10 healthy (food editor selected) store-bought snacks that will satisfy kids without ruining dinner.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
1
Prune Plums
Media Platforms Design Team
Also known as Italian plums, these dark purple oblong beauties are in season for the start of school. They’re less tart than regular plums and don’t burst easily inside lunch boxes.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
2
Apples
Media Platforms Design Team
Boring, I know. But my girls really love them! It’s best — and easiest — to pack them whole, but my big girls have lost all their front teeth and can’t bite into hard fruits. To keep cut slices fresh, I use an apple cutter to divvy up the whole thing, then put the apple back together before wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap. It’s how my mom used to pack apples for me.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
3
Kettle Corn
Media Platforms Design Team
I like the individual bags of Trader Joe’s kettle corn because they’re lower in fat and sodium than the regular option. And they have that great salty-sweet balance on really light, crisp popcorn.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
4
Roasted Salted Almonds
Media Platforms Design Team
My kids’ school doesn’t have any nut restrictions, so I can pack them baggies of Whole Foods Roasted Salted Almonds. They’re super crunchy and have a generous dusting of salt. My little ones prefer pistachios, which they enjoy at home, but those shells are too messy for the school lunch room.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
5
Seaweed
Media Platforms Design Team
For the uninitiated, dry, paper-thin slices of roasted, salted seaweed, sometimes called nori, is lip-smackingly good. Seaweed is chock full of umami, that irresistible savory fifth taste that you taste in a grilled steak. Annie Chun makes snack packs that are available in most supermarkets. I buy the giant Costco box of roasted seaweed because my girls can devour three packs at a time. But I still give them only one a day (everything-in-moderation learning moment!).
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
6
Mashups
Media Platforms Design Team
These fruit and veggie smoothies from Revolution Foods are a huge hit with my girls. They love the squeezy pouches and the more-interesting-than-applesauce flavors. Beetbox Berry is the most requested in my home. Plus, 3% of the snacks’ revenues go to supporting school lunch programs for under-served schools.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
7
Bell Peppers
Media Platforms Design Team
Tricolor packs (red, orange, yellow) tend to be a good deal and add color, crunch, and lots of vitamin C to my kiddies’ after-school snack plate. They used to complain about the flavor and texture — until I started peeling off the tissue-thin skin with a vegetable peeler. There’s a faint bitterness and toughness in the skin that kids sometimes don’t like. Yes, this is how I spoil my kids.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
8
Cheese Crisps
Media Platforms Design Team
We all crave these crunchy baked sourdough crisps that pack lots of real cheese flavor. I pick up the John Wm. Macy’s Brand at my local market and get the Archer Farms brand from Target otherwise.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
9
Granola Bars
Media Platforms Design Team
When I have time, I like to make a batch of homemade ones. (It’s easier than you think!) Otherwise, I pick up boxes of TLC’s Honey Toasted 7-Grain Bars. The crunchy ones, not the chewy kind, as my girls are quick to remind me.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
10
Pop Chips
Media Platforms Design Team
I’ll be honest. I’m that mean mommy who doesn’t let my kids have chips everyday. But occasionally, I’ll surprise them with a bag of these airy crisps that are neither baked nor fried. We’ve sampled the range of flavors and original remains their pick. Mine, too.