Skip the potato chips, fruit snacks, graham crackers, and candy. If you’re in a rut here are some quick, great real food any-time or after-school snack ideas for inspiration that kids will love (and adults, too!). Sticking with simple ingredients keeps snack time easy and fun.
Keep these tips in mind:
- Combine some of the suggestions below in creative ways (for example, combine some fruit with yogurt to make a yogurt parfait, or make a fruit salad and drizzle some honey on top)
- Most of the fruits below are also great frozen. Ever blended up frozen bananas to make “ice cream”? Try it!
- If you’re looking for school lunch ideas, any of these would be great in a school lunch box!
- If you have a picky eater, combining several of these snacks onto a plate – tapas style! – could make a well-rounded lunch or easy breakfast
Please leave any additional suggestions in the comments below…
Fruits and Vegetable Snack Ideas
- Apple (good with peanut butter, or almond butter)
- Banana (good with peanut butter, or almond butter)
- Carrots (good with hummus or ranch dip)
- Celery (good with peanut butter and raisins a.k.a. “Ants on a Log”)
- Mango
- Pear
- Grapes
- Strawberries (good with regular or Greek yogurt)
- Blueberries (good with regular or Greek yogurt)
- Raspberries (good with regular or Greek yogurt)
- Oranges
- Peaches (good with regular or Greek yogurt)
- Plums
- Kiwi
- Grapefruit
- Avocado (good with soy sauce and brown rice)
- Pineapple
- Papaya
- Star Fruit
- Figs (good with goat cheese)
- Honeydew Melon
- Cantaloupe
- Watermelon
- Cherries
- Edamame (good with soy sauce, or drizzle with a little olive oil + kosher salt)
- Raw Sugar Snap Peas (good with hummus)
- Cooked Green Beans
- Mashed Sweet Potato (good with butter and cinnamon)
- Raw Sliced Bell Peppers (good with hummus or ranch dip)
- Cucumber Slices (good with ranch dip)
- Jicama
- Cherry Tomatoes (good with ranch dip)
- Cooked Snow Peas
- Frozen Peas (frozen…no cooking necessary!)
- Raw Cauliflower
- Raw Broccoli (good with ranch dip)
- Applesauce
- Unsweetened Raisins
- Fruit Leathers
- Freeze Dried Fruit (like mango, banana, blueberries or strawberries)
- Dried Apple Rings, or pineapple rings
- Canned Fruit like Mandarin Oranges (Native Forest brand does not use sugary syrups in their cans)
- Olives
Whole-Grain Snack Ideas
- Whole Grain Crackers (like Triscuits, Multi-Seed, Ak-Mak, Whole-Wheat Matzos, Brown Rice Crackers/Snaps, Whole-Grain Rye Crackers topped with cheese, peanut butter, almond butter, or a cream cheese and jelly combo)
- Popcorn (make it using “The Popcorn Trick”)
- Oatmeal (served warm in a Thermos if sending to school)
- Shredded Wheat (look for brands that contain 1-ingredient)
- Arrowhead Mills Puffed Whole Grain Cereal (corn, brown rice, wheat or millet variety)
- Brown Rice Cakes
- Whole-Wheat Pretzels
- Whole-Grain Toast
- Small, Cooked Whole-Grain Noodles
Nuts and Seeds Snack Ideas
- Larabars
- Peanuts
- Cashews
- Almonds
- Pecans
- Walnuts
- Pine Nuts (they are good lightly toasted)
- Pistachios
- Sesame Seeds
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Nut Trail Mix including Dried Fruit
Other Snack Ideas
- Hard-Boiled Eggs
- Garbanzo Beans
- Cheese (cubes or sticks…with or without crackers)
- Plain Whole Milk or Greek Yogurt (flavored with a little honey or maple syrup and vanilla extract)
- Organic and/or Local Bacon
Homemade Snack Ideas
- Homemade Granola Bars
- Homemade “Larabars”
- Whole-Wheat Toaster Pastries (a.k.a. Pop Tarts!)
