What is ants on a log?
My 5-year-old son didn’t want to even touch a celery stalk until I introduced him to this delicious snack recently. So of course I had to share! If you haven’t heard of ants on a log before, it’s a fun snack that was invented in the 1950s and is made of a crunchy celery stalk (the log) stuffed with peanut butter and topped with raisins (the ants). It’s such a genius combination! You get crunchy, creamy, and chewy textures as well as sweet and savory flavors in one bite. Not only is it delicious and healthy, it’s a great way to encourage your child to get in the kitchen and use their creativity. There are endless ways to customize, and you and your child can even have fun renaming it, too!
Ingredients
Basic Ingredients To make the classic version, you will need celery, peanut butter, and raisins. But if you want to incorporate more variety, then here are some fun ways to transform this classic snack. Alternatives to Celery stalks:
Carrot sticks Apples, Sliced Banana, halved Bell pepper, sliced Romaine lettuce (will need to call it ants on a leaf hehe)
Peanut Butter Alternatives:
Nut butter (e.g. almond butter, cashew butter) Seed butter (e.g. sunflower butter, pumpkin seed butter) Hummus (store-bought or homemade, like this beet hummus) Mashed avocado Cream cheese (dairy or non-dairy like this homemade tofu cream cheese) Cream cheese frosting Cottage cheese Chickpea cookie dough Yogurt Ricotta Beetroot dip
Alternatives to raisins:
Fresh fruit (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, mangoes, etc.) Dried fruits (dates, currants, apricot, etc.) Freeze-dried fruit Edamame Beans Peas Cherry tomatoes Red bell pepper Seeds (hemp seeds, flax seeds, etc.) Chocolate chips Shredded coconut Sprinkles Granola Animal crackers Pretzel pieces
Step-by-Step Instructions
Variations
As you can see, there are endless ways you can customize and reinvent the ants on a log recipe. We usually enjoy this as an afternoon snack. And because it’s so tough to get my son to eat celery, we always like to use it as our log. I like to place several filling and “ant” options on a large wooden board, sit back, and just watch what he comes up with. All 5 of the examples you see here are HIS creations!
Celery + creamy peanut butter + raisins Celery + hummus + red bell pepper (he calls these fire ants) Celery + yogurt + blueberries Celery + yogurt + edamame Celery + mashed avocado + hemp seeds
Serving Suggestions
While both smooth and chunky peanut butters will work, the smooth version is easier to spread. Cut these upgraded celery sticks into bite-sized pieces to make them easier for younger children to eat (4-6 year olds). Your child might do fine with them whole, but I noticed that my 5 year old enjoyed these so much more when they were cut up. For 2-4 year olds, I recommend serving deconstructed. Slice the celery into thin matchsticks or half-moon slivers and add filling and toppings on the side. These logs are also a great school snack. What I recommend is fully filling up the container so there’s no room for the celery sticks to move around. I also like to cut into bite-sized pieces so my son can just pop them into his mouth one at a time without making a mess. For older children, you can pack all the components separately so they can assemble for themselves (or enjoy separately).
May be interested in: Healthy School Snacks
More Easy Snacks
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