"Mommy, I need a snack." - Flutterby Kisses

I hear these words a minimum of 58 times a day. If you have children, then you know you will be asked for a snack basically every 5 minutes. My oldest daughter (3) lives for snacks. Many times she has asked for a snack while in the middle of eating a snack. But I’m ok with this, and let me tell you why.

Reason #1:

I know she’s growing. Obviously, this is exciting. This is also sad because she is growing too quickly (don’t worry! I’m not going to get all sappy at the moment). Regardless, I know her body needs all the right nutrition to help her grow on the right track.

Reason #2:

I am also ok with the incessant snack question because I am prepared. We have fallen into a good rhythm of snacking and I no longer dread trying to find something for her to eat without resorting to junk food.

We have had some trial and error with snacks. She loves grab and go type foods and rarely sits to eat. I have also noticed that things like crackers and cereal only fill her up for very short periods of time. Listed below are our go to snacks that fill my girl up, are healthy for her, and won’t spoil her main meals.

Our go to snacks:

Fruit! All the fruit. Summer time is the easiest for stocking the fridge but even during the winter we eat a lot of apples, bananas, pears and oranges. Keeping these prepped and low in the fridge makes it easy for Cheyenne to reach in and grab what she wants.
Smoothies. We really love smoothies and make them almost daily. Smoothies are also a great way of adding in veggies such as spinach, avocado, or carrots and still having it taste like a sweet treat! My girl loves helping me add everything into the blender.
Granola bars. Aldi has some delicious organic granola bars that we always keep in our pantry. I also love the Lara bars, our favorite flavors are the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Cinnamon Roll.
Perfect Bar protein bars. With 20 organic superfoods, no artificial preservatives, and lots of protein, these are a BIG favorite in our house. Bonus* they taste like cookie dough!
Pretzels. I usually pair these with a fruit and let her dip them in peanut butter or peanut butter mixed with greek yogurt.
Bread or Muffins. Baking is a hobby of mine that I hope to pass down to my kids. Each week I try to bake something yummy and healthy. We rotate between this Dairy free banana bread, this zucchini bread, and these spinach muffins. Cheyenne always helps me make these and loves to lick the spoon (who doesn’t, right?).
Veggies and Hummus. Some of our favorite veggies are carrots and cucumbers. We like to dip these in Aldi’s organic hummus or my homemade olive butter for a salty snack.
Yogurt with Granola. Organic yogurt topped with granola is a favorite around here. She likes to call the granola “cereal” and thinks it’s extra special this way. Our two favorite options for yogurt are either the vanilla greek yogurt from Aldi or the So Delicious coconut milk yogurt that we find at Walmart.
Sea Salt Pita Chips. These are addicting and also a great option for dipping in hummus!

There you have it! Our line up for snacking. Of course we sometimes throw in the occasional organic cheese crackers or veggie straws, but keeping our home stocked with other options keeps those as a last resort.

What are your snacking essentials?