This morning wasn’t the first time that I’ve received the “WHAT DO I FEED MY KIDS!?!?!?” text or email from a friend desperately looking for peanut and nut-free snacks and lunch ideas for school and extracurricular activities. Now that many children are heading back to school, parents are starting to receive classroom guidelines that their school is now a “NUT FREE ZONE.”
When schools become a “nut free zone” this means that snacks must not be made with nuts OR manufactured in a plant with nuts. Read the label because it will tell you how it was manufactured. Some products with nuts are obvious to identify like peanut butter flavored candy or snack bars, trail mix, or almonds. However, other snacks may not have nuts identified in the title or may have been cross contaminated on shared equipment. While this may not seem like much to some, even a cross with peanut dust can be enough to put a child in distress.
The best way to determine if a snack or food is nut-free is to read the label since most brands have a warning statement or allergen list. Be aware of phrases like this:
“May Contain Peanut or Tree Nuts”
“Processed on shared equipment with Peanuts or Tree Nuts”
“Manufactured in a plant with Peanut or Tree Nuts”
“Contains Peanut or Tree Nut Ingredients”
You may even notice that some brands get very specific and list the type of tree nut. For example:“May Contain Almonds“.
50 School-Approved Nut-Free Snacks
Peanut and Nut Butter-Free Spread Alternatives and Dips
Enjoy in a sandwich, on crackers, on on apples or celery, with waffles, or even by the spoonful!
*Sub any of these peanut and nut-free spreads in place of peanut butter in a recipe.
Produce
- Fresh fruits (apples, oranges, banana, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, pear, kiwi, blueberries, etc.)
- Fresh vegetables (carrots, celery, broccoli florets, bell pepper strips, cherry tomatoes)
- Applesauce cup or pouch
- Canned fruits and vegetables (look for “in it’s own juice” or “in water”)
- Mandarin orange fruit cup
- Raisins
- Dried Fruit
Salty
- Pretzels
- Roasted Chickpeas
- Popcorn
- Crackers (Wheat thins, Saltines, plain Triscuits)
- Rice cakes
- Goldfish/Cheddar bunnies
- Sunchips
- Potato chips
- Popcorn
- Tortilla chips
- Pita chips
- Pirate’s Booty
Dairy
- Cheese (stick, cube, round, slice)
- Yogurt tube
- Yogurt pouch (such as Chobani)
- Yogurt cup (watch out for granola or cookies on top that may contain nuts)
- Pudding cup
Sweet
- Graham cracker
- Teddy grahams
- Nilla wafers
- Fruit leather (homemade or store bought)
- Fruit snacks (look for artificial color and flavor free)
- Marshmallows
- Fruit-flavored candy (Skittles, Starburst, Life Savers, lollipops)
- Rice Krispy Treat (prepackaged)
- Individual chocolates (read label to double check to assure not processed with nuts)
- Fig Newtons
- Jello cup
Simple Recipes/Combination Foods
- Guacamole (avocado, lime juice, cilantro,
- Fruit Kebabs
- Fruit and Cheese Kebabs
- Caprese Skewers (tomato, basil, mozzarella ball)
Download now: 50 School-Approved Nut Free Snacks
Yes! Finally a good list of nut-free snacks!! Thank you!!
Thank you so much, Hailey! Please feel free to share!
I need to find packaged healthy snacks, that are kosher, non-dairy, I am trying to limit the sugar of reward foods given out at private school.
I hear you on the reward foods. My daughter came home from school most every week with some type of candy. I just don’t like her associating candy with good behavior. If you’re going to give a treat, give a treat. But don’t tie it into a bribe for behavior. Can the school do nuts or trail mix?
Kids like treats, you have to give what motivates them!!!
Yum yum
Thank you!
You can always buy nut free cookies with bulk pricing from SmileyCookie.com! At least that is what I do for my kid’s snacks at school 🙂
That sounds like a delicious options! I’ll have to check those out!
Holley, please note that manufacturers are NOT required to warn you when there is a possibility of cross-contamination with peanuts or tree nuts! Under the labeling guidelines set forth by the FDA under FALCPA, warnings like “May contain…” and “Manufactured on equipment with…” are entirely voluntary. There are no standards for when they should be used, how they should be worded, and where they should be placed. Many manufacturers opt not to include them at all! Their absence does NOT mean the product is safe!
Unfortunately, just looking at the label on a bag of pretzels or tortilla chips is NOT enough to determine whether the product is safe for a child with food allergies… you MUST contact the manufacturer!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Please don’t list Hershey Kisses as a tree nut/peanut free snack. Always rwad the package. These are made in a facility that has tree nuts /tree nuts. Both my granddaughters are allergic so we read all packages. This list was helpful tho.
Thanks! I’ll make sure to check that one!!
So I purchased Rice Kristpy treats, Skittles and Starburst. None of these labels said peanut free, peanut free facility or anything of the sort. I had to go back and buy tootsie rolls because they are guaranteed pf, with the pf label
Hi Alicia! Thanks for letting me know. Labels, manufacturing, etc can change so I’ll make sure to look into these suggestions and update the list. I appreciate you pointing this out!