- Smoothies or Smoothie Pops
- Whole-Wheat Banana Bread
- Zucchini Chips
- Whole-Wheat Zucchini Bread (made into muffins)
- Whole-Wheat Pumpkin Bread (made into muffins)
- Whole-Grain Cornbread (made into muffins)
- Whole-Wheat Berry Muffins
- Pecan Maple Breakfast Cookies
- Easy Cheesy Crackers
- Kale Chips
- Homemade Powerballs
- Whole-Wheat Biscuits (good with butter and jelly) or Buttermilk Cheese Biscuits
- Cinnamon Glazed Popcorn<
- Whole-Wheat “Baked” Donuts
Share your snack ideas with us in the comments below!
Snack idea 44 says Triscuits. While Triscuits are made with only 3 ingredients (whole grain wheat, canola oil, sea salt), I know that canola oil is bad for us: it is a synthetic oil discovered in Canada (hence its name). What do think about this? Thank you.
Hi Patricia. This was an early post and Lisa really does not use Triscuits anymore precisely because of the conola.
Canola oil is from rapseed, the variety of plant was bred in Canada, but it is not synthetic. you can check wikipedia or other sources for more information.
At a young age, we should already introduce our kids to healthy living. We should all start by giving them fruits snack perhaps or vegetables during meal time. Why we promote a healthy lifestyle? So that, while they are still young they would know the importance of being healthy and they can enjoy their lives today.
We offer books to children to teach them a healthy lifestyle. We do seminars and workshop here also! Just visit our website http://www.academyforhealthsuperheroes.com
These days, I love roasted chickpeas for snacking! They satisfy that need for something crunchy, and you can make them savory, spicy, or however you want!
What is the best substitute for whole wheat flour?
Hi. Spelt is a good sub for WW.
We love olives but could someone tell me what kind the “healthy” ones are please?
Great ideas
My daughter has a retainer and cannot eat nuts. I was wondering what other things she might be able to try.
Is there a printer-friendly version of this list? Lisa’s Facebook post suggested printing this and taping it to the pantry door, but when I try to print from my browser, it’s a mess.
Not yet, but we’ll see if we can put that in the works. – Nicole
I LOVE your website! It’s so helpful! My family has switched to your plan, but I’m struggling with one thing… I need crackers that my 18 month old can eat. Any suggestions? We’ve been eating Annie’s organic cheddar bunnies…
Have you given these a try: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/recipe-easy-cheesy-crackers/?
Another snack idea – Baby Carrots and Applesauce
These are amazing! Kids might not like them due to the intense lime flavor but everyone I’ve shared them with has been so impressed:
http://paleogrubs.com/lime-energy-bite-recipe
A product I have been purchasing at Costco for many years seams to have been discontinued at some stores including the Woodland Hills village location. The product is Wheat Thins what gives?
It sounds weird, but my favorite real food snack is a whole grain rye cracker topped with a thin layer of cream cheese and natural pepperoni. It’s like a mini pizza, but not super heavy.
Hi. I really like your snack ideas. They sound great. Have you ever tried the ziplock freezer molds for your freezer pops. Or do you just use the reusable for the environment factor. Which is cool if you do, but just curious about the disposable kind too.
Hi there. Lisa uses the reusable kind. :)
Do you have meal plans for single folks?
Hi Stacy. No, not specifically but the plans can be scaled down in size.
Or make the full recipe and freeze the leftovers. It’s the whole “cook once, eat twice” mentality that is great for busy nights.
One of our favorite snacks as a kid was a recipe my mom found: cottage cheese with crushed pineapples, apples, and walnuts. The mix made for a subtle sweetness, crunch, and was very satisfying nutritionally as it has a good balance of carbs, fats, and proteins.
I would also love to see specific brand names if possible. I can’t seem to find anything that meets the criteria at my local grocery store, and would buy from Amazon gladly if I just knew what to buy. Looking for snacky stuff-especially WW pretzels.
Lisa buys whole wheat pretzels from Trader Joes. Unique Sprouted Grain Pretzels is another and this is my favorite: http://shop.marysgonecrackers.com/Sea-Salt-Pretzels/p/MGC-000519&c=MarysGoneCrackers@Pretzels. It has a longer ingredient list but they are whole grain ingredients.
