My husband and I have been following the Whole 30 plan for several weeks now, which basically all foods are eliminated except unprocessed meats, veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, and eggs. (You can read more about our experience here). During this time, I’ve realized how much “not food” food our whole family was eating.
Even though I haven’t had the kids eating exactly what we’re eating- I’ll sometimes add in rice or pasta to our meals for them- they have started eating mostly healthy snacks. I didn’t completely take away everything processed from them, (they love their Nature Valley bars!) but since they’ve seen us eating healthier, they’ve actually started asking for our food and snacks! I’m trying to look for items with the least ingredients, and ingredients we can actually pronounce and know what they are. Here are a few things they’ve enjoyed:
1.) Apples and Almond Butter- this has been my main “treat” throughout the month and the kids love it, too. You can actually make your own almond butter pretty easily in a food processor, or buy it in a big jar at Costco. My favorite brand, though, is the one from Trader Joe’s.
2.) Raisins- although these aren’t my personal favorite, my youngest son is crazy about them! And usually, they’re literally just dried grapes so they’re 100% natural.
3.) Trail mix- I have a mix that’s pretty healthy- it contains sunflower seeds, peanuts, almonds, raisins, and dried cranberries. Since it does have a bit of added sugar to the cranberries, I’m not eating it, but the kids love it. Just look for the brands with the least ingredients.
4.) Carrots and celery sticks- yes, my kids love these! All of them like carrots and two of them like celery. I’ll sometimes add ranch for them, but they’ll eat them plain as well.
5.) Greek yogurt- my youngest 2 are crazy about any kind of yogurt! Again, look for products with the least ingredients and sugar.
6.) Sugar snap peas- these have become one of my favorites and they’re such an easy snack! My girls really enjoy these.
7.) In-season fruits- this summer we’ve enjoyed plums, peaches, melons, etc. This fall/winter we’ll eat more oranges and the different kinds of apples.
If you’re like I was even a year ago, I would have scoffed at the idea that any kids would eat snap peas or greek yogurt as a snack. But kids are like us- the more they eat healthy food, the more they crave it!
I’d love to hear your ideas for healthy snacks as well!
Contributed by Kelli of Eat, Pray, Read, Love
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