At the shops today my children were having a hard time, they were 'HANGRY' and tired and they needed snacks fast, otherwise, I would have been tempted to leave my shopping and walk out with two screaming toddlers. Knowing what to feed kids quickly in these moments can be the difference between a peaceful morning at the shops, or 'crazy town'.
There are countless situations where quick, store-bought snacks come to the rescue—packing school lunches, travelling, or grabbing something on the go. Unfortunately, many pre-packaged snacks are ultra-processed, loaded with sugar and sodium, and lacking the essential nutrients kids need to grow and thrive. While it's perfectly fine to include processed snacks occasionally, research highlights there is a prevalence of ultra-processed, low-nutrient snacks in children's diets today.
A study by University of Adelaide health researchers tracked the eating habits of 430 children aged 9–10 over six months. Shockingly, they found that nearly half (50%) of the kids' daily energy intake came from snack foods high in fats, sugar, and salt.
Finding snacks that are lower in added sugar, reduced in sodium, and free from heavy processing, additives, and preservatives is absolutely doable! I always recommend taking a moment to check the ingredients list and nutrition information panel—it’s a simple habit that makes all the difference. To save you some time, I’ve rounded up some great options for you!
Here is a collection of some of my favourite supermarket snacks suitable for children, that will nourish your kids and also make life easy for those moments on the go.
Woolworths Macro Wholefoods Market: Lentil Bites
< 400mg of sodium per 100g
2 grams of dietary fibre per serve
No added sugar
No added flavours, preservatives, additives
Ingredients: Lentil Flour (25%), Chickpea Flour (21%), Vegetable Oil, Maize Flour, Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Pumpkin Powder (5%), Salt
Greek Yoghurt or Full Cream Yoghurt pouch.
Choose a yoghurt pouch that uses full-cream milk, and has no added sugar (hidden words for sugar include fruit juice concentrate). One yoghurt pouch, is a serving of calcium and a great source of protein and fat to keep kids full between meals.
Ingredients: Whole milk, cream, milk solids, raspberry pulp, rice starch, natural flavours, live yoghurt culture.
Koja Oat Bites- muesli slice (found in Woolworths)
Lower in added sugar at less than 1 tsp per serve
High in fibre 5g per serve
No added flavours, preservatives, additives
Low in sodium <120mg per 100g
Ingredients: Australian Oats 45%, Chicory Root Fibre, Brown Rice Syrup, Coconut Oil, Apricots (Apricots, Rice Flour), Pumpkin Seeds, Coconut Sugar, Coconut, Chia Seeds, Glycerine, Himalayan Salt.
Bob the Snail (found in Coles)
Dried fruit contains naturally occurring sugar (fructose) found in fruit, there is no added free sugar in this product.
No added sugar
No additives, preservatives
A source of fibre
Ingredients: Apple (80%), Strawberry (20%)
Dried Beans
The Happy Snack Company 'Kids Roasted Fava Beans' Lightly salted.
These are a great source of fibre and protein.
Salt content is <400mg/100g
A source of fibre
No additives/preservatives
Ingredients: Broad (Fava) Beans (82%), Non GMO Canola Oil, Sea Salt (0.9%)
Aldi: Made Real Paleo Bars
Dried fruit contains naturally occurring sugar (fructose) found in fruit, there is no added free sugar in this product.
No added sugar
No additives, preservatives
A source of fibre and protein
Ingredients: Dried dates (52%), Crushed pecan (28%), Almonds (20%)
Aldi: Mini Potset Greek Style Yoghurt
Full-fat yoghurt
Good source of protein
No additives/preservatives
No added sugar
Benefit of probiotics
Ingredients: Milk, Cream, Live Cultures
CeresOrganics brown rice cakes (No added salt).
My kids will eat them straight out of the packet
If I know we will be out at snack time I will spread them with butter and peanut butter and sandwich them together for an easy on the go snack.
No added salt, low in sodium <120mg/100g
Ingredients: Jasmin brown rice and water
Coles or Aldi Cheese Peelers
A good source of protein and fat to help keep children full
No additives/preservatives
Ingredients: Milk, Salt, Enzyme (Vegetarian Rennet), Starter Culture (Milk)
Carman's Fruit Straps
Dried fruit contains naturally occurring sugar (fructose) found in fruit, there is no added free sugar in this product.
No added sugar
No additives, preservatives
A source of fibre
Ingredients: Apple 90%, Blueberry 10%
Only Organic - Baby Pouch
Although I recommend using baby pouches sparingly for babies, they can be a convenient option when out and about and are also great for an 'on the go' toddler snack.
I like to choose one that has fruit or vegetables, a protein source in this case chicken and a wholegrain.
No added sugar or salt
No additives or preservatives
Ingredients: Vegetables (Sweetcorn* (27%), Sweet Potato*, Carrot*), Water, Chicken* (3.5%), Brown Rice* (3%), Tomato Paste
My pro tips for snacks on the go:
Encourage sitting to eat even if you are out to reduce to the risk of choking
Serving a combination of foods can make a snack more nutritionally complete, for example, a cheese stick, fresh fruit like a banana and a rice cake (Protein, Fat and Fibre will nourish and fill tiny tummies between meals)
Avoid highly processed snacks as much as possible
Make sure you serve snacks which are appropriate for your child's age and stage of feeding skills.
For more on snacks for children, kid approved recipes and preventing fussy eating with snacks, check out my Kids Snack Guide.
x Anna
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