Kids are 5 and 6. Monday through Thursday we don't get home until after 8pm. I pick the kids up after work from daycare and we go to the gym and or church. What can I get that is grab and go for them? They literally only have the 10 minute car ride to eat something quick. I always have bottled water for them. Some snacks I've brought so far - cheezits, animal crackers, triscuits, beef jerky, grapes, string cheese, 100 calorie packs of oreos. Nothing I'm all that proud of! That's why I'm asking ya'll. I don't eat prepackaged food, processed carbs, sugar, or trans fats. My kids deserve the same, but I don't know what my grab and go options are that meet those requirements. They are not going to eat celery sticks! I need a balance between healthy and something my kids will actually eat. If it were up to them, they'd have gummie snacks everyday!
Nothing wrong with grapes or string cheese, and the triscuits are a whole grain, so they're good too. We have dinner when we get home. Dinner, bath, bed. They do get after school snack with the sitter so they eat breakfast, lunch, after school snack, and dinner. I'm just trying to give them another quick and healthy snack, since dinner is pushed back an hour.
Can you keep a lunchbag of refrigerated snacks (which you can store in the fridge at work)?Then you could offer apple slices, hard boiled eggs (prep ahead), carrot sticks, celery with peanut butter, half a bagel with cream cheese, some almonds...
I think other posters have also suggested some good idea, so I won't repeat them...
When do they eat dinner? With that scheduel, it sounds like they need something more substantial than just a snack!
Sandwiches,
Tortilla wraps,
make your own "lunchable" type thing with healthy crackers, cheese and meat.
Yogurt and granola and fruit.
Get some lunchboxes or a cooler and pack them a meal.
What's wrong with grapes and string cheese?? Trail mix, yogurt, bananas, a sandwich, banana chips, etc. Tons of options!
I think what you have packed is good since you say you eat dinner when you get home.
But what you could do is maybe pack these to eat on the way:
-homemade chicken or steak burritos
-mini sandwiches
That way they get their main food earlier. Eating after 8pm isn't ideal so if you can get them to eat more substantial food in the car....bingo!
They can still eat in the car, have their snacks on their way home, eat more once they get home.
Hope that helps.
Also, you could pack homemade fruit smoothies w/a little added protein powder in your cooler.
So are they eating an actual dinner each night?
I agree, Fruit, dried fruit, Carrot sticks, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, Whole wheat pretzels, dry cereal,
Sometimes, I purchase the peanut butter pretzels, they are good with milk.
Keep a cooler in the car.
Gogurts, string cheese, sandwiches, bottled waters.
Have you tried the Trail Mixes from Aldi?
Sooooo yummy. And they have the big bags or small individual sized bags.
What about cut fruit in plastic cups with a fork? (Could you take a Tupperware with you to work & keep in refrig. til 5? Same for yogurt.
Apples? Bananas?
Graham crackers and peanut butter?
We like to give my son those little peanut butter packets. He gobbles them up and they are a quick couple hundred calories with some good protein in them.
http://www.justinsnutbutter.com/products.php
They kind of look like this, but there are a lot of different brands.
If you can find the time, maybe make some mini veggie muffins. (You can freeze them too.) Grate some zucchini and/or apples and/or carrots and put them into a muffin recipe along with some flax seed meal. If your kids aren't allergic to nuts, you can throw some nuts and maybe raisins or oats into the mix too. Add half the sugar most recipes call for and use half whole wheat flour and half regular flour. You can also use olive oil instead of vegetable oil to make it a tad more healthy.
I have yet to try making them, but when I was in New Zealand, I once at the most delicious veggie muffin ever. From what I can remember, it had chunks of zucchini, onions, peppers, cheddar cheese, and a dollop of cream cheese in the middle. Maybe you could try something like that too.
Have you tried the freeze dried apple slices? Costco carries them. They don't have much in the way of fiber, but my kids love them. Those Go-Go Squeeze apple sauces that someone else mentioned are good too. A little pricey though.
You could also roll up some deli meat and cheese into a tortilla and have them snack on those.
Good luck! I hope more companies start making healthy snack choices for people on the go. I would certainly buy them!
I would do a fruit that they like such as an apple or orange or banana.
Triscuits and cheese are good, but triscuits are loaded with salt.
PB&J or toasted cheese sandwhiches.
Good luck to you and yours
Materne applesauce in squeeze pouches. They don't contain any added junk. The apple cinnamon flavor contains apples and cinnamon... that's it. Love those!
Organic yogurt in the squeeze tubes are good on the go as well.
Raisin bread.
Apples, bananas, oranges, etc. whole or sliced up in containers for them.
Turkey and cream cheese roll ups.
Hummus with something to dip in it.
Raw green beans, cauliflower/broccoli florets, carrot sticks, apples, bananas, dried fruit (raisins, prunes, apricots, figs), almonds, chick peas, sliced up fennel (raw). Why do you say they are not going to eat celery sticks? My 6 year old LOVES celery sticks (not carrots so much but they are all individuals). I personally wouldn't do the raisins, grapes or nuts in the car due to choking but they are great for a brief sit down - maybe as soon as you get to the gym or church. (Actually my kid doesn't eat in my car at all :).) You can add a little peanut or almond butter to any of the veggies for a little more protein.
Will they eat dried fruit? If they say no -- have them actually try it! Sunsweet now makes single-serving packs of dried apricots (about four in a small bag, with several small bags sold in one larger bag) and also does similar packs of prunes. Please don't cringe - they are as sweet as candy and my daughter LOVES them. If the kids don't hear "ick" from others they will try them and realize they are super-sweet. She also eats dried cranberries, available in little boxes now just like raisins. Cheezits are pretty darned high-calorie if you check them out (we love them too but I've cut them back to a very occasional treat) but Triscuits are great and so are any whole-wheat crackers; just check the labels to ensure the first ingredient listed is "whole wheat" and not "enriched wheat flour" -- some "whole grain" crackers really aren't all that whole! Cheeses are good but be sure the string cheese is real cheese and not processed "cheese food." Natural yogurts in squeeze tubes are an option too (but most of the ones available like GoGurts are brands with a ton of colors and sugars -- look for Stonyfield Farm or YoKids or others).
Annie's brand makes good crackers and even "bunny gummies" that, while treats, are all natural and taste fantastic. I eat them before my daughter gets a chance! Maybe use those instead of other gummies, if the kids want a gummy snack.
Baby carrots are a terrific, easy option. And you can get single-serving combo packs of carrots and celery in most grocery store produce sections now.
Steamed carrots, raisin and nut mix, frozen grapes or peas, anything you can stab on a toothpick or roll into a tortilla - meat, fruit, veggies, cheese, etc.
I hope your kids are not as messy as mine eating in the car. Sometimes I wish the whole interior was vinyl so I could just hose it down when they're done!
My kids like the applesauce cups and eat them without spoons! Or any No Sugar Added fruit cup. Also I buy GoGurts and freeze them, they are like frozen yogurts to go! Also nuts are good or make homemade trail mix with chex mix, nuts, pretzels, goldfish, raisins and choc chips. Good luck!
My go-to car snacks are individual packs of Craisins, Yogurt-Raisins, Cliff bar Kid bars and the Cliff Kids Fruit ropes.
(:
