don`t love the ingredients in the storebought ones, so I came up with this healthy, fiber-filled version that they just adore. A little bit sweet, but not very and chock full of nutrients, these cute bear crackers are the perfect snack for kids or adults.

Bitty Bear Crackers

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup ground flax

1/4 cup 13 Cereals (use regular flour if you can`t find this)

1/3 cup oatmeal

1 cup water

1/3 cup oil

2 tablespoons sugar (or substitute honey and lessen amount of water)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, whisk water and oil. Add to the dry ingredients and mix quickly.

Dump the dough out onto a floured surface and roll out to about 1/8 inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters. To make the tiny bears you see here, I used bento vegetable cutters, but you can use any small cookie cutter.

Bake on an ungreased baking sheet at 250º for about 20 min. or until the crackers are crisp, but not burned. Store in an airtight container or zippered bag. Makes about 100 bitty bears.

Here`s a great video of a very funny, very skilled chef. We can only aspire to chop up a chicken THIS fast!

In today’s world of preservatives, artificial colors and flavors, and a long list of chemicals, its hard to tell what to feed your kids anymore without poisoning them. Most of the snacks that are made for kids and claim to be healthy are full of sugar and preservatives that actually do more harm than good. So before you feed them cheese strings, yoghurt tubes and those little dishes of applesauce, read the labels carefully and then take a look at these other alternatives for healthy snacks for kids.

1. Cheese Cubes - This is a snack that you can make up days ahead of time and keep them in little zip lock bags or tupperware containers in the fridge. You can choose which kind of cheese you like, or mix and match several different kinds.

2. Grapes - These are another great snack that you can wash and package up ahead of time so that you can simply grab a little container of them on your way out the door.

3. Apple slices - These go brown if you do them up ahead of time unless you store them in some water with a tiny bit of lemon juice added. Healthy and tasty, these are always a good choice.

4. Almonds - If your child doesn’t have a nut allergy, then this is a great crunchy snack for them thats good for on the go or at home!

5. All natural yoghurt - There are so many different yoghurts on the market now a days that its easy to find one that is tasty and healthy. Get one with as few preservatives as possible.

6. Sliced up smokies - Kids love the taste and you can get ones that are fairly natural and good for you but still get them some protien to help build up their energy…as if they needed any more.

7. Bananas - There are very few children who don’t like the taste of this fantastic fruit and its easy to pack around because it comes in its own packaging!

8. Raisins - These are a great snack to munch on at any time of day and kids love the sweetness to them!

9. Whole Grain Crackers - You can get some tasty yet healthy whole grain crackers at nearly every grocery store and they are a good source of fibre. They are great paired with the cheese cubes and smokies.

10. Fruit popsicles - Instead of feeding them ice cream all summer long, find some good natural fruit juices and make your own popsicles. You can even add chopped up fruit or yoghurt to them to make them extra special!