Iced water for your daughter? Ice lolly to make you jolly? However the beach vendors try and peddle their wares, there’s no denying that most of the food sold on or near the beach will be overpriced. And there’s nothing worse than being stranded on the beach with starving children.

So next time you’re planning a beach day with the family, make sure you’re fully prepared with these fantastic beach snacks – they’re healthy AND they won’t cost a fortune!

1. Fruit Salad on a Stick

Looking for fast and healthy? Fruit is our first choice for beach snacks as they’re affordable and easy to prepare. Plus, fruit such as apples and melons will help quench your thirst! Chop up apples, pears, watermelon and bananas into and fill Tupperware containers with dividers or separate Ziplock bags and add toothpicks for easily accessible snacks. Don’t forget the grapes! Or, for the ultimate beach snack, spear the fruit onto kebab sticks for easy sand-free eating. Want to save the sliced fruit from going brown? Brush them lightly with lemon juice.

2. Infused Ice Water

It’s important to take lots of water with you on your day trip to the beach and freezing your water bottles will ensure your water stays cooler for longer. Make the water more exciting by infusing your water with slices of lemon, melon or cucumber or chopped up mint. It’s a tasty way to keep hydrated!

3. Raw Veggies With Dip

There’s nothing quite as refreshing as fresh raw vegetables in the summertime. Fill a Tupperware container or a plastic bag with carrots, cucumber and celery cut into sticks and take separate containers of hummusor sour cream and chives for dipping. We also love adding cherry tomatoes, hard boiled eggs and sweetcorn sticks. Cool Tip: Fill small plastic bags with blocks of ice and slot them in between the vegetables to keep them fresh for longer.

4 Homemade Trail Mix

Mix a big bag of your own trail mix together for a quick, easy and affordable snack. Fill a small bag with unsalted nuts such as peanuts, almonds, cashews and add dried fruit such as raisins and cranberries for a fantastic go-to snack. You can even add in crackers, pretzels and healthy seeds such as sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.

5. DIY Popcorn

Popcorn is quick and easy to make, relatively healthy and the kids will love it. High in fibre and low in fat, popcorn is a great solution for staving off hungry bellies. Whether you make your own popcorn on the stovetop or throw in a bag of microwave popcorn before you leave, popcorn is one of our favourite beach snacks. Cool Tip: Fill small sandwich bags with portion size popcorn so that each child can have their own. Just stay away from adding butter (it will get covered in sand) or too much salt as you’re likely to already be thirsty. For a little extra pizzazz, add sweets to the popcorn such as M&Ms or Smarties.

6. Cheese and Apples on a Stick

For a mix of sweet and savoury, chop up some red and green apples and your preferred type of cheese into bite-size cubes and skewer them onto kebab sticks for a quick and tasty snack.

7. Not Your Average Sandwich

When it comes to tasty and easy beach snacking, you can’t go wrong with cocktail sandwiches – as long as you’re smart about it. Keep bread from going soggy by adding lettuce to the bag or consider more travel-friendly alternatives such as rolls, wraps or bagels. To keep the sandwiches as fresh as possible, you can pack the fillings separately – cut up cheese, ham and spreads to prepare as and when you need them. Or, simply avoid the awkwardness of this altogether by opting for DIY crisp rolls – the kids will love it!

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LAUREN MORLING is a South African travel writer living in London. A writer by day and a reader by night, she loves beach holidays, mixing up her own cocktails and traveling to new places. Follow her travels on Twitter.