My kids eat only carrots and apples for snack – said no one ever!
I love having my kids eat healthy snacks and more importantly want healthy snacks but I also think it is important for them to get to have other packaged snacks some, so they aren’t foreign and off limits. This definitely isn’t something we do every day in our house, but we absolutely don’t restrict anything. Our goal is instead to offer upgraded options with better ingredients, if we can.
Today I am sharing my boys favorite “fun snacks” – basically those things that come out of a package.
First up, Paleovalley Meat Sticks. This is actually a healthy option, but still sharing it because it comes in a package. We go through these quickly in our home and especially love the beef ones. If you aren’t a beef person, they also have turkey. Learn more here + grab a discount code!
Hippeas. This is a cleaner version of Cheetos. Don’t get me wrong, my middle son would eat an entire bag of traditional Cheetos, but we tend to only offer cleaner versions of products in our house, knowing they will get plenty of access to the not so ideal ones out and about.
From the Ground Up Cauliflower Cheese Crackers. Trust me on this – they are good. I actually really love the pretzels, but my boys tend to prefer the cheese crackers. An upgraded Cheese It, if you will and NO, I don’t consider this a vegetable
Made in Nature Dried Mangos. My oldest absolutely loves these! They are pretty good if you like chewy dried fruits. I always encourage them to pair with some nuts and we are also trying to teach about portion control. Dried fruit is a great time to do that because think about how much fresh fruit it takes to make dried fruit. You wouldn’t sit down and eat 3 mangos in the fresh form. Even fruit, if eaten in too large a quantity can cause a huge rush (and then crash) in your blood sugar.
Made Good Granola Balls. This is a great company and also on the nut free list for most school districts. They also have granola bars, but my boys prefer the balls.
That’s It bars. These are granola bars with two ingredients – apple + one other fruit and that’s it! I didn’t originally love these because they weren’t organic. Apples and some of the other fruits they use like strawberries, are on the Dirty Dozen – meaning highest level of pesticides. I inquired with them about this and they reported “We grow all our natural, non-GMO fruits and veggies on organic-practicing farms. 20% of our farms are still awaiting certification, which is a lengthy process. We will add the organic certification on our packaging when all of our farms become 100% organic certified in the near future.” PS-momma likes the chocolate covered truffle options also!
Larabars. If they prefer a bar, not fruit based, larabars are great. I am sure you have heard of these, but they sweeten with dates and some have chocolate so they feel they are getting a sweet treat.
Bear YoYos. This is an upgraded Fruit by the Foot if you remember those as a kid. Basically a fruit snack roll with an added ingredient usually of a vegetable puree. Again, not counting this a veggie by any stretch but never hurts to add in veggies! They also come with a cute little card inside each package.
Zevia. Of course this isn’t a snack, but I wanted to share a couple of drink options. This is a soda pop alternative sweetened with stevia. They have traditional flavors to mimic Coke, Dr. Pepper, etc, but also have some kid specific flavors that come in smaller cans.
Rethink Splash. This is an upgraded juice box that is really just water with a splash of juice and some added monk fruit sweetener so they think they are getting a sugary drink but really only 1 gram total.
Bonus – you can get most of these treats at Costco, with the exception of the drinks and Paleovalley bars. Obviously that is subject to change and based on demographic.
Check out my kids favorite lemonade here (hint is is also low sugar!)
What is your kiddos favorite packaged snack?
Psst – looking for more healthy snack ideas? Get a full list here.