Snack ideas to send with my child to preschool

[maple_mama]

Hey all,
I'm in need of some ideas for an acceptable snack to send with my dd to preschool, which starts in a few weeks. A little background: We are lacto-ovo veggies, eat primarily organic and try to avoid processed foods as much as possible. My dd is also allergic (ingestion only) to peanuts and some other tree nuts, but is able to eat almonds and all seeds without problem. One of the other kids in her class in contact allergic to wheat, dairy, eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts, so none of these are allowed in the class. (But I think sunflower seed butter is acceptable.) The teacher is trying to put together a list of appropriate foods that can either be given to the class as a whole, or that a child can bring in individually. What's topping the list right now with the other parents are raisins, cranberries, fruit snacks and leather, chips, non-wheat cereal, and corn chips. I'm OK with the dried fruit, but prefer not to have my daughter eat the other stuff, and also I'd like her to eat something with a bit of fat and protein in it so she's isn't starving again 10 minutes after she eats it. She'll be eating breakfast around 8 a.m, has school from 9-1, then will be home around 1:30 for lunch. She's 4.5 years old, and that's a really long time for her to go without anything substantial to eat.

Here's what I've come up with so far:
edamame
carrots with hummus (but I need to find out if sesame in the tahini is allowed)
fresh fruit (with a protein and fat of some sort)
dates and sunflower butter balls
beans of some sort??
bananas with sunflower seed butter
avocado (what could I do with it to keep it from turning brown? my daughter probably won't eat it alone, but will eat it with something else)

Any other ideas? Bring 'em on!

[vbactivist]

Originally Posted by maple_mama

Hey all,
I'm in need of some ideas for an acceptable snack to send with my dd to preschool, which starts in a few weeks. A little background: We are lacto-ovo veggies, eat primarily organic and try to avoid processed foods as much as possible. My dd is also allergic (ingestion only) to peanuts and some other tree nuts, but is able to eat almonds and all seeds without problem. One of the other kids in her class in contact allergic to wheat, dairy, eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts, so none of these are allowed in the class. (But I think sunflower seed butter is acceptable.) The teacher is trying to put together a list of appropriate foods that can either be given to the class as a whole, or that a child can bring in individually. What's topping the list right now with the other parents are raisins, cranberries, fruit snacks and leather, chips, non-wheat cereal, and corn chips. I'm OK with the dried fruit, but prefer not to have my daughter eat the other stuff, and also I'd like her to eat something with a bit of fat and protein in it so she's isn't starving again 10 minutes after she eats it. She'll be eating breakfast around 8 a.m, has school from 9-1, then will be home around 1:30 for lunch. She's 4.5 years old, and that's a really long time for her to go without anything substantial to eat.

Here's what I've come up with so far:
edamame
carrots with hummus (but I need to find out if sesame in the tahini is allowed)
fresh fruit (with a protein and fat of some sort)
dates and sunflower butter balls
beans of some sort??
bananas with sunflower seed butter
avocado (what could I do with it to keep it from turning brown? my daughter probably won't eat it alone, but will eat it with something else)

Any other ideas? Bring 'em on!

i don't have any ideas, but for the avacod, just mash it up and send some tortilla chiops with it. If you send it sealed in a tupperware container, or airtight, it shouldn't get too brown.

[vbactivist]

and man - that poor other kid - i wonder what his mom feeds him. if you ate meat, i would suggest jerky. but i don't really have any other ideas.

just want to be sure - noone is allowed to bring in the allergic foods? because hard boiled eggs would fit the bill for your daughter. or yogurt.

[vbactivist]

chunks of tofu?

[Earth Momma]

the beans make a great dip (protein) for any veggie
you can make a dip for the fruit with tofu
a little lemon juice in a mashed avacado (to prevent browness) and we use it as a veggie dip
we make salsa out of everything (mangos, peaches, blueberries, whatever is in season) sometimes I put flaxseed oil to boost the caleries and we dip corn chips or friuts or veggies
lettuce wraps with bean dip
bananas rolled in tahini then in granola or wheat germ
this is hard because I use yogurt for everything (calcium and protein)
do I have this right? lacto - ovo = NO dairy NO eggs??

[maple_mama]

Thanks for the suggestions!

Originally Posted by vbactivist

and man - that poor other kid - i wonder what his mom feeds him. if you ate meat, i would suggest jerky. but i don't really have any other ideas.

just want to be sure - noone is allowed to bring in the allergic foods? because hard boiled eggs would fit the bill for your daughter. or yogurt.

