Organic snacks for kids lunches

If you have made a commitment to go organic on a budget, you may feel very limited in options for inexpensive or at least affordable organic snacks for kids lunches. After cutting up some organic apples, carrots, and cheese, and packing some organic grapes, you may be looking for more ideas to add variety to your kids lunch box. Here you will find organic snacks you can purchase in bulk, so that you can stick to your commitment to go organic and still stay within your budget. Also, be sure to check out the bright and colorful BPA free drink bottles featured here - they come in a set of five and are very affordable. You can use them for water, organic juices, or milk - great way to make your organic foods budget go further.

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Going organic is an adjustment. You now have to read labels and pay twice as much for most of the products you buy. Eggs from free-range chickens, raised without the use of antibiotics, with no arsenic-based additives, meat from free range grass fed animals, and milk from cows not treated with growth hormones are pricey. But the "unexplained" increase in cancer rates makes you think that there is something that we are all exposed to on a daily basis that leads to major health problems, and that "something" is the food and drinks we consume. Naturally, you want to protect your children and give them the very best by eliminating the food additives known to cause health issues. And, since the majority of schools and daycares do not provide organic food choices, you are faced with yet another challenge - finding organic snacks for kids lunches and doing that on a budget. Here you will find healthy snack options and ideas on how to make your organic diet more affordable. What should you look for when buying organic snacks for kids? Organic ingredients, snacks with the least number of ingredients, no high fructose syrup, no trans fat, whole grains, non-toxic packaging, no artificial food dyes... Ideally, unprocessed foods are the best. But with a busy lifestyle, packaged organic snacks are a good alternative.

When it comes to crackers, I like to recommend the Cheddar Bunnies by Annie's - they taste great and kids love them. They come in 1 oz packages, and you can buy 36 of the packaged school snacks for around $20 or you can go for 9 oz boxes (sold in a pack of 4 for around $15) and put them in reusable snack bags or small bpa-free containers. The smaller packages are more convenient, but the bigger boxes are a little more affordable. Late July and Earth's Best are the other two brands preferred by parents of little children.

Sure, you can use plastic Ziplock style bags to pack your child's lunch. But if you are pro reducing your carbon footprint, consider the suggestions below. The BPA free containers and reusable snack bags will not only help reduce your carbon footprint but will also save you money in the long run and free up some cash for your organic foods budget. I have the Sistema containers and they are perfect! And if your kid does not eat carrots without ranch, be sure to pick up the BPA-free "Mini-Dippers" Small Dip and Sauce Containers.

There is no doubt that nothing beats the nutritional value of fresh apples, pears, peaches, grapes, or bananas. But if you happen to run out of fresh fruit, or don't have the time in the morning to peel and cut fruit the way your child likes it, or if your child will choose to forgo fruit, unless you are forcing him or her to eat it, here are some healthy organic snacks for kids lunches that your little one will be pleased with. The fruit leathers I recommend are a great deal. They are cheaper to buy in an assorted package of 48, but if your child prefers a certain flavor and will not eat the apple or the raspberry fruit leathers, 30-count package in one flavor may be a better option.

Kids like sweets. And it's OK to include one sweet snack in their lunch boxes, especially if the snack includes 12 essential vitamins and minerals and is made out of whole grains, like the Clif Kid ZBar brownies featured here with "no hydrogenated oils, no high fructose corn syrup, no preservatives, no artificial flavors or colors."

Remember the reusable drink bottles I mentioned earlier? If you are looking for ways to reduce your carbon footprint while also saving money and providing healthy organic drinks to your child, these bottles are perfect! They come in a nice refrigerator tray and are made of BPA-free plastic. I also recommend the PUR water dispenser that filters chlorine and other contaminants from tap water. If you would like to learn more about the BPA-free plastic water bottles and the PUR water dispenser as well as my recommendations for keeping drinks cold and safe to drink, be sure to check out this article: best water bottles for school lunch

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