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How To Make Roasted Lentils

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Want to learn how to make roasted lentils? Here’s an easy way to make delicious crunchy lentils (sweet or savory) that are perfect for a high protein, high fiber snack!

roasted crunchy lentils

Hi friends!

I wanted to share a quick little tutorial with you on how to make roasted lentils. I’ve been on a bit of a lentil kick lately since they’re one of my favorite plant-based proteins. I shared a couple of roundups: 15+ Easy Red Lentil Recipes and 20+ Green Lentil Recipes if you’re looking for ways to add more lentils to your meal plan. And if lentils give you a little intestinal trouble, learn How To Sprout Lentils to make them easier to digest. 

Today I want to show you how to roast them for a deliciously crunchy snack.

how to make roasted lentils

Roasted Lentils and Chickpeas

If you’re wondering why you should ever make roasted lentils, I understand…but roasted chickpeas are a popular snack right? I’ve got a whole post on How To Roast Chickpeas and I use them all the time in Roasted Chickpea Snack Mix. Lentils are similar, just smaller. This actually makes them perfect for toddlers and younger kids because they can still enjoy some crunch, without it being a choking hazard. 

Depending on whether you make your roasted lentils sweet or savory, they can be a great addition to a nut-free trail mix or sprinkled on a salad for some extra protein!

how to cook lentils

How To Cook Green Lentils

Before you can roast lentils, you have to know how to cook them. Here’s my method:

Add green lentils and water to a pot. I usually use a ratio of 1 cup lentils to 4 cups water because they triple in size when cooking. Cover and bring to a boil, then crack the lid, reduce heat and simmer for 12 minutes. Drain extra water. 

A reminder that you can cook the whole bag of lentils at once, then divide them into 1-2 cup portions and freeze until you need them. That’s what I do so that I always have them on hand to make my Lentil Banana Muffins.

roasted lentils snack

Roasted Crunchy Lentils

When you’re ready to make roasted lentils, spread a cup of cooked lentils on a paper towel. Let them dry for an hour or so.

Transfer to a baking sheet and spray lightly with oil. 

Add seasonings. For a sweet version, I like to use cinnamon and sugar For a savory version I’ve done cayenne pepper and paprika or garlic powder and salt. 

Roast, stirring occasionally. 

Let cool.  

Want to make roasted lentils in air fryer? You could! Just make a foil tray to hold them in the bottom of the air fryer. And make sure you leave enough room around the edges for the air to circulate.

Print

Roasted Lentils Recipe

how to make roasted lentils
Print Recipe

Want to learn how to make roasted lentils? Here’s an easy way to make delicious crunchy lentils (sweet or savory) that are perfect for a high protein, high fiber snack!

Ingredients

Scale

1 cup cooked lentils

spray oil

seasonings

Instructions

  1. Spread 1 cup of cooked lentils on a paper towel. Let them dry for an hour or so. Transfer to a baking sheet and spray lightly with oil.
  2. Add seasonings. For a sweet version I like to use 1/2 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. For a savory version use whatever spices you like – I’ve done cayenne pepper and paprika, curry powder, garlic powder and salt, etc.
  3. Roast at 300 degrees F, stirring every 10-15 min, for 40-45 min.
  4. Let cool.
  5. Add to trail mix, salads etc or snack on them by the handful!

 

Notes

You could probably do 2 cups of cooked lentils on a large baking sheet at one time but I wouldn’t recommend more than that or you’ll crowd the pan and they won’t get crispy!

Pretty easy right?! These are perfect to snack on by the handful, or you can add them to snack/trail mix, sprinkle on soup or salad etc.

Want to learn how to make roasted lentils? Here's an easy way to make delicious crunchy lentils (sweet or savory) that are perfect for a high protein, high fiber snack!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Individually Wrapped Snacks

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Looking for individually wrapped snacks for school, parties, sports games and more? Here are some healthy options from a Registered Dietitian.

individually wrapped snacks

Hi friends!

I’m wrapping up my snack series with a post specifically dedicated to individually wrapped snacks. I shared several in my Healthy Amazon Snacks post but wanted to share some available from other stores as well. Single-serving snacks come in handy if you need to provide snacks for a whole classroom at school, for a sports team or party snacks, if you’re not allowed to send reusable containers and more.

We’ve all seen the individual packages of cookies, chips and pretzels (which have their place) but I wanted to go beyond that and give you some healthy everyday options for both adults and kids. These items would also be great in lunch boxes. If you need more lunch box ideas, check out this resource: A Month of Easy Packed Lunches For Kids.

If you’re looking for more snack ideas, check out:

Beyond those, here are some individually wrapped food ideas:

Good individually wrapped snacks

healthy individually packaged snacks for school

Healthy Individually Wrapped Snacks For School

Here are some of my favorite individually wrapped snacks for school that are nut-free:

individual school snacks not nut free

School snacks that are not nut-free or may be processed in a facility with nuts:

Some chips/crackers I’ve seen in single-serving packs:

healthy snacks from amazon

For more online options, see the post below:
I rounded up a bunch of individually wrapped snacks you can order from Amazon: Healthy Amazon Snacks.

individually wrapped party snacks

Individually Wrapped Snacks for Party

Need ideas for individually wrapped party snacks (individually wrapped snacks birthday treats)? Look for single-serving bags of things like:

  • Rule Breaker
  • Gogosqueez fruit sauce/pudding
  • Kirkland Trail mix
  • Baked Lays Potato Chips
  • Skinny Pop Popcorn
  • Nature’s Bakery
  • Chex Mix
  • Popcorners
  • Quaker Reduced Sugar granola bars
  • Welch’s Reduced Sugar Fruit Snacks
  • Annie’s Bunnies
  • My Superfoods Super Cookies

individually wrapped snacks Costco

Healthy Individually Wrapped Snacks Costco

Here are some of my favorite Costco snacks that can be found in small bags:

  • Skinny Pop – nut-free
  • That’s It Fruit Bar Minis – nut-free
  • Made Good Granola Minis – nut-free
  • Country Archer Mini Beef Sticks – nut-free
  • Gogo Squeeze or fruit cups – nut-free
  • Trail Mix packets
  • Clif Kid Z Bars
  • Clif Nut Butter Bars
  • Kind Minis
  • Larabars
  • Kirkland Cheese Fruit & Nut Packs
  • Cheese Sticks
  • Babybel cheese
  • Kirkland Hard-Boiled Eggs
  • Wholly Guacamole or Made Good Foods Guacamole Minis
  • Kirkland hummus singles/ Sabra singles with pretzels
  • Whisps Cheese Crisps
  • Sun Chips

For a full list of Costco snacks I like, see this post: Healthy Snacks At Costco For The Whole Family

trader joe's individually wrapped snacks

Healthy Trader Joe’s Individually Wrapped Snacks

Trader Joe’s has a lot of granola bars that are great options:

  • Trader Joe’s Raises The Bar
  • Trader Joe’s These Peanuts Went On A Date Bars
  • Trader Joe’s ABC Bars
  • Trader Joe’s Organic Hemp Seed Bars
  • Trader Joe’s Organic Chia Bars
  • Trader Joe’s This Coconut Brings Chocolate on a Date Bars
  • Trader Joe’s Mixed Berry Granola Bites
  • Peanut Butter and Jelly Frooze Balls
  • Trader Joe’s Apple Carrot Fruit Sauce Crushers
  • Trader Joe’s Squishers Yogurt Tubes
  • Chomps Meat Sticks

For a full list of my favorite Trader Joe’s Snacks see this post: 35+ Best Trader Joe’s Snacks

individually wrapped snacks walmart

Healthy Individually Wrapped Snacks Walmart

Need single-serving snacks from Walmart? Try these:

  • Stonyfield Organic Kids yogurt cups
  • Breakstone’s Cottage Doubles
  • Frigo Combo Pack – Colby Jack cheese & turkey sticks
  • Chobani drinkable yogurt
  • Horizon Organic shelf-stable milk
  • Great Value cheese sticks
  • GogoSqueez Morning Smoothies
  • Great Value Bursting Berry fruit pouches
  • Freshness Guaranteed Mild Guacamole (great with plantain chips!)
  • Wymans Just Fruit & Greek Yogurt Bites
  • Mamma Chia Squeeze
  • Great Value Unsweetened Applesauce
  • Great Value Diced Fruit in 100% juice
  • Nature’s Bakery Baked-Ins
  • Belvita Soft Baked Cookies (a little higher in added sugar but also have some protein and fiber)
  • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Date & Nut Bars (very similar to Larabars)
  • Happykid Bars
  • KIND Dark Chocolate Chunk Bars
  • KIND Nut Butter Filled Snack Bars
  • KIND Peanut Butter Breakfast Bars
  • Kashi Chocolate Almond Sea Salt Bars
  • Larabar Minis
  • Simple Mills Dark Chocolate Almond Soft Baked Bars
  • RX Kids Bars
  • Chex Mix Multipack

Here’s a full list of the Best Healthy Walmart Snacks.