I have your granola recipe for a snack also. Would like to see the brands of specific crackers and pretzels that are approved.
Thanks
great advice, thank you
Hi! What brand do you buy for your cheese cubes??
Thanks!
Hi there. Lisa buys a lot of Organic Valley cheese. I do, too, and cut into cubes myself.
Such a great list and love the recommendations of what it tastes better with. These will be added to our snack station. We converted our AWB-360DB dual zone wine and beverage cooler into a snack station, take a look http://bit.ly/1KBbJK1
Jícama is great sprinkled with lime juice (or lemon if that’s all you have) and then some chili powder & salt mixed together. Cut into sticks first. Low carb, CRUNCH and different!
Hi Lisa – I just launched an Artisan Energy Snacks Box as part of Undiscovered Kitchen’s gift collection – specifically to help parents find super tasty but HEALTHY and unique snacks that are easy to pack or send as a cute care package to students (also loaded with nutrients and energy): http://undiscoveredkitchen.com/undiscovered-kitchens-gift-collections/gourmet-healthy-artisan-energy-snacks-gift-box Check it out and let me know what you think! Cheers – Evona :)
My kids like red, yellow and orange peppers to snack on
Love this and a lot of the other helpful lists and things you put together! Would please consider putting together a ‘printable’ that removes all of the photos, etc and concisely gets all the info onto 1 page (if possible). Would be much appreciated!
I love any snacks that I can easily put into baggies and stick in the pantry so my 4-year-old can get them himself. He loves the independence it gives him, and so do I! Plus it makes it easy to add hummus or nut butter or something more nutrient-dense to go along with crackers and such. But there’s a lot of good reasons to have pre-made snacks for kids, besides just independence and convenience. I just blogged about my top 7 reasons. http://bit.ly/1ISmmdL Did I miss any?
I love soaking dried chick peas in lukewarm water for 24 hours. They have just begun to “bud” by this stage. Drain and put in a glass jar in the fridge and use as required. When you take them out of the fridge to use, leave the lid off for a while and allow the jar to warm to room temperature before returning to the fridge. It will allow the chick peas to continue shooting.
Delicious and nutritious.
Rice cakes and almond butter, or whole wheat tortillas with almond butter and fresh fruit (berries, mango or peach slices).
Baked oatmeal “bites”. Great for breakfast and we freeze leftovers to have after school snacks
http://www.emilybites.com/2015/02/strawberry-banana-baked-oatmeal-singles.html
Do you have any recommendations for whole wheat pretzels? Particular brands and/or stores that carry them? I can’t find them anywhere. I thought I heard Trader Joe’s had them, but I went to one and they didn’t. THanks
Hi there. Unique is a brand that has 100% whole grain sprouted pretzels. If you can’t find them at a store, you can order them online.
I am thankful for the idea, but his list would be more helpful in a printable format.
I couldn’t agree more! Love it, but the printed page is distracting….two pages…etc. Thank you for compiling this list! If you have a printable, would be awesome!
Is there an easier printable version of this list? Love it and definitely want to place on my fridge or in my cupboard.
Hi Sarah. There is not but if you just highlight the text and print “selected”, it won’t print all the extraneous stuff. ;)
I am an 18 year old that plays competitive Hockey. I don’t like to eat vegies or fruit (for the most part), however, I want to eat better, by not eating so much “fat” and other processed foods. Is there a simple and good food plan you can recommend?
Thank you,
Les
HI Less. Make your way through the start here page: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/start-here/ and you will see that eating better can be pretty simple. You do need to incorporate fruits and veggies and you might find that the more the try them, the more your taste buds will adjust. Also, keep in mind that healthy fats are essential for your body and your brain. :)
Found this site which was quite interesting
http://healthysnacksfortoddlers.com/
cool beans
In the Nuts and Seeds category I don’t see soynuts. They are so good to snack on! Are they not as healthy as other nuts?
Hi Mary. Whole organic soy is fine. :)
where can I get my hands on the school lunches e-book?
Hi Stephanie. It is not currently available. Sorry about that.
