Ideas for Snack! (and lunch)
Snack limits:
We try to offer a healthy, organic snack free of added sugar each day.
- No meat in group snack; meat in your own child’s lunch is fine, but we have a couple vegan and vegetarian kids to consider at snack.
- No added sugar, please try to avoid unhealthy or pre-packaged foods; juice boxes, Hot Chee-tos, cookies, and “bars” that are high in sugars and/or have chocolate chips, etc.
- No popcorn or whole nuts, choking hazards
- For all children: Check with his parent before offering food to share.
- Bring packaging in for all group snack foods so parents can review the ingredients.
- Cubby snacks must be stored in a separate container or lunch bag in the cubby, not in the lunch box.
• • •
It is a good idea to be informed about the signs and symptoms of an anaphylactic (life threatening) reaction. Some can be subtle, such as coughing, or confusion / talking nonsense. Here are two lists, but please note that each reaction is different and the lists may not be comprehensive. If you have any suspicion that a child may be having a reaction, please alert the teacher/director and the parent immediately.
Web MD brief on allergic reactions
Kids With Food Allergies — what can happen during a reaction
Scary Mommy’s account of her son’s reaction to hazelnut cream in a cookie.
• • •
SNACK IDEAS and QUANTITIES — organized by food group
The largest number of kids per day is usually about 24. Feel free to work together with other parents for combined snacks (humus+chips, for example, could be the protein person+grain person). Please bring in the packaging for your snack so parents can review the ingredients.
Let us know if you have more ideas to add!
GRAIN
—Check ingredients list for hidden allergen words, see above. Always bring in the package.
—Goldfish-type or Cheez-It-type crackers, as well as Pirate’s Booty, are not allowed in snack, cubby snack or lunches, due to dairy allergy; loose powdered cheese can be particularly dangerous.
• Rice cakes—3 bags (w/ or w/o sunbutter)
• Rice cooker grains (2c grain+2 c water in rice cooker)
• Quinoa w/ olive oil and salt
• Brown rice w/olive oil and salt
• Millet w/olive oil and salt
• Barley or pasta w/Olive oil and salt
• Crackers, corn chips (2-3 bags), pita chips (can buddy up w/protein person)
• Onigiri (Japanese rice balls), can make or get at Famima
PROTEIN
• Ives veggie dogs cut into very small pieces (not coins) (contain soy+wheat)
• Beans—4 cans or equivalent
• Hummos (w/pita or crackers)
• Sunflower butter (grain person could bring crackers)
• Roasted chick peas / cici beans / garbanzo beans. Here’s one recipe.
• Quinoa
• Lentils (TJs cooked) + TJs bruschetta + 1 can black beans + 1 can cannellini beans
• Sunbutter or nutbutter (on bagel, crackers, apple or pear slices)
• Tofu cream cheese
• Daiya non-dairy cream cheese
• Eggs (lunch only, not snack). Hard cooked, scrambled, omlette, hashbrown cups
• Turkey slices rolled up (lunch only)
FRUIT
Check this year’s allergies, such as avocado and strawberries
• Grapes and cherries need to be sliced in half, or smaller
• Blueberries
• 1 watermelon, cubed
• Watermelon slices on popsicle sticks, frozen
• Oranges cut up
• Bananas — 2-3 bunches
• Frozen pineapple bits from TJs — 4 bags
• Frozen mango from TJs — 3 bags
• Blended fruit ice pops — make about 35 (consider coconut milk as a liquid)
• Baked plantains
• Dried fruit
VEGGIE
• Roasted veggies – 3 pans
• Kale chips – 4-5 bunches
• Spaghetti squash (2) and tomato sauce
• Green Beans (TJs frozen)
• Corn (TJs frozen or on the cob)
• Baby Potatoes w/ olive oil, salt, rosemary
• Celery with sunbutter
• Steamed broccoli
• Pico de Gallo (Tomatoes, corn, onion, cilantro, oil, salt…grain person can bring chips)
• Baked yam chips or fries
• Carrot and parsnip latkes
• Cucumber tossed with rice vinegar, olive oil, salt (or TJs champagne vinegar dressing)
EXTRA
• Anything above
• Olives, chopped in half
OTHER LUNCH IDEAS
• Pasta with vegan cashew alfredo sauce
• Pasta with olive oil, nutritional yeast and warm water (“mac & cheese”)
• Pasta with sesame peanut sauce
• TJs harvest blend grain made with stock instead of water
• Soba noodles with olive oil, sesame oil and soy sauce
• Potato burgers or veggie burgers from TJs
• Gyoza or Pierogi
• Orzo or couscous with olive tapenade mixed in
• Beans and rice, with or w/o soy sauce
• Tofu pups with ketchup
• Field Roast smoked apple sage sausage (it’s not meat) with dipping sauce
• Cashew cheese by Dr. Cow, from Erewhon (fermented) (expensive)
• Smoked salmon and hummus rolled in a tortilla
• Coconut milk smoothie
RECIPE RESOURCES