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Nutri-Data . . . Quick and Tasty Summertime Savers : Healthful Snacks Appeal to Youngsters and Give Busy Parents a Break From Hot Kitchen

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Summertime usually means a lot of kitchen grazing for hungry kids who are out of school on vacation and plenty of kitchen duty for parents who want to offer healthful snacks that are still tasty and have plenty of eye appeal. Between trips to the beach, the museum and the amusement park, vacationing youngsters are bound to look to Mom or Dad for something new and different for snacking. And with a little preparation you can have a variety of treats on hold in the freezer for just such occasions.

The soothing treats offered here will not only give children a lot of fun and good eating, but also a nutritional boost. Nearly all of the treats we suggest team milk with wholesome ingredients like fruit, nuts and peanut butter. Other offerings, made soothing with ice cream, are the perfect solution to the daily ice cream vendor dilemma.

Combine Flavors

Crunchy Ice Cream Treats combine two all-time favorite flavors--peanut butter and chocolate--in a layered frozen dessert-on-a-stick that boasts the crispy crunchy goodness of wheat cereal squares. Miniature Strawberry Cheesecakes call upon this year’s pick-of-the crop. They are prepared in muffin pans for easy individual serving--nothing to cut, kids just pick one up and enjoy.

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Peanut butter makes another appearance in Frozen Pudding Sandwiches. It is combined with instant pudding and pressed between cookies or graham crackers before freezing. After only a few hours, the good-for-you treats are ready for snacking.

Rounding out the selection are Summer Gingerbears, a delightful ice cream sandwich treat made from homemade gingerbread cookies, the ice cream flavor of your choice, semisweet chocolate and nuts. Let the youngsters help with this one when activity schedules begin to slow down.

For Adults Too

Green Angel Delight, which also serves as an ideal treat for calorie-watching adults, has a gelatin and evaporated milk filling that is perched upon a crunchy cookie-crumb crust. It boasts a svelte 129 calories per serving.

CRUNCHY ICE CREAM TREATS

2 1/4 cups bite-size crispy wheat squares, crushed to 3/4 cup

1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 cup chunky peanut butter

1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed

1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened

1/4 cup preserves

Place cereal crumbs in 8-inch baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees 10 minutes until toasted. Cool.

Combine butter and peanut butter in small bowl. Stir in brown sugar and toasted crumbs. Mix well.

In each of 10 (5-ounce) paper drink cups, layer 1 1/2 tablespoons crumb mixture. With back of small spoon, press crumbs onto bottom and slightly up sides of cup. Set in freezer 10 minutes.

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Gently spoon and pack enough ice cream into each cup to completely cover crumbs. (Place cups in freezer if ice cream begins to melt.) Divide preserves among cups, spooning evenly over ice cream. Spoon remaining ice cream among cups. Gently pack down. Cover with foil and freeze six hours or overnight. (To make handling of cups easier, stand cups in muffin tin cups.) To serve, insert wooden stick into center of each cup. Peel off cup to eat. Makes 10 cups.

PER SERVING: 231 calories; 5 gm protein; 30 gm carbohydrate; 11 gm fat; 181 mg sodium; 174 mg potassium.

USRDA

Protein 08% Riboflavin 17% Vitamin A 18% Niacin 12% Vitamin C 08% Calcium 09% Thiamine 12% Iron 26% MINIATURE STRAWBERRY

CHEESECAKES

2 cups bite-size crispy wheat squares, crushed to 3/4 cup

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate pieces, melted

Sugar

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1 cup warm water

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

3 cups sliced strawberries

1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

Combine cereal, chocolate pieces and 1 tablespoon sugar. Place 1 tablespoon crumb mixture into bottom of each of 12 paper-lined muffin cups. Press firmly to form crust. Reserve remaining crumbs.

Combine gelatin and 1/2 cup sugar. Add water and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Beat in cream cheese and lemon juice with electric mixer. Refrigerate 15 minutes or until partially set.

Fold in strawberries and whipped topping. Spoon mixture into muffin cups. Top with 1/2 tablespoon reserved crumbs. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours. Garnish with additional strawberry slices, if desired. Makes 12 servings.

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PER SERVING: 215 calories; 3 gm protein; 27 gm carbohydrate; 12 gm fat; 112 mg sodium; 144 mg potassium.

USRDA

Protein 05% Riboflavin 13% Vitamin A 15% Niacin 07% Vitamin C 59% Calcium 03% Thiamine 08% Iron 22% FROZEN PUDDING SANDWICHES

1 1/2 cups cold milk

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 (3 1/2-ounce) package instant pudding and pie filling mix

24 graham crackers

Gradually add milk to peanut butter in deep, narrow-bottom bowl, blending until smooth. Add pudding mix and beat slowly with rotary beater or at lowest speed of electric mixer until well blended, about 2 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

Spread filling about 1/2-inch thick on 12 crackers. Top with remaining crackers, pressing lightly and smoothing around edges with spatula. Freeze until firm, about 3 hours. Makes 12 servings.

