How do you handle After School Snacks, especially if you have a child with a gluten allergy? Here’s an essential list to take to the grocery store with you weekly to be prepared with pre-packaged, ready to eat, gluten free after school snacks for the kids.
I don’t know about you, but my kids come home from school every day absolutely starving. And don’t even get me started on our need to get into the car quickly to go to an appointment or activity and someone is hungry and cannot possibly wait a moment longer to be fed. They spend another five minutes pouring a snack into a bowl to take into the car that will most likely end up on the floor or wedged into a tiny crevice by the seatbelt. But then you go to put your groceries in the car a week later and find a bowl of raisins (that once were grapes) in the trunk of the car that someone had tossed over their shoulder, because they’d gotten too many and weren’t as hungry as they thought they were. Does this only happen to me?
Having one child on a gluten-free diet and one who isn’t can be a little challenging though. My little man will often ask if he’s allowed to have certain snacks, because being only 8, it’s difficult for him to tell whether something may contain gluten or not. So I put together a couple of gluten-free snack trays, one for the refrigerator and one for the pantry, to make things easier on the kids and myself. Everything is in snack-sized portions, is healthy, and most importantly both kids love everything that I’ve included in the trays. There is no more asking me to pour snacks into bowls so they know they aren’t having too much, or leaving full bags of snacks laying about the house that the dogs lay in wait for. The only other step I need to take is to order re-useable clear snack bags.
It’s easy to put together after school snack trays. All you need are containers, bags, and a variety of snack options.
Containers:
Tip: Use clear containers. Kids can see what each bag or container holds at a quick glance and this will keep the food fresher longer because they won’t be constantly being opened.
- fishing lure or crafting containers
- mason jars
- re-useable containers
- re-useable clear bags
Here are the fishing lure boxes put to good use.
As you can see, it keeps the food snacks separated, unlike making a snack or trail mix.
Some of the gluten-free snack options included here are:
- dried fruit – mango, cranberries, raisins
- cereal – chocolate Chex and Cheerios
- treats – fruit jellies, marshmallows, Goldfish Puffs, Annie’s bunnies
- other snacks – cashews and yogurt-covered raisins
Refrigerator Snacks:
Some of the gluten-free refrigerator snacks my kids love are:
- fruit and veggies – pre cut and washed
- fruit pouches or containers
- yogurt – tubs or tubes
- cheese sticks
- snack packs – cheese, turkey or ham, and gluten-free crackers
Pantry Snacks:
There are a lot of options for gluten-free pantry snacks, but here are a few of our favorites:
- chips – veggie chips, corn tortilla chips, and Pirate’s Booty
- small snacks – you can see listed above in the fishing lure containers
- other snacks – popcorn, dark chocolate granola bars, gluten-free pretzels, and yogurt-covered pretzels
What are your kids’ favorite gluten-free, after school snacks? I’d love to add more options to our list.
- Cereal: Chex and Cheerios
- Fruit and vegetables
- Cold Snacks: Yogurt, cheese sticks, fruit tubs, fruit pouches
- Pantry Snacks: Marshmallows, Goldfish Puffs, granola bars, popcorn, Annie's bunnies (GF)
- Dried fruit and nuts
- Chips: Veggie chips, corn tortilla chips, and Pirate's Booty
- Either at the end or the beginning of each week, re-stock your Grab-and-Go snack containers.
We hope you find these handy tips and tricks for healthy Gluten Free, On-the-Go After School Snacks for kids from SoFabFood Contributor, Tonya Staab, helpful. For daily recipe inspiration and ways to help you transition back into the busy back to school grind, like us on Facebook, follow us on Pinterest, and stop by our Google+ Community to see all of the amazing recipes and tips our community members are sharing. Enjoy!
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