42 Healthy Snacks for Kids

December 10, 2021

by Kimberly Pangaro | Kimberly is a mom of four daughters and the owner of the lifestyle parenting media company Atomic Mommy. When she’s not running her company or momming all day, she’s writing about family life.

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When we think of healthy snacks for kids, we think green veggies. But healthy snacks do not have to be plain or boring! They can be colorful, tasty, fruity, and yes, even a vegetable!

Back in the day, us kids grew up watching commercials of super processed foods being marketed as healthy snacks. The reality was and is that processed foods contain a great deal of sugar. And as we’ve learned in recent years, too much sugar is bad. You can read about why here.

So, to avoid giving my four kids too much sugar in any given day, I opted for treating them with healthy snacks.

When they were babies just starting out on their feeding journeys and even now as growing teenagers, I make it a point to swap out bad snacks for the healthy ones. It’s not always easy, especially with my older girls, but it is definitely worth it.

So, here’s a list of my favorite go-to healthy snacks for kids, no matter how old they are.

40+ healthy snacks for kids

#1 Baby Carrots

#2 Apple Slices

#3 Celery Sticks and Peanut Butter OR Cream Cheese (for those with allergies to PB)

#4 Grape Tomatoes

#5 Plain Hummus and Mini Pretzels

#6 Fresh Mozzarella Slices with Wheat Crackers

#7 Homemade Fruit Cup (seedless grapes, melon, pineapple)

#8 Dried Banana Chips

#9 Apple Sauce with Cinnamon

#10 Edamame

#11 Steamed Vegetable Rolls Wrapped in Lettuce

#12 Cup of Blueberries

#13 Natural Fruit Roll-Ups

#14 Cucumber Slices

#15 Zucchini Sticks

#16 Cup of Granola

#17 Seedless Tangerines

#18 Bananas

#19 Cup of Strawberries

#20 Steamed String Beans

#21 Boiled Eggs

#22 Bowl of Black Bean Soup

#23 Kiwi Slices

#24 Chunks of Pineapple

#25 Scrambled Eggs

#26 Greek Yogurt

#27 Grilled Peaches Drizzled with Honey

#28 Whole Wheat Toast and Avocado Slices

#29 Breadless Bruschetta Scoops

#30 Mixed Berry Overnight Oats

#31 Strawberry and Blueberry Oatmeal

#32 Strawberry Banana Smoothie

#33 Slices of Green, Red, Yellow, or Orange Bell Peppers

#34 Mashed Sweet Potato with Cinnamon

#35 Dark Chocolate Bites

#36 Handful of Mixed Nuts (almonds, walnuts, peanuts, cashews – avoid if allergic)

#37 Fresh Mozzarella Balls with Basil, Tomatoes and Balsamic Vinaigrette

#38 Watermelon Chunks in a Bowl

#39 Baby Spinach, Sliced Strawberries, and Goat Cheese Crumbles in a Bowl

#40 Whole Wheat Toast with Peanut Butter Spread and Slices of Banana

#41 Egg, Spinach, Bacon and Cheese Bites Baked in a Muffin Tin

#42 Sliced Peppers with Cream Cheese

The Takeaway

And that’s my list. Sure, it’s not long. For the picky kids (which they tend to be), these snacks saved my parenting days. There was no fuss or muss when it came to packing to-go snacks, because each item on the list, comes kid-approved. Here’s a bonus tip: the trick to getting kids to enjoy healthy snacks is by creating a daily routine, which will in-turn, create a healthy habit for years to come.