Our go-to on-the-go (hehe) snacks are:
1. Trader Joe's freeze dried Banana slices. Eliza LOVES these things and they are just plain old bananas that have been freeze dried (there are not fried banana chips, a very different - and much less healthy - product!). Eliza also enjoys the freeze dried Mango slices from TJ's. They also sell strawberries and blueberries but she doesn't seem to like those as well.
2. Fruit pouches, which I call "smoothies". These have become very popular lately. Originally developed, I think, as a fast way to feed purees to a baby, they have been discovered by toddler mamas and dadas as a quick and healthy snack on the go (and yes I find it ironic that Eliza is eating purees now, as an almost 2-year-old!). Unscrew the top and they can suck the smoothie right out the top (beware - one squeeze and you have a fruit smoothie geyser on your hands! Eliza is pretty good at not doing that anymore...usually). There are many different brands and flavors. This is one of Eliza's favorites:
3. Annie's Cheddar Bunnies. Thanks to a friend, these are often referred to as "hoppers" in our house, and they are one of Eliza's favorite snacks. Not the healthiest thing in the world, but sometimes they are just the ticket to satisfy both mama and toddler when we are out and about and need a fast and mess-free treat.
4. Mini boxes of raisins. Franny's are my favorite raisins. They are really big, and I think they are better than any other. The fact that they are organic is cool too, but honestly, I like them for their taste more than their organic-ness. :) Eliza likes them, but is tiring of them lately, so I end up eating most of the raisins we buy for snacks. But, these little boxes are easy to throw in a purse and go!
5. Babybel Cheese. Fun, relatively mess-free and YUMMY! We recently discovered these at Trader Joe's (cheaper there than at big box grocery stores) and Eliza really thinks these are neat. They are little soft cheese rounds in a wax shell that you peel open. I love that they don't get smushed if they are in my bag, and they keep for a few hours outside of the fridge, thanks to that handy wax shell!
(ps, I was not paid to say any of this, though I wish I had been!)
4 comments:
Ooohh...I <3 Babybels! I have one at breakfast every day. Love the other ideas too.
Snack and meal ideas are always helpful. Otherwise, it's easy to get stuck in a rut. I'll have to try the freeze-dried fruit and see if Oliver prefers the Babybel cheeses over the string cheese, which has never been really popular with him.
As for what snacks are popular at our house, any type of muffin or quick bread is rarely turned down. Dawn gave me a great recipe for a muffin containing fruits, vegetables, fiber, healthy fats and protein. When I don't have time to bake, (mostly the case these days) cereal bars become our stand-in. We buy the Kashi or Barbara's Nature's Choice brands. We also like the Back to Nature Graham Sticks, which are less crumbly than regular graham crackers and don't have trans fat in them.
Oliver also ate his first "puree" as a nearly two-year-old when Chris took him to Target during snack time and forgot to pack him a snack. So he bought Oliver one of those squeezable fruit packages and he loved it.
Great idea on the Baby Bels Cheese! Jake LOVES cheese, but most of it's too messy to keep with us. We don't have a Trader Joe's out here unfortunately, but I wonder if we can find them at CostCo...
So happy that hoppers made the list. =) We do string cheese; haven't tried the babybels. Another big favorite is gogurt. We keep them in the freezer, so I can drop it in my purse and it'll be defrosted by the time we're ready for a snack (or it's not defrosted and then it's a yogurt popsicle!). We used to do little trail mixes in the littlest size to-go containers ~ usually raisins, some cheerios, some hoppers (cheese & regular), dried fruit...they liked having a selection. Love all of the posts about food lately! =)
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