One of my favorite things to do is experiment with foods in the kitchen. Growing up, I spent many a summer days helping my grandmother in the kitchen (as long as you count licking the spoon helping). But it wasn’t until a few years ago that I really felt like I came into my own when it comes to cooking.
Because of my EoE, I’ve had to experiment with different foods and learn how to cook not only foods that will nourish my body without causing a flare up, but also make meals that are delicious. Because let’s be honest.. I love to eat. And if it’s not going to taste good, then there’s a big part of me that’s just not interested.
But having said all of that, I don’t always have the time I’d like to dedicate to being in the kitchen. Most days we are go-go-go until we can’t go any further. Sometimes I need to be able to grab something quick to take with us in the car, but a lot of times, that means grabbing processed food, or high sugary pre-packaged food from the grocery store.
But one thing I’ve learned is that just because you need to grab fast food, doesn’t mean you have to grab crappy food. One of the best mom-hacks I’ve learned is to buy healthy snacks in bulk, and then create our own little snack packs to take with us when life gets busy but we still need to eat.
Plus, putting these snacks together is a great way to have your kiddos help you in the kitchen and feel like they’re contributing in a pretty big way. You can even include these snacks in their school lunches!
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Homemade Snack Packs
I buy these meal prep containers from Amazon and fill them with our favorite snacks. You can mix and match anything, but some of our favorite go-tos include:
- Baby Carrots
- Almonds/Cashew/Nut mixes
- Crackers
- Deli Meat
- Mini Sausages
- Cubed Cheese
- Grapes
- Apple Slices
Homemade Trail Mix
Another favorite and another quick fix is making your own healthy trail mix. We love adding our favorite little finger foods into one yummy mix and then dividing up into little baggies or containers to take with us on our way to the park, running errands, or with us to baseball practice.
One word of warning, if you do add dried fruit – make sure you’re selecting options that don’t have any added sugars. Some of our favorite things to throw in our mix include:
Lesson to be learned? You don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen whipping up nutritious meals for your family to still nourish them. Save time and include your kiddos in the “cooking” process (notice how neither of these involved any cooking?! Total mom hack). Teach them that prepping healthy snacks is not only fun, but that we’re doing something good for our bodies when we fuel them with healthy foods! What’s your favorite healthy grab-n-go snack?
Disclaimer: I may have used some affiliate links in this post, which means if you click on any of my affiliate links and make a purchase, I may get a commission straight from the retailer at no additional cost or price to you. All of the opinions in this blog are always mine, and I would never recommend something I didn’t like!
Natasha Funderburk is a wife, #boymom, NASM-Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Consultant, and ACE-Behavior Change Specialist. When not watching her son play baseball, she can be found on various writing platforms, coaching her clients to live their best lives, drinking all the coffee, and conducting living-room dance parties.
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