I can be a bit of a health nut when it comes to food. I don’t love taking my kids on adventures with a backpack full of ultra-processed food. Sometimes, as a treat? Sure. (We bought donuts at the farmer’s market just last weekend :P) Every day? Not a habit I want to get into. Plus, have you seen the price tags on processed snacks lately? Yikes.
I’ve always found summer camps incredibly difficult to pack for, because there are SO many different allergy restrictions to be aware of. Last year, my oldest was in one camp where snacks had to be peanut-free, tree nut-free and egg-free. Then tack on our own family goals of no seed oils, minimal refined sugar/flour, and adding a healthy protein or fat to each snack. What’s a kid to eat?!
In this post I’ve rounded up our favorite nut-free school and camp snacks–both pre-packaged and recipes–that are also wholesome and relatively nutrient-dense. They’re not on par with grass-fed liver pate on homemade sourdough, but they’re foods that we feel good about eating on a regular basis. I’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments, too!
Nut-Free School & Camp Snacks Ideas
- Skout Organic bars. Not all varieties are nut-free, but the blueberry, apple, French toast and gingerbread bars are. They’re a bit like Larabars but kid-sized and sunflower seed-based.
- Homemade muffins. Our favorite refined sugar-free and whole grain recipes include:
- Banana buckwheat muffins (you can substitute the oat flour with quick oats if you’re lacking)
- Coconut flour banana muffins
- Fruit, flax and veggie muffins (see her notes for whole grain flour substitutions)
- Oat flour pumpkin muffins
- Homemade sunbutter energy bites. Substitute dried fruit for the chocolate chips to eliminate all refined sugar.
- Homemade oatmeal bars. Zucchini, carrot, banana or apple cinnamon are our favorites.
- Raw cheese and a piece of fresh fruit.
- Fresh veggie sticks and oil-free hummus. Baba’s is a great hummus brand if you’re in the Midwest!
- Snack Mates meat sticks. Even my picky middle child LOVES these and they never last long in our pantry.
- Dried fruit, pumpkin seeds and dark chocolate. Homemade trail mix but without the nuts. Dried mango, cranberries and raisins are my kids’ favorites.
- Oil-free crackers with cheese or hummus. Some great options are MadeGood rice crackers, Finncrisp rye crackers, or Mary’s Gone Crackers seed crackers.
- Plain Greek yogurt and berries.
- Homemade granola and yogurt. A lot of granola recipes have nuts–our favorite nut-free ones are honey vanilla granola and gingerbread granola.
- Siete chips and guacamole. Both the corn and cassava Siete chips are cooked in avocado oil.
- Deli meat and apple slices. This is a snack that I could eat every day! Applegate farms makes great ham and turkey slices without a bunch of preservatives.
- Homemade breakfast cookies.
- Lovebird cereal. Cassava flour-based, tasty and wholesome. This is the only boxed cereal we buy (although as a treat, because it’s pricey!).
Our Snack Guidelines
Packing a protein or fat along with a carb is useful for staying power. With my kids, if I don’t pack a protein or fat, they are not happy campers when I pick them up at lunchtime. Even if the carb is something wholesome, like an orange or whole grain crackers–it just doesn’t “last” on its own. The challenge is finding options that aren’t messy to eat and also appeal to toddlers!
I’d love to hear how your family navigates the nut-free school and camp life, though!
xx Claire
