30 Easy, healthy snack ideas for kids

If you are looking for easy, healthy snack ideas that will appeal to kids and adults alike, you’ve come to the right place. Here are 30 no-prep and low-prep snack ideas to inspire you.

No Prep Snacks

• Whole fruit: grapes, apples, bananas, etc.
• Fruit salad: unsweetened canned fruit, snack cup, or do-it-yourself by mixing 1/2 cup of bite-sized fresh fruit (pineapple, melon, and berries, for example)
• Frozen fruit: 1/2 cup of berries, melon, etc.
• Dried fruit: 1/3 cup of raisins, dried apricots, etc.
• Applesauce: 1 snack cup (unsweetened)
• Nuts: 1/3 cup of almonds, peanuts, cashews, or mixed nuts
• Cheese: low fat string cheese, or 2 slices low fat cheese (such as Cabot Creamery)
• Yogurt: 1 sqeezeable low fat yogurt (such as Stonyfield Farm, Chobani), or 1 low fat yogurt container (6 oz)
• Pudding: 1 nonfat or low fat snack cup
• Granola/fruit bar: 1 low fat, whole grain bar
• Cereal: 1 cup whole grain cereal (such as Cheerios or Multigrain Chex)
• Trail mix: 1/3 cup made with nuts, seeds, low fat granola, and dried fruit
• Pretzels: about 20 tiny twists
• Popcorn: 2 cups “light” microwave popcorn without butter
• Baked chips (like Frito-Lay potato chips or Doritos)
• Cookies: animal crackers (such as Frookie Animal Frackers, 10-15 cookies), 3 Fig Newtons, or 1 snack pack Teddy Grahams (or 24 Teddy Grahams)
• Fruit Smoothies: store-bought (such as Silk or Stonyfield brands) or homemade with fresh or frozen fruit and lowfat milk or yogurt

Some preparation required

• Veggies and dip: baby carrots, cucumber slices, red pepper slices, chopped broccoli, cherry tomatoes, or celery sticks served with hummus, low fat salad dressing or other low fat dip
• Vegetable sticks with spread: celery or carrot sticks with 2 Tablespoons of peanut butter or low fat cream cheese
• Snack kabobs: veggie or fruit chunks skewered onto thin pretzel sticks
• Sweet potato fries: baked sweet potato wedges, tossed lightly with olive oil and salt

• Low fat cottage cheese or yogurt with fruit and/or granola: try with grapes, berries or canned peaches
• Apple treats: sprinkle apple chunks with cinnamon and/or raisins or granola, then mix in 1 Tablespoon peanut or almond butter
• Homemade popsicles: made with 100% fruit juice or low fat yogurt
• Chips and salsa: whole grain baked pita chips or baked tortilla chips, can also try chips with low fat bean dip
• Taco roll-up: small whole wheat tortilla rolled with low fat cheese, beans and salsa
• Turkey roll-up: lean turkey slice rolled up with low fat cheese
• Mini pizzas: toast pita bread or half of a whole wheat English muffin with tomato sauce, cheese and chopped vegetables
• Mini bagel with spread: try 1 Tablespoon light cream cheese, peanut butter, or hummus
• Mini sandwiches: use 1 slice whole wheat bread, pita bread, or several whole grain crackers. Fill or top with: peanut butter and jelly, low fat cheese and cucumber slices, or tuna salad made with low fat mayo

These ideas provided by Let’s Go, “Tasty Snacks for Healthy Kids.” 

Healthy students achieve more

A mountain of research suggests that what kids eat significantly impacts their cognitive function and school performance. Learn more about what schools are doing to feed students’ learning potential and fuel their brains for academic success in our guide “Healthy Students Achieve More.”