gluten free snack ideas for kids

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My son has eaten gluten-free his whole life.  He was diagnosed with a gluten allergy at about 15 months, when contact with flour-water turned his whole body into a huge hivy-rash.  A couple of months ago, his allergist doctor confirmed that he is no longer allergic to gluten.  We are so, so thankful that he has been healed from this severe reaction and he can now be around batter and play dough!!

Even though he has been officially cleared of a gluten allergy, we are still striving to be a gluten-free home.  Eating gluten-free encourages children to eat their meat, fruit, and vegetables.  Carbs are great, don’t get me wrong, we eat a ton of potatoes and rice around here.  But!  I like that I can give my children some fruit or some cut veggies and they are perfectly content.

I am always looking for (easy and mostly healthy!) gluten-free snacks and I hope this list gives you new ideas!  These suggestions don’t have to break the bank either!!  Of course, organic is great, but eating traditional fruits and vegetables is better than not eating them simply because they aren’t organic.

All of these gluten free snacks are easy and simple and do-able — no “have to make a penguin sandwich” or “cut carrots into giraffe hair” here — I don’t have time for that craziness — though a lot of those snacks for kids are adorable!!  Here is our tried and true list of gluten free snack ideas.

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On the go {easy with no mess}

• apple slices

• banana

• banana chips

• apple chips

• frozen corn

• frozen peas

• dried peas {just peas snack}

• dried snap pea snack

• celery sticks

• cucumber sticks

• carrots {for the older set}

• fresh, season veggies: snap peas, green beans, asparagus

• raisins

• dried mangoes

• dried apricots

• dates

• fruit strips {like these, i.e. dried fruit and no corn syrup}

• fruit bites

• dried apple rings in a dehydrator

• dried fruit leather in a dehydrator {oats, dates, fruit}

• cheese slices

• cheese sticks

• glass of raw milk

• beef jerky

• beef sticks {we love the tom’s brand from whole foods}

• ham slices

• salami slices

• turkey slices

• rice chex or corn chex

• trail mix: mini marshmallows, raisins, and chex {definitely a treat!!}

• rice cakes {we don’t buy these organic ones because they are too crumbly — we buy the just-salt kind, but on special occasion we’ll buy the sweetened}

• gluten-free crackers {we love this brand, they are amazing! we also love this brand though they have nuts — and you can buy in bulk!}

• gluten-free bread {there are some bad and great brands — we don’t mind this one but they are best bought fresh or frozen}

• popcorn {we love buying mini bags of skinny pop}

• gluten free pretzels

• rice chips

• tortilla chips

• potato chips {these are made with avocado oil!  yeah a stable saturated oil that doesn’t go rancid when heated! these are sometimes on super sale. otherwise these olive oil ones are a good second choice.}

• and our favorite sweet treat? coconut macaroons!

For sitting at the table {a bit messy}

• grapes {check out this amazing video for how to cut grapes in half in seconds!!}

• cherry tomatoes

• bowl of plain yogurt with jam or dried fruit

• bowl of cottage cheese

• bowl of apple sauce

• frozen fruit juice popsicle

• frozen go-gurt style yogurt

• make frozen yogurt melts

• hard boiled egg

• pepper slices {we love red, yellow, and green!}

• blueberries

• raspberries

• strawberries

• thawed frozen berries

• cut pineapple

• cut watermelon or cantaloupe or dew melon

• squeeze-ums {our name for the squeezeable fruit/veggie mixes}

• avocado slices

• seasonal cherries

• peaches/nectarines

• clementines/oranges

• carrots/cucumbers/celery with hummus or homemade sour cream dip

You won’t find nuts (or soy!) on our list.  They are high in poly-unsaturated fatty acids and both my husband and I get sick after eating them.  We do keep toasted almonds around the house, for a sometimes crunch in our salads, but we don’t give them to our kids.  John is allergic to peanuts (skin rash, so far it has not shown itself in an anaphylactic reaction), and can do just fine with other nuts, we just choose not to eat them.  We prefer good ‘ol saturated fats (so macadamia nuts are okay!!) to the polys.

What did I miss?  What gluten-free snacks do your children love?

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