Best Individually Wrapped Snacks for Adults

Most of my snack posts are focused on kids because I have 3 of them and I feel like I’m constantly feeding them snacks. But adults need snacks too. A few of my favorite single servings snacks:

  • Larabars
  • String cheese + That’s It Fruit Bar
  • Kind Nut Butter Bars
  • Skinny Pop + Kirkland Hard-Boiled Eggs
  • Tuna Pouches + Simple Mills crackers
  • Fruit with single-serve nut butter

Get any new ideas? Pin this post for later!

Looking for individually wrapped snacks for school, parties, sports games and more? Here are some healthy options from a Registered Dietitian.

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

20+ Healthy Green Lentil Recipes

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Looking for green lentil recipes? Here are 20+ healthy lentil recipes to try! Everything from curry and soup to salads and tacos, they’re plant-based and full of protein, fiber & flavor.

easy green lentil recipes

Hi friends!

A couple of weeks ago I shared 15+ Red Lentil Recipes and you guys were excited to have so many plant-based recipes all in one place. So today I’ve put together another plant-forward roundup using green lentils. 

How To Cook Lentils

I love lentils because they’re a quick-cooking protein and I always make sure to have them in my pantry. There are several different kinds of lentils and they all cook a little bit differently. I love using red lentils in soups and curries because they lose their shape and blend into the soup. For things like tacos and other places I’m looking for more of a ground meat substitute, I prefer green lentils because they hold their shape and are soft but not mushy. 

I never follow the directions on the bag to cook mine because I find it overcooks them. My go-to directions for green lentils are cook in a large pot. They triple in size when cooking so I use 3-4 cups water for every one cup lentils. Put lentils and water in a pot, cover and bring to a boi. Crack the lid, reduce heat to simmer and simmer for 12 minutes. Drain extra water. 

If lentils are hard for you to digest, learn how to sprout lentils and then add them to lentil recipes. 

How To Freeze Lentils

I usually cook a whole bag all at once and freeze the extras because it’s so quick and easy. I make muffins with lentils every week so it’s nice to be able to just pull some out of the freezer and not have to cook them every time. Just cook and cool completely, then portion into Ziploc bags and freeze. I use one cup portions for the muffins and 2 cup portions for other recipes. When ready to use either thaw overnight in the fridge or microwave to defrost.

Here are some recipe ideas for you!

green lentil recipes

Green lentil recipes

You can easily add lentils to all your favorite soups and Mexican dishes!

Spicy Lentil Nachos via Pinch of Yum

Lentil Vegetable Curry via The Lean Green Bean

Best Lentil Soup via Cookie + Kate

Instant Pot Lentil Tacos via A Couple Cooks

Slow Cooker Lentil Quinoa Chili via Aggie’s Kitchen

Lentil Tabouli Salad via Feasting at Home

healthy lentil recipes

Healthy Lentil Recipes

Lentils make a great substitute for ground meat!

Grillable Vegan Sprouted Lentil Burgers via Feasting At Home

French Lentil Nicoise Salad via The Full Helping

Lentil Sloppy Joes via The Lean Green Bean

Salsa Verde Lentil Tacos via Ambitious Kitchen

Trini Chicken Pelau via Sweet & Sorrel

Lentil Minestrone via Peas and Crayons

lentil recipes not soup

Lentil Recipes Not Soup

Lentils are great in soup but can also go beyond! Use them to make meatballs, meatloafs, salads and more!

Sunshine Lentil Bowls via Pinch of Yum

Moroccan Lentil Meatballs via Dishing Out Health

Lentil Shepherd’s Pie via Spend with Pennies

Lemony Lentil Salad via Gimme Some Oven

Maple Glazed Lentil Loaf via Eating Bird Food

BBQ Lentil Stuffed Sweet Potatoes via Emilie Eats

 

Instant Pot Lentil Recipes

First learn how to cook them in the Instant Pot to use for any recipe.
How to Cook Lentils In The Instant Pot via Platings & Pairings

Or try these to get started:
Instant Pot Lentil Soup via Well Plated or the Instant Pot Lentil Tacos linked above

Lentil Banana Muffins - perfect for breakfast or snack

Here are two more from my blog to try- including my all-time favorite muffins!

Spicy Sausage Lentil & Kale Soup via The Lean Green Bean
Lentil Banana Muffins via The Lean Green Bean

See something you like? Pin it for later!

Looking for green lentil recipes? Here are 20+ healthy lentil recipes to try! Everything from curry and soup to salads and tacos, they're plant-based and full of protein, fiber & flavor.

Enjoy!

–Lindsay–

15+ Easy Red Lentil Recipes

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Looking for easy red lentil recipes? Here are 15+ to add to your lunch and dinner rotation. Recipes for curry, dahl and soup, plus red lentil muffins, cookies, meatballs, hummus and more!

easy red lentil recipes

Hi friends!

Recently I shared a recipe for Apple Cinnamon Red Lentil Muffins and it sparked some interest in red lentils! So I thought I would pull together some recipes using red lentils to show you guys just how versatile they are! They are super easy to cook, they cook quickly and then don’t have a strong flavor so they easily blend into almost every recipe.

How to cook red lentils

If you’ve never cooked with red lentils, they’re a little different than green/brown lentils. While green lentils hold their shape well, red lentils are smaller and already split. They often lose their shape which makes it easy for them to blend into things like soups and curries to add protein and fiber without being very noticeable. 

To cook them, simply place 1 cup lentils in a pot with 3 cups water, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, crack the lid and simmer. I cook mine for 5 minutes but you can do anywhere from 5-10. Then drain the excess water. Here’s a helpful tutorial from Kitchen Skip for How To Cook Red Lentils. You can also often cook them right in the dish you’re making.

Since red lentils cook so quickly, you don’t really have to worry about it but if you’re using green lentils you can cook a whole bag at once and freeze the extras so they’re ready to use. I often freeze in one cup portions to use in my Lentil Banana Muffins or two cup portions to add to soups, casseroles and curries.

Are lentils healthy

Lentils are a nutritional powerhouse. They’re full of polyphenols which can have anti-inflammatory properties. They’re high in fiber and protein, naturally gluten-free and also contain calcium, iron, potassium and folate.

They do contain some antinutrients which can reduce the absorption of some nutrients but cooking lentils takes care of a lot of these. If you’re worried, you can take it one step further by soaking lentils overnight before cooking (and discarding the soaking water) or sprouting lentils before cooking! Learn how to sprout lentils here. But remember that most red lentils are split and won’t sprout well. Green lentils will though!

Ready for some easy red lentil recipes?

lentil recipes vegan

Lentil Recipes Vegan

Among lentil recipes curry and dahl are the post popular, as well as soup! Most of these recipes are already vegan or can easily be made vegan with a simple swap.

red lentil soup recipes

Red Lentil Soup Recipes

Red lentils are a great addition to any soup. Cook them right in the pot and add fiber and protein to any dish.

red lentil recipes

Red Lentil Recipes

If you’re ready to think beyond curry, dahl and soup there are tons of other ways you can use red lentils!

easy red lentil recipes

See anything you like? Pin it for later!

Looking for easy red lentil recipes? Here are 15+ to add to your lunch and dinner rotation. Recipes for curry, dahl and soup, plus red lentil muffins, cookies, meatballs, hummus and more!

If you’re ready to go beyond red lentils, here are 20+ green lentil recipes to try. Some of my favorites are:

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Healthy Snacks For Toddlers

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Need ideas for healthy snacks for toddlers? This list is specifically geared towards kids 1-3 years old, with homemade and storebought ideas for at home and on the go.

healthy toddler snack ideas homemade and storebought

Hi friends!

Let’s talk healthy snacks for toddlers. Way back in 2015 I wrote a post called 10 Healthy Toddler Snacks and it’s been wildly popular on Pinterest. It has some great ideas so be sure to check it out! I think a lot of snack ideas posts are geared towards kids in general but there always seems to be a fair amount of ideas that aren’t safe for toddlers, mainly because of choking hazards. So I wanted to put together an even bigger list of toddler-safe snacks.

When it comes to choking hazards, it’s important to be aware. Let’s review some of the more common toddler choking hazards:

toddler choking hazards

Toddler Choking Hazards

  • Round foods like hot dogs, sausages, cherry tomatoes and grapes
  • Hard foods like apples and carrots and other hard raw veggies
  • Nut butter by the spoonful or thickly spread on bread
  • Marshmallows, whole nuts, gum, hard candy, chips and popcorn

choking hazards modified

Toddler Choking Hazards modified:

  • For round foods: cut lengthwise into quarters
  • For hard fruits and veggies: grate, cut into matchsticks, dice and saute, steam or roast to soften
  • Nut butter: spread thinly on toast
  • Marshmallows, gum, hard candy, chips and popcorn should be avoided
  • Chop whole nuts into very small pieces and consider softer nuts like cashews/pecans/pistachios vs almonds/peanuts
  • Popcorn cakes/rice cakes are safer than popcorn kernels

after school healthy snacks

Healthy Snacks For Kids

If you’re looking for snacks for older kids, I have several posts to check out. These lists will have some snacks that are good for toddlers but not all of them:

And a lot of these snacks would be great in lunch boxes so if you need more lunch box ideas, check out my Month of Easy Packed Lunches for Kids resource!

