Snacks provide important fuel for our children and should be healthy, well-balanced and made up of wholesome foods. The best way to select a well balanced snack is by providing simple foods that combine carbohydrates and protein in the same sitting. Examples of easy snacks are: cheese and crackers with fresh fruit; mini bagels with cream cheese and carrot sticks; pita bread triangles with hummus and cheese slices along with apple wedges.
SUGARY TREATS ARE NOT APPROPRIATE SNACKS FOR NURSERY SCHOOL. Please enjoy them at home!
NVNS Snack-O-Matic!
Just choose one item from each column for an easy, well-rounded snack.
Fruits & Veggies
Local and in-season will be CHEAPER. Organic is even better!
- Grapes
- Bananas (cut in chunks with peel on)
- Whole Apples (easy apple slicer is in nursery school kitchen!)
- Whole Oranges (cut in wedges or sectioned)
- Strawberries
- Tangerines
- Pears
- Persimmons
- Dried fruits (raisins, apples, etc)
- Fruit spreads, unsweetened, as an ingredient
- Carrots (sticks)
- Celery (sticks)
- Cucumber slices
- Sugar Snap Peas
- Cherry tomatoes
Protein
Organic is great; avoid nitrates in meats and partially hydrogenated oils in dairy products
- Cheese as an ingredient in quesadillas or mini sandwiches or bring a block and we’ll slice it!
- Cream cheese
- Yogurt (plain–we add the fruit or a little honey)
- Hummus
- Salami or sandwich meats with no nitrites
- Cooked meats (meatballs, ground meat as a pizza topper)
- Beans (garbanzo, black, kidney, etc)
Carbohydrate
Shoot for WHOLE GRAIN, no/low sugar
- Real popcorn (pop at home and bring, or there’s an air popper at the school)
- Whole wheat and corn tortillas
- Rice crackers
- Whole wheat pita bread
- Whole grain muffins
- Sliced whole wheat loaf bread
- Low/no sugar, whole grain cereals
- Whole grain pastas