Such a silly question, but where do I find portion sizes for the above snack ideas? My HS daughter and I are trying to pack healthy, filling snack & lunches. For example, how many nuts? I could easily finish off 2 cups in a day. Wouldn’t do my GI system a lot of good. Thanks so much!
Hi Julie. This will help: https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/how-much-do-we-need-each-day/serve-sizes.
Thank you so much Amy!
Picked up some Ak-Mak crackers yesterday at Trader Joe’s. YUM!! For lunch I put a thin slice of sharp cheddar cheese on the cracker and topped it with tuna. :) Two other things I found at Trader Joe’s intrigued me. Giant Peruvian Inca Corn. The ingredients are Corn, Palm Oil, and Salt. The other was Butter Almond thins. These probably are not a great idea to eat because they have sugar in them but the first ingredient is wheat flour then sugar, butter (milk), almonds, salt, and sodium bicarbonate (probably should look up what that REALLY is). Also bought Smucker’s Organic Peanut Butter at Target. The consistency is definitely different than regular peanut butter but the taste is good. We are having the spaghetti and meatballs for dinner tonight. In the recipe it calls for “red sauce.” What is red sauce?
Hi Mary. It refers to tomato sauce. ;)
Oh :) I’ve just always referred to it as spaghetti sauce, not red sauce. Thank for enlightening me :)
Good to know, thank you.
Hi Mary. The ranch dip you mentioned is a link to Lisa’s own recipe that has 0 bad for you ingredients. Just click on “ranch dip” in the above post to take you there. The peanut butter we choose is organic with only peanuts and maybe a bit of salt on the ingredient list. ~Amy
I’m surprised that you have ranch dip and peanut butter on your list of snacks. Both of these have loads of ingredients and I have never considered them to be a “good for you” food (especially ranch dip). I’m interested to hear what your thoughts are.
Thank you!
Love the ideas! I am always looking for creative and healthy snack ideas too!
Hi there. My daughters adjacent classroom has a nut allergy, which makes the morning snack a challenge.. They have a late lunch, so a filling, high protein snack that’s nut free is a must. Can’t think of anything besides hummus and yogurt…and I doubt she’d take eggs or avacadoes…in her lunch, yes, but snack, no. Thoughts? Thank you!
Hi Ashleigh. This should help: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/08/22/an-elementary-school-snack-list-%E2%80%93-nut-free/. ~Amy
This is a fantastic resource. I am book marking it to return on one of those days when I have NO IDEA what to make! I can even let my 6 year old go through and pick. Perfect!
What is your opinion on Stonyfield Organic Yogurt, Smoothies, Squeezables for kids ??!?!? Thanks :)
Hi Roda. This will answer that: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2014/01/14/yogurt-substitution-chart/. :)
Why do you recommend Triscuits – they have gmo’s. From Food Babe’s site:
http://tinyurl.com/ne7j4rk
Hi Janine. This post was from a couple years back and Lisa no longer buys Triscuits mainly because of the refined oil. ~Amy
Wondering about dried fruit. Looked at some today and they looked like they had a bunch of junk in them. Do you dry your own fruit. Working mom so I am short on time, but would love a recommendation of quality company to try. Having a hard time getting my girls to eat some of the dried fruits, they don’t seem to love especially apricots.
A few months back you mentioned an Online Bakery where they sell Tortillas made out of Coconut. Do you remember the name of the online bakery? I’ve searched and searched .. with no luck. Help?
Check Julian Bakery – they sell them at MOM or Whole Foods or Amazon or direct from them.
I don’t recall mentioning this – are you sure it was me or another blogger?
I am so happy to have discovered this site. We moved to a very small town back in October and didn’t realize how we were introducing so much processed food into our 5 year old’s diet. Slowly we started seeing a difference in him, shorter attention spans, tantrums, then full out disregard. We know the transition was hard but the food seems to be the main factor. I am so happy to have this site.
Sunflower seeds could be added to the “Nuts and Seeds” section! I like buying them still in their shells so that it’s an activity to crack and open the shell on each one before eating the seed. Sunflower seeds in the shell and popcorn are my two favorite snacks for a baseball game or other sports event — where other “real food” choices are usually very limited.
