I remember feeling busy before I had kids, and granted, I was. Now, I’m sure that I was warned about how busy life with kids really is. But of course, like anything, parenthood is something that you need to experience to fully appreciate. And do I ever appreciate it now!
I wouldn’t change anything for the world, but it all just takes a bit more planning these days. Take healthy eating for instance. A lot of people turn to less healthy options out of convenience when they’re in a rush. The good news is that eating well doesn’t need to take a lot of time, money or energy, and a having a few trusted go-to options can help keep your family on the healthy eating track without sacrificing convenience!
I wanted to share a list of my favourite portable on-the-go snacks to help make it easier for you and your family to stay properly fueled throughout the day, no matter where you are!
‘On the Go’ Snack Ideas:
- SunRype snack bars [1] (Energy, Fruit & Chia, Fruit-to-Go and Fruit Source)
- trail mix (almonds, pistachios, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and dried blueberries)
- veggie or nut butter sandwich on whole grain bread
- whole grain crackers and cheese
- tuna and cracker snack pack
- ‘cheese’ popcorn (popcorn tossed in nutritional yeast)
- roasted chickpea and kale mix [2]
- boiled egg
- pita chips and hummus
- homemade energy balls
- sliced apples with almond butter and raisins
- homemade muffins
- grapes and cheese
- banana sushi (whole grain tortilla spread with peanut butter with a banana rolled in the centre)
- steamed edamame beans
- veggies and dip in a mason jar
- homemade fruit cup
- individual yogurts
Note, some of these snacks need to be packed in a small cooler bag with an ice pack.
I love making homemade healthy snacks from scratch, but I simply don’t always have the time to make them. I’ve partnered with a company that is near and dear to my heart, SunRype [1], a local Kelowna-based business that has been making wholesome fruit-based snacks since I can ever remember (for 70 years to be exact, clearly much longer than I can remember)! Once upon a time they were just a fruit company, but they’ve since evolved and make bars with oats, chia, protein, and other good stuff. SunRype snacks [1] are a staple in our pantry, car, backpack, diaper bag, purse… pretty much anywhere I can stash away a snack to pull out in a pinch! I truly never know when the ‘mom, I’m hungry’ will strike (and frankly anything that helps me avoid pulling both kids out of the car to hunt down a healthy snack in a store is worth its weight in gold to me).
We keep a basket of quality snacks that’s within our five year old son’s reach in our pantry; the SunRype bars [1] are packed with good stuff, making them a good choice for him to grab when he’s hungry. The Fruit-to-Go (perfect size for little hands) and Fruit Source bars are 100% fruit and nothing else, so there’s no added sugar and no artificial flavours or colours. I find that a lot of snack bars are dry, overly sweetened, too refined, or just taste ‘yucky’, and these bars are anything but. The true test of course was feeding them to our son, kids are so honest! I’m not sure if anyone caught him trying the Fruit & Chia bars on Instagram stories, but he loved them! They taste amazing, have 800 mg of plant omega-3’s per bar, and are full of oats, chia, flax and fruit, ingredients that I feel good about giving him.
The new SunRype Energy bars are my personal favourite, they aren’t too sweet, are packed with fibre and have 7 grams of plant protein in each bar which is perfect for the whole family (some bars have way too much protein for kids). All of the SunRype snacks are also gluten free, nut free and vegan, which is one less thing to worry about! You can find the SunRype snack bars in the produce section or where the granola bars are sold in your grocery store, I hope your family loves them as much as ours does!
This post was sponsored by SunRype, all opinions are my own. Check out sunrype.ca/snacks [3] for more information.