Healthy food for kids! It can be done. When it comes to eating delicious and nutritious meals and snacks there is no need to sacrifice flavor for goodness. Take a little extra time to look and find things are taste good and are good for our bodies. Here are a few healthy back to school swaps that will get an A from the kids. 

Swap sugar cereal for a hearty Oatmeal Bake

Swap out sugary cereal for a nutritious and delicious warm oatmeal bake. I was surprised how well it turned out and how easy it was to make. Sprouts Farmers Market Old Fashioned Rolled Oats contain 150 calories per serving, making them the perfect choice for a quick and easy breakfast. Oats are the perfect vessel for baked fruit. This bake can last up to a week in the fridge and can be cut up and frozen to heat and eat at a later date. I loved this so much I had it for dinner a couple of times. A plus side to a recipe with a solid main ingredient is that the fruit can be changed up. Fresh fruit or frozen fruit. Fruit in season or whatever is on hand it can work. Here is a link for recipes I used. Feel free to reduce the sugar.

Crunchies Freeze-Dried Fruit

Made with nothing but fresh fruit, Crunchies are the perfect substitute to chips and other artificial snack foods—and an easy way for little ones to get their daily dose of fruit. These tasty single-ingredient snacks have zero sugar added and are non-GMO, gluten-free, vegan, and kosher certified. Packed with nutrients and a satisfying crunch, Crunchies are also the perfect size for school lunches and backpacks! Freeze-dried flavors include, Cinnamon Apple, Mixed Fruit and even Mango. Talk about yum!

Peeled Snacks Baked Pea Crips

The first organic pea snack, Baked Pea Crisps, are made with all natural, wholesome ingredients in a delicious baked crunchy snack. Each bag is packed with 5g protein and 1/2 cup of veggies per serving! It’s the perfect on the go, healthy nibble! According to Founder and CEO Noha “Our goal at Peeled Snacks is simple: to make you feel good about snacking. By using the highest quality organic and natural ingredients, we bring you the freshest pieces of organic dried fruit with NO refined sugar. Our snacks provide a natural source of vitamins, minerals, and a full serving of fruit. So make snacking a satisfying part of day and enjoy a delicious and healthy treat.” 

Harvest Snaps

Harvest Snaps Lightly salted snack crisps are baked, never fried. Each 1oz serving provides 5g of plant protein. Gluten Free Certified and Non-gmo Project Verified. Harvest Snaps has 9 delicious flavors and are available throughout the US and Canada, in most major retailers and grocers. By sourcing the highest quality non-GMO peas, beans, and lentils and always putting them first, Harvest Snaps are making mindless snacking a thing of the past. Harvest Snaps are found in the produce section, since their first ingredient is always farm-picked vegetables. I like the Lightly Salted Flavor, but there are more options for the adventurous pallet.

Emmy’s Organics

For a sweeter snack, skip the processed sugar-packed cookies and opt for a better-for-you treat instead: Emmy’s Organics Coconut Cookies. Made with clean organic ingredients like fair trade dark chocolate, these delicious bites are certified USDA organic, gluten-free, vegan, soy-free, grain-free, paleo-friendly and non-GMO. Great as a lunchtime treat or after-school snack, Emmy’s also come in convenient 3-cookie and single-serve packs. Flavors featured are Chocolate Chip, Vanilla Bean, Peanut Butter, Lemon Ginger, Mint and Dark Cacoa. The thing about these is that if you have one you feel like you had a satisfying dessert. I can down some serious cookies in a sitting and a few a these go a long way.

Frill

Frill is the world’s only whole fruit and vegetable-based vegan ice cream, offering a delicious, creamy and clean ice cream alternative for after school snacking or dessert. Frill is certified vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, non-GMO, kosher, paleo-friendly and—unlike other “healthy” low-cal ice cream brands—contains zero added sugar, sweeteners or artificial ingredients. With only 70-100 calories per serving, this smooth and refreshing treat also has half the sugar of traditional ice cream and ten times the fiber. Of the falvors we tried, Chocoalte was the best over all. Frill does scoop out, so having the “ice cream” experience isn’t lost, just the dairy.