As one suggestion, instead of a pop tart (ie, carbs + "fruit") as a snack on the go, maybe make a batch of whole wheat muffins and freeze them in a large ziplock bag. I add mashed up strawberries, mashed up banana, applesauce or any other fruit I have handy, it takes maybe 10 minutes to mix everything in a bowl and then a bit more time to bake. The amount of sugar you can add is up to you. Also, because they are frozen, I can throw one in a small Tupperware and by the time we are out for a couple of hours it has thawed so easy to take on the go or put in my DD's lunch box. But pop-tarts on vacation or at grandmas are always allowed.

Anonymous wrote:We try to eat non processed foods but I definitely run out of ideas for snacks on the go after "banana" "apple" and "granola."
So for example, if I give the kids organic toaster pastries instead of Pop Tarts am I still giving them "processed foods"?

Your question has been answered, OP, so I am going to address your subject line. You can start to avoid processed foods by shopping on the outside sections of the grocery store--not in the aisles. Look at whether what you want to eat comes in a package or not and think about why. For example: apples sometimes come in bags, that's just to make it easier for you to buy a lot of them. But pop tarts always come to you in layers of packaging because they are made in a factory.

Check out the 100 Days of Real Food blog. I have used a lot of her tips and recipes, though we are a long way from perfect.

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/

Asian markets. There is almost an entire half-aisle devoted to it at any H Mart.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks everyone! OP here- so is the consensus that organic packaged snacks are only marginally better than their non-organic counterparts?

Poptarts that don't have preservatives or artificial flavors or colors are certainly better than ones that do. But that doesn't make them healthy or mean they have any nutritional value. My DD loves dried seaweed, clementines, hard-boiled eggs, red peppers, apple sauce, honey sticks, bananas, cheese, pb&j sandwiches, etc. All these things work as snacks.

Not OP, but where do you get the dried seaweed? I'd like to try it out.

My DS likes cold/room temp sweet potato cubes. So, bake sweet potato until very soft then cube and store in fridge - pop a few out to take as a snack on-the-go or at home.

Like PP's we do a lot of raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries.

Are raisins considered okay? I haven't looked into it yet but recently discovered DS loves them. Good organic, seedless version at WF.

Nuts

Apple with peanut butter - we buy the no sugar or salt added organic

Vegetable sticks with hummus

Yogurt

Cheese cubes