top 10 healthy kids’ snacks for on-the-go that are also very adult-friendly
Table of Contents
The 10 food/snack names mentioned in the description
- Sun Warrior Protein Powder
- Superfood Brownies
- Mary’s Gone Crackers
- Brad’s Kale Crackers
- Nature’s Path Mesa Sunrise Cereal
- Scout Organic Bars
- Clif Bars
- Tofu (cooked with coconut aminos)
- Pitted Dates
- Chickpea Patties or Black Bean Veggie Burgers
Hello! Today, I will discuss the best snacks for traveling with kids—whether it’s snacks for kids or travel-friendly options for the whole family.
Today, we just got back from spending two weeks in Nebraska with family and friends over the holidays. We made sure to travel with plenty of healthy snacks—not just for our sake but especially for the kiddos.
So today, we’re going to be sharing with you our top 10 healthy kids’ snacks for on-the-go that are also very adult-friendly.
Protein-packed snacks
First and foremost, whether it’s a day trip to the beach or a two-week trip home to see family, we always pack protein powder or some type of smoothie with protein added in. It’s perfect for sustained energy, keeps you full and satiated, and also provides extra iron, which is super important for kiddos.
While we were away with family, we actually packed a big Ziploc bag with a healthy amount of our Sun Warrior protein powder. When we got there, we found out (which I should have known) that my mom had plenty of it on hand. So, we were able to start our mornings with it.
Healthy smoothies, nice creams—we even add it to our pancakes, waffles, and baked goods! This brings me to our second healthy travel snack. On any given week, I am always making and baking, so I love to have my healthy superfood brownies on hand. I always add a scoop of the chocolate Warrior Blend into those, as well as into our waffles and pancakes. We always make extras and keep them in reusable Ziplocs to bring with us to the beach, in the car for long rides, or to Grandma and Grandpa’s.
The reason we are huge fans of Sun Warrior is that it not only fuels our pre- and post-workouts but is also super clean, super tasty, and USDA organic—perfect for the kiddos as well! If you guys are interested in Sun Warrior, you can always use our discount code. It is evergreen, so you can always get 20% off. Everything is linked below for you in the description.
Number three will satisfy that crunch! Whether you’re looking for sweet or savory, salty crackers and cereals are a great option. We also throw seaweed snacks into this category as well. Seaweed snacks are a fantastic source of plant-based iodine.
Healthy snack bars
As for crackers, our favorites are Mary’s Gone Crackers, and Brad’s Kale Crackers are also super good and so clean. For cereals, we love Nature’s Path Mesa Sunrise. It’s gluten-free, and the kids love it. The cereal and crackers were actually a major lifesaver on this last flight—it’s all the kiddos wanted!
We love to use Stasher bags. They are silicone, reusable Ziplocs that come in various sizes for all of these snacks. I’ll link those as well.
Number four: Healthy bars.
Our number one favorite is Scout Organic Bars because they come in so many amazing flavors, and they are super clean. The ingredients, you guys—I am so pleased with how good these taste for how clean they are! They’re organic, and the kids enjoy all of them so much.
Honestly, Dusty and I sneak just as many of them into our backpacks and bags for long flights and road trips as the kids do.
Another brand we’re a huge fan of is Clif Bars. While they don’t have quite as clean ingredients, the nice thing about Clif Bars is that, in a pinch, you can find them almost anywhere—gas stations and airports included.
This next one is kind of new, and I’m excited to try it out: tofu! We always cook cubed tofu by baking it in the oven or frying it in the air fryer (oil-free, of course). We usually drizzle a little bit of coconut aminos on top before we cook it. It’s the perfect bite-sized finger food, so next time we travel, I’m definitely going to make an extra batch to bring along.
Nuts, seeds, and trail mix
If you guys would like to see a read on the multiple ways we use tofu, let us know in the comments below!
The reason we love tofu so much is that, as long as you’re buying USDA organic, it’s an incredible source of not only healthy fats but also tons of protein, iron, and even some calcium.
nuts, seeds, trail mix, and granola.
We usually prefer to make our own trail mixes and granolas, but my mom is notorious for always buying the best blends from Trader Joe’s.
For you guys, a Trader Joe’s food haul could be fun, so let us know if you’d like that one as well! Trail mix is a huge winner because, especially for picky eaters, it has a blend of so many different options. Even if a kiddo is being picky, they can still feel like they have a choice—they can pick at the dried fruit or maybe a cashew but skip the almond. It’s nice to give them options.