So let’s dive right into toddler snacks, shall we?

healthy toddler snack ideas

Healthy Snacks Toddlers

Here are some snack ideas that I make at home:

  • Smoothies
  • Hard-boiled eggs – I usually cut them into quarters
  • English muffin pizzas
  • Mini muffins – My favorite for young toddlers are my Sweet Potato Banana Bites – Here are lots of my kid-friendly baking recipes. My friend and fellow RD Min over at The Adventures of MJ and Hungryman also has tons of Healthy Baby and Toddler muffins here.
  • Fruit – berries, kiwi, mandarin oranges, bananas, fruit leather, raisins, grated apples + pb yogurt dip
  • Vegetables – matchstick carrots, peas, corn, cucumber, roasted sweet potatoes + ranch/hummus/laughing cow (toddler dips)
  • Quesadillas
  • Waffles/toast with peanut butter and jelly or avocado, cut into sticks or in half
  • Nut-free trail mix – pumpkin & sesame seeds, cereal, dried fruit
  • Homemade energy bars – use any energy ball recipe that uses a food processor to avoid big chunks, then press into a pan and cut into bars vs balls, then cut
  • Egg wraps/mini egg muffins
  • Oatmeal
  • Pancakes

storebought toddler snacks

Healthy Snacks For Toddlers On The Go

Here are some packaged snacks that I often have on hand for quick snacks both at home and on the go:

So there you go! Lots of toddler-friendly snack ideas for you!

Need ideas for healthy snacks for toddlers? This list is specifically geared towards kids 1-3 years old, with homemade and storebought ideas for at home and on the go.

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Healthy Amazon Snacks

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Here are 25+ healthy Amazon snacks. Perfect if you need healthy individually wrapped snacks for the classroom, sports teams etc!

healthy snacks from amazon

Hi friends!

Today I’m sharing some healthy snacks on Amazon. Back-to-school season is here and for some of you, that may mean adding the task of providing classroom snacks to your monthly reminders. I’ve got several snack lists available to help you including:

While some people prefer to shop in-store, I know that for others it can be easier to order online. So I rounded up some healthy snack options that you can order from Amazon. If you’re looking to buy, I’d check the prices frequently because I’ve seen these snacks go on sale fairly frequently. A lot of these snacks would be great in lunch boxes as well. I have a whole lunch resource if you need more ideas – A Month of Easy Packed Lunches for Kids.

Individually Wrapped Snacks

healthy classroom snacks from amazon

The links below are affiliate links. That means I make a small commission if you use them, at no additional cost to you!

Amazon Crunchy Snacks

Nut/Seed Snacks on Amazon

Amazon Fruit Snacks

Amazon Granola Snacks

Jerky Snacks from Amazon

In addition to my roundup of Amazon healthy snacks, here are a few of my favorite individually wrapped snacks from Costco as an added bonus:

  • Skinny Pop – nut free
  • That’s It Fruit Bar Minis – nut-free
  • Made Good Granola Minis – nut-free
  • Country Archer Mini Beef Sticks – nut-free
  • Gogo Squeeze or fruit cups – nut-free
  • Trail Mix packets
  • Clif Kid Z Bars
  • Clif Nut Butter Bars
  • Kind Minis
  • Larabars

And if you’re looking for even more snack ideas check out my After School Healthy Snacks and 10 Healthy After School Snacks For Kids posts!

Here are 25+ healthy Amazon snacks. Perfect if you need healthy individually packaged snacks for the classroom, sports teams etc!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

5 Steps To Food Prep

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Want to learn how to food prep? These 5 Steps to Food Prep are perfect for a beginner who likes the idea of meal prep but isn’t sure where to start. With a little work, you’ll head into your food prep session with a plan of attack to help you make the most of your time.

5 Steps to Food Prep

*Originally published 11/2018. Updated 9/2021*

Hi friends!

As a Registered Dietitian and busy mom of 3, I consider food prep to be one of my most important healthy living tools. Even just an hour per week can make a huge difference in helping you make healthy choices during a busy week. If you’re ready and willing to learn, I’m here to help! In this post, I break the process down into 5 simple steps from start to finish to help show you how to do everything from plan to execute.

If this post is helpful to you, you’ll love my Mastering Food Prep course. I cover these five steps in even more detail, plus I talk about food prep beyond dinner, give you tips for adding variety, talk about flexible food prep and food safety and cover some of the most common roadblocks to food prep.  I also have an ebook called Ultimate Guide to Food Prep.

Ready to learn? Here we go!

How To Food Prep

food prep list

Step 1: Make a Meal Plan

This can be full recipes or simply a list of food components. It does not have to be every single thing you’re going to eat next week or even full meals. The goal is to just make a list of food items you could prep that will make your life easier. So, that could be 5 full meal dinners or it could be a few breakfast ideas plus some rice, beans and grilled chicken to use throughout the week.

If you’re new to meal planning and food prep, I wouldn’t recommend putting 5 brand new recipes on your meal plan. A good rule of thumb generally is 1-2 new recipes, 1-2 tried and true family favorites, 1-2 nights for leftovers and 1-2 dinners out. Think about your schedule. If you have a super busy night on the calendar, it might make sense to plan a crockpot meal for that day. Or maybe making dinner isn’t a struggle for you. Maybe you struggle with eating breakfasts in the morning or choosing healthy snacks and you want to focus on prepping on items to help solve those pain points this week.

A few tips:

  • If you need inspiration, use Pinterest, google and blogs to search for recipes. You can start a Pinterest board to save recipes you want to try, or screenshot them on your phone and save them in a note in Evernote or Google Keep.
  • Check your freezer and pantry to see what you have on hand and search for recipes that include those ingredients.
  • Check the grocery ads to see what’s on sale that week and plan around that.
  • Remember not to be overly ambitious. Pick a few things, prep them this week and make adjustments for next week based on what you learn.
  • While Sunday is a common food prep day, it’s not a hard and fast rule. You can choose whatever day works with your schedule.

Components vs. Full Meals

If you think you want to prep components vs full meals, but aren’t sure how to really narrow down what to prep, think about what you use most during the week. Pick a meat to grill or shred, a few veggies to roast, a carb like rice or quinoa. Or, if you like salads, prep greens and then a protein or two and a couple of sauces or dressings so that you can mix and match things during the week.

One benefit to choosing components over full meals is that you can eat the same thing on repeat if that doesn’t bother you OR you can combine the components in different ways throughout the week.

For example, you could prep shredded chicken, rice, roasted sweet potatoes, and broccoli. Then you could use those to make 3 different meals:

  • Night 1: Make burrito bowls with the rice and chicken and top them with beans, avocado, cheese and salsa.
  • Night 2: Toss some chicken, sweet potatoes and broccoli in a quick peanut sauce and serve over rice for an Asian spin.
  • Night 3: Add BBQ sauce to the chicken to make sandwiches and serve with a side of broccoli.

grocery shopping with list

Step 2: Make a Grocery List

This is a pretty easy one and can often be done right after you make your meal plan. There are even some apps you can use that allow you to save recipes from various sites and then automatically generate a grocery list. I haven’t tried any myself, but these are some that were recommended:

  • Paprika
  • Pepperplate
  • Anylist
  • Plan to eat
  • Prepear
  • Favoreats

But nothing says you have to use one of those. Write a list out on paper, create an excel spreadsheet of your most commonly purchased items and highlight what you need for the week, whatever works for you. I keep the basics in my head, keep a running list of things I run out of through the week on my phone and then add any extra ingredients I want to remember to buy for the week ahead. If you have Alexa, you can also use her to add items to your grocery list and then pull up the list on the Alexa app on your phone while shopping.

Be sure to check your freezer and pantry to see what you already have on hand and don’t need to buy.

food prep plan

Step 3: Make a Prep Plan

This is arguably the most important, especially for beginners because it’s where you write out every single thing you want to prep during your food prep session. If you have components on your meal plan list, add them to your prep list – ie shredded chicken, rice, pancakes, etc.

If you have full recipes, look at the recipes and see what needs to be done. In my example above, I planned to make Carrot Oat Bars. So on my prep plan I  wrote 1) Roast Carrots 2) Make bars. I also planned to make Baked Ranch Chicken Taquitos, so I wrote 1) Cook and shred chicken 2) Make Taquitos

If you don’t love leftovers but still want to use food prep, this is where you could look at your meal plan and see what could be done ahead of time to make your weeknights go more smoothly. If you’re making Chicken Fried Rice one night, during your food prep session you could cut the chicken and store it raw in one container and chop all your veggies and store them in another container and cook the rice. Then on the night of, just dump everything in a pan to make the fried rice.

You get this handy template in my Freezer Magic Ebook!

And then take it a step further and break everything down by area of the kitchen. Write out what can be done in the oven, what you’re planning to do in the instant pot or slow cooker, what you’ll cook on the stove and what can be done on the counter. This gives you a visual idea of how much you’ll be using each area of the kitchen…and then you can figure out what order to do things. Remember you can use multiple areas of the kitchen at once….so you can throw something in the oven, something in the Instant Pot and/or slow cooker, start something on the stove and then be chopping veggies on the counter while all that is cooking.

In the image below you can see how I numbered my list as I planned how to get everything done.

prep to prep for food prep

Step 4: Prep for Prep

Look at your prep plan and see if there’s anything you could do the day before to make your prep day run more smoothly. Things like roasting carrots for Carrot Oat Bars, making shredded chicken in the Instant Pot or slow cooker so that you can use it to make enchiladas the next day, etc.

