Snack time is a good occasion to encourage creativity. Many children have their own ideas about what they would like to eat. My nine-year-old next-door neighbor Serafina had so much fun thinking about what snacks she likes that she and her friend, another enterprising nine-year-old, came up with a business they named Bud's Bakery. Serafina printed menus on the computer and passed them around the neighborhood. They included mini-sandwiches, a pizza burrito she described as "a personalized burrito with pizza features" and a fruit cup made of mixed fruit with whipped cream and cinnamon. She even included a salad bowl, made with lettuce, chopped fruit and vegetables. Snacks play a part in every child's diet. Although some mothers serve their children a substantial hot lunch as soon as they come home from school, others serve the main meal of the day in the evening. In either case, at some point during the afternoon, children will need a snack to tide them over during their activities without spoiling their appetites for supper. Obviously, a snack has to taste good and to appeal to the child. Ideally it should also be quick, easy and sustaining but not too filling. To many people, snacks have a negative connotation; however, they don't have to be junk food. "Nutritious snacks should be considered part of your child's overall nutrition for the day," wrote Vicki Lansky in Feed Me, I'm Yours. Indeed, with recent talk about going to such extremes as starting children on cholesterol-lowering drugs because of their poor diets, it's a good idea to try to use snacks to help meet the day's desired total number of vegetable and fruit servings. Tastes in snacks are amazingly varied, and there's no reason to assume that all children like the same foods. Many mothers complain that their children hate vegetables, yet our nephew Marcel, from the time he was five years old, loved all sorts of vegetables, from broccoli to green beans to carrots, especially when he saw us eating them. Another nephew, Tamir, told me that he has liked raw celery, his favorite vegetable, for as long as he remembers. When I first moved to Jerusalem, I was impressed by a six-year-old in our apartment building who walked around eating artichokes. Crunchy carrot sticks and ruby-red cherry tomatoes entice many children. When a fairly light snack is called for, you might combine carrot sticks, celery sticks and cherry tomatoes on a plate with a hard-boiled egg or a small wedge of yellow cheese and one or two whole-grain crackers. Here are a few more simple snack ideas. POTATO PLUS Microwave a potato wrapped in a paper towel to simulate a baked potato. Top each half with a small pat of butter or cream cheese, a spoonful of cottage cheese or sour cream, or a little grated yellow cheese. PIZZA PARTNERS Make a quick pizza from pita halves or quarters or slices of toasted bread, topped with tomatoes or tomato sauce, then with grated or sliced cheese and a light sprinkling of oregano. Or for a burrito-like pizza snack, roll up diced tomatoes or tomato sauce and grated cheese in soft tortillas or thin flatbread like laffa, and microwave briefly to heat. CHIPS WITH DIP Instead of high-salt, high-fat packaged chips, bake day-old pita quarters until crisp and use them as chips. Make dips from white cheese mixed with a little sour cream or yogurt and a little salt, or oregano or onion powder if your children like them. FRUIT AND FRIENDS Bananas, grapes or slices of apples, pears, peaches, melons or other fruit are enticing on their own to many children, but for a more substantial snack, add a topping. My mother mixed sliced bananas with sour cream for us as children, and there are many ways to vary this idea. Try peaches mixed with peach yogurt, or any combination of fruit and yogurt that your children like. Adults may not be too excited about jello, but children enjoy its jiggly texture. Add some diced or grated fruit to make it tastier and more nutritious, and, if you like, top each portion with a spoonful of yogurt or a small dollop of sour cream. APPLESAUCE PLUS Applesauce alone is a traditional snack-time favorite. If your children find it boring, make a batch of sauteed sweet apples following the recipe below, and serve them cold or warmed quickly in the microwave instead of applesauce. Top applesauce or sauteed apples with vanilla yogurt and a sprinkling of granola. Occasionally you can top the apples or applesauce with ice cream instead. In fact, my friend Julie Fax told me her pediatrician actually recommends a small serving of ice cream to make sure the children get enough calcium. Happy days are here again! PEANUT BUTTER BALLS Lansky makes these from 1â„2 cup peanut butter mixed with 31â„2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk and a bit of honey, as well as a choice of raisins, coconut or wheat germ, if you like. You roll the mixture in balls and store them in the refrigerator. For a chocolate variation, she mixes equal amounts peanut butter, honey and instant cocoa powder and adds toasted wheat germ. She suggests mixing in peanuts and sunflower seeds, but that depends on your child's age and taste. You shape the mixture in balls, roll them in coconut and refrigerate them. For a much simpler way to entice children to eat peanut butter, an acquaintance serves a small amount of it on a spoon and calls it a "peanut butter popsicle." And it works! In the following recipes, the serving size obviously depends on the child's age. PITA PIZZA WITH CHEESE AND TOMATO SAUCE A toaster oven is convenient for making one or two portions of this snack. For adults, try making these with diced creamy goat cheese. Makes 4 adult or 8 child-size servings 4 4 pitot 4 1 to 11â„2 cups thick tomato sauce 4 80 to 110 gr. mild yellow cheese, such as Edam or Gouda, sliced thin and crumbled 4 8 small mushrooms, halved and cut in thin slices (optional) 4 1 or 2 Tbsp. olive oil or vegetable oil 4 1â„2 tsp. dried oregano 4 Salt and freshly ground pepper 4 Fresh basil leaves (optional) Preheat oven to 200ÂºC. Split each pita bread in two rounds. Set them on baking sheets in one layer, crust side down. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce. Scatter cheese over sauce. Top with sliced mushrooms. Sprinkle lightly with oil and oregano, salt and pepper. Bake for about 10 minutes or until heated through and cheese softens. Serve topped with basil leaves. BANANA BERRY SMOOTHIE You can substitute other fruit, such as mangoes or peaches, for the berries. Omit the crushed ice for a more substantial smoothie. Makes 4 small adult servings or 6 child-size servings 4 1 medium-size ripe banana, sliced 4 1 cup frozen or fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled 4 1 cup milk 4 1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt 4 2 Tbsp. honey 4 3â„4 cup crushed ice In a blender, combine banana, berries and milk. Blend until smooth. Add yogurt, honey and crushed ice. Blend briefly until frothy. Pour into glasses and serve. CINNAMON APPLES WITH GRANOLA AND YOGURT Prepare the apples ahead at your leisure and have them ready for snacks or for desserts. You can microwave the apples instead of sauteing them: Combine the slices in a wide baking dish with the butter, cinnamon and sugar and microwave them, covered, for 3 to 4 minutes or until tender to your taste; stir once or twice while microwaving. Instead of vanilla yogurt, you can top each serving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Makes 4 adult or 6 to 8 child-size servings 4 700 gr. sweet apples 4 1 Tbsp. butter or vegetable oil 4 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 4 3 Tbsp. sugar 4 4 Tbsp. granola or granola-type cereal 4 1 cup vanilla yogurt Peel and halve apples. Core them and cut them in thin slices. Heat butter in a large heavy nonstick skillet. Add apples and cinnamon. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, for 8 minutes or until apples are just tender. Add sugar. Heat just until sugar dissolves, turning apple wedges over so both sides are coated with sugar. Remove from heat. To serve, divide warm apple mixture among four dessert dishes. Served topped with yogurt and sprinkled with granola. Faye Levy is the author of Healthy Cooking for the Jewish Home.

Refuel, but don't fill up

Healthy and appealing after-school snacks help tide kids over until dinner is ready.