50 healthy zero waste snack ideas
Preparing food is an important life skill for children to learn and enjoy. Students at my zero waste nature preschool invited to help grow, harvest and prepare food from the garden to learn where food comes from. They also help set the table and serve the snacks that we provide.
To live more in alignment with the earth, as I teach in Closed-Loop Zero Waste, I look for organic, whole-food, unpackaged in bulk (or at least packaged in paper), and locally-grown ingredients. Growing our own food is a great way to meet all of those goals, though buying from local Co-ops is another great way to do so. We create minimal trash when growing or purchasing the food in this way.
We aim to provide balanced meals. One way we do this is to pair a protein or fat with a carb, like an apple with a nut or seed butter. When you have a carb alone, otherwise known as a “naked carbohydrate,” blood sugar spikes. We want our kiddos to have less cravings for sugar and stay full. This method was coined by Lily Nichols RDN, CDE, author of Real Food for Gestational Diabetes and Real Food for Pregnancy. In general, I choose not to add any sweetener into my recipes, or if it needs a little, I substitute added refined sugar with honey or maple syrup.
My goal is to introduce the children to a variety of foods. In order to give children the opportunity to try new things, we typically do not repeat the main component of a snack more than once during the school year. Some of the supplemental food provided with the main snack may be repeated to ensure a mix of protein and carbs.
Here are 50 of our favorite snacks!
Fruit salad and cheese
Mashed potatoes and milk
Homemade applesauce and hard-boiled egg
Egg salad sandwiches
Watermelon and chicken sausage
Cinnamon toast and nut butter
Zucchini muffins and fresh-cut veggies
Guacamole and chips
Hummus and cucumber and carrot slices
Corn on the cob and beef sticks
Roasted pumpkin seeds and quinoa
Homemade potato fries and milk
Apple cider heated over the fire and cheese slices
Pomegranates and trail-mix
Oatmeal, berries, and yogurt
Grilled cheese sandwiches
Strawberry banana yogurt milkshake and deviled eggs
Pancakes, maple syrup tapped from our trees, and sausages
Banana bread muffins and milk
Corndog muffins and ketchup (cornbread muffin with a hotdog inside)
Popcorn and milk
Mini cheesy egg bakes and mixed fruit
Kale chips and beans
Cinnamon baked apples and cottage cheese
Homemade pretzels and milk
Celery, Sunbutter, and raisins
French toast and milk
Mini cheese pizzas
Homemade vanilla ice cream and fruit on top (bananas, strawberries, etc.)
Baked potato and sour cream
Veggie pizza (crust, cream cheese, and variety of veggies)
Bruschetta (mozzarella cubed, tomatoes, olive oil, and salt on top of crusty bread)
Homemade jam on toast (jam with no sugar added) and mixed seeds
Chicken salad sandwiches
Stuffing with sausage
Cheese and veggie omelets
Homemade salsa and chips
Homemade granola bars and milk
Homemade apple pie (sweetened only with honey or maple syrup if necessary) and milk
Stuffed peppers (bell peppers stuffed with rice, cheese, and seasonings or a sauce)
Blueberry lemon muffins and nut butter
Salad (lettuce, tomatoes, croutons, shredded cheese, and anything else that feels inspiring)
Wild rice and mushrooms
Friendship soup (have the children bring in the ingredients: potatoes, onion, broth, kale, etc.)
Homemade apple juice and turkey sausages
Zucchini pizza (cut zucchini into rounds and top with sauce, cheese, and pepperonis)
Squash soup (butternut squash, carrots, onion, garlic) and milk
Fruit smoothie (milk, banana, and other fruit of choice) and pretzels
Yogurt bar (unsweetened vanilla yogurt, granola, berries)
Scrambled eggs (from our chickens) and homemade orange juice