Or maybe you look at your plan and see you have a lot of stuff that requires the oven. Take 5 minutes to chop up two trays of veggies and get those roasted ahead of time so you don’t have quite as much to do the next day. You can see what I planned to do on Saturday in the image above.

Don’t stress if you can’t find anything to do ahead of time or if you don’t have time the day before. This is something I just started doing recently and I find it helpful, but I never spend more than 5-10 minutes of active time on Saturday. It’s usually a matter of throwing some lentils in a pot on the stove to cook while I eat breakfast or spending 5 minutes chopping potatoes and sweet potatoes and letting them cook in the oven.

5 Steps to Food Prep

Step 5: Execute Your Food Prep Plan

By the time Sunday rolls around, you should be feeling pretty good about your food prep session. Perhaps you’ve already even prepped a few things. Set aside time for your prep session and get to work! And enjoy the fruits of your labor all week long! Don’t stress if everything doesn’t go according to plan. Food prep gets easier with practice and the more you do it, the more of a habit it will become.

These 5 Steps to Food Prep are perfect for a beginner who likes the idea of meal prep but isn't sure where to start. With a little work, you'll head into your food prep session with a plan of attack to help you make the most of your time.

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Best Trader Joe’s Snacks

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Looking for the best Trader Joe’s snacks? Here are 35+ healthy snack ideas from cereal and oatmeal to popcorn and granola bars.

trader joe's healthy snacks

Hi friends!

We’re continuing our healthy snack series with some ideas for healthy snacks from Trader Joe’s. I don’t have a location super close to me so I only shop there 3-4 times a year but when I do go, I always find some good stuff. I wanted to share some things I found on my last trip that would be good for snack time! I look for things that have both some protein and some fiber (usually at least 2g each)  and are relatively low in added sugar (I aim for 6g or less, sometimes 7-8g).

If you’re looking for more snack ideas, check out these posts:

These snack ideas also make great additions to lunch boxes! If you need more lunch ideas, check out my guide: A Month of Easy Packed Lunches For Kids.

Are you ready for some ideas? Here we go! I’ve tried to include the amount of protein, fiber and sugar for your convenience but remember it can change so check your labels!

Best Trader Joe’s Snacks

healthy trader joes breakfast

Remember that traditional breakfast foods aren’t just for breakfast, they make great snacks too! Trader Joe’s has lots of great cereal options (at a great price!) that can be eaten plain, with milk, in trail mix etc. I look for cereals with at least 2 grams of protein and fiber and 6 grams or less of added sugar. Here’s The Ultimate List of Lower Sugar Cereals For Kids if you want more options. Oatmeal is another great snack that can be made quickly. Make it with milk, add peanut butter for protein and fruit for sweetness.

Trader Joe’s Good Snacks (or breakfasts!)

  • Trader Joe’s O’s (3g fiber, 3g protein, 1g sugar)
  • Trader Joe’s Crunchy Almond Butter Puffs (2g fiber, 6g protein, 6g sugar/5g added)
  • Barbara’s Puffins (6g fiber, 3g protein, 6g sugar)
  • Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes (7g fiber, 5g protein, 5g sugar)
  • Classic Oatmeal Cups (6g fiber, 8g protein, 0g sugar)
  • Unsweetened Instant Oatmeal (4g fiber, 5g protein, 0g sugar)
  • Trader Joe’s Multigrain Toaster Waffles (5g fiber, 2g protein, 7g sugar)
  • Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat English Muffins (3g fiber, 6g protein, 2g sugar)
  • Trader Joes Whole Wheat Bread (2g fiber, 4g protein, 1g sugar) – they also have a sprouted wheat sourdough sliced bread!

healthy trader joe's snacks

Trader Joe’s also has tons of healthy snack bars! Here’s a list of Healthy Store Bought Granola Bars for Kids if you want more options. In general, for bars, I look for at least 2g protein and fiber and 6g or less added sugar (sometimes 7-8g).

Trader Joe’s Snacks Best Granola Bars

  • Trader Joe’s Raises The Bar (3g fiber, 2g protein, 8g sugar)
  • Trader Joe’s These Peanuts Went On A Date Bars (1g fiber, 4g protein, 16g sugar/0g added)
  • Trader Joe’s ABC Bars (2g fiber, 4g protein, 6g sugar/4g added)
  • Trader Joe’s Organic Hemp Seed Bars (1g fiber, 3g protein, 5g sugar/3g added)
  • Trader Joe’s Organic Chia Bars (3g fiber, 3g protein, 4g sugar)
  • Trader Joe’s This Coconut Brings Chocolate on a Date Bars (4g fiber, 3g protein, 15g sugar/0g added)
  • Trader Joe’s Mixed Berry Granola Bites – not pictured – 2g fiber, 2g protein, 6g sugar/4g added)
  • Peanut Butter and Jelly Frooze Balls – (9g fiber, 5g protein, 31g sugar/5g added)
  • Trader Joe’s Happy Trekking Trail Mix – (2g fiber, 4g protein, 8g sugar)
  • Trader Joe’s Apple Carrot Fruit Sauce Crushers (2g fiber, 0g protein)

trader joe's snacks

Need crunchy snack options?

Crackers from Trader Joe’s

  • Soft Baked Sunflower Butter Cookies (nut-free for school!)
  • Trader Joe’s Multigrain Crackers (3g fiber, 2g protein, 2g sugar)
  • Trader Joe’s Bite-Sized Cheesy Crackers (0g fiber, 5g protein, 0g sugar)
  • Trader Joe’s 3 Seed Sweet Potato Crackers (2g fiber, 2g protein, 2g sugar/0g added)
  • Trader Joe’s Inner Peas (4g fiber, 5g protein, less than 1 g sugar)
  • Trader Joe’s Bambas (2g fiber, 5g protein, less than 1g sugar)
  • Trader Joes Organic Popcorn with EVOO (3g fiber, 3g protein, 0g sugar)
  • Trader Joe’s Crisp Crunchy Crisps (3g fiber, 4g protein, 0g sugar)
  • Almond Butter Filled Pretzel Nuggets (2g fiber, 5g protein, 4g sugar/3g added) they also have peanut butter filled pretzels!

Remember I always aim to pair a carb-based snack like popcorn with a protein for a more filling snack!

healthy snacks at trader joes

And a few more ideas for you- mostly protein-based:

Protein Snacks from Trader Joe’s

  • Trader Joe’s Organic Turkey Breast – love the ingredient list – just turkey, salt and water – great for small sandwich
  • Trader Joe’s Fish Sticks – pop them in the oven or air fryer after school for a quick snack (or even the microwave)
  • Trader Joe’s String Cheese
  • Avocado’s Number Guacamole to Go
  • Chomps Meat Sticks (aff link)
  • Trader Joe’s Organic Lowfat Yogurt Squishers – only 6g added sugar
  • Trader Joe’s Kefir – mix flavored with plain to lower the added sugar
  • Trader Joe’s Sweet Apple Chicken Sausage – add to an egg wrap or egg waffle!
  • Fruits and veggies! They have tons of great produce options. Pair them with a protein source!

I hope this list was helpful!

Looking for healthy Trader Joe's snacks? Here are 35+ ideas from cereal and oatmeal to popcorn and granola bars.

If you’re looking for Trader Joes vegetarian snacks, most of these fit the bill minus a few in the protein section. There are also some Trader Joe’s seaweed snacks that I didn’t include. They make a great snack, just make sure to pair with other items to make a more filling snack!

What are your favorite Trader Joes snacks?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Apple Cinnamon Red Lentil Muffins

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These Apple Cinnamon Red Lentil Muffins are kid-friendly, lightly sweetened and full of fiber! They’re perfect for breakfast, snack time or a nut-free school lunch!

Apple Cinnamon Red Lentil Muffins

Hi friends!

I’m excited to share these Apple Cinnamon Red Lentil Muffins with you guys! If you’ve been around awhile, you know I make my Lentil Banana Muffins every week and they’re my kids’ all-time favorite. I’ve been meaning to try another flavor combo for a while and finally got around to it last week. 

Red Lentil Recipes

Instead of the green lentils, I use in my lentil banana muffins, I went for red lentils. They cook super quickly and are perfect for adding to baked goods! I’ve used red lentils specifically in these Red Lentil Cookies from my friend Sally and they’re great! If you’re looking for a savory recipe, try the Best Lentil Soup Recipe via Cookie & Kate. 

Since a lot of you are looking for more plant-based recipes, I rounded up 15+ Easy Red Lentil Recipes for you to try them. 

You also might know that I make almost all my muffin recipes in the food processor. Here’s why – I can put pretty much anything into my muffins and the food processor blends it up nice and smooth so there are no chunks – which my kids don’t like. I don’t hide things in my baked goods – my kids always know exactly what’s in them and usually help me make them, but it’s nice to be able to end up with a smoother muffin once they’re baked!

Apple Cinnamon Red Lentil Muffins

apple cinnamon red lentil muffin cut in half

If you don’t have a food processor, you can mix the lentils, , apple, oil and egg in a blender and then transfer to a bowl and mix by hand.

