One of my biggest struggles preparing my kids food has been avoiding nuts of any kind in her meals and snacks that I send to daycare. Everything we send has to be nut-free for it to be allowed in the daycare facility, due to high allergies with children. We use A LOT of nuts at home because its such a healthy fat to consume. So, I decided to gather up a list of my nut-free toddler snacks for daycare and share them with you!
I keep them super easy with no cooking required and as always they are gluten and dairy-free! Check them out below and give them a try! They also provide a well rounded snack using fiber, fat and protein to keep their blood sugar and mood stable throughout the day. I focus on stabilizing my daughters blood sugar to help with her crazy toddler tantrums! If her blood sugar is consistent all day then she doesn’t have as many mood swings.
Top 5 nut-free toddler snacks for daycare (no cooking required!):
- Sausage, Blueberries & Avocado
- Tomatoes, Cucumbers & Ham
- Turkey, Plantain chips & Kiwi
- Raspberries, hummus & carrot sticks
- Nut-free date balls!
#1 Sausage, Blueberries & Avocado
This snack provides protein, fiber, fat, antioxidants, and much more. It’s easy to put in a lunch box and no cooking required! It will keep them full and their blood sugar normalized as they go throughout their day.
- Blueberries – high in antioxidants and support digestion
- Avocado – high quality fat and fiber to help keep kids full
- Sausage – I use Applegate breakfast sausage for my little one
#2 Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and Ham (quick and easy!)
This is a great, easy to prepare snack that provides such great nutrients to keep their energy levels high and their hunger satiated!
- Tomatoes – natural anti-inflammatory and can protect eye health
- Cucumbers – such an easy and fresh snack for kids to munch on
- Ham – I also use Applegate meats here
#3 Turkey, Plantain Chips, and Kiwi
This snack is PACKED full of fiber and provides a great diversity of two different plants for your toddlers to try!
- Turkey – our favorite from Applegate
- Plantain chips – a much healthier alternative than regular chips
- Kiwi – great for digestion and provides tons of Vitamin C
#4 Raspberries, hummus and carrot sticks (no gluten or dairy!)
This snack is great for kids who like to dip their food! Hummus is full of protein and fiber and you get some high-quality antioxidants from the raspberries as well.
- Raspberries – great for heart health and may prevent cancer
- Hummus – full of fiber and protein. What kid doesn’t like to dip their foods!?
- Carrot sticks – such a quick and healthy snack on-the-go
#5 Nut-free date balls (Gluten and Dairy-free)
Do you know how hard it is to find a date ball recipe that does not contain nuts?! SO DIFFICULT! I finally came across one and put my spin on it and my toddler LOVES them.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup dates
- 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp water
- 1/2 cup chia seeds
Instructions:
- Soak your dates in hot water for 5-10 minutes to soften them up. Then, blend the dates by themselves in the food processor until they get to a pasty consistency.
- Add all other ingredients and blend until combined (feel free to add other ingredients you like)
- Form into balls, refrigerate 30 minutes and enjoy! Keep stored in the refrigerator up to a week.
Whatever you do, always remember it helps if it is handheld and it doesn’t have to be full of additives. Our daycare has tried to substitute our snacks with pre-packaged versions of some of these items and the amount of sugar (notice none of these items had much, if any sugar in them) and unrecognizable ingredients is obscene. You can literally find all of these items in their purest form in most grocery stores and they are cheaper than the pre-packaged items in most cases (except dates, those are expensive, find a sale!).
Other related recipe posts:
- Blueberry applesauce pancakes
- Creamy leek and mushroom pasta
- Honey Chipotle Salmon
- How do you make healthy baby food
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