Summer is winding down and the school year is just around the corner!

The sleeping in for students (and us teachers) is coming to a close. :( It's a bittersweet time as I get excited to meet new students, yet sad to no longer be on my own schedule. While this summer has been different than others (more on that later) I still very much enjoy not having to pack breakfast, lunch and a few snacks.

Which brings me to today's post...

If your child is anything like me, they get really hungry throughout the day. That can prove especially difficult if they have food allergies. From slushies to gummy worms and Gatorade, while the snack selection at your child's school may have these gluten free options, it may not be what you want your child to eat. I can tell you, it's definitely not what your child's teacher wants them to be eating. A classroom full of 40 freshmen hyped up on sugar after lunch is definitely an interesting environment (not speaking from experience or anything). :)

However, healthy snacks are an essential way to keep your child's energy and attention up during the day.

So, here's a quick list of snacks that will hopefully help get you started and keep their tummies satisfied:

-Trail Mix (like the amazing one pictured above, from Trader Joes).
-Fresh fruit and veggies (I find it super helpful to bag these up ahead of time so they can just grab and go in the morning).
-Snack bars (NoGii kids or paleo bars and Larabars have some great, kid-friendly, flavors...I particularly love the pure ingredients of the Larabars).
-String cheese and pretzels (we love Glutino pretzels).
-Yogurt
-Applesauce

It's amazing, but although coming up with kid and school friendly snacks for your child with allergies can initially be a daunting task, once you start you may find that (like the short list above) there are quite a few options that will be similar to other kids.

It's never a quick, or easy, task coming up with foods to feed your child, but hopefully this list will help get the wheels in your head turning.

So, what did I miss? I know I didn't get ALL the good stuff!

One quick side note before I go. I heard a great idea awhile back from a mother whose son has Celiac. To help him feel more "normal" and included, she would talk with his teacher so she could keep track of when there were parties in his class. This way, when the occasion came up, she would make sure he had a cupcake or brownies in his lunch so that he never felt like he was being left out! He didn't have to just smell their dessert (am I the only one that does that?!?!), he could eat his own!

How cool is that?


Rachel aka Gfreegal