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Writer's pictureAmy Slater
Jun 16, 20182 min read

Nutrient Dense Kid’s Snacks


Snack time is a great opportunity to sneak key nutrients into your young kids! When I am building a snack for the kids, I look at it as a mini-meal. Here is an opportunity to offer them a collection of foods in small amounts. They may only eat their favorites but at least you have exposed them to all options.


Why not just offer them crackers or a cookie?


Avoid offering crackers, chips, or a cookie because they will get used to that simple, processed food. Young children don’t know to look for healthy food because it is not on their radar for being important. You truly are helping them learn how to build healthy snacks at a young age. Repeatedly exposing them to this “style” of snack will help them know how to make awesome choices when they can fix their own snacks.


Blood sugar stability is huge!


Maintaining stable blood sugar throughout the day for kids is just as important as it is for adults. Building balanced snacks are a great way to help promote good hormonal regulation of blood sugar.


Criteria for a nutrient-dense snack:

  1. Real food: single ingredient, in its original form, identifiable from nature (Avoid food products sold through marketing science as a health food, like yogurt or Sunchips.)

  2. Something healthy, they recognize and enjoy: (You definitely do not want a food battle at snack time, always offer something simple they enjoy like apple, orange, grapes, peas, etc.)

  3. Always offer a healthy fat for satiety: nuts, seeds, coconut, avocado, full-fat dairy.

  4. Make sure you have some form of protein: for blood sugar stability

Now for some examples








1. PROTEIN COMBO BOWL

  • Grass fed Mission Meats Graze stick (Protein)

  • Black olives (Fat)

  • Raw carrots sticks (Carbohydrate)

  • Apples (Carbohydrate)

  • Toasted pecans (Fat and protein)






2. SEA VEGETABLE DAIRY BOWL

  • Sea snax

  • Cantaloupe

  • Raw cheddar cheese

  • Steamed asparagus

  • Raw carrots












3. PEAS AND PECAN BOWL

  • Steamed green peas

  • Diced raw apple

  • Toasted pecans

*All sprinkled generously with Redmond’s Real Salt












4. FRUIT & AVOCADO KABOBS

  • Mango

  • Banana

  • Naval Orange

  • Gala apple

  • Avocado

*All sprinkled with cinnamon

*Serve one with some full fat yogurt, a hard boiled egg or nuts for protein











5. FRUIT SALAD WITH AVOCADO AND HERBS

  • Black grapes

  • Gala apple

  • Mango

  • Naval orange

  • Pomegranate seeds

  • Avocado

  • Fresh mint and lemon balm

*Serve with a hard-boiled egg, a slice of raw cheese, beef stick, or nuts/seeds for protein and fat.














If you are going on a road trip, pack multiple snacks and pair them up when needed!

  • Snack #1: Fresh blueberries and pecans and a thin slice of liverwurst*

  • Snack #2: Olives and cucumbers with salt and pepper

  • Snack #3: Roast butternut squash with cinnamon and hard-boiled egg

  • Snack #4: Homemade (see below) or store-bought seed/nut bar

If you are feeling fearful about feeding your kids liverwurst, please don’t, it is fabulous!! If your kids have fear of the word “liver”, tell them it is sausage. I promise they will not even know the difference. Organ meat is so powerful and a tremendous source of nutrients!


Here are two of my favorite liverwurst:
















Great real food snacks are totally achievable!


Use your leftovers, always prepare extra veggies to have on hand for snack assembly, and stay consistent. Your kiddos may not eat all that you give them. Some days they may need a little encouragement. But, I promise, if you stay the course and keep seeking out the best ingredients, only good will come!


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