Also, remember the correct why to measure flour is to spoon into the measuring cup and level with a knife. If you don’t, you may overfill your measure cup and end up with too much flour, which can alter the recipe.

Here’s how you make these:

Print

Apple Cinnamon Red Lentil Muffins

Apple Cinnamon Red Lentil Muffins
Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 10 reviews

These Apple Cinnamon Red Lentil Muffins are kid-friendly, lightly sweetened and full of fiber! They’re perfect for breakfast, snack time or a nut-free school lunch!

  • Author: Lindsay
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 20
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 10-12 muffins 1x

Ingredients

Scale

1/2 cup pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
heaping 1/3 cup dry red lentils
2/3 cup shredded apple (squeeze in paper towel to remove moisture, then measure)
1/3 cup oil (i use avocado oil)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1.25 cups white whole wheat flour
extra cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

  1. Put lentils in a small pot with 2 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Crack the lid, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Drain. You should have about 1 cup once cooked.
  2. Put pepitas in a food processor and process until finely chopped.
  3. Add cooked lentils, shredded apple, brown sugar, oil and egg and process until smooth.
  4. Add cinnamon, vanilla, flour (correctly measured), and baking soda and process until combined.
  5. Scoop into greased muffin tins (i make 11 muffins).
  6. Mix a little sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and sprinkle on top of the muffins.
  7. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Notes

  • Someone made these by just adding a medium apple (sliced off the core) to the food processor without shredding first and reducing the oil to 1/4 cup and said they worked fine!
  • I make this with King Arther measure for measure gluten-free flour and it works great.
  • When measuring flour be sure to spoon into measuring cup and level with knife.
  • I haven’t tried the recipe without the pepitas but i think they’d be fine without it. I just like the nutrients they add.

If you’re intimidated by lentils, this is a great place to start! I promise you can’t even taste them!

These Apple Cinnamon Red Lentil Muffins are kid-friendly, lightly sweetened and full of fiber! They're perfect for breakfast, snack time or a nut-free school lunch!

Do you have any favorite lentil recipes to share?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Healthy Road Trip Snacks

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Need some healthy road trip snacks? Or just some on the go snacks? Whether it’s vacation, driving to sports practice or a day of running errands, here are some travel snacks you’ll love!

healthy road trip snacks

Hi friend!

A couple of years ago I was asked for some ideas about snacks for the car that aren’t super messy so I wrote this post on Low Mess Car Snacks for Kids. I’m finding that a few years later, I still heavily rely on car snacks so I’m always thinking about new ideas. In addition, this summer we drove from Ohio to Minnesota with 3 kids 6 and under. Believe me when I say I packed a lot of snacks. I wanted to share some good road trip snacks for kids -both what we packed in our cooler and the non-perishables in case you need more road trip snacks ideas! You could also pack a lot of these for plane snacks!

I’ve also already written several snack posts that will have more options for healthy on the go snacks. Check out:

So here we go:

Good Road Trip Snacks

good road trip snacks for the cooler

Healthy Road Trip Snacks For The Cooler

  • Fruit –
    • grapes- I pulled them all off the stems ahead of time
    • bananas
    • apples- leave them whole or slice ahead of time and rubberband together to minimize browning
    • clementines – you can peel them ahead of time to make it easier
    • applesauce cups (or pouches for younger kids to minimize mess)
  • Veggies-
    • baby carrots
    • celery sticks – you can even prep ants on a log ahead of time
    • bell pepper strips
    • snap peas
  • String cheese and cheese slices
  • Hard-boiled eggs – peel them ahead of time
  • Yogurt- yogurt tubes/pouches are less messy for kids. You can also freeze them ahead of time to minimize mess even more 
  • Hummus
  • Deli turkey & pepperoni – can be eaten with crackers and used to make a sandwich
  • Homemade muffins/bars – I have a whole list of Kid-friendly Baking Recipes for bars and muffins packed with veggies and legumes!

healthy road trip snacks non-perishable

Car Travel Snacks (Non-perishable):

  • Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches – you can store them in the cooler if you use jelly, or you can skip it, or use honey!
  • Bread – for turkey and cheese sandwiches
  • Simple Mills & Wheat Thins crackers
  • Cheerios cereal – I have a list of Low Sugar Cereals for Kids if Cheerios isn’t your favorite
  • Pretzels
  • Granola bars – Try one of these Healthy Store-Bought Granola Bars for Kids– our favs are KIND, Larabar and Kashi
  • Chips
  • Candy – is it the healthiest? No. Will it sometimes save your sanity as a parent? Yes 🙂

Note that we stopped overnight in a hotel with a fridge and I knew the place we were staying had a fridge so I wasn’t worried about packing too much food because I knew we could just eat it throughout the week of vacation. 

I’ve also noticed that sometimes my kids don’t eat a ton in the actual car but then they’re starving when we get to the hotel so it’s nice to have things on hand to give them while we get settled, figure out where we’re going to eat dinner etc. 

While I recognize that eating in the car is generally not recommended as it can be a choking hazard, I’m also a mom with young kids and know that it sometimes can’t be avoided. I found that plastic cups are a great way to pass snacks back to kids because they’re easy for them to hold and they fit in car seat cup holders. If your kids are still rear-facing, make sure you can see them while eating either by sitting near them or at least in a mirror.

on the go snack ideas

In addition to what’s listed above, here are more ideas:

  • Waffles and pancakes
  • Popcorn 
  • Dried fruit bars or strips (smaller things like raisins are more likely to be dropped, go for things like mango, pears, dates, apricots, 
  • Chomps meat sticks (aff link)
  • Nuts 
  • Trailmix
  • Roasted chickpeas/broad beans/edamame
  • Homemade energy balls
  • Tuna pouches with crackers
  • Sweet potato chips

A reminder that popcorn, whole nuts, roasted chickpeas etc are choking hazards for young kids.

Need some healthy road trip snacks? Or just some on the go snacks? Whether it's vacation, driving to sports practice or a day of running errands, here are some travel snacks you'll love!

What are your favorite healthy road trip snacks?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

After School Healthy Snacks

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Looking for After School Healthy Snacks? Here are ideas for if you eat dinner early or late, before practice snacks, car snacks, non-perishable snacks and more.

after school healthy snacks

Hi friend!

A couple of years ago I rounded up some of my favorite recipes for after school snacks in this post- 10 Healthy After School Snacks For Kids. It covers everything from English muffin mini pizzas to energy balls to oatmeal. Since I know that at home, homemade snacks are not realistic for every family every day, I wanted to give you guys a few more good after-school snacks (both homemade and storebought) for specific after-school scenarios. You could also easily add these snacks to lunch boxes. For more lunch box help, check out my guide: A Month of Easy Packed Lunches For Kids.

If you’re looking for store-bought snack ideas, here are some posts that may help:

Easy After School Snacks

after school snacks

Healthy Snacks for After School

If you eat dinner later or have a couple of hours between the kids getting home/leaving school and dinner time they may need a fairly substantial snack, especially if they ate lunch early:

Lentil Banana Muffins - perfect for breakfast or snack

Easy After School Snacks To Make

If you eat dinner fairly early and just want something to tide your kids over until then without ruining their dinner. Added bonus- these are simple after school snacks kids can make themselves with minimal help from you!

Healthy Toddler Snacks - cottage cheese, hummus, cereal, peanut butter with banana

Healthy Pre-Workout Snacks

Have kids headed to sports practice after school? Here are some ideas:

  • Granola bar
  • Cereal or muffin
  • Half a bagel
  • Apple or banana with peanut butter
  • A small bowl of oatmeal
  • Crackers with turkey
  • Trailmix- raisins, cereal + peanuts
  • Yogurt + fruit
  • Clementine + hard-boiled egg

crunchy snacks from costco

Healthy After School Snacks To Buy

I have a whole post of after school snacks to buy – 60+ Healthy Packaged Snacks For Kids so check it out for tons of ideas. I also have lists for Healthy Costco Snacks, Best Trader Joe’s Snacks and Healthy Walmart Snacks. But in general, here are a few of my favorite packaged snacks:

Low Mess Snack for Kids

Healthy Car Snacks

I wrote about Low Mess Snacks for Kids here. Here are some simple pairings that won’t make too much of a mess in the car. Keep a little trash can or bag in the car for wrappers.

  • Yogurt tube + banana
  • Cheese stick + That’s It fruit bar
  • Chomps Meat Sticks + clementine
  • Egg wrap + apple
  • Smoothie made with milk/yogurt, fruit, and spinach
  • Turkey, cheese, and apple or avocado rolled in a tortilla
  • PBJ sandwich
  • HB eggs + granola bar
  • Cold pizza or quesadilla (less mess than when they’re hot!)

