What a bore the usual snack, who knows how many times you've heard it from your children, tired of the same unimaginative proposals. It is not always easy to invent combinations able to amaze and bring new energy to children, which fatigued by the scholastic commitment often just to snack unleash the most insistent whims.

And then we must not forget the fundamental importance that the mid-afternoon snack has in feeding the little ones: one well calibrated snack it can in fact have positive effects on mental efficiency, on the ability to concentrate and on eating behavior at subsequent meals. It is clear how it is for children never skip this meal and indeed prefer tasty products but above all able to supply the correct caloric needs to the body and the right nutrients.

We offer children a tasty snack that is at the same time balanced, fun and original, such as new ones Citterio Junior Snacks, soon available in stores. From the collaboration with Cucina Disney a new line of snacks was born: sticks with cooked ham and turkey breast sticks low in fat, gluten and milk derivatives. It is also a snack that is very comfortable to carry, ideal to be consumed at school or on an outing, given its 4-hour storage time outside the refrigerator.

We suggest a merry and delicious combination, a spinach pesto in which to dip the sticks with cooked ham, together with a Mickey Mouse toasted bread. Because if it is true that at the table "even the eye wants its part" it is even more true that for the little ones it is also important the joy that comes from such an original dish. And now let's see if anyone will even say "what a bore your usual snack!"

For 4 people
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Difficulty level: easy

Ingredients

6 slices of cereal bread,
200 g of salad spinach,
120 g of sticks with Citterio ham,
80 g of cherry tomatoes,
40 g of pine nuts,
30 g of Parmigiano Reggiano,
2 sprigs of parsley,
half a lemon,
extra virgin olive oil,
salt

Method

Wash and dry the spinach and then transfer them to the mixer together with the previously lightly roasted pine nuts, the chopped Parmigiano Reggiano, 3 tablespoons of oil, a pinch of salt and the juice of half a lemon. Blend everything until you get a thick and homogeneous sauce and transfer it to 4 small bowls.

Clean the tomatoes, wash them, dry them and cut them into 4 slices.
Lightly toast the slices of bread in boxes and make from each one 2 croutons in the shape of a Mickey Mouse head (use a cookie cutter) and serve them with the Citterio ham sticks, the spinach sauce, the cherry tomatoes and decorate as you wish with leaflets of parsley.

Enjoy your meal, both young and old!