To go along with the Back to School lunchbox ideas, I thought I’d mention a few snack ideas that work for our family.
I try to keep things as healthy as possible for the littles- we do have processed foods in the house but I try to avoid the really sugary and junky stuff as much as possible.
The girls have two snack stations that they have access to. They can help themselves to snacks when they get hungry providing it isn’t too close to dinner. The only rule is that they need to ask me first and then they can help themselves to what they want.
I just fill up each snack station once a week and it is a pretty fast process. I timed myself this week and it took 16 minutes for me to do and that included cutting cheese and cucumbers into little shapes and making an extra snack for the kids trying to grab at the snacks I was packing up ;). It is super hot here this week so I also filled up a bunch of water bottles with water so they can grab those and stay hydrated.
These are all things the kid’s can get for themselves.
Every week is a little different so here are just two sample tubs from this week:
COLD TUB:
- Organic Grapes
- Sliced Cucumbers
- Chobani Yogurts
- String Cheese
- Sliced cheddar cheese with salami
PANTRY TUB:
- Veggie Straws
- Annie’s Crackers
- Applesauce
- Clementines
So again it just varies on what I bring home for the week. I did take a minute to cut the cucumbers and cheese into shapes. My girls just love when I do this and interestingly, I watched for the first little snack my 5 year old picked out and it was the cucumbers in flower shapes.
Here are a bunch of other ideas:
- Grape tomatoes
- Blueberries
- Cherries
- Baby Carrots
- Tortilla Chips
- Dried Fruit or Raisins
- Sliced bell peppers
- Apples
- Fruit Leather
- Celery
- Popcorn
- Lunchmeat and assorted cheeses
- Cottage Cheese
- Premade muffins, breads, cookies
- Graham Crackers
- Somersault snacks
- Pita Chips
- Trail Mix
- Cheerios
- Goldfish or Annie’s Crackers
- Pretzels
- Cereal bars or granola bars
- Mini cheeses like babybel
- Pirate’s Booty puffs
And dippers are always nice too. I like to preportion dippers in little condiment containers so the kid’s don’t make a mess. Here are some ideas:
- Peanut Butter
- Hummus
- Ranch Dressing
- Salsa
And one other idea is to get the freezer filled up too. I like to buy big bags of organic blueberries at Costco and those can go into little Ziploc bags and left in the freezer. The girls can grab those as a snack anytime and then I know I always have fruit on hand. You can also freeze grapes and again it is just nice to know you always have fruit for the kids to eat.
I also like these premade smoothies for the freezer, homemade Uncrustables and last but not least I try to make batches of cookies about once a month. I usually bake about 1/4 of the cookies and roll the rest of the dough into a log and put it in the freezer. I can cut off a small section at any moment and make the kids fresh baked cookies in basically the time it takes to bake.
Does anyone else have more ideas for quick and easy snacks for the kids? You can see some lunchbox ideas for the kiddos here.
April W says
Where do you get the tiny cookie cutters?
Charlene says
April,
They are about $1.00-2.50 for a pack at craft stores. I have seen them in the Wilton section at Hobby Lobby and Michael’s. I have a little pack of 5 shapes that I bought awhile back to make cake pops. You might see them at Walmart too in the Wilton cake decorating aisle. Interestingly, I have seen tiny cookie cutter things in the clay section of Hobby Lobby. Places like Sur La Table also have them for a little more money.
Amanda says
Thanks so much for the ideas. My kids eat so much (I saw your weeks worth of snacks and noticed thats how much 1 of my kids would eat for 1 snack, we have big eaters) and it’s hard to always think of somewhat healthy snacks while not breaking the bank. I usually just think of PB&J for their lunch every day. But now we have lots of ideas of things my kids like! You are the best!
Sophie says
And where do you get the little round containers that have the grapes and cucumbers in?
Stephanie says
So inspirational! I totally need to do this! My 4 year old will raid the fridge or pantry and has bit off bites of cheese from those big 32oz blocks… I think I’ll look for the cookie cutters too. Thanks Charlene!
Charlene says
Oh Amanda, I hear ya. Sometimes the kids barely eat and sometimes the dog sleeps with one eye open because we don’t know if they will just empty the pantry and start on his food!
You could make the portions much larger and if you shop Costco the portions are unreal. The Veggie straws bag is massive and like $4. Same with Pirate’s Booty, Craisins… etc… Those snacky things are cheaper and way better then Doritos. I also got a huge thing of frozen blueberries- 3lbs for $11 which is not bad for organic. And a huge thing of organic grapes for $6. The tortilla chips are like 2 feet tall and those are about $4 too- I get these tri-colored ones that have carrots and beets and spinach and the kids love them. Baby carrots are a great one too because those are so cheap at the grocery store. I have been getting the greek yogurt at Costco lately too. It works out to about $.50 per cup which really is the same price that many people pay for yoplait and is so much better.
One of these days I need to do a price per serving comparison because I am sure buying healthier stuff is actually cheaper then junky stuff more often then not. 😉
If you have older kids, you could make one big rotisserie chicken a week (or they are $5 in my area to buy) and then shred that and have a big tub in the fridge. The kids can make quesadillas have the chicken in like a wrap with salsa and cheese. I find that really easy and affordable too.
Have you tried this yogurt dip recipe? I am so addicted and it gets better the colder it is so it lasts for days in the fridge:
http://myfrugaladventures.com/2012/07/how-to-keep-apples-from-browning-fruit-dip-recipe/
I try to keep the portions smaller so that they eat different things. I want to avoid the plopping down on the sofa with a bag of Chips Ahoy- you know? I’d much rather they gobble up the grapes, then have some cheese, then crackers, then an orange etc… etc…
momto3 says
Also just got some Armenian cucumbers from my CSA and they are sooo good, plus when you cut them, they look like little flowers since they have ridges. My friend just made some fermented homemade pickles with pickling cucumbers and they were sooo good. Not as salty and “canned” tasting as regular pickles, so very refreshing.
Charlene says
LOL- Stephanie!! I think my husband would knaw on the chunks of cheese too if he could get away with it :D. My little tootsies love those shaped cheese and cucumbers. I have been in a rut but I might try it for red peppers and see if that makes those more appealing. I might try zucchini too and see if they like that. You can also make sandwiches with those things. Just make the sandwich as normal and use the tiny cutter on one slice of bread. It makes a little peek-a-boo to see inside. You get less waste then with the regular cookie cutters because you only waste a tiny piece of bread.
Charlene says
Sophie,
Those are the ball freezer jars. I just like those cuz I can grab and throw in my purse and things don’t get smooshed. They are good if you freeze grapes or blueberries too.
Here is what they look like- they cost about $4 for a 4pk and you can find them at some grocery stores, Walmart, Lowe’s etc.. in the Ball Canning jars sections:
http://myfrugaladventures.com/2012/06/freezer-cooking-make-ahead-smoothies/
They come in 8oz and 16 oz I think.