Healthy Microwave Popcorn in a paper lunch sack

Healthy Non-Perishable Snacks

Ideas for non-perishable snacks if you have to pack them in the morning and need them to still be safe to eat after school:

After School Snacks for Teens

Have a teenager? Here are some snack ideas:

  • Tuna Salad + Crackers
  • Scrambled egg + toast
  • Turkey Sandwich
  • Smoothie with fruit, yogurt or milk and spinach or a smoothie bowl topped with cereal
  • Popcorn trail mix
  • Deviled eggs
  • Ramen
  • Chicken quesadilla
  • Rotisserie Chicken wrap
  • Energy balls
  • Oatmeal
  • Yogurt parfait
  • Frozen waffles
  • Frozen Fish sticks/chicken nuggets/potstickers
  • Freezer breakfast sandwiches or burritos
  • Avocado toast
  • Nachos with guacamole
  • Charcuterie snack plate

Want more? My friend Sally wrote a post of 100+ Healthy Snacks for Teens Who Are Always Hungry.

And don’t forget I have a whole list of Peanut & Tree Nut Free Packaged Snacks if you need those!

Looking for After School Healthy Snacks? Here are ideas for if you eat dinner early or late, before practice snacks, car snacks, non-perishable snacks and more.

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Best Healthy Walmart Snacks

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Looking for the best healthy Walmart snacks? Here are some ideas for everything from chips, crackers and granola bars to protein and frozen snacks.

healthy walmart snacks

Hi friends!

We’re continuing our snack series with the best Walmart snacks. You can also find the best Costco snacks , Healthy Amazon Snacks or the best Trader Joe’s snacks if you need them!  Or for a more general list, check out 60+ Healthy Packaged Snacks for kids.

Remember that all of these snacks would also be great in lunch boxes! If you need help packing lunches check out my Month of Easy Packed Lunch Ideas For Kids guide.

Walmart Best Snacks

So what are the best snacks at Walmart? As a Registered Dietitian and mom of 3, here are some general guidelines I try to follow and recommend:

  • I try to choose snacks that have at least 2g of both protein and fiber most of the time.
  • I focus on making sure snacks include protein so if I have a snack like crackers or cereal, I pair it with a protein like yogurt or turkey etc.
  • I try to limit added sugar to 6g or less whenever possible. Occasionally 7-8g, but snacks with 9+ grams of added sugar or more are more like treats than snacks in my opinion.
  • I check the sodium content but it doesn’t always make or break my choices. Remember that 140mg or less of sodium per serving is generally considered low sodium.
With that being said, here are some of the best Walmart healthy snacks, in my opinion. I’ve tried to include some name brands as well as some of their Great Value store brand.

Walmart Snacks Chips & Crackers

Walmart Snacks Chips

If you’re looking for crunchy/salty snacks like chips and crackers, here are some ideas:

  • Ritz Toasted Pita Chips
  • Goya Plantain Chips
  • New York Style Bagel Crisps
  • Crunchmaster’s Multi-Seed Crackers
  • Great Value Vegetable Chip Mix
  • Terra Sweet Potato Chips
  • Orville Redenbacher’s Popcorn (made with avocado oil)
  • Great Value Thin Wheat Crackers
  • Great Value Woven Wheat Crackers
  • Late July Sea Salt Thin and Crispy Chips
  • Whisps Cheese Crisps
  • Simple Mills Almond Flour Crackers
  • Great Value Mountain Trail Mix
  • Great Value Shelled Pistachios (are any of their nuts!)
  • Triscuit Thin Crisps

Reminder to pair crackers and chips with some extra protein if possible!

walmart protein snacks

Walmart Protein Snacks

If you need protein-based snacks:

  • Stonyfield Organic Kids yogurt cups
  • Stonyfield Organic Whole Milk Vanilla Yogurt
  • Great Value Plain Greek Yogurt (Walmart doesn’t have many good lower sugar yogurt options so an easy solution is to mix plain and flavored yogurt together to reduce the sugar content!)
  • Breakstone’s Cottage Doubles
  • Great Value Cheese Cubes
  • Frigo Combo Pack – Colby Jack cheese & turkey sticks
  • Chobani drinkable yogurt
  • Great Value frozen edamame
  • Lorissa’s Kitchen jerky
  • Great Value Hard Boiled Eggs
  • Horizon Organic shelf stable milk
  • Great Value cheese sticks
  • GogoSqueez Morning Smoothies
  • Oscar Mayer Natural turkey breast

walmart fruit snacks

Walmart Fruit Snacks

Ideas for snacks involving fruit:

  • Great Value Dried Apricots (or any other unsweetened dried fruit)
  • Great Value Triple Berry Blend frozen berries (mix with milk and spinach for a quick smoothie!
  • Great Value Banana Chips
  • Great Value Bursting Berry fruit pouches
  • Freshness Guaranteed Mild Guacamole (great with plantain chips!)
  • Wymans Just Fruit & Greek Yogurt Bites
  • Mamma Chia Squeeze
  • Great Value Unsweetened Applesauce
  • Great Value Diced Fruit in 100% juice

Remember fruit are a carb source so pair with protein or healthy fats for a more filling snack!

walmart granola bars

Walmart Granola Bar Snacks

Ideas for the best bars Walmart offers. Many of these contain nuts so if your school is nut-free you might need other options:

  • Nature’s Bakery Baked-Ins
  • Belvita Soft Baked Cookies (a little higher in added sugar but also have some protein and fiber)
  • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Date & Nut Bars (very similar to Larabars)
  • Happykid Bars
  • Bear Naked Granola (add to yogurt for a parfait!)
  • Safe & Fair Birthday Cake Granola (top allergen-free!)
  • KIND Dark Chocolate Chunk Bars
  • KIND Nut Butter Filled Snack Bars
  • KIND Peanut Butter Breakfast Bars
  • Kashi Chocolate Almond Sea Salt Bars
  • Larabar Minis
  • Simple Mills Dark Chocolate Almond Soft Baked Bars
  • RX Kids Bars

Here’s a list I made of Healthy Storebought Granola Bars for Kids.

walmart carb snacks

Walmart Carb Snacks

Some healthy carb sources for snacks:

  • Cheerios
  • Dave’s Killer Bread Thin-Sliced
  • Dave’s Killer Bread Raisin’ The Roof
  • Thomas Whole Wheat English Muffins
  • Aladdin’s Small Pitas
  • Great Value Quick Oats (oatmeal or overnight oats make a great snack!
  • KIND Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal – if you want pre-flavored packets
  • Quaker Fruit & Cream – these are a little higher in sugar than I’d like but occasionally fine (I ate them all the time growing up 🙂
  • Nature’s Own 100% Whole Wheat Bread (for sandwiches, french toast etc)
  • Great Value Rice Squares – here are more Lower Sugar Cereals for Kids

individual snacks walmart

Walmart Individual Snacks

At Walmart P3 snacks and other convenience snacks like them are readily available.  While these are fine occasionally, I highly encourage you to make your own to save money. You can easily buy a bag of cheese cubes, some nuts and dried fruit, a box of crackers and a package of lunch meat and recreate all of these for much cheaper!

Walmart Frozen Snacks

If you are looking specifically for frozen snacks here a few ideas:

  • Ian’s Fish Sticks
  • Great Value Edamame
  • Amy’s Frozen Burritos/Enchiladas
  • Tyson Chicken Nuggets/Patties
  • Red’s Chicken & Cheddar Burritos (a little higher in sodium than I’d like)
  • Siete Almond Flour Tortillas (to make quesadillas or tacos)
  • Kodiak Power Flapjacks

Walmart Diabetic Snacks

And in case you’re looking for the best Walmart snacks for diabetics specifically? I wanted to share a few that might be chosen by my husband who is a type 1 diabetic:

  • Simple Mills Almond Crackers
  • Great Value Cheese sticks
  • Great Value Nuts
  • Jerky
  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Turkey sandwiches
  • Crunchmaster crackers
  • Triscuit thin crisps
  • Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn
  • Simple Mills Soft Baked Bars
  • Whisps cheese crisps

Did you find any new ideas?

Looking for the best healthy Walmart snacks? Here are some ideas for everything from chips, crackers, granola bars and more.

Want more snack posts?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Healthy Snacks At Costco For The Whole Family

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Looking for healthy snacks at Costco? This list includes 50+ options that the whole family will love! Cruchy snacks, high protein snacks, granola bars and more.

healthy snacks at costco the whole family will love

Hi friends!

A couple of years ago I shared a list of our favorite things to buy at Costco. Recently I’ve been getting a lot of requests for snack ideas so I compiled a list of healthy Costco snacks to give you some new ideas. If you need more ideas, check out Best Healthy Walmart Snacks , Best Trader Joe’s Snacks & 60+ Healthy Packaged Snacks for Kids. And be sure to check this Healthy Road Trip Snacks post so you can stock up while you’re at Costco!

These snacks would also be great for packed lunches. Check out my Month of Easy Packed Lunches for Kids if you need more lunch box ideas!

I’ve tried to include some of the nutrition info that I look at when choosing snacks, including protein, fiber, sugar and sodium., but remember there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to snack guidelines. As a Registered Dietitian and mom of 3, here are some that I use when purchasing for my own kids and recommending for others:

  • Most of the time I try to choose snacks that have at least 2g of both protein and fiber.
  • I always try to make sure snacks include protein so if I have a carb-based snack like crackers or cereal, I pair with a protein like cheese, yogurt, turkey etc.
  • I try to limit added sugar to 6g or less whenever possible. Occasionally 7-8g, but snacks with 9+ grams of added sugar or more treats than snacks in my opinion.

