God's Big Backyard VBS Food Ideas

Vacation Bible School is a time for children to get together, do crafts, play games and learn about God. They have the opportunity to meet new people and make some new lifetime friends. God's Big Back Yard VBS is about learning to serve others. Snacks are an important part of any get together and making them for a large group can be a challenge, whether it's a healthy or sugary snack.

Healthy Backyard Snacks

To try to stay with the theme of the VBS, you can make some of your snacks about the outdoors. You can make Bugs in a Bag by crushing graham crackers in a zipper type sandwich bag and then throwing in some raisins and fruit snack worms. These are easy to make ahead of time and store.

For another healthy snack, try filling small sections of celery with peanut butter and place a few raisins across the top. It will look like ants crawling across a log. This is a wonderful snack that can be prepared while the children are doing crafts or games, so you don't have to store them.

Log stacks can be made by using pretzel sticks or pretzel logs and sticking them together by using some prepared chocolate icing or peanut butter.

Most children love fruit. Make it more interesting by mixing apples, pears and raisins with some yogurt. Place it in the freezer to make it semi-hard, not frozen. Then scoop into pretzel ice cream cones.

You can also mix fruit, fruit juice and yogurt in a blender and scoop into cupcake tins. Place in the freezer for about 20 minutes and then stick in some popsicle sticks. Put them back into the freezer until frozen. Take them out and place on a cookie sheet that will fit in the freezer and make more in the tins. Keep making them until you have enough for everyone.

Another wonderful frozen treat that children will love is bananasicles. Peel the bananas and cut them in half. Make a mixture of granola, chocolate chips and colored sprinkles. Place a popsicle stick in the end of the banana and roll in the granola mixture. Wrap a piece of wax paper around it and place them in the freezer. This is a great snack for a hot day.

Sweet Treats

All kids deserve a sweet treat now and then. Gather all the volunteers' muffin pans and make some peanut butter Rice Krispies treat mix. Press into the muffin pans to form little nests. When the nests are chilled, take them out of the pan and place a few jelly beans in each on to represent the bird's eggs.

Grow a garden on cookies simply by using sugar cookies and painting vegetables on them with food coloring and a paint brush. Carrots, radishes and cucumbers work well.

Cookie pizza is irresistible. Make chocolate chip cookie dough without using the chocolate chips. Press onto a pizza pan and bake. Mix a few drops of red food coloring in with vanilla icing and spread on the cookie when it is cool. Top with mini-marshmallows, chocolate chips and M&M's.