Alan Wong’s Favorite Healthy, Local Snacks for Kids (and Grownups)

Chef Alan Wong in the kitchen at ChefZone. Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

It’s challenging for parents wanting to prepare healthy snacks for their kids. With demanding schedules and higher fresh food costs at the grocery store, fast-food selections may be appealing. But the rise of childhood obesity, Type 2 diabetes and other ailments is cause for concern. The hidden fats, sodium and sugars in today’s foods have made food labels essential reading. Parents should be particularly aware of what’s in processed foods.

Eating local is beneficial for many reasons, chef Alan Wong says. “When you eat local, the food is probably fresher. You also reduce your carbon footprint and support local farmers, ranchers, fishermen.” And while eating locally produced foods is often more expensive than buying mainland products, he believes it pays off. “Parents set the tone at home about what to eat and how to eat, and their choices become their kids’ choices, so I believe paying more for healthier foods is worth it,” he says.

The first thing Wong recommends is to choose fresh and “live” items over processed ones and to avoid ultra-processed foods. Fresh and live foods include fruits and vegetables, and processed foods are anything in a can, bottle or package. “Snacks can be impulsive,” he says. “You get hungry and grab what’s in the fridge or on the shelf. If you have chips, that’s what you eat.” If you have an assortment of nuts and seeds—or vegetable sticks, cooked sweet potato, taro or ‘ulu—it will be a better alternative, he adds. And if you’re short on time, a lot of stores sell cut fruits and vegetables, as well as chickpea and edamame hummus.

SEE ALSO: Best of HONOLULU 2024: Food and Drinks on O‘ahu

Illustrations by Hailey Akau

***

Okinawan Sweet Potato

Instead of store-bought desserts, prepare a coconut ginger tapioca.

Okinawan sweet potatoes can be a tasty, healthy snack for kids—and the whole family. They can be air-fried, steamed, baked, microwaved, and they can be eaten hot or cold. You can cook them based on what kind of equipment you have at home.

To prepare a coconut ginger tapioca, cook the tapioca like pasta by placing it in boiling water; just make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. After draining and rinsing in cold water, chill. For the coconut ginger cream, reduce the coconut milk with a little organic cane sugar or monk fruit sweetener and a few slices of ginger until it thickens to a syrup-like consistency. Chill. Combine the coconut ginger cream and tapioca, put it into a bowl, top with a sorbet and cubes of Okinawan sweet potato. You can add any fruit to this as well.

Edamame and Cucumbers

Instead of store-bought dips, make edamame dip.

Whether locally grown or from Japan, edamame can make a great dip for carrots, cucumbers and other raw vegetables. Just mix it with some olive or avocado oil in a food processor or blender until it’s a creamy consistency. I make a hummus once in a while, and my trick is to add some ice cubes to the blender to make it lighter and fluffier.

Another snack to try with cucumbers uses moro miso, which has a third of the sodium of a tablespoonful of salt. You can eat cucumbers with it or any vegetable as crudites. Add a little vegan mayo to the moro miso to make it more spreadable.

Taro

Instead of french fries, make taro cubes.

Taro, an excellent source of fiber and good carbs, is sold at local markets frozen and already cooked. Cut the taro into square-inch cubes, then either deep-fry, air-fry or bake them. They make a great, nutritious snack and can also be used as healthier croutons for a salad.

Kale and Other Vegetables

Instead of potato chips, make kale or vegetable chips.

Just cut it up and toss in an air fryer.

Eggs

Instead of regular hard-boiled eggs, make colored ones.

Eggs are a good protein and a great snack. To make them fun for kids, you can stain them. It’s funny, when you get kids to color Easter eggs, they always want to eat them.

Eggs can be stained with beet juice or tea. Just boil the eggs, then when cooked, shock them with ice water and shatter them while still in the water, but don’t peel. Soak them in beet juice or tea for a few hours.

Tomatoes

Instead of store-bought salad dressing or salsa, make it fresh.

I like a chilled soup of tomatoes. Just add ripe tomatoes, olive oil and salt, then blend. If your kids are OK with garlic and a little spice, I like to add a touch of chile pepper water.

You can also cut cherry tomatoes in half, add a little salt and let them sit for at least 15 minutes. The tomatoes release their juices. I like to use the juice to create vinaigrettes, relishes or salsas. I also like to roast cherry or baby tomatoes in a pan with a little avocado oil until they are about to burst. The tomatoes get more flavorful and intense and can be used in sauces or vinaigrettes, or eaten after roasting.

Apple Bananas

Instead of gummy fruit snacks or fruit roll-ups, prepare chewy apple bananas.

Half-dried apple bananas are one of my favorite snacks. I use a food dehydrator to make them and they come out like soft, chewy jerky. You can also put them in your oven or air fryer.

You can buy a small dehydrator, but if you don’t have one, you can stick them in your oven at the lowest temperature setting and start checking on them in an hour. They should roll up. You can do this with mangoes too, but mangoes have more water so it’ll take a lot more time to dry them.

Avocados

Instead of store-bought dips or guacamole, prepare homemade versions.

You can make a delicious Green Goddess dressing that can be used as a dip for crudites. Blend mayonnaise, spinach, green onions, cilantro, tarragon and Italian parsley. And while blending, add some lemon juice. You can then add avocado to give it more body. The avocado allows you to add less mayonnaise than you normally would.

An avocado purée is also versatile and can be combined with almost anything. What’s important is to add an acid like lemon or lime juice or vinegar to stop it from oxidizing. You can add salt, minced onions and cilantro to get a guacamole taste.