Tropical Juice Smoothie (¼ cup pineapple juice, orange juice, and apple juice, blended with ice)
Apple Chips (dehydrated apples- they are so good!)
Banana (lot of protein And one of the best healthy snack ideas)
I believe you mean banana has a lot of potassium, not protein. There is a small amount of protein, ilke one gram. :)
Our Raleigh day care is always looking for great, all-natural, organic snacks to serve the kids! Thanks so much for sharing this list!
The list is ok ,but we need to know how to combine those for kids to love it . Ofcourse you can make quick snacks by using 2 or 3 at a time from that list .
These are good reminders for when you are stuck in a “snack rut”. :)
My main questions though is where did you get the little wooden dish with individual compartments? so cute!! Thanks!
Hi Cara. I’ve seen similar ones at Target. :) ~Amy
Pretty lame to list individual fruits as snacks. Why not just say “fruit”?
Where do you purchase your raw nuts and seeds? I’m looking for a site online to buy them in bulk at a decent price, since it’s probably more cost effective than buying them in the little packages I find at the grocery store. Thanks!
I normally got my raw nuts from Trade Joe, it’s an organic grocery. They are not that expensive either compared to any other store for raw nuts.
Trader Joes does have a good selection of organic nuts at reasonable prices. Not all are organic. ~Amy
Try nuts.com
This is a great list. I bookmarked it so every I reach for junk food, I can choose something from here as a healthy alternative.
I’ve tried these bars called Delicate Delights, they have a lovely range of Natural Low calorie Rice bars.
Granoji bar delight was my favourite and the Quinoa grain bar with seeds. Great for my little ones and surprisingly my 3 year old and 7 year old loved them.
Hi, I notice you use a lot of frozen peas in lunches and for snacks. I send these all the time in my daughter’s lunch and she loves the frozen peas. And actually I don’t think they’re usually frozen by lunch time because they defrost quickly, especially since I usually pack everything the night before. I just noticed that the bag of peas says to heat properly. Is it safe to send them frozen and raw? I can’t imagine why not since raw vegetables are safe to eat, but just curious if you’ve come across this.
Hello Andrea. I’m not aware of safety issues. I do wash my frozen peas and have eaten them in salads my entire life. I guess I’ll have to check out my frozen pea bag. :) ~Amy
My girls and I are in LOVE with pomegranate seeds! They are now selling them at Coscto. I know they are not the cheapest and might not align with the “budget” but man do they fill your craving for something sweet and they are good for you!
Yes we love pomegranate seeds, they are terrific.
But if you are looking for something that is sweet and will do you good too, is 100% Gluten Free, 100% Organic and incredibly high in Fiber, then you might want to look at Tiger Nuts. They are available in some health stores, but easiest to get from www,tigernutsusa.com
Im wondering if anyone every remembers that its a blog. That means its your opinions. I myself am a blogger, except I blog about products companies send me. I try to choose ones that are good for us and good for the earth. Even doing that, I can not believe how much people bash me for my opinion. Certain things have benefits for people both good and bad. For instance, Peanuts and Peanut butter… Both high in protein and good use for energy relations. Everyone seems to see the bad in everything. I love the items you post about. A few of the products you have posted, I have actually emailed the companies and done reviews on them. My favorite the FunBites. The tool that everyone was complaining about because it was plastic. Id love to laugh at them because the items are made out of recycled plastic. Gotta love people who think they know everything. I dont let it get to me any more.. Everyone has an opinion. This is yours, If they dont like it, then they need to blog about their own opinions and leave people like you and me alone!!!
I love your posts. Keep up the great work!!
How about including Tiger Nuts, what we believe is probably the healthiest ‘single source’ snack food you can buy, as part of 100 Days of Real Food.
If you want gluten free, organic, high fiber, low fat, high energy, nut free, lactose free and taste great, then Tiger Nuts are for you!
I had never heard of Tiger Nuts. After looking at your website, I had to order some to try them out. Looking forward to it!
