Healthy snack ideas

Im running out of ideas - please help!! I am looking for snacks that are easy, portable, and with as little sugar as possible.
A nutritionist mom in the park mentioned that snacks should ideally be at least 2 food groups and include some protein - she left before giving me any ideas Great...thanks, lady!

 

Are these snacks for you? or your kids? Your kids are probably too young for what I was thinking, but something like peanuts and raisins, crackers and peanut butter, grapes (cut in half or quarters) and tiny cheese cubes. Just a little bag of Cheerios was enough to keep my kids happy at that age. Give them some milk in a sippie cup and it adds the protein. Lately, they've been crazy for those little pretzel sticks and Goldfish crackers (I used to avoid Goldfish because of the hydrogenated oils, but they have since removed that from their ingredients.)

 

The easiest portable snack idea I have is whole grain cinnamon raisin swirl bread, although it does have some sugar in it, and a banana.

 

Mine love goldfish dipped in peanut butter! I do too!

 

Cheese sticks and fruit.

 

Let's see ....

- whole wheat Premium Plus crackers
- the usual apples, bananas, grapes
- raisins (natural sugar)
- beans (my boys' favourite is kidney)
- chunks of cheese
- I keep frozed mixed veggies in the freezer, heat 'em up quick in the microwave
- If they can handle raw veggies. Keep carrot sticks, cellery sticks in the crisper.

The health food store is usually also a good source. I found some fig newtons that were whole wheat and made with cane juice, which is less refined than sugar.

Hope that helps a bit,

Holly

 

Since yours aren't two yet, I used Almond butter until we tried peanuts (when they turned 2).

Easy snacks:
- Cheese sticks
- veggies - pepper sticks, steamed carrots, sliced cucumbers
- apples, bananas, and pears
- cereal bars - Trader Joes or Earth's Best
- yogurt (packed with an ice pack and some spoons for serving - if we were on the road)
- hummus and whole wheat crackers

 

My girls' favorite snack is these little sandwich crackers made by the Late July company - they are like Ritz cheese sandwich crackers (mini size) but they have no trans fats and are organic. They also love these Snap Pea Crisps. Or a cheese stick and a couple of regular crackers. Later on I'd love to give them carrot sticks and stuff, but they don't have enough teeth for that yet.

 

Mine love the snap pea crisps too! They also like rice cakes (the big ones and the mini ones), sometimes plain, sometimes with peanutbutter. I like to make snack mixes... organic crackers, pretzels, raisins, other dried fruit, etc. That will keep my kids busy for a looong time... so I often pull that out when we are shopping. I've been trying to switch over to mostly organic snacks, dairy and produce for them. Whole Foods and Trader Joes (and the natural foods section of Wegmans) have a great selection of healthier snacks. My kids love crunchy food, so I've been experimenting with new crackers from those stores. They are having apple slices and string cheese right now... that's a favorite around here.

 

I try to follow that same rule. My kids are older, but these are our current faves, thanks to a full mouth of molars.

Protein Snacks:
Edamame (soybeans)
String Cheese
Nuts

Other:
Carrot sticks
Fresh or Dried Fruit (raisins, Costco's dried blueberries)
Whole wheat crackers or pretzels
Whole grain fish crackers (they are hard to find, but our Target has them)