I know, I have no idea what to feed a child with that many allergies, but I guess it'd be different if I dealt with it everyday.

And yes, no one is allowed to bring any of these foods into the classroom, since this is also where the kids will eat. So no eggs, yogurt, anything with wheat in it, cheese sticks, pretty much anything that my daughter eats regularly for a snack, also no peanuts/tree nuts. I talked with the teacher who is in contact with the other mother, and apparently soy is OK, as well as any seeds. And I don't have to watch out for labels that say "Processed in a facility that also processes [the allergen]."

I'm thinking of making some granola with oats, seeds, coconut, and dried fruit, and honey/maple syrup, which I'm sure my dd would like and would be acceptable.

[maple_mama]

Originally Posted by Earth Momma

do I have this right? lacto - ovo = NO dairy NO eggs??

Thanks for the suggestions.
Lacto-ovo means we DO eat dairy and eggs, just not flesh or dead animal byproducts (like gelatin or animal rennet...)

[tbone_kneegrabber]

---Ds loves chickpeas, just plain old chickpeas, he could eat an entire cup full in one sitting!
---we also make "hippy candy": sunflowerseed butter with a little honey sometimes I puree raisins and prunes and add those in (yum), throw in a ton of oats (raw) until it turns into kinda of a dough and then roll it into balls and then roll it in millet (raw) and shredding coconut.
---coconut milk yogurt
---soy yogurt
---applesauce
---gluten free bread with sunflower seed butter
---corn tortillas with avocado and salsa
---soy nut butter
---rice noodles with some kinda sauce, maybe sesame if allowed

[RiverSky]

Cream cheese and bagels cut into pieces.

Cream cheese on pieces of celery, with raisins on top for the "ants". Ants on a snowy log, perhaps?

Veggies and a dip (carrots, cucumbers, cauliflower, broccoli), perhaps buy a roll of dixie cups that the teacher can use to dole out dip to the children.

egg salad and crackers?

cheese, crackers and grapes?

almond butter or sunbutter and crackers

yogurt tubes (Stoneyfield? though many parents would just bring Go-Gurt I'm sure)

Pita and hummus without sesame

Tzatziki dip with pita and cut up cucumbers

veggie samosas

mini blueberry muffins (perhaps made with the Hodgson Mills package, quite wholesome)

banana bread
carrot bread
pumpkin bread

hard boiled eggs

homemade oatmeal raisin cookies

Good luck!

[kjbrown92]

Originally Posted by RiverSky

Cream cheese and bagels cut into pieces.
Cream cheese on pieces of celery, with raisins on top for the "ants". Ants on a snowy log, perhaps?
Veggies and a dip (carrots, cucumbers, cauliflower, broccoli), perhaps buy a roll of dixie cups that the teacher can use to dole out dip to the children.
egg salad and crackers?
cheese, crackers and grapes?
almond butter or sunbutter and crackers
yogurt tubes (Stoneyfield? though many parents would just bring Go-Gurt I'm sure)
Pita and hummus without sesame
Tzatziki dip with pita and cut up cucumbers
veggie samosas
mini blueberry muffins (perhaps made with the Hodgson Mills package, quite wholesome)
banana bread
carrot bread
pumpkin bread
hard boiled eggs
homemade oatmeal raisin cookies
Good luck!

most of those have ingredients that are not allowed.
My kids can't have most of that stuff either. There's still a ton of foods that they can have.

Yes, mashed avocadoes with a little lemon juice to keep from browning.
You can make hummus with no tahini with rice cakes or rice crackers.
Chickpeas plain, or roasted with a little spice.
Rice cakes
fruit (grapes, apples, pears, peaches, kiwis, berries, dates, raisins, dried cranberries)
veggies (carrots, celery, green peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.)
Fritters made with chickpea flower and veggies (served hot or cold)
muffins (can be made without wheat or egg)

There are lots of recipes on my blog (searchable by allergen) if you want other ideas that you can bake.

[karne]

Does your child care for rice or millet? I sometimes send in a thermos of warm brown rice or millet, and a tiny container of wheat-free tamari (is tamari ok?). It's filling with some fruit or cut veggies, and a protein source that would come from your acceptable list. Maybe some tofu chunks? My kids like these if there is some flavor, such as having it mixed with the rice/tamari. Would scrambled tofu/veggies work in a thermos container? Maybe with a rice flour roll on the side?

Is goat's milk not OK? There is goats milk yogurt, and you can make puddings out of goats milk.