Packaged snacks. Are you with them or against them?
I am not above them because sometimes, you are just too busy to make something from scratch. I will meal prep some muffins or scones or something on the weekend or pull together some veggies or crackers with homemade hummus, but that doesn’t always happen.
If I am being honest, I would say that it is a good 50/50. More than usual, Willow’s morning snack around 10 AM is something homemade or healthy (think hummus with crackers, yogurt with granola, fruit, homemade muffin/scone, smoothie, etc.) But the afternoon snack is almost always a bit of a treat. We have a snack drawer for her that she is able to go in and see what she would like (usually she’ll grab 1-2 things). I grew up in the 90’s so you can imagine the kind of snacks I ate… (hello Dunkaroos and Gushers). So I don’t feel too bad treating her to a good ‘ol packaged snack. It’s all about balance in our home. It’s what works for us!
If you are like me and looking for some new snacks to add to your stash, maybe you’ll find something new below. Here are some of our favorites that we keep on hand. We don’t have them all at once (of course) but they are definitely the ones we keep in rotation.
Also a note – not saying these are healthy by any means. I say plant-based because they are good for kids who do not have meat or dairy in their diets. Also, she doesn’t eat junk like this all day long. It’s just a treat per day, really. She eats a very well balanced diet. :)
- Applesauce pouches (Target brand, Motts, and Go Go Squeeze are our favorite brands)
- Almond milk chocolate pudding
- Annie’s bunny crackers
- Annie’s bunny fruit snacks
- Enjoy Life mini cookies
- Enjoy Life mini brownies
- Good & Gather fruit & vegetable strips
- Animal crackers
- Earth Balance cheese squares
- Kashi fruit bars
- Nature’s Bakery brownies
- Nature’s Bakery fruit bars
- Nature’s Bakery oatmeal crumble bars
- Raisins
- Oreos / Oreo sticks
- Ritz (or any kind of cracker like this)
- Triscuits
- Larabars
- Freeze-dried fruit (strawberries and apples are her favorite)
- Special K Red Berries
- Teddy Grahams
- Tortilla chips and salsa
Whatever she usually chooses for her afternoon snack is almost always accompanied by a glass of soy milk, too. Sometimes she will ask for some fruit, too.
But there you have it – some packaged snacks for plant-based kiddos. Let me know in the comments if you have some ideas that I did not mention because we can always use the inspiration around here!
Thanks for reading. x
