It can be a challenge to come up with healthy back-to-school snacks when fall rolls around. Below I’m sharing 25 of our favorites to help make your school mornings a little bit easier!
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My kids recently started back to school. I can hardly believe how fast the summer flew by! This is the first year they started before Labor Day, and I have to say, I didn’t like it!
Even though my kids can drive me nuts during the summer (how many times a day can they really shout, “mom?” in one hour?), I love having them home all day. I love sleeping in, I love lazy summer days, I love summer adventures, I love not having a schedule, and I love summer nights.
I also love that my oldest two are big enough now that they can prepare their own snacks (most of the time). While we are still working on cleaning up afterwards, this allows me to focus on feeding the most demanding human in the household (my almost three year old) and actually feeding myself. Which you busy mamas know, can be an almost impossible task during the day.
Going back to school though requires me to actually think about what snacks my kids are going to take to school with them so they have enough healthy food to fuel their bodies during the day.
My main focus when choosing snacks is making sure they are healthy and that they are going to keep my kids sustained throughout the day. If you are looking for some back to school snack ideas for your kids, I’ve compiled a list of a few of our favorites.
When looking for snack foods I do my best to look for options that have minimal or no added sugar as well as a short ingredient list.
25 Healthy Back-to-School Snacks
1. Dried apricots or mangos (Trader Joes or Costco have options with no added sugars) and raw nuts – almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, etc.
2. Skinny Pop popcorn cakes or mini cakes. Target and my local grocery store (which is similar to Whole Foods) stock these.
3. Skinny Pop individual popcorn bags (I’ve found here on Amazon or at Costco or Target)
4. Cut up fruit such as blueberries, blackberries, apples, grapes, watermelon, pears, strawberries, kiwi – the possibilities are endless!
5. Unsweetened applesauce cups (Treetop brand has a version I buy at Costco)
6. Applesauce squeezies (Costco’s Kirkland brand has no sugar added)
7. Apple slices and peanut butter, almond butter, or sunflower butter
8. Homemade trail mix
9. Cut up cheese and whole grain crackers. Triscuits or Back to Nature Harvest Whole Wheat Crackers are two brands that we like.
10. Individual hummus packs and veggies (Costco has small individual packs. I have also seen individual packs of the brand Sabra at Target or Walmart.)
11. Nut butter packs and crackers
12. Fruit cups with no added sugar
13. Bare apple or banana chips (Costco has a big bag while Target carries individual bags.)
14. Whole grain pretzels
15. Whole grain cereal
16. Healthy muffins. I try to make healthier muffin versions, and use either honey or maple syrup as our sweetner. Here are a couple links to some favorites: Healthier Banana Bread (I have made this into muffins) or these Raspberry Lemon muffins by 100 Days Real Food.
17. Larabars – These can be found on Amazon, Target, as well as at many grocery stores.
18. Larabar Fruit and Greens bars (my toddler loves these)
19. Homemade granola bars. These have less sugar and you can control the ingredients.
20. Pumpkin seeds. I buy Eden Organic Dry Roasted Pumpkin Seeds. All of my kids love these, which honestly I was a little surprised about! I like snacking on these as well.
21. Cheese sticks or Baby Bells
22. Bear Real Fruit Yo Yos. I’ve ordered these in bulk off of Amazon, but have seen them in individual boxes at a local grocery store (which is similar to Whole Foods). A great alternative to fruit roll ups or fruit snacks!
23. Dried fruit mix. I usually buy dried fruit that has no added sugar. While it took my kids a little while to grow acustomed to less sugar, I have now won at least two of them over. Mangos, pineapples, coconut flakes, and raisins are a few that my kids enjoy.
24. Trader Joe’s Date and Nut Bites (toddler loves these as well)
25. Pressed by Kind Fruit and Chia bars. Just found these at Costco and so far two of my three like them! 😉
There are so many healthy snack options out there, but I know sometimes it can be hard to brainstorm options. What are some of your favorite healthy back-to-school snacks? I am always looking for new options for my kiddos!
Hope everyone is having a great start to the new school year!
These look great! Thanks so much for the tips!
Of course! Hope some of these snack ideas work for you!
Skinny pop and back to nature are the best!
Yes! I was so excited to see the mini popcorn cakes and larger popcorn cakes at Target last week too!
I had no idea they made individual bags of Skinny Pop. Great list!
Thanks Brittany! The Skinny Pop individual bags come in a pack of around 9 (I think) at Target. Sometimes Costco has a giant box of individual packs as well. Our local one has them right now, so I may need to stock up!
Date and nut bites are a big hit with my kids. They also love Lara bars.
I also love that they are so easy to throw in my purse when we run errands!
Thanks for this! My daughter is starting part time pre school next week and we are responsible for lunch and I need all the ideas I can get! The Bear snacks and the lara bars are catching my eyes, especially since they’re also available on costco =). Thanks!!
Hi Maria! You are very welcome! I hope that some of these ideas work for her. It can be tricky to come up with new snack ideas. I always love reading about what other moms send with their kiddos.
Awesome round-up. They all look like they’d be perfect for those days when it’s school-lesson-practice-appointment! My littles love Larabars, but I’m eyeing those Trader Joe’s snacks!
I don’t have kids in school yet, but these snacks are great for me! 🙂 Perfect for when I need something to munch on!
Sarah I eat most of these snacks as well! Great for when I need something to tide me over between lunch and dinner, as well as easy to throw in my purse when we are on the go.
Thanks for sharing these. My daughter is obsessed with Lara Bars (and I don’t blame her). I def have a few new ideas to try from this! Thanks!
Nicole, you are very welcome! So happy you found a few new snack ideas!
The only snack on this list that I have tried is Lara Bars – and I love those. All of these look so good, I will have to slowly try them all.
Hope you find some that you love! The popcorn cakes and pumpkin seeds are a couple of my favorites when I need a little crunch!
Those mangos are my favourites.
I just realized we are out of them! My son loves them. Guess they will be on my Costco list this week!
I like ALL of these! Any of them would be a hit with my kiddos!
Yay! Hope they work for your kids. I love finding healthy options that my kids will actually eat!
These are great! I am a kindergarten teacher and am always looking for healthy snack options to share with parents. These will be very helpful!
Hi Stephanie! I am so happy that you will be able to share this with your parents! I was an elementary school teacher before staying home with my kiddos. Hope your year is off to a great start!
Great tips! Thx for sharing..
You are very welcome Hannah!
Love these! I always struggle with healthy snack ideas
Glad you were able to find some good snack ideas Jenna! Thanks for stopping by!
Such good ideas! I feel like I totally get stuck in a rut when it comes to feeding my kids, so I really appreciate the new ideas! Thanks!