Stuck in a rut with the snack options you offer your kids? Hopefully you will find some inspiration in this list of healthy snack ideas for children big and small.
Most children will be ready for a substantial snack in the mid-afternoon (after school for school-aged children). Younger children may also need a mid-morning snack. My recommendation is to give your child a hearty snack at those times but to discourage grazing at other times – treat snack time as a mini-meal if you will. Your child is more likely to eat well at mealtimes if she has not been grazing throughout the day. And just as you would not serve the same thing for dinner every night (would you?), rotate your snacks as much as you can.
If you have other healthy snack ideas, I’d love to hear from you. I’ll be adding to the list as new ideas come in.
- carrot and cucumber sticks with hummus
- a hardboiled egg, a soft-boiled egg with (gluten free) toast soldiers or a couple of hardboiled quail eggs
- a wedge of Spanish tortilla with some cherry tomatoes on the side
- a glass of gazpacho *
- a handful of edamame
- a slice of Brain Food banana bread
- trail mix: combine any nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds raisins, dried cranberries, maybe even some dark chocolate
- a small bowl of applesauce
- a few nori chips
- watermelon shapes
- a sliced apple with cashew butter – or make it sandwich style
- falafel * dipped in hummus
- a handful of grapes (in summer try freezing the grapes)
- homemade cinnamon apple chips
- cucumber or avocado maki, with a little tamari sauce
- half an avocado, eaten with a spoon or mashed on some (gluten free) toast with a small amount of olive oil and salt
- baked kale chips
- peanut butter and honey on a rice cake, topped with sliced banana or pear
- stovetop popcorn
- a power bar, like this apricot one
- a homemade 3-ingredient energy bar
- rice paper rolls filled with whatever you fancy
- mushroom chips
- chocolate coconut squares
- blueberry chia seed jam on oatcakes
- crunchy roasted chickpeas
All of these snacks are free of gluten and dairy, and suitable for a GFCF diet – but always check labels for any food that is not homemade. I’ve added a * for foods that sometimes contain gluten or dairy, so double-check these or make your own.
Brain Food 