I never get tired of Ants on a Log, or especially Snowy Ants on a Log! But Fancy Bugs have a place in my heart as well. Bringing simple ingredients together to create special snacks keeps food fun and bodies nourished.
“Fancy Bugs”? The name alone is usually enough to bring excitement to little minds. Engaging your toddlers and younger children in the process of making this healthy snack can result in adventurous eating as well. Learning how to spread and place are great skills for fine motor development.
Fancy Bugs on a Log is also a go-to healthy after school snack that children, tweens, and teens can easily make for themselves! It’s one of my favorite high fiber foods for kids.
I do recommend prepping the celery ahead and keeping other ingredients easily accessible (at eye level) so that extra steps don’t deter them.
When I teach my kids about building healthy snacks I encourage real food ingredients, a quality protein and/or fat, and ideally something naturally green. Well, Fancy Bugs certainly make the cut with unprocessed recognizable foods, healthy fats from the nut butter or cream cheese, and green celery, which also offers fiber.
Keeping the celery sticks whole, or cutting them once, is a variation that can be fun for adults or older kids.
Give these bugs a try and tell us what you think. What are your favorite combinations?
Print
Fancy Bugs on a Log
Ingredients
- Celery, 4 sticks
Option 1:
- Almond butter, 1/3 cup
- Raisins, ~ 40 to 50
- Unsweetened shredded coconut, 1 Tbsp
Option 2:
- Peanut butter (or sunflower seed butter), 1/3 cup
- Goji berries, or pomegranate seeds, ~ 40 – 50
- Sunflower seeds, 1 – 2 Tbsp
Option 3:
- Organic cream cheese, 1/3 cup
- Pimento stuffed olives, ~ 12 sliced
Instructions
- Wash and dry celery sticks, trimming the ends
- Cut each celery stick into 3 inch sections
- Spread with almond butter, peanut butter, or cream cheese
- Top with raisins and coconut, goji berries and sunflower seeds, or olives respectively
- Of course, you can mix and match as you wish