Do you limit the amount of soy products you feed your girls? My daughter likes edamame, miso, and tofu, but I am unclear about the relationship between soy and cancer. Curious to hear your take on this.
Hi Tracy. There has certainly been a great deal of conflicting information regarding soy and cancer: http://www.cancer.org/cancer/news/expertvoices/post/2012/08/02/the-bottom-line-on-soy-and-breast-cancer-risk.aspx. My boys eat edamame but I do make sure I buy organic as most soy is GMO. Since we eat “real” as much as possible, we don’t often have tofu or other processed soy. Hope that helps a bit. ~Amy
Believe it or not, raw zucchini spears are really good with peanut butter… I prefer them over celery, actually. They’re also great with hummus or soft cheese, like brie.
Hi Lisa! I love your posts and ideas! But I have a challenge for you. My daughter has oral allergies that mean when she eats most fruits and raw vegetables her mouth and throat itch. Apples and berries are ok, but that’s about it. I also try to limit the amount of wheat based snacks like crackers because she’s not getting a lot of fruits and veggies. She’s a great eater, but we’re getting tired of apples and berries. Ideas?
Can she eat the other veggies cooked? If so maybe try blanching them for a few minutes so they are still a little crispy. Mix some cooked veggies into muffins or mini quiches. Hard boiled eggs are also a great snack.
Hi Kim. This is a subject that you should consult with your child’s allergist on as we certainly do not want to make suggestions that could be detrimental to her. I can relate well as my son also has a pretty severe oral pollen allergy (especially to birch pollens) and we just have to work around his list. I have found that there are things he does tolerate better if they are cooked a little. Cooked is the only way he can tolerate apples and peaches. ~Amy
Some of these things you can buy on line or through a warehouse store such as Costco.
For Tracy: How about individual packages of precut apple slices (you may want to check on the preservatives, but the ones I buy are organic), individual boxes of raisins, individual packages of whole grain crackers and pretzels, single-serving packages of baby carrots, etc. We have the same restriction with nuts, but I’m still trying to get the after-school care to give the kids something besides prepackaged cereal bars that are full of sugar and fat.
Just found out my kindergartener will be having community snacks from an approved list: pretzels, cheese-its, ritz crackers, fruit snacks, fruit roll ups. Ugh! Any advice on how to help change this in a positive and helpful way?
Hi Courtney. Have you soon any posts about the work we are doing at our school? It is slow going but we keep trying: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/10/04/the-healthy-child-and-earth-committee-at-our-school/ and https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/04/19/how-to-talk-kids-about-real-food/. You might first work on having the list expanded to always include a fresh fruit or veggie to choose from and once you have that success, tackle getting rid of all that junk. Best of luck. ~Amy
Love all the snack ideas and happy to try them out on our girls. Problem I have is that our school requires a single serve pre-packaged snack for sharing. Must not contain nuts. Any Ideas would be great. BTW No Whole Foods within a 100 miles :(
Hi Tracy. Boy, that is a tough one. First off, it is hard to find packaged products that aren’t highly processed and that don’t have an ingredient list full of stuff you don’t want kids to eat. Adding single servings as a requirement has me at a loss. I’m sorry. ~Amy
I think Pirates Booty has individual packages of popcorn. We have found cheese sticks/slices that we send with individual packages of apple slices, and applesauce pouches also are a go-to for us. Good luck! :)
Hi what about a puff, like a popover with veg and cheese. A creamy cheese works. They can easily be single serve. Best of luck
Lots of stores, even Walmart sell prepackaged apples, carrots, even blueberries.
What about single serving raisins and cheese sticks?
good list except the peanut and peanut butter. High in Omega 6 and inflammatory to the body.
Sounds great except for the ranch dip :-)
I like this tho totes not helpful
Great post and snack ideas! I’m always looking for easy, healthy, and nutritious snack ideas. Larabars are delicious! I try to blog about great snack ideas from time to time as well. Check out my blog at http://www.fitfadfan.com.
