I know how daunting it can be to go to the store and try to buy food for kids, especially when you want to buy healthy options. Know that you are not alone! There are so many options, and reading labels can often be confusing. To help make your life easy as your kids head back-to-school, as you’ll be packing lunches and have hungry kids who need all the food, I’ve rounded up our favorite healthy pantry-staples for you.
Here are a few tips when buying staple pantry snacks:
- Always check the sugar content. It’s crazy how much sugar is added to our food! Be sure to read the ingredients to see if there is added sugar and how much!
- Look at the first three ingredients. Those are the ingredients that are used the most in the product, so if it’s sugar, cane sugar, sucralose, or something related to sugar, I’d pass.
- Always choose less processed snacks. Whole fruit + veggies are always the best choices, but if you need something that’s shelf-stable, look to see how many ingredients there are. And go with ones that have the least amount of ingredients.
I love keeping our pantry well-stocked and keep healthy food options at eye level, making it easy for the girls to grab their own.
Here are some of my favorite staples to have in the pantry:
- Canyon Bakehouse breads
- Almond butter
- Freeze-dried fruit
- Fruit pouches
- Pretzels
- Cashews
- Dried fruit
- Applesauce
- Chia seeds
- Homemade granola
- Almond flour crackers
- Chickpea puffs
- Almonds
- Chocolate chips (to make their own trail mix!)
To reduce trips to the store (and overly hungry kids), make sure you stock up on some of these pantry staples as the kids head back to school!
Read more from Kara Swanson at Life Well Lived!
