10 am. 3pm. 8 pm. A snack attack strikes at those in between times when you just need a little something, and that little something is usually crunchy, salty or sweet, or a little of all three. Kids especially are big on snacks, and when celiac takes gluten out of the picture, the variety of snack choices seems to disappear as well.
I am here to tell you to fear not! because there are loads of snack options for your little ones (and you, too, because who doesn’t like crunchy, salty and sweet?). Get those ziplocks ready to fill. May the name-dropping commence:
Favorite, kid-tested snacks:
- Late July Nacho Chipotle tortilla chips (think Doritos, just much tastier and without all the junk)
- Milton’s Crispy Sea Salt Crackers
- G.H. Cretors Chicago Mix (a mix of caramel and cheese popcorn…can’t stop eating this)
- Plentils (all varieties are well-loved in our house)
- Snyder’s of Hanover gluten free pretzels (particularly the Honey Mustard and Onion flavor)
- Popchips (all varieties)
- Good old Tostitos tortilla chips with salsa
- Lance brand cheddar cheese or peanut butter sandwich crackers (just like Ritz Bits. I had to buy these online, but they are well worth it)
- Vermont Real Sticks (uncured pepperoni or BBQ beef sticks)
- Schar Cheese Bites
- Kinnikinnick Smoreables Graham Crackers
- Goldfish Puffs (this gluten free version of goldfish crackers is not the same as your standard goldfish cracker, but my kids were happy to have at least some version of this childhood classic)
- Annie’s Double Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
- Wegmans brand Fruit Twists and Fruit Strips
- Kinnikinnick KinniKritters Animal Cookies
- Lesser Evil’s Buddha Bowl popcorn (Himilayan Sweetness is our favorite)
- Lucy’s Chocolate Chip Cookies (even come in snack ‘n go packs!)
- Go Go Squeez applesauce pouches
- When time is on your side, and the hunger is real, here are a few of our favorite savory options that take just a short time in the oven or on the stove:
- Feel Good Foods vegetable egg rolls
- Feel Good Foods chicken dumplings
- Russo’s Mozzarella Sticks
- Glutenfreeda Pizza Wraps
- Ian’s Kids Alphatots (yummy little alphabet French fries…even my 16-year-old spells out his name when we’re not looking)
- Ian’s Onion Rings
- Tonya’s Original Soft Pretzels (tip of the week: for a sweet version of these pretzels, instead of the salt provided, try sprinkling the pretzels with cinnamon sugar. So. Good.)
- Food for Life Tortillas (these make great quesadillas…fill with cheese and your favorite veggies or meat…our favorite combo is Cabot cheddar and caramelized onions)
- Pizza Puffs (I recently came across this super easy recipe and my kids requested it three nights in a row. I made a dinner out of it, but it could easily be a lunch or just a hearty snack on a weekend afternoon.) **FYI I just subbed in Bob’s Red Mill Baking Flour for the regular flour called for in the recipe.
This is an overview of what my family is snacking on these days. I’m sure there are countless other yummy gluten free snacks out there that we just haven’t found yet. We will take one for the team and continue our in depth research if we must. Happy snacking!
Thanks a million for liking, loving and sharing this series. Look my next post right here next Thursday.
The Celiac Mom is CEO of Diehl Enterprises. Her duties include executive chef, pastry chef, taxi driver, housekeeper, kisser of boo boos, popsicle distributor, counselor, and champion Uno player. She is also the Content Coordinator and writer for Allens Creek Living Magazine. She lives in Pittsford, NY with her husband and three children.
