From the Kitchen: Healthy Snacks

When Lu was three months old, we discovered she had several food sensitivities. Through an elimination diet on my part (she was breast-feeding then) we were at last able to get to the bottom of her head-to-toe eczema: wheat, dairy, eggs and chicken.

Still with me?

When Lu was nursing, it was somehow easier to make those foodie exceptions. But once she started on solids, Chris and I scrambled to find foods that didn't cause upset. The hardest was snacks. What do you give a kid who can't eat anything?

While I'm not exactly thankful my child is sensitive to so many foods, having to think outside the box has been a surprising gift. Instead of reaching for the ubiquitous goldfish cracker and box of Cheerios, we've really had to be creative and in turn, ended up pretty darn healthy.

Here's a partial list of Lu's favorite wheat-free, dairy-free foods--some require more teeth than others, but you'd be surprised what a good job those gummy mouths can do!

• no-salt, brown rice cake
• assorted nuts (almonds are her favorite; we leave out peanuts)
• homemade popcorn
• one whole apple (I think she likes the challenge!)
• chopped dates
• nutty rice cereal (available in bulk foods, with no added sugar)
• Earth's Best Barley Biscuits
• edamame
• rice and beans

Got a favorite healthy snack? I'd love to share. Meanwhile, happy eating!

Comments

[trina]

I've used the Earth Best Barley Biscuits and I've used the Healthy Times Maple Biscuits. http://www.healthytimes.com/hthome.htm
I prefer the Healthy Times because 1) they don't individually wrap 2 cookies together and 2) they don't turn to that cookie mush quite as quickly.

[janetfreeman]

Thanks for the tip! I'll have to try those. The two-to-a-package really can be annoying sometimes...