Just so you know, cheese and bacon are processed foods. I’m not anti-dairy, but since these are supposed to be whole-food snack, these items should not be included. Most bacon products include high fructose corn syrup and trans fat…even the those from organic supplier. The biggest problem with snacks are those that include fructose, saturated fats and trans fats. I prefer simple whole food snacks like fresh organic fruits, nuts and veggies that can be dipped in homemade hummus or drizzled with fresh lemon juice and olive oil.
http://www.DineWith9.com
Menu is also good jackfruit chips to accompany the long journey.
Sorry the future of our country depends on that quote NOT coming true. We have to raise awareness and stop it. We have to get Roundup Recalled.
Hi Lisa, Would you watch this video and the one on the preceeding blog and please post how people can avoid these glyphosate contaminated foods? Moms Across America will share it far and wide. The entire future of our country depends on the predicted fact based statistic of “50% of our kids will have Autism by the year 2025 if we keep going at the rate we are going” _ Samsel and Seneff. Glyphosate is the biggest offender of all…
avhttp://www.momsacrossamerica.com/glyphosate_and_autism_asthma_copd_diabetes_and_more
Thank you for all you do!!!!
Hi there! First off, thank you for taking time to educate us in this never ending real food journey, I love reading your posts!
Question 1: what would you recommend to replace the training foods like puffs and yogurt melts for little ones. Even the organic ones are still processed to the hilt! From an oral motor AND from an allergy precautions standpoint, little ones need these “easy to melt” foods to learn how to move their mouths. I vowed to not give my baby these foods, but when it came time to start learning to chew, the typical Cheerios were too hard.
Question 2: what can I substitute for honey in recipes since my little one is under 1 year old?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
Hi Jennifer. This a great post on toddler foods:https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/06/17/toddler-bites-from-weelicous/. And, maple syrup is a good substitute for honey. ~Amy
Jicama with ranch is awesome! Trouble is, I have a hard time finding it!!
Thank you so much for this list! I have 3 little ones under 8 that I have been gently nudging (and sometimes dragging) along in this journey to eating healthy real food. They are struggling so much with leaving behind some of their favorite processed foods- and grandparents weekend cheats have been an issue b/c they know their loving grands will spoil them with the junk they love on the weekends. I’m so excited to try some of these ideas, and to pass this list along to them too.
I just love your blog. I am learning so much and our family is getting healthier- my husband & I are even losing some weight! Thanks so much for all the work you guys put into this!
For teens with braces, take bananas, slice in to bite size pieces, freeze. Melt chocolate chips in double boiler. Brush the melted chocolate on the frozen bananas. Sprinkle chopped peanuts on the chocolate while it is still wet.
Thanks, Kitty! My son recently got braces. Simple idea I would not have thought of.
I highly urge you to read The Wheat Belly. It just might change your mind about using wheat products of any kind in your families diets.
Thanks for the list! Need to hang on the frog.
Hang on the fridge … oh spell check… grrr.
Any ideas for drinks? Water and milk…. anything else?
Hi Stephanie. My kids love sparkling water with a splash of 100% fruit juice. It is very refreshing. ~Amy
Just found this list on pinterest…just in time for summer! SOme other ideas my kids love: graham crackers, Special K bars, go-gurt tubes, nacho chips & salsa, fruit “pizza”, turkey or ham wrapped cheese sticks. All perfect for beach and park trips!
Except none of those are really healthy choices. I’m kind of bummed…I was hoping for some new ideas, and this is mostly stuff we already eat, or avoid because it’s processed (most crackers still have way too many ingredients, or are expensive) we don’t do rice right now because of the arsenic concern, and Larabar’s have soy which we avoid. :/ Can’t wait to try that poptart recipe though!
Hi Kelly. Try Lisa’s homemade Lara bar recipe: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/07/01/recipe-homemade-larabars-4-ways-including-nut-free/. You can experiment with countless different variations of healthy ingredients. Also, have you tried Ak Mak whole wheat crackers? As far as boxed items go (and we do very few), they have a very short and wholesome ingredient list. And look through our recipe index because it is full of ideas for stocking a healthy kid friendly pantry. :) ~Amy
Lara bars do not have soy in them …
I meant albeit not all be it. (Autocorrect)
This list is FULL of processed food. Peanut butter, yogurt, ranch dip, canned fruit are all processed unless you’re making it all yourself from raw whole ingredients. Milk is considered a processed food as well. It’s healthy, but processed. For a list of whole raw unprocessed food refer to this website!! I live by it!
http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating/
All be it in this list there are some processed food but it’s foods like whole milk.
