Today, I’m delighted to shine the spotlight on Lauren Nastasi as one of my guest bloggers. What I like most about this fierce mama and lover of good food is her determination to put health above dogma. Open minded, loving, and generous, Lauren is a wonderful person all around. Today, she shares with us 5 snacks her daughter likes to take to preschool.
If most of you are like me, you are trying to navigate the world of Goldfish and artificially flavored “kid food”. I don’t even like to use the phrase “kid food” because I don’t understand it. Why do kids need special food with characters on it? Some argue their taste buds are different, but I didn’t find this to be true at all. My daughter didn’t discover there was such a thing until she started preschool this past September. She always ate healthy fresh food and had a palate similar to mine. My guess is because that’s what she knew, I didn’t give her the other option.
The food that is marketed to kids is down right gross, most are filled with chemicals, highly processed and hardly what I would call “food”. You would think that food meant for growing, pure, little bodies would be food that helped their growing, pure, little bodies. But, alas, we live in a world where this is not the case at all. So as Moms, we must do our best to lead by example and show our kids that healthy food is good tasting and just as fun as the stuff with the cute cartoon characters.
I send my daughter to school with a healthy snack everyday and when I ask her what the other kids had, I’m appalled. A lot of time I feel these parents aren’t educated on what is in their kids snacks, so as the saying goes “ignorance is bliss”. They see 100% Vitamin C and think it is a healthy snack but that snack also comes with different dyes and artificial ingredients. I know some parents just aren’t sure that their kid will like healthier food, but I’ve seen from experience, if they try it, usually they like it.
Below I compiled a list of our favorite snacks for preschool hopefully this list can help anyone who struggles with getting their child to eat healthy.
1. Fresh fruit! My daughter loves to bring clementines, already peeled or a little container of grapes or berries. I notice when she brings fruit she usually comes home telling me the other kids wanted her to share. You can cut into fun shapes or make cut little characters with fruit. If you look at Pinterest, there are a ton of fun fruit shape ideas.
2. Fresh vegetable sticks. Carrots, celery, and bell peppers are the perfect crunchy snack. I know carrots sticks don’t really scream “fun” but kids usually prefer them over other vegetables. You can also cut into fun shapes or add some almond butter or hummus in a container to send along. My daughter even brings cucumbers sprinkled with pink salt. She loves that!
3. If your child really wants to bring something more similar to the other kids, you can pack raw cookies. My daughter really likes Go Raw Chocolate Cookies
4. Organic smoothie packs/Fruit Chews. These aren’t the greatest (fresh is always best), but they are easy to travel with and kids love them. I buy GoGo Squeeze
5. Kale chips and Popcorn. These are great to make at home and send into school. For the popcorn I buy organic kernels and pop it on the stove with coconut oil and pink salt. Sometimes my daughter will bring a bag with a mix of both. That’s always a fun snack!
I hope this list helps anyone who struggles with what to send into school with their child. Don’t stress if at first your child doesn’t want to try healthier snacks, just keep offering and have patience. Good luck!
Lauren Nastasi is a Domestic Goddess passionate about health and wellness. She blogs at NaturallyLauren.com and you can follow her on Instagram and Twitter at LaurenGinger.