PER SERVING: 231 calories; 6 gm protein; 34 gm carbohydrate; 9 gm fat; 314 mg sodium; 229 mg potassium.

USRDA

Protein 10% Riboflavin 08% Vitamin A 01% Niacin 10% Vitamin C 01% Calcium 08% Thiamine 02% Iron 05% PUDDING SUNDAES

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1 (3 1/8-ounce) package vanilla flavor instant pudding and pie-filling mix

2 cups cold milk

1/2 cup diced strawberries

1/2 cup green grape halves

1/2 cup granola

1 cup thawed frozen whipped topping

1/4 cup chopped nuts

4 stemmed maraschino cherries

Prepare pudding mix according to package directions, using milk. Spoon some of pudding into four shallow dessert dishes. Top each with equal amounts of strawberries, grapes and granola. Spoon whipped topping evenly among sundaes. Top with remaining pudding, nuts and cherries. Makes 4 servings.

PER SERVING: 457 calories; 10 gm protein; 74 gm carbohydrate; 16 gm fat; 314 mg sodium; 376 mg potassium.

USRDA

Protein 16% Riboflavin 17% Vitamin A 05% Niacin 11% Vitamin C 40% Calcium 28% Thiamine 06% Iron 09% SUMMER GINGERBEARS

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup water

3 1/2 cups flour, sifted

1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate pieces

3/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1 quart ice cream

Combine oil, honey, molasses and water in small mixing bowl. Sift flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg together in large mixing bowl. Make well in center of dry ingredients and add oil mixture all at once. Stir until well blended. Form into ball and wrap well. Chill dough at least 1 hour.

Roll out chilled dough to 1/8-inch thickness on lightly floured pastry cloth or board. Using teddy bear cookie cutter, cut dough into gingerbears. Transfer bears to greased baking sheet. Decorate half of cookies with chocolate pieces for eyes and moistened almond pieces for ears, cut to appropriate size for cookie. Leave remaining cookies plain. Bake at 350 degrees 10 minutes until lightly golden brown around edges. Cool cookies on wire rack and freeze at least 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, coarsely chop remaining chocolate pieces and toasted almonds. Allow ice cream to soften slightly. Spread 1-inch-thick layer ice cream on plain cookie and top with decorated cookie to make ice cream sandwich. Smooth ice cream to conform to cookie edges. Holding sandwich gently, quickly roll edges in almond-chocolate mixture, pressing more mixture onto exposed edge. Freeze. (If ice cream becomes too soft to work with, return it and bears to freezer.) Makes about 18 sandwiches.

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PER SERVING: 247 calories; 5 gm protein; 36 gm carbohydrate; 10 gm fat; 28 mg sodium; 390 mg potassium.

USRDA

Protein 07% Riboflavin 12% Vitamin A 03% Niacin 08% Vitamin C 01% Calcium 12% Thiamine 12% Iron 14% TUTTI-FRUTTI FREEZE

2 cups corn flakes, crushed

Sugar

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup whipping cream

1 1/2 cups diced bananas

1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries

Combine crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar and butter and mix well. Press evenly and firmly into bottom of 1-quart ice cube tray. Chill.

Soften gelatin in lemon juice and heat over hot water until gelatin dissolves, stirring occasionally. Beat cream cheese, milk and salt until smooth. Stir in gelatin mixture.

Whip cream until it mounds and gradually beat in 1/2 cup sugar until cream holds peaks. Fold in cream cheese mixture, bananas and cherries. Pour into crumb-lined tray. Freeze until solid. Remove from freezer 20 minutes before serving to soften slightly. Garnish with additional banana slices and cherries, if desired. Makes 6 servings.

PER SERVING: 449 calories; 5 gm protein; 52 gm carbohydrate; 26 gm fat; 293 mg sodium; 281 mg potassium.

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USRDA

Protein 07% Riboflavin 14% Vitamin A 31% Niacin 07% Vitamin C 21% Calcium 05% Thiamine 09% Iron 04% GREEN ANGEL DELIGHT

2 cups crushed vanilla and chocolate cream-filled cookies, including filling

1/2 cup melted butter

1 (3-ounce) package lime gelatin

1 3/4 cups hot water

1 (13-ounce) can evaporated milk, chilled

1/4 cup lime juice

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup sugar

1 (6-ounce) package semisweet chocolate pieces

Combine cookie crumbs and butter. Line 13x9-inch baking dish with mixture. Dissolve gelatin in hot water. After partially set, whip until fluffy. Whip chilled evaporated milk.

Combine lime juice, lemon juice and sugar and fold into gelatin. Fold in whipped milk, then chocolate pieces. Pour over crumbs in dish. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 32 servings.

PER SERVING: 129 calories; 2 gm protein; 17 gm carbohydrate; 7 gm fat; 83 mg sodium; 68 mg potassium.

USRDA

Protein 03% Riboflavin 03% Vitamin A 03% Niacin 01% Vitamin C 02% Calcium 04% Thiamine 01% Iron 01%

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