Here are our top cool snack ideas for when it starts to heat up outside.

Crunchy nibbles

Fresh, cold veggies cut into chunks or sticks make a refreshing snack on a hot day, either on their own or with a store bought hummus dip or mashed avocado with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Cut up cucumbers, carrots, radishes, celery, green beans, broccoli, capsicum, snow peas and add whole cherry tomatoes. If you want to get fancy then blanch asparagus – dip trimmed asparagus in boiling water and place straight into iced water, when cool drain well.

Fruit pops

Fruit pops are easy to make snacks or desserts that can be eaten in the hand just like an icy pole.

Peel and trim ripe fruit and freeze it on trays lined with non-stick paper. You might consider inserting a wooden paddle pop into large pieces or use wooden skewers with a variety of fruit chunks before they are frozen.

Choose bananas, oranges, grapes, berries, stone fruit, lychees, longans, mango and pineapple. If you are worried about bananas turning dark dip them in lemon juice before freezing.

Too easy frozen yoghurt

This is a simple yet effective way to have a cool healthy snack.  It won’t be soft like ice cream but it may fill that urge for ice cream on a hot day, with a lot fewer kilojoules!

Buy a reduced fat yoghurt, spoon it into small containers and freeze it.  Add some chopped fruit for a flavour change.

When you are ready to snack, let it sit for a few minutes and enjoy!

Minty fruit salad

Fresh fruit is simple and understated, by adding fresh mint you give it a summer lift.

Trim and chop fresh fruit into bite sized pieces – stone fruit, strawberries and other berries, oranges, pineapple, apples and pawpaw.  Then finely chop fresh mint leaves and stir through the fruit. Add a few whole mint leaves as a garnish.

If you (unbelievably) have some minty fruit salad left over, add it to soda or plain mineral water for a lovely fruity fizz.

Need more summer snack ideas? Head to our recipe page for some more icy dessert ideas:

Frozen berry yoghurt

Frozen tropical sorbet

Banana snowmen