A plate with a rice cake topped with peanut butter and four banana slices.

Use a snack box to help you and your family choose healthy snacks. Snack boxes help your children choose a variety of foods for afterschool snacks or other snack times. Parents or adults choose what goes in the box and choose what they would like to eat.

4 Tips to getting started

  1. Have two snack boxes: one for the refrigerator and one for the cupboard.
  2. Figure how many snacks are needed for one week. Make a list of foods to include in the snack boxes. Include a variety of foods that are crunchy, chewy, creamy, and juicy. Also include foods from all food groups.
  3. Each week, add snack foods to the boxes. Family members can choose a snack from the snack boxes after school, after work, or in the evening.
  4. Make sure the snacks are ones your family likes. Create a request sheet that family members can add to each week.

Think about what you drink

  • Choose plain water often, limiting vitamin or flavored water which are expensive and may contain sugar.
  • Choose low-fat milk.
  • Avoid beverages with added sugars such as sports drinks, energy drinks, sweetened coffee and tea beverages, and sodas.
  • Limit 100% fruit juice drinks to 4oz per day, or choose whole fruit for added fiber. Before age 12 months, 100% fruit or vegetable juice should not be given to infants.
  • Consider infusing water with fresh fruit, such as lemons, limes, strawberries, or oranges for added flavor. Store in the refrigerator. 

Create a trail mix

Create your own trail mix and portion into single servings to include in a snack box.

Choose grains whenever possible and avoid sweetened cereals

  • Shredded wheat cereal
  • Other whole grain cereals
  • Pretzels
  • Small whole wheat crackers

Unsweetened (or with as little added sugar as possible) dried fruit

  • Raisins
  • Dried apples
  • Banana chips
  • Dates

Raw or roasted unsalted, unsweetened nuts and seeds

  • Peanuts
  • Almonds
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Sunflower seeds

Check out our recipe to Create Your Own Snack Mix (and more!) at https://buyeatlivebetter.org/recipes.html  

Ideas for Snack Boxes

For the cubboard

  • Canned fruit packaged in water or 100% juice
  • Dried fruit, such as raisins
  • Fruit cups

  • Nuts (peanuts, pistachios, almonds, etc.)
  • Peanut butter
  • Nuts and raisins (trail mix)

  • Low-fat granola bars or breakfast bars
  • Whole wheat pita bread with hummus (refrigerate hummus)
  • Air popped popcorn
  • Brown rice cakes
  • Whole grain bagels
  • Whole wheat or whole grain crackers
  • Baked chips

For the refrigerator

  • Apples
  • Applesauce
  • Grapes
  • Oranges

  • Broccoli
  • Carrots
  • Celery sticks
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Cucumbers

  • Cottage cheese
  • Low-fat yogurt
  • Cheese cubes or slices
  • String cheese

  • Dips such as hummus, guacamole, yogurt and peanut butter, or ranch dip; pre-portioned into serving sizes.
  • Homemade fruit salsa, banana and yogurt snacks, or other kid-friendly snacks which can be found on our website at https://buyeatlivebetter.org/recipes.html

Featured Recipes

Coming soon. 

 

A snapshot of the Snack Box factsheet printable PDF

Printable PDF

A printable version of our Snack Boxes can be viewed here.