healthy snacks

I posted last week about sitting down with my kids to brainstorm healthy lunch and snack ideas for back to school. I’ve had trouble in the past with packing lunches that come back basically untouched, and snacks that are just basic carbs like goldfish or pirate’s booty with no real nutritional value of any kind. This year I wanted the kids to have healthier choices, while still giving them a say in what they eat. I was pleasantly surprised by what they came up with.

Disclaimer: A lot of simple lunch ideas like chicken nuggets. grilled cheese, sandwiches, pizza, basically any stereotypical kid food has been left out of this list because B doesn’t like them, and I’m not up for making two separate lunch plans.

Picture of butterfly snack, trail mix, dates and olives, chia pouch and eggs and tomatoes goes here

Snack Ideas

Clockwise from top left: Blackberry Chia Pouch, Seaweed Snacks, Pirate’s Booty and Banana Chip Butterfly, Black Olives and Dates and Homemade Trail Mix

1. 1. Butterfly Grapes and Goldfish-This was a special first day of school snack. I don’t usually do this Pinterest shit, but the kids had a a lot of fun decorating their clothes pins.
   2. Nut-free Trail Mix-Sesame sticks, Banana chips, Raisins, Pretzels and Dried raspberries
   3. Sliced Nectarines or Peaches
   4. Seaweed Snacks
   5. Hummus single packs with Carrots, Cucumbers or Pretzels-These packs are the perfect size for kids.
   6. Hard-boiled Eggs and Cherry tomatoes
   7. Olives and Dates-I never would of thought of this combo, but I found the idea here. Ben loves both of these things, and who doesn’t like a sweet/salty combo that also has healthy fats and vitamins instead of empty calories?
   8. Veggies and Dip-Check out these great containers for dips here.
   9. Banana Bread Energy Balls-Bananas, dates, flour, oats and chocolate chips are the only ingredients you need to make these tasty guys. Throw in your favorite protein powder to make these even more filling. I like this one.
   10. Cheese, Apple and Cherry Tomato Skewers-Remember to cut off the sharp edges
   11. Chia or Yogurt pouches-I personally love the Blackberry Bliss chia pouches and they have 2 g. of protein and 4 g. of fiber in each pouch. Score!
   12. Turkey jerky and Fruit snacks or Fruit leather

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Instead of packing snacks in sandwich bags, reduce your carbon footprint with these container ideas. I really wanted something like these, but when I couldn’t find them I got these and they’re great!

Lunch Ideas

From left to right: Marinated Chicken Strips, Apple, Cheese and Tomato skewers and Turkey Rollups

1. Turkey roll-ups-My kids have an aversion to bread, apparently. In the past, I’d send them in with a sandwich and they’d come back with the bread untouched. To cut our food waste, I decided to make these rollups instead. I lay them flat and spread mayo or mustard and then roll them into cigar shapes.
2. Cheese roll-ups-V loved the sound of these. You spread cream cheese on a whole wheat tortilla and add a piece of cheese and then roll it up. I’m going to try to add thinly sliced cucumber and tomato and hope she doesn’t notice. 😉
3. Cheese, apple and cherry tomato skewers-This is a snack item that works for lunch too.
4. Brown rice and black beans-This was B’s go-to lunch last year. We kept it nice and hot for him in his thermos. Add some salsa for extra flavor.
5. Grilled and marinated chicken strips-We bought a package of pre-cooked strips from Kroger and marinated them overnight in oil and vinegar. B gobbled them up, and asked to have them for lunch again the next day.
6. Bow-tie pasta salad-Add chick peas and pine nuts to make this more filling and any veggies your child will eat to make it vitamin-packed. We found the recipe here, along with a lot of our other lunch ideas.

Along with these main courses, I add one serving of fruit, one fun carb like goldfish or pretzels, and a carton of milk for V.

Once we made the list, I had the kids each pick two snacks choices and two lunches choices for the week. This way they won’t have to eat the same thing every day, but I know what I should have on hand instead of buying all of the things on the list.

For their lunches, we’ve been using these containers for the past two years and they’ve really held up!

I hope you can use some of these ideas to prepare your own healthy snacks and lunches this school year! Let me know your best snack and lunch ideas in the comments. Happy eating!

🙂 Erin