When your kid starts kindergarten, mornings become hectic. Our morning routine goes something like this: out of bed, breakfast, brush teeth, find shoes, get dressed, pack lunch, find shoes again (this time put them on), grab a backpack, out the door. Just like that, easy-peasy … just kidding.
But I have found that packing just a lunch is not enough. I’m missing a step. Breakfast isn’t holding her over until lunch, and lunch isn’t keeping her satisfied until she gets home. So I found some healthy snacks to pack with her lunch.
The benefits of healthy snacks are more than just making sure your kids aren’t binging on junk food before they make it to lunch. It’s about choosing foods that will promote a productive work day at school as well as a healthy immune system. We, moms know all too well that when our kids are at school, germs spread like wildfires.
Here are some snacks that I have started packing in my Little One’s lunch to help her stay satisfied and focused throughout the day.
Fruits Are Not Just For The Teacher’s Pet.
So what do you think about when you hear ‘healthy snacks’? You’re thinking fruit right? Good. So let’s start there. With the easy, no nonsense, quick to pack, fruit.
Fruits like cherries, blueberries, and strawberries contain antioxidants and fiber which help rid the body of useless toxins thus promoting a healthy immune system. Bananas and apples make good snacks to help give your kiddo a boost in energy. Which when learning the alphabet and coloring inside the lines, we all need energy with a capital ‘E’.
If it’s Flu Season grapes are a great fruit to send to school. They are packed with nutrients and will help build your kid’s immune system. While on the subject of grapes, let’s talk about raisins, another snack easy to pack. Raisins are packed with iron which helps for the ‘picky eaters’ out there.
Any fruit that has a skin that will be eaten, meaning you are not going to peel it before it is eaten (for example grapes, apples, strawberries, etc). I buy organic. Buying organic means they will be pesticide-free snacks.
Mom Always Said, “Eat Your Vegetables”.
Ever hear your grandmother or your dad say “eat your carrots so you can see better!”? Yeah, I used to roll my eyes too. But apparently it’s true. Carrots contain beta carotene which promotes healthy eyesight. They also contain other nutrients that help your body fight off diseases. And they happen to be super easy to pack a lunch!
Celery is another vegetable that makes a good snack. It contains antioxidants and Vitamin C. If your kid is like my kid then sending them with a few stalks of celery isn’t going to cut it. So what I do is spread peanut butter on the celery and then put raisins on top. You might know it as ‘ants on a log’.
Peanut butter is an excellent way to provide your Little Learner with protein. This tasty snack 1) makes any yucky vegetable edible, 2) helps promote physical development, and 3) has omega-3 fatty acids which promote brain development.
Keeping It Simple.
Need a snack that doesn’t require any effort in packing? Cheese sticks. You literally tear one (or two) sticks off of the bundle and put it in the lunch box. These are a great source of calcium for your ‘growing up too fast’ kiddo by giving them strong bones. It also saves you time when you’re running late, the fourth day this week.
Packing applesauce cups is one of my favorite snacks to pack for my kindergartener. It gives her vitamin-C which also helps her immune system, and it too is easy to pack. I prefer to use organic applesauce because it doesn’t contain corn syrup.
Another go-to snack that I use is yogurt. With yogurt, she’s getting protein and calcium. And when I’m feeling spry I throw in some (organic) strawberries or blueberries. Now she’s getting antioxidants too! Yep, just call me Super-Mom.
Snacks are important for your Little One while at school. They are spending so much of their energy learning new things, their shapes, their colors, how to share, how to become independent, how to spell their name, and so on. They’re also in a constant state of growth which means they get hungry and often.
It is important to us as parents to provide them with the best advantages we can. This starts with packing them healthy snacks. Instead of being focused on the rumbling in their bellies, they’ll be focused on their work. Instead of them eating a handful of candy or chips, they’re eating healthy snacks that benefit their growing bodies and promote health.
