Healthy Snacks to Pack in Your Child's Lunch | Herbal Goodness

Unlike regular meals, snacks for kids can be tricky business. Picky eaters are a hard bunch to please, and stocked in the grocery aisle of your local food store is mostly junk food and products chockfull with ingredients you have trouble pronouncing.

Ideally, what we want filling our children’s lunch boxes are whole foods and healthy ingredients without resorting to special recipes. But pleasing kid palates can be a frustrating affair for many parents, especially given their fondness for tearing into packaged foods. This, however, doesn’t mean there aren’t one or five healthy snacks to tempt their taste buds when banana bread simply isn’t cutting it anymore in the lunch box.

Here are a couple of ideas that will ensure that lunch box always comes back empty!

Did You Know that Papaya is Healthy for Kids Too?

  • Carrot and Zucchini Chocolate Muffins

This divine snack is a great lunchbox addition made from delicious chocolate muffins containing carrot and zucchini.

The result is a wonderfully moist healthy snack with a rich texture, brimming with nutritional goodness in the form of vitamins, fiber, beta-carotene, and antioxidants.

Feel free to prepare them in advance and stash in the freezer.

  • No Blend Nut-free Bliss Balls

Sometimes, simple is best, and these little balls of energy will only take a few minutes of your time, one bowl, a handful of ingredients and leave an almost unnoticeable mess.

All you will need is sesame seed paste, aka tahini (1/2 cup), 1/3 cup honey (or rice malt syrup if you prefer, desiccated coconut (11/4 cups), cacao or cocoa (1 tablespoon), concentrated natural vanilla extract (1/2 teaspoon) and a pinch of salt.

The kids are sure to love it just as much as adults.

  • Vegetable Dips

You read that right!

Kids love dips, and this can be a perfect way to introduce vegetables into their lunchbox. You can make use of Greek yogurt, a healthy source of protein that doesn’t have to be an only-breakfast affair.

Some vegetables that make for great snacks include baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, snap peas and cucumber. Add a few into the lunchbox and remember to include a small container of Greek Yogurt as well.

  • Homemade Fruit Rolls

While fruit rolls can never stack up very favorably next to fresh fruit (or its dried version), they are fat-free and gluten-free, making them a perfect lunchbox to break the monotony of fruit.

They are loaded with vitamin C and far much better than candy. And they come with the added bonus of choice.

Whether it is papaya fruit rollups, watermelon rollups, strawberry, mango, peach, banana or a combination of two or more fruit, rollups of fruit rolls are a perfect little treat not limited by season.

  • Trail Mix

Kids’ snacks don’t get any healthier than a trail mix.

Take some peanuts, sunflower seeds, raisins, almonds and a handful of M&Ms, mix together, and voila, delicious snack ready to go!

  • Healthy Protein Balls

Homemade protein balls are made from a combination of nutritious ingredients such as dates, sesame seeds and mixed seeds such as chia, pumpkin, and sunflower, as well as coconut and activated buckinis.

They are bursting with protein that helps regulate blood sugar levels while driving energy levels up, ensuring your child stays focused through classes!

They make for a wonderful filling energy snack.

  • Blueberry-Cinnamon Granola Bars

Homemade granola bars rock!

This particular recipe can be put together in just a matter of minutes and can be a great source of energy for kids.

  • Oat, Seed and Date Bars

While we are still speaking bars, another treat that is a hit with the kids is this yummy oat slice comprising ingredients like butter, sunflower and chia seeds, oats of course and more.

Every single one of these ingredients is incredibly nutritious, with every nutrient imaginable.

You can find the full recipe here.

Last Word

It is an open secret that kids love a treat in their lunchbox at morning or afternoon tea time.

These mouthwatering eats are easy to toss into a lunch bag and they are guaranteed to hit the spot while providing your child with the nutrients they need!

Read More:

Immunity for the upcoming school year 

II Papaya tropical crush snack bar recipe

III Papaya strawberry snack bar recipe