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Kitchen & Cooking

10 healthy dietitian-approved, kid-friendly snacks

Here are the best snacking options for children of all ages.

Little girl holds ice cream in one hand, broccoli in the other hand, making a silly face at the broccoli. Credit: Getty / RichVintage

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It can be tough to find snacks that make kids and parents happy, but healthy snacks are extra important for going back to school. As a registered dietitian, I'm very particular about which ingredients I’ll feed my children, so it took lots of trial and error to find my go-to options. Here are 11 snacks that are made with ingredients that I feel comfortable with, are easy to order online, offer some nutritional benefit, and most importantly, my kids will actually eat them!

1. Amara’s Smoothie Melts

Left: Overhead photo of a child eating round, red colored smoothie melts. Right: A child dressed in white reaches into a bag of smoothie melts.
Credit: Amara's

These smoothie melts are a great options for babies and toddlers.

Amara’s Smoothie Melts are a game-changer for toddlers. These melt-in-your-mouth snacks for babies and toddlers have no added sugar or unnecessary ingredients. Not only are they convenient for keeping little hands busy, they also provide relief for many parents who are trying to cut back on the sweet stuff in their kid's diets.

And since these melts come in plant-based and whole milk yogurt options, they can fit into a wide variety of diets and lifestyles—a perfect on-the-go snack for busy families.

Get a 6-pack of Amara’s Smoothie Melts on Amazon for $29.94

2. Real Food From The Ground Up Sea Salt Cauliflower Stalks

A bag of cauliflower chips with mostly yellow colors and some green accents.
Credit: From the Ground Up

Nutrient-rich cauliflower is the main ingredients in these kid-friendly chips.

These snacks are a favorite in my house as a simple swap for potato chips or other puffed snacks made with lots of artificial ingredients. Real Food From the Ground Up Sea Salt Cauliflower Stalks are a kid-friendly, nutrient-rich snack with a satisfying crunch. And since they're made with ingredients like real cauliflower, I'll happily offer these to my daughter any day of the week.

Get a 6-pack of Real Food From The Ground Up Sea Salt Cauliflower Stalks on Amazon for $24.99

3. Fresh Bellies Groovies

Four brightly colored bags of puffed kids snacks in the following flavors: carrot and rosemary; mushroom, sage, and onion; broccoli, garlic, and thyme; and beet, onion, and paprika.
Credit: Fresh Bellies

Fresh Bellies' Groovies come in a variety of unconventional flavors like beet, onion, and paprika.

Fresh Bellies Groovies are free from any added sugar or fruits. Made with sorghum, vegetables, herbs, and spices instead of corn or potato starch, they offer a unique taste that's a neat change from the usual salty and sweet suspects. These snacks feature flavors that kids don’t typically get exposure to until they are a bit older, like mushrooms, sage, paprika, and more.

Get the Fresh Bellies Groovies 2-packs for 7.99

4. Wonderful Pistachios

A yellow bag of honey roasted, no-shell pistachios.
Credit: Wonderful

These pistachios are packed with nutrients, and they're lightly sweetened with honey.

When my kids want something sweet, I reach for these no-shell Honey Roasted Wonderful Pistachios. Since pistachios provide a good source of plant protein and fiber, these nuts give snack time some staying power and help prevent a sugar crash later on. Slightly sweetened with a kiss of honey, these pre-shelled nuts only contain 3 grams of added sugars.

Bonus? Pistachios’ green and red-purple colors come from antioxidants, giving kiddos an extra boost of nutritional benefits. As long as your child is developmentally ready to eat shelled pistachios, these nuts are a must-have for snack time.

Get Honey Roasted Wonderful Pistachios, No Shells on Amazon for $6.49

5. Wyman’s Just Fruit & Banana Bites

A repeating pattern of a yellow box of Wyman's frozen fruit and banana bites.
Credit: Wyman's

Wyman's frozen fruit and banana bites make a great swap for sugary ice cream.

My daughter loves frozen sweet treats and would eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I Iet her. Thankfully, she'll happily eat Wyman’s Just Fruit & Banana Bites in place of her beloved ice cream any day of the week. Made with nutritious ingredients like frozen wild blueberries, strawberries, and banana puree, these individual-serving cups are a solution for any parent who struggles to get their kid to eat real fruit.