You should read the “rules” link on her main site. PB = peanuts with maybe salt. Whole milk yogurt, either homemade or Minimal ingredients. Her goal is to make real foods doable for normal people, not go extreme.
Would you recommend the quaker mini rice cakes
Hello CJ. Nope. The product is full of artificial ingredients, refined and hydrogenated oils. Here is the ingredient list for the cheddar ones: rice flour, corn, sunflower oil with natural tocopherols, whey, salt, maltodextrin, cheddar and blue cheese, partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil, butter, MSG, lactic acid, disodium phosphate, tricalcium phosphate, citric acid. Hope that helps. ~Amy
Eh, you’ve basically listed a bunch of fruits, veg, and nuts… Nothing too groundbreaking here.
Sorry! I Must have JUST missed the above post. Understood. Thank you!
Rookie here: Do Triscuts contain chemicals? Are they considered an approved processed item?
I consistently see Triscuits on this site as a safe snack to eat but then I see the opposite saying that food with BHT added in them are not safe to eat. Triscuits apparently have BHT. So are they safe or not?
Hi Robert. These are Jason’s current thoughts on Triscuits: “Regarding Triscuits, we actually very rarely purchase them anymore, but this is mainly because since our 100 Day Pledge we’ve started avoiding refined oils when possible. While Triscuits are definitely a much better choice than many other processed crackers, I need to go back and update those posts with a suggestion to consider Ak-Mak crackers instead, which is what we buy on a regular basis now.”
Hope that answers your question. ~Amy
As #25, you have edamame listed, which we LOVE. But since soy is a big GMO crop, is safe to eat? We typically buy ours at Trader Joe’s (frozen, in the pod variety). Any information you can provide would be great! Thanks for all you do :)
Hi Heather. If you stick with the Trader Joe’s branded items, they pride themselves on sourcing from non-GMO crops. ~Amy
I appreciate the list, but several of these products (crackers, pretzels, bread, pasta, etc.) are processed foods. They might be made with whole wheat but they are still processed and most contain GMOs unless they are organic or GMO-free verified or you know which ingredients to look out for.
Hi Leeanor. It is the 100% part of the 100% whole grain that is most important. Then you know it does not contain refined grains. ~Amy
I was always told that whole grain bread is the best to buy over whole wheat. Are they two different grains or the same. It gets confusing.
Do you have a brand of chocolate you recommend? I love dark chocolate, but I don’t want any added ingredients!
Hi Kate. This post will help: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/10/31/food-babe-investigates-death-by-chocolate/. ~Amy
Hi,I noticed papaya in the list and understand that papaya is GMO ,grown in Hawaii…and also to Jennifer,Soy is a big GMO crop
and I would avoid it.I recently found an organic, non-dairy oat milk
made by Pacific.
I am trying to find a non-perishable, nut-free, prepackaged snack to send into my kids’ classrooms for the class snack cabinet- suggestions?
A few ideas come to mind — raisins, other dried fruits, those ‘freeze dried’ fruits, and organic fruit squeezies (PlumTots makes a bunch of yummy ones our kids love).
Check these out – there are a lot of fun options from Plum! https://www.plumorganics.com/kids-snacks
Hi Amber. This should help, too: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/08/22/an-elementary-school-snack-list-%E2%80%93-nut-free/. ~Amy
Do you have any suggestions for marshmellows, my kids are going to have a hard time giving them up at campouts and in their hot chocolate! Thanks Carrie
Hi Carrie. I think this is just what you are looking for: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/08/29/real-food-while-camping/. :) ~Amy
The link for the popcorn trick is broken – could you redirect? Thanks!
Hi Emily. Sorry, Try again: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/06/17/recipe-the-popcorn-trick/. ~Amy