What did you bring in for snack week this week?

This week was our family’s turn to bring in snacks to The Kid’s classroom.  We’re not allowed to bring in anything with nuts or coconut (the coconut ban at our school is new and kind of crazy in my humble opinion, even in spite of the FDA misguidedly – again, in my opinion – reclassifying coconut as a nut in 2006).  Given the restrictions, I still tried to bring in healthy snacks.  I brought in:

• Organic celery, totally washed, trimmed and cut up into sticks.  Hey, don’t teachers have enough to do than have to prep snacks?
• Oikos (by Stonyfield Farm) single serve yogurts – organic vanilla – I am usually not a fan of fat free yogurt (it’s more than just a taste thing… fat is important in your diet), but this had a nice size container for class snack, it’s organic, and it had one of the more favorable sugar to protein ratios I’ve seen in the organic, dairy-based, flavored yogurt single serves (11:15 g).
• Cabot Creamery Serious Snacks Sharp Cheddar Cheese packs.  I’d prefer it if these were organic, but I like the Cabot cooperative farmers products, so I don’t mind non-organic on this one so much.  Great size – .75 oz each and I think the individual packages make it a lot easier on the teachers during snack time.
• My Super Snack Soft Granola Bites in Blueberry Banana Acai flavor.  I just recently tasted these, and liked them.  They have a sugar to protein ratio of 2:1 (which is not bad – I try to keep it as far under 3:1 as I can) and best of all, The Kid liked them.

These are tasty, nutrient-dense snacks that are new to NYC!

Here are the ingredients and some stats.

• Go Raw Organic Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds.  I don’t know if there are any dairy-free kids in the classroom, but even if there aren’t, a high protein, nutrient-dense food like pumpkin seeds are a wonderful classroom snack.

I don’t know why Go Raw doesn’t have their expanded nutritional information on their website, but they don’t show this many stats there, so I took a picture. Pumpkin seeds are an amazing superfood. Plus, they’re anti-inflammatory!

• Organic Sunbutter – look at the stats!  It’s another great high protein source, and it’s nut free!
• Happy Herbert’s Spelt Snack Sticks  – these are tasty, filling, organic, and have turmeric!  I am all about turmeric these days.
• Edward & Sons Organic Brown Rice Snaps in Unsalted Plain – I love these things, plus, it’s a nice gluten free platform for the Sunbutter!  Besides, now that I don’t have any priest friends anymore, the chances of me getting my hands on unconsecrated hosts for snacking is pretty much nil.  These are my substitute.

Other great classroom snack ideas:

• Washed and thinly-sliced organic fennel
• Roasted Nori packs (Trader Joe’s has good ones)
• Homemade gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, refined sugar-free energy bars (see recipe here) – just be sure to provide teachers with complete ingredient list, so they don’t have to go crazy wondering if there are nuts in it.  It tastes nutty.
• Bananas (the less ripe they are, the less sugar they have – I try for one day away from any visible green)
• Washed and chopped organic red pepper (great source of vitamin C without the big sugar rush)
• Freshly cut sunflower sprouts (I get these at the Union Square Farmer’s Market from The Grassman, who is awesome, BTW)
• Flamous Falafel Chips – (see my post about them)