Dairy-free, non-GMO, and preservative-free, these cups are a natural source of antioxidants, fiber, and a slew of other nutrients that growing bodies need. Just Fruit is available in other combos as well, like wild blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, or wild blueberry and mango.

Get Wyman’s Just Fruit & Banana Bites at Target for $4.99

6. Immuniteez Elderberry Pops

Left: A mother holds a young girl dressed in a blue shirt, holding an elderberry lollipop and looking off into the distance. Right: A top-down photo of a white bag of organic elderberry lollipops with elderberries and leaves surrounding it.
Credit: Immuniteez

Elderberries are the immune-boosting secret ingredient in these tasty lollipops.

Okay, so these aren’t a snack per-se, but they're something that I offer my daughter every single day—especially during cold and flu season. Since my daughter asks for candy basically every waking hour, these pops are a great solution.

Made with ingredients that actually offer some benefit to her little immune system like vitamins C, D, and E as well as Zinc, Selenium, and organic elderberry, these pops are so much more than a sweet treat.

Get a 2-pack of Immuniteez Elderberry Pops on Amazon for $15.99

7. Uncle Matt’s Pure Organic Orange Juice with Added Calcium

Left: A bottle of Uncle Matt's orange juice is poured into a stout juice glass. Right: A top-down photo of Uncle Matt's orange juice on top of a repeating pattern of orange slices.
Credit: Uncle Matt's

The oranges used to make Uncle Matt's orange juice is grown using USDA certified organic methods.

With so many kid-focused drinks on the market, it is important to have healthy options available for when something other than water or milk is desired. Instead of offering my daughter soda or “fruit” drinks, she gets Uncle Matt’s Organic Orange Juice with Added Calcium.

Since the updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends to limit added sugars in a child’s diet, 100% orange juice is a perfect choice because it contains no added sugars, yet provides a slew of important nutrients. Plus, the boost of vitamin D helps support my little one’s immune system without having to lean on supplements.

Get Uncle Matt’s Pure Organic Orange Juice with Added Calcium on Amazon for $6.79

8. Bob’s Red Mill Organic Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Oats Bars

A peanut butter and jelly-flavored granola bar wrapped in a bright pink wrapper.
Credit: Bob's Red Mill

This granola bar is a new take on the classic flavors of peanut butter and jelly.

Many bars are loaded with ingredients that I'm not comfortable feeding my child. Thankfully, Bob's Red Mill organic Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Oats bars are made with healthful ingredients and, most importantly, my daughter will actually eat them.

Made with whole grain oats, peanut butter, and honey, there's nothing questionable about these kid-friendly bars. And since kids naturally gravitate towards the flavors of a PB&J, these bars are a very easy sell.

Get a 12-pack of Bob’s Red Mill Organic Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Oats Bars at Thrive Market for $18.99

9. Slate Chocolate Milk

Left: A stylized photo of three cans of chocolate milk in which a hand pours one of the cans into a clear glass. Right: A can of chocolate milk against a white background.
Credit: Slate

Classic chocolate milk gets an upgrade in this protein-rich, naturally sweet option from Slate.

I grew up on old-school chocolate milk, so this particular snack feels especially nostalgic to me. And as I've learned very quickly, my kids share the same adoration for the classic drink. Loaded in nutrients like calcium and vitamin D, milk certainly plays an important role in a child’s diet.

While I love the nutrients that chocolate milk provides, I am not in love with the added sugar that the conventional options offer. Enter: Slate milk. This milk is ultra-filtered, a process which results in a milk that's higher in protein and lower in sugar. And since this milk is sweetened with monk fruit instead of sugar, the resulting drink only provides 9 grams of added sugar—about 75% less than other chocolate milk options.

Get a 12-pack Variety Pack of Slate Milk for $3599

10. Blake’s Chocolate Chip Rice Crispy Treat

A repeating pattern of seed-filled chocolate chip rice crispy treats.
Credit: Blake's

Chocolate chips meet nutrient-rich seeds in these rice crispy treats.

Loaded with seeds like pumpkin and sunflower, Blake’s Chocolate Chip Rice Crispy Treats are a snack that my daughter loves. My daughter chows down on these snacks, even as she sees “healthy pieces” (the seeds!) mixed with the chocolate chips. I'm thrilled that she's getting some important minerals while she is enjoying this sweet treat.

Get three boxes of Blake’s Chocolate Chip Rice Crispy Treat for $17.99

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