Bonus snack: just plain old water to go with your snacks! Get your kid a really great stainless steel water bottle that will keep their water nice and chilled. We love these Hydro Flask bottles from Amazon.
Piggybacking off the nuts and seeds: nuts and seed butters are also fantastic to travel with. A great option, rather than bringing a big glass jar with you, is to transfer some into one of those silicone shampoo bottles. Pair it with a knife or spreader, screw the cap back on, and then you can just squeeze it onto whatever fruit or veggies you have with you.
Fresh fruits and veggies
Hummus is another keeper that fits into this category. It’s another thing you can usually find prepackaged at any gas station or airport if you don’t bring your own.
So, what are we putting our nut butters and hummus on or dipping them in? Be sure to bring plenty of fresh fruit and fresh veggies. My go-to veggies are carrot and celery sticks, and sometimes I’ll also slice bell peppers—especially if I’m needing to clean out the refrigerator before we leave and I have extras.
As for fruits, I never leave the house without fresh, rinsed, and chopped berries, as well as quartered grapes for little ones who may not be able to eat whole grapes. I always make sure to prep and rinse everything as much as possible.
Things like apples, bananas, and oranges are also great because you can find them everywhere—from gas stations to airports to Grandma’s house. There’s always a plentiful supply, especially in the winter months when some other fresh fruits aren’t as easy to find.
Make sure to pack nature’s fast fruit!
This is one of the Stasher bags I was telling you guys about. This one is the sandwich size, which would be great for Traveling with a PB&J didn’t make our original list, but now that I think of it, it’s something we eat often, as well as our quesadillas—which, ironically, don’t contain queso! They’re super easy and effortless.
Along with fresh fruit, don’t forget about dried fruit. Especially in the winter months, when fresh fruit can be harder to find, dried fruit is a great alternative. My absolute favorite, which I cannot live without (and the kids love, too), is pitted dates. These go into all of our baked goods, but they’re also amazingly delicious and nutritious just on their own.
Iron-rich dried fruits
Surprisingly, dates are very high in minerals. My only recommendation here is to make sure you pit them before you travel—especially on an airplane, where your hands might get germy. Make sure they’re pitted and popped into a Ziploc bag ahead of time.
If you find they’re getting sticky or messy, I always travel with extra water wipes. These are great for wiping down everything from sticky fingers to airplane trays, and of course, baby bottoms.
For all of those travel snacks, you’ll also want to bring a compact, silicone bib that’s easy to rinse in an airport sink. I can link these below.
My second and third favorite dried fruits, other than dates, would be dried black mulberries—because they are ridiculously high in iron, a nutrient Focus especially on iron, which is important for plant-based kiddos. Number three would be dried mango, which is super high in vitamin C. A fourth favorite is dried goji berries—they’re packed with antioxidants.
Last but not least: rice or quinoa. Now, I know what you’re thinking—these can be extremely messy, especially if you’re crammed on a little airplane. Instead, what we like to do is make our chickpea patties or healthy black bean veggie burgers. These are much easier to handle, with a finger-food consistency, and they include rice and quinoa as ingredients. You can find our chickpea patties and veggie burgers linked in our meal planner below.
Alright, you guys, hopefully you enjoyed these healthy travel snacks for your kiddos and for yourself. I hope your holidays were amazing! We’re excited to gear up for this brand-new year to bring you even more epic, delicious, and nutritious content.
Let us know in the comments what you would like to see most moving forward. Be sure to give this blog a thumbs up—it really helps us out! Make sure you’re subscribed to the Eat Move Rest channel and join the fam. Leave us some love in the comments below, as well as any of your blog requests. We are always looking for new ideas from you guys!
There are three things we all do every day, and we could all be doing them better: Eat, Move, and Rest. We’re Dusty, Aaron, Max, Olivia, and Bo—and we’re the Stanics. We aspire to live a plant-centric, faith-forward, healthy lifestyle and welcome all of the adventures that come our way.
Join us every week as we blend, chop, juice, run, lift, ride, and master our minds in between—all on the ultimate quest to find better balance, deeper connection, and true happiness within.
Thank you, and that wraps up our top 10 healthy kids’ snacks for on-the-go that are also very adult-friendly. Do you agree with the places we chose, or is there somewhere you visited that you feel should be on the list? leave us a comment.
You can find me on Instagram: @dreamytravelersofficial/.
