This post is sponsored by Annie’s and Cascadian Farm. All opinions are my own.
Does anyone else feel like their children never.stop.eating?
Just me?
So hear me out. My boys are 7 and 3. And they eat more than me. I’m terrified of the teenage years, y’all!!
It’s nuts. From the minute they wake up, they’re starving.
And it’s not like we don’t have food-they just want to eat all of it.
And don’t get me started on snacks!
Whether it be a bowl of fruit, freeze-dried veggies, or a smoothie (currently their favorite is this high protein banana milkshake), my boys are big on snacks.
I’m pretty sure that if I just whispered the word “snack” they’d find me. It’s gotten to the point where we don’t have breakfast, lunch, and dinner-instead we have “morning snack,” “afternoon snack,” and “before bed snack.”
Ridiculous? Yes. But when you tell your kids that it’s breakfast and no one moves, but then you insert the word “snack” and suddenly everyone shows up?
You’d revise what you call your meals, too.
Which is why I always keep these 5 essentials in my panty.
At all times.
So when “snack” time comes around (which is basically every hour on the hour), getting everyone fed is quick and easy.
Energy Balls
Both the boys have big sweet tooths…and I know they get it from me.
My mom was awesome at offering sweets that weren’t full of junk, and I do the same for my children.
After all, I don’t want to fill my kids up with sugars and additives.
These kid-approved banana oat energy balls are the perfect answer for any sweet tooth.
They’re quick to make, easy for the kids to help themselves and they are good to leave in the pantry for 2-3 days.
And, if your kids like to help in the kitchen, this is the perfect way to get them involved. My boys love munching on the “bowl remnants.”
Fair warning, though: these never last that long.
So if you want some, grab some, go to the bathroom and lock the door.
Cereal
This is always a winner.
Having a toddler at home and another in school can make mornings (and every other time) pretty hectic around here.
I try to be a “cool mom” (if you don’t get the reference, you can leave right now) and make my kids Gluten Free Apple Pancakes but sometimes I just don’t even have time for that.
Bring on their favorite cereal.
Smalls is totally obsessed with Annie’s Organic Cinnabunnies Cereal with a splash of vanilla flaxseed milk and banana slices.
According to him, the vanilla with the cinnamon from the cereal is the only way to eat it.
Now, The Baby is a whole other story. My youngest kid is all about chocolate… His cereal of choice is Annie’s Cocoa Bunnies with almond milk, and don’t even think about asking him to share.
Granola
Are my kids the only ones who sneak yogurt?
I’ll admit, it’s not my favorite empty food container to find.
But my boys love yogurt.
Plain yogurt.
Yogurt with fruit.
Yogurt with granola.
And it can’t just be any granola.
They are boys with good taste.
They discovered my stash of Cascadian Farm Strawberry Granola and have been hooked ever since.
I’ve taken to buying an extra “mom only” box because otherwise there will be none left for me.
I don’t know if it’s the dried coconut or the dried pieces of strawberries but they go nuts for this stuff!
If I’m feeling generous, I’ll add fresh strawberries to the granola and yogurt.
Freeze Dried Fruit and Veggies
I love freeze dried fruits and veggies. I snack on them all the time. And I don’t feel bad when I finish a can.
Have you ever tried freeze-dried veggies? They’re better than chips!
Because I snack on them constantly, the boys have decided that they’re not so terrible after all. #momwin
I always keep a variety of veggies and fruits on hand, but our top 3 snacks that are always in stock in my pantry are:
- freeze-dried strawberries
- freeze-dried green beans (really!)
- freeze-dried apples
The best part about fruit in the pantry is that I don’t worry about quantity and the boys can help themselves.
Mix & Match Snacks
When you think of dessert, do you think of chocolate?
I know we do. The boys will eat pretty much anything chocolate-wise, while I am a sucker for some Dutch dark chocolate.
A favorite fast and easy go-to snack (often dessert) that I can throw together quickly is something that we call monkey munch.
The boys named it.
Yes, it sounds weird, but I know you’ll love it.
It’s basically just every snack we loved, tossed together. It’s what I do with the ends of the boxes and bags so that everything gets eaten.
Currently, we are loving a mix of Cascadian Farm Oat and Honey Granola, dried fruit, nuts, and some dark chocolate pieces.
It’s easy to send to school in a snack container, and if you just want a handful it beats trail mix every time.