How to save on healthy snacks

Just a few weeks ago, I wrote about easy and fun ways to pack healthy and affordable school lunches for your kids. While I still encourage packing hummus and carrots or cut up fruits as snack options, the simple truth is that some parents don’t have the extra five minutes to do that or include as part their morning regimen.

If you’re one of those parents who want healthier options than store-bought Cheetos or chocolate chip cookies, here are some packaged goodies that are healthier yet still affordable:

Enjoy Life Plentils: With brown rice and legumes becoming ever popular in the health food scene, I’ve been wanting to try legume-based chips. Meet Plentils. They’re made of lentil powder, potato starch, safflower oil, salt, maltodextrin and any seasonings, depending on the flavor you buy. It has 130 calories per serving and 6g of fat. The best part about these chips is that they are free of common allergens including wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish and shellfish. There’s also no saturated fat, no trans fat, they’re cholesterol free, and they use non-GMO ingredients and free of artificial ingredients. As for taste, my kids give them a big thumbs up!

Snackimals Chocolate Chip Cookies: Everyone has a sweet tooth, especially kids. Rather than packing them Chips Ahoy! Cookies, which have 160 calories, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, and 22 grams of sugar per serving, go with Snackimals which have 110 calories, 0 grams of saturated fat and 18 grams of sugar. Plus, it’s made with organic unbleached wheat flour, organic cane sugar, organic expeller pressed sunflower oil or safflower oil, real chocolate chips and more. It’s the perfect alternative to the traditional cookies we love most, without any artificial ingredients. Most importantly, my kids prefer these over the common chocolate chip cookies sold in stores.

YumEarth Organics Gummy Bears: My kids love gummies and according to the many playdates at my house, most kids love gummies. Not all gummies are created equal. Many gummies contain high fructose corn syrup and use food coloring. These gummies are 69 calories per serving and meet the 100 percent Daily Vitamin C requirement. They are contain no artificial dyes and are fat-free, too. These are my children’s favorite gummies!

Bearitos Veggie Puffs: If you’re kids love Cheetos, cheese puffs and anything puffed, this is this perfect alternative. Made with organic corn and contains sweet potato, tomato, carrot, spinach, onion, garlic and kale. It’s non-GMO and as for taste, my kids love these and I may love them even more!

Annie’s Bunny Grahams: Made without artificial flavors, synthetic colors and synthetic preservatives, these are as good as graham cookies can get. At 130 calories per serving , 0 grams of trans fat and 6 grams of sugar, these are just the right enough of sweetness to shake off any sugar cravings and a quick mid-afternoon snack for the kids. Even though it is a healthier version of the common graham cracker, it actually tastes better to me.

Whole Foods Market Olive Oil Popcorn: My kids love to see a bag of popcorn in their lunch bags. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s associated with movie nights, which they love, or if it’s because they just love the taste of it. In any case, popcorn can be the healthiest snack or it can be the most fat-laden food, depending on what you put on it. For my kids, they like a little oil and a little salt and the Whole Foods version is just this. It contains air-popped corn, olive oil and salt. My kids and I love this one!

Back to Nature 100% Berry Juice: While my kids don’t drink juice often since I prefer them to drink water, there are special days that I do pack them a juice pouch. Of course, the juice pouch has to meet certain guidelines: No artificial ingredients, no coloring and no high fructose corn syrup. This juice pouch meets all those requirements and it tastes really refreshing and good. It contains filtered water, fruit juice concentrate (apple, pear, strawberry, and raspberry), natural flavors and citric acid for tartness. At 80 calories a pouch, it provides one and a half servings of fruit.

Siggi’s Blueberry Low Fat Yogurt Tubes: My oldest daughter loves yogurt but sometimes it’s shocking to see the amount of sugar that goes into some of these kid-targeted yogurts. The Siggi’s brand has no aspartame, sucralose, gelatin, artificial colorings, preservatives or high-fructose corn syrup. It’s made of pasteurized lowfat milk, cane sugar, blueberries, fruit pectin and live active cultures. At 50 calories, 5 grams of sugar and 5 grams of protein, it’s a good alternative to the sugar-laden counterparts.

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How to Save on Healthy Snacks originally appeared on usnews.com

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