When it comes to sodium, it usually doesn’t make or break my snack decisions. I’ve included it mostly so you can see how the amounts vary from snack to snack. Some crackers and granola bars are higher in sodium than others. Things like cheese and jerky can also be high in sodium. It’s mostly something I take note of at snack time and if I’m serving something higher sodium like a cheese stick, deli meat or jerky, I try to balance it with something lower sodium like fruit, a homemade muffin, etc. Also remember some sodium is naturally occurring, but a lot is added during processing. 140mg per serving or less is generally considered low sodium.

Best Costco Snacks 2021

I’ve tried to group the snacks into categories to make it easy for you. Also, remember that Costco stores vary regionally and also seasonally. This is my list of best Costco healthy snacks 2021 that were available at my Costco in Columbus, OH. I’ve tried to note whether the products are gluten-free/nut-free when i was able to verify but if you have allergies/intolerances, please do your own research. If you need more allergy-friendly snacks, check out my Peanut & Tree Nut Free Packaged Snacks post.

As the year goes by, I will do my best to update this post with new items I see so that you can keep an eye out for them. Also, a reminder that many of the snacks at Costco are available in smaller quantities at other stores. If I’m trying something new with my kids, I often buy somewhere else first to make sure they like them before adding to my list of Costco snacks to buy.

Here are some of my Costco favorites, plus ideas for pairing them to make balanced snacks!

Healthy Snacks At Costco

crunchy snacks from costco

Costco Chips and Snacks (Crunchy)

  • Food Should Taste Good Multigrain Tortilla Chips – 2g protein, 2g fiber, 0g sugar, 75mg sodium (Gluten-free, nuts not in ingredient list but not guaranteed)
  • Hippeas – 4g protein, 3g fiber, 2g sugar, 140mg sodium (gluten-free, nut-free)
  • Harvest Snaps – 5g protein, 4g fiber, 0g sugar, 75mg sodium (gluten-free, nut-free)
  • Barnana Plantain Chips – 1g protein, 0g fiber, 0g sugar, 60mg sodium (gluten-free, nuts not in the ingredient list but made in facility the processes tree nuts)
  • Peanut Butter Pretzels – 4g protein, 1g fiber, <1g sugar, 230mg sodium
  • RW Garcia Sweet Potato Crackers – 2g protein, 1g fiber, 2g sugar/no added sugar, 50mg sodium (gluten-free, made in peanut/treenut free facility)
  • Simple Mills Almond Flour Crackers – 3g protein, 2g fiber, 0g sugar, 180mg sodium (gluten-free)
  • Wheat Thins – 2g protein, 3g fiber, 5g sugar, 200mg sodium (nut-free)
  • Triscuits – 3g protein, 3g fiber, 0g sugar, 160mg sodium (nut-free)
  • Skinny Pop Popcorn – 2g protein, 3g fiber, 0g sugar, 75mg sodium (gluten-free, nut-free)
  • Sun Chips – 2g protein, 2g fiber, 2g sugar, 140 mg sodium (nut-free)
  • Whisps Cheese Crisps – 13g protein, 0g fiber, 0g sugar, 350mg sodium (gluten-free, nut-free)

A reminder that I try to always pair things like crackers with a protein or fat source for more staying power!

granola bars from costco

Granola Bars from Costco

  • Aussie Bites – 2g protein, 2g fiber, 8g sugar, 90mg sodium (shared equipment with wheat, peanut & treenut)
  • Autumn’s Gold Grain Free Granola Bars – 5g protein, 3g fiber, 6g sugar, 60mg sodium (gluten-free)
  • Clif Nut Butter Bars – 7g protein, 3g fiber, 9g sugar/6g added, 150mg sodium
  • KIND Minis – 3g protein, 3g fiber, 3g sugar/2g added, 70mg sodium (gluten-free)
  • Larabar – 5g protein, 3g fiber, 17g sugar/4g added, 65mg sodium (gluten-free)
  • Made Good Granola Minis – 1g protein, 2g fiber, 6g sugar, 10mg sodium (gluten-free, nut-free)
  • That’s It Minis – 1g protein, 2g fiber, 10g sugar/0g added, 15mg sodium (gluten-free, nut-free)
  • Clif Kid Z Bar – 2g protein, 2g fiber, 10g sugar/9g added, 105mg sodium (these are not my first choice because of the higher added sugar)
protein snacks costco

Costco Protein Snacks

  • Kirkland Trail Mix – 5g protein, 2g fiber, 10g sugar/4g added, 40 mg sodium (no gluten-containing ingredients)
  • Kirkland Cheese Fruit & Nut Packs -8g protein, 1g fiber, 8g sugar/7g added, 160mg sodium
  • Country Archer Mini Beef Sticks – 4g protein, 0g fiber, 0g sugar, 200mg sodium (gluten-free, nut-free)
  • Kirkland Ancient Grains Granola – 5g protein, 6g fiber, 9g sugar/8g added, 135mg sodium (processed in a facility that uses peanuts/tree nuts)
  • Babybel Cheese – 5g protein, 0g fiber, 0g sugar, 160mg sodium (gluten-free, nut-free)
  • Kirkland Organic Hard-Boiled Eggs -6g protein, 0g fiber, 0g sugar, 60mg sodium (gluten-free, nut-free)
  • Perdue Panko Chicken Nuggets – 13g protein, 1g fiber, 1g sugar, 450mg sodium
  • Organic Valley Stringles – 7g protein, 0g fiber, 1g sugar/0g added, 210 mg sodium (gluten-free, nut-free)
  • Dietz & Watson Originals Turkey – 11g protein, 0g fiber, 0g sugar, 360mg sodium (gluten-free)
  • Sargento Cheese Sticks – 5g protein, 0g fiber, 0g sugar, 125mg sodium (no gluten ingredients, nut-free)
  • Chobani Less Sugar Greek Yogurt – 12g protein, 0g fiber, 9g sugar/4g added, 50mg sodium (gluten-free,
  • Wholly Guacamole Minis – 1g protein, 2g fiber, 1g sugar, 240mg sodium (gluten-free, nut free…this is a healthy fat, not a protein. Pair with carbs for a balanced snack!)
  • Nuts – They sell large bags of nuts that you can use to make your own trail mix!
healthy carbs costco snacks

Healthy Carb Snacks From Costco

  • Cheerios – 5g protein, 4g fiber, 2g sugar, 190mg sodium (gluten-free)
  • Dave’s Killer Bread – 5g protein, 5g fiber, 5g added sugar, 170mg sodium (nut-free)
  • Kodiak Frozen Waffles – 12g protein, 3g fiber, 6g sugar/5g added, 370mg sodium
  • Kodiak Cakes Pancake Mix – 14g protein, 5g fiber, 3g sugar/2g added, 380mg sodium (no nut ingredients but processed on shared equipment with tree nuts)
  • Lotus Foods Rice Ramen – 4g protein, 2g fiber, 0g sugar, 0g sodium (gluten-free, no nut ingredients but some products processed in facility that contains nuts)
  • Kirkland Hummus Cups – 4g protein, 3g fiber, 1g sugar, 290mg sodium (gluten-free)
  • Brownberry Multigrain Sandwich Thins – 6g protein, 3g fiber, 3g sugar/2g added, 300mg sodium
  • Quaker Oats – 5g protein, 4g fiber, 1g sugar, 0g sodium
  • Veggies Made Great Double Chocolate Muffins – 4g protein, 1g fiber, 10g sugar/8g added, 150 mg sodium (gluten-free, nut-free)
  • Brownberry Oatnut Bread – 4g protein, 2g fiber, 3g sugar, 150mg sodium
  • Siete Foods Tortillas – 1g protein, 3g fiber, 1g sugar/0g added, 220mg sodium

Many of these are things that require a little prep work at home to turn into snacks vs being pre-packaged but they shouldn’t take much time and are cost-effective to buy at Costco. Use the bread to make sandwiches/toast/french toast. Use the oats to make oatmeal, energy balls, muffins. Make pancakes or waffles with the mix and freeze them. The ramen noodles cook in 5 minutes for a quick snack.

fruit snacks costco

Fruit Snacks From Costco

  • Bare Apple Chips – 0g protein, 4g fiber, 21g sugar/0 added, 0mg sodium (gluten-free)
  • Mott’s Applesauce – 0g protein, 1g fiber, 11g sugar/0 added, 0mg sodium (pair with a protein source! gluten-free)
  • Kirkland Three Berry Blend Frozen Berries -2g protein, 5g fiber, 10g sugar/0g added, 0g sodium (mix with spinach and milk for an easy smoothie!)
  • Made in Nature Figgypops – 2g protein, 3g fiber, 10g sugar/0g added, 40mg sodium (gluten-free)
  • Gogosqueez – 0g protein, 3g fiber, 12g sugar/0g added, 0mg sodium (gluten-free, nut-free)
  • Kirkland Sunsweet Dried Plums – 1g protein, 3g fiber, 15g sugar/0g added, 0mg sodium (there are TONS of dried fruits available. Pair with a protein option for a more filling snack, use in trailmix etc!)
  • Del Monte Fruit in 100% juice – 0g protein, 1g fiber, 13g sugar/0g added, 10 mg sodium

Remember to pair these snacks with protein/fiber/healthy fats to make a more balanced, filling snack!

hemp hearts and flax seed

I also always have these bags of ground flax and hemp hearts at home to add to homemade snacks. I mix them into yogurt, pancakes, waffles, smoothies, muffins and bars. I sprinkle them on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Basically any time I can add them, I do!

Costco Vegan Snacks

Looking specifically for vegan snacks? Here are a few:

  • Hippeas
  • Made Good Granola Minis
  • Simple Mills Almond Flour Crackers
  • Harvest Snaps
  • Skinny Pop
  • Dried Fruit
  • Barnana Plantain Chips
  • RW Garcia Sweet Potato Crackers
  • Wheat Thins
  • Triscuits
  • Larabar
  • That’s It Minis
  • Kirkland Ancient Grains Granola
  • Cheerios
  • Dave’s Killer Bread
  • Lotus Foods Rice Ramen
  • Kirkland Hummus Cups
  • All the fruit options listed above!

Did you find any new ideas? Pin this post for later! What are your favorite Costco snacks?

Costco Snacks To Buy

Looking for healthy snacks at Costco? This list includes 50+ options that the whole family will love! Cruchy snacks, high protein snacks, granola bars and more.

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

A Month of Packed Lunch Ideas For Kids

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Need kids packed lunch ideas? I’ve got you covered in this guide with a month of packed lunch ideas for kids(with photos). I also include lunchbox recommendations, a lunch packing cheat sheet and nut-free snack ideas if needed.

easy packed lunches for kids

Hi friends!

I am so excited to share my newest resource with you! For years you’ve been asking me for packed lunch ideas and I never really felt qualified because I wasn’t packing lunches every day when my kids were younger. 

Well, now my oldest is in first grade and we’re fully into lunch packing territory so I wanted to help! I put together this PDF to give you lots of ideas and help you quickly and easily pack balanced lunches your kids will love!

Kids Packed Lunch Ideas

lunchbox ideas for kids

Here’s what’s included:

  • Product recommendations – I share my favorite lunch boxes.
  • Prep ahead tips – A few tips for things you can prep ahead of time in the fridge and freezer to make lunch packing easier.
  • Lunch Packing Cheat Sheet – lunch ideas divided into protein, carbs, vegetables, fruits and snacks so you can mix and match from each category to pack a balanced lunch quickly.
  • 24 lunch box photos – full-color photos of bento-style lunch boxes showcasing different lunch item ideas
  • Nut-free product recommendations – If your school is nut-free, here are some peanut/tree nut-free snacks you can pack for your kiddos.

If recipes included are on the blog I’ve included clickable links and we designed this so it could be easily viewed on mobile phones that you can pull it out while you’re packing lunch if you need some inspiration. 

I can’t wait for you to get your hands on it!!

Click here for a month of easy packed lunches for kids

real life lunch boxes

As an update, I’ve added a bonus PDF that’s available to all purchasers! With your purchase, you now receive a PDF that shows real-life photos and descriptions of the first 30 lunches I packed for my first grader this year!

Be sure to pin it for later to help spread the word!

A month of packed lunch ideas for kids, including 24 lunch box photos, tips for adding variety and nut-free ideas!

Let me know what you think!
–Lindsay–

25+ Dinner Salad Ideas

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Looking for dinner salad ideas?

If you’re tired of the same boring salads, look no further! This post has 25+ dinner salad ideas by category so you’re sure to find some inspiration for a salad you love.

dinner salad ideas

Hi friends!

Today we’re talking salad ideas. I’ve already given you the Ultimate List of Salad Toppings and showed you What To Put In A Salad if you want to make a healthy, balanced salad of your own…but sometimes you just need the thinking done for you.

Don’t worry, I’ve been there. There are some amazing salad combos out that there that I would never have come up with on my own. So I rounded up 20 dinner salad ideas to help you out! I’ve organized them by category so whether you’re looking for cobb salad ideas, mediterranean salad ideas or salad ideas with chicken, i’ve got you covered!

Check out the list below and lemme know your favorite!

Salad Ideas

cobb salad ideas

Cobb Salad Ideas

Summer Chipotle Chicken Cobb Salad via Muy Bueno
Greek Cobb Salad via Foodie Crush
Classic Cobb Salad via Bellyfull (if you’re looking for ketogenic salad ideas!)
Vegan Cobb Salad via Happy Food Healthy Life

seafood salad ideas

Seafood & Shrimp Salad Ideas

Mexican Shrimp Salad via Flavor Mosaic
Grilled Kale Caesar Salad with Spicy Shrimp via The Healthy Maven
Key Lime Mango Crabcake Salad via Garlic & Zest 
Salmon Nicoise Salad via The Lean Green Bean

mediterranean salad ideas

Mediterranean Salad Ideas

Greek Tortellini Salad via Peas and Crayons
Mediterranean Salmon Salad via The Real Food RDs
Antipasto Chicken Salad via Show Me The Yummy
Greek Salmon Salad via All The Healthy Things

summer salad ideas

Summer Salad Ideas

The Ultimate Summer Salad via The Kitchn
7 Easy Salads for Summer via The Lean Green Bean
Summer Chickpea Salad via Recipe Runner
Grilled Chicken & Vegetable Orzo Salad via Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

fall salad ideas

Fall Salad Ideas

Roasted Squash Fall Salad via The Lean Green Bean
Harvest Bounty Salad via Cait’s Plate
Fall Breakfast Salad via Eating Bird Food
Warm Kale Apple Sweet Potato Salad via Chelsea Joy Eats

salad ideas with chicken

Chicken Salad Ideas (Salad Ideas with Chicken)

Pretzel Chicken & Avocado Bacon Salad via Half Baked Harvest
Crunchy Kale Salad with Couscous via The Lean Green Bean
Cashew Crunch Salad with Sesame Dressing via Pinch of Yum
Grilled Chicken Salad via Fit Foodie Finds

See anything you like? Be sure to pin this post for later!

If you're tired of the same boring salads, look no further! This post has 25+ dinner salad ideas by category so you're sure to find some inspiration for a salad you love.

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

What To Put In A Salad

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Wondering what to put in a salad?

Use this list of things to put in a salad to choose a combination of vegetables, protein and healthy carbs and fats and make a salad you love!

what to put in a salad

Hi friends!

You’ve heard over and over again to eat more salad, but where is this magical list of things to put in a salad? I’ve got it for you! I’ve already shared The Ultimate List of Salad Topping Ideas. In this post I’m going to break the toppings into categories to teach you how to make a healthy, balanced salad that actually tastes good! A good salad has a variety of different flavors and textures. I always aim to include vegetables, protein and healthy carbs and fat. 

What goes in a salad

There’s no denying that when most people think salad, they think of leafy greens and vegetables. So let’s start there! Salads can be an effective way to increase your veggie intake as long as you put a little time and effort into making them taste good so that you actually want to eat them!

What to put in a mediterranean chop salad from The Lean Green Bean

If you’re going tradition, you would start with a base of leafy greens:

  • Lettuce
  • Spinach
  • Kale
  • Mixed greens
  • Arugula
  • Mustard greens
  • Swiss chard

If you don’t love leafy greens, but still want a vegetable base, consider coleslaw, broccoli slaw or shredded brussels sprouts!

Salad add-ins

Vegetables to put in a salad

Once you have your base, add even more vegetables. Remember that they can take many different forms. Try adding roasted veggies for sweeter flavor, raw vegetables for crunch and marinated or pickled veggies for flavor.

Some ideas for you

  • Roasted beets, asparagus or brussels sprouts
  • Diced or sliced cucumbers, peppers, carrots, broccoli, onion, celery, mushrooms and radishes. 
  • Pickled onions, kimchi or sauerkraut.

Carbohydrates to put in a salad

Once you’ve covered the vegetables, let’s add some carbohydrates to give us energy.

What to put in a Crunchy Kale Salad with couscous from the Lean Green Bean

Here are some healthy carbohydrate sources for your salads:

  • Whole grains like quinoa, barley, couscous, farro and rice.
  • Starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, peas and corn.
  • Vegetarian protein sources like beans (black, great northern, kidney, garbanzo, etc) are an easy way to add both carbohydrates and protein (plus fiber!)
  • Fruit! Both fresh fruit like berries, mandarin oranges, tomatoes and apples and dried fruit like raisins, dried cranberries and cherries add sweetness.

And don’t forget about the crunchy carb toppings – tortilla chips/strips, pita chips, croutons and crispy noodles all add a bit of crunch!

This Steak Cobb Salad Recipe is packed with protein and nutrients, easy to assemble and makes a great lunch or dinner option as the weather gets warmer.

Proteins to put in a salad

To make your salad more filling, always add protein. Some ideas:

  • Chicken
  • Steak
  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Tofu
  • Edamame
  • Deli meat
  • Salmon
  • Tuna
  • Crab cakes
  • Shrimp

Cooking or grilling protein ahead of time makes it easy to throw together a salad quickly.

What to put in a salad? Loaded strawberry spinach salad from the Lean Green Bean.

Healthy fats to put in a salad

One of the best ways to add some staying power to your salads AND amp up the flavor is to add some healthy fats!

  • Olives
  • Nuts  (toasted, sliced, slivered, raw, