Snacks and quick easy lunches are two of the most challenging parts of life for me! They are an easy point of frustration for myself and my children and can very quickly bring on temper tantrums and arguments. When I have a game plan in place and a pantry stocked with great options many of these heated moments are eliminated, my children feel like they have choices, and I can relax knowing they are eating healthy nutritious food.
My biggest tip for making these choices easy and eliminating opportunities for frustration is to use bins. I purchased six plastic tubs with lids from the dollar store and labeled them based on the type of food they would hold (vegetables, fruit, protein (fridge), Extras for dipping (fridge), protein (Pantry), “crunchy”. I included on the label how many servings of each they could grab to pack in their lunches and snack bags.
Each week when I grocery shopped I came home and immediately washed the produced and packaged everything into single serving size ziplock bags. Every morning the kids would pull the tubs out of the fridge and pantry and within 5 minutes bags were packed and ready to go without any arguing or complaining!
Ideas for each category:
- Vegetables – I had my children choose 2 vegetables each week to put in this bin. They had to switch up which vegetables they chose. This helps them develop a great taste pallet for all the great vegetables the Lord has provided us with and not simply stick to tomatoes and cucumbers. Some suggestions to start with:
- Cucumbers
- Cherry or grape tomatoes
- Celery
- Mini bell peppers
- Carrots
- Fruit – I prefer putting whatever fresh fruit is in season in this basket but sometimes I will include applesauce pouches or bowls and fruit bowls when they are on sale.
- Protein (fridge) – deli meat, pepperonis, hot dogs, protein balls (if possible, choose nitrate/nitrite/sugar free meat)
- Extras for dipping: Nut butter, guacamole, ranch
- Protein (pantry) – granola bars, meat bars, beef sticks, cheese sticks, yogurt tubes or bowls ((if doing dairy)
- Crunchy – non-gmo popcorn, Siete chips, almond flour crackers, granola
Add to your bins as you and your kids discover healthy yummy snacks they love!