50 School-Approved Nut-Free Snacks

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!

• *Sunbutter Sunflower Seed Spread
• *Don’t Go Nuts Soy Butter
• *Wowbutter
• *I.M.Healthy Soy Nut Butter
• Plain hummus (read the label)
• Guacamole

*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)
• Hershey Kisses
• 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

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