One son has a peanut allergy and one son seems to be lactose intolerant (he can have milk in things, just not cheese or dairy outright). Any ideas for healthy snacks other than fruit and veggies? My go-to snacks used to be fruit and cheese, peanuts and raisins, or yogurt. So those won't work anymore! They aren't a big fan of other nuts. I'm thinking of making muffins, but could use some help on other ideas. Also, our budget is tight, so I'm looking for cheap too. Aaahh! (Marda, peanut boy loves almond butter, but lactose boy hates it. The lactose thing is newer, so I'm really stumbling there.)
Have you tried the Peter Rabbit organic pouches? They are great a snack option and perfect for on-the-go situations. They come in veggie/fruit combos or veggie combos. You can find them on diapers.com or amazon.com.
my son LOVES Sunbutter!
what about beef jerky....there's an all-natural product on the market - haven't tried it, but seems to be fairly healthy. Or you could make your own - we do!
graham crackers are a powerhouse snack, especially for diabetics. You could let the boys dunk them in applesauce.
frozen fruit pops? Frozen chunks of pineapple, banana, etc...all yummm!
Popcorn, Pretzels, Popsicles, Fruit pops, Beef jerkey, Corn nuts
Can your son eat soy cheese?
I am lactose intolerant but I can drink Fat Free milk. Also yogurt.
Can't you still do fruits and veggies? We do green beans, carrot sticks, green pepper, any kind of fruit, chick peas, hummus (home made - the store bought is expensive and nowhere near as good), baba ganouj, brown rice cakes, dried fruit. We only do muffins for parties or holidays as they do tend to be loaded with fat and sugar (even the 'healthier' whole grain recipes and even if you substitute apple sauce for much of the fat).
My kids love homemade popcorn. Popcorn kernels,olive oil and salt. Oooohhh...it is my favorite snack too!! (Besides a hunk of my homemade chocolate cake and a tall glass of milk to chase it down...but that won't go over with your kids' allergies and the healthy category!)
We like carrot sticks, celery, cucumber. Hummus and tortilla chips too.
Good luck and best wishes at finding what makes both healthy and happy!
I have no idea if this would taste good or not... but what about celery sticks with Nutella instead of peanut butter? Like I said, no idea if that would go together (never thought about celery and something chocolatey). Or maybe pretzel sticks and Nutella? Hope this helps!
You can use nut butters-cashew, almond.
make your own granola bars and they can be nut free - I use this one http://allrecipes.com/recipe/playgroup-granola-bars/detai... with a few modifications (add a mashed banana, a bit more oatmeal, chocolate chips and dried cranberries....it's an easy recipe to modify to your likes and dislikes. Also 30-35 minutes was too long to bake in my oven, 20 minutes at about 325 degrees was more like it)
trail mix can also be made nut-free - use cereals like cheerios, chex or crispix, nut-free granola (easy to make your own - I use this recipe as a base but doubled the sunflower seeds and skipped the sesame seeds, you could omit the almonds to make it nut-free http://allrecipes.com/recipe/moms-best-granola/detail.aspx) add raisins, little pretzels or goldfish crackers, chocolate chips and raisins, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, etc.
Popcorn! (Or caramel corn or popcorn balls for a sweet treat.) Chex mixes-- there a GAZILLION easy recipes and you can leave the peanuts out of any that call for it! Rice Krispy treats are fast and easy for a sweet treat
http://lynnskitchenadventures.com/lra/ has ton's of peanut free recipes.
And the 5 dollar dinner mom's kids can't do dairy either, so a lot of the recipes there are dairy free too http://www.5dollardinners.com/
My daughter (1) loves my oatmeal bars that I make. There is a recipe at Mr. Food but it's not very healthy although VERY quick and just a few ingredients.
My variation is as follows and I have another variation at my blog for pumpkin oatmeal bars, http://dontbuyathing.wordpress.com/pumpkin-recipes/
Healthy oatmeal Bars:
Heat in microwave:
1/2 +1/8 cup applesauce
1/8 cup butter or oil
1 T Molasses
When melted/warmed together add:
1tsp Baking soda(will cause bubbling if mixture is hot)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Mix dry ingredients then add to above mixture:
2 cups Oats (quick or regular)
1 1/4 cups Flour (1/2 whole wheat & 1/2 white)
3/4 cup white or brown sugar
Press into greased 9"X13" baking dish or high-edge cookie sheet and bake at 350degrees for 15min or until browned. Cut immediately, cool, then cut again before serving. This recipe comes out chewier than if you used more butter instead of the applesauce.
Sunflower seed butter tastes a lot like peanut butter and, imo, is much tastier than almond butter.
Yams will take effort since you have to cook them, but my daughter loves them--I slice and steam them first and then sautee in a bit of olive oil. Full of nutrition and not too messy for a finger food.
Bread and jam. Bread and honey.
My daughter doesn't do well with cow milk but we've started her on goat milk and goat cheese. The lactose amounts are different between goat and cow.
Black bean brownies made with agave instead of sugar. (can google recipes)
Soy yogurt. Soy cheese.
Good luck.
yum muffins. My kids are big fans of banana bread and chocolate chip, zucchini muffins and I make an apple cinnamon one too.
Graham Crackers. My son loves them!
Mini-muffins. My mom got my kids one of those cake pop makers and I've been using it to make muffin balls. Sooo easy, and I can stuff them with raisins, banana, zucchini, ham, etc etc. You can just make the muffins in muffin pans too, but I had to mention the cake pop maker because I never thought to use it for more than cake and it's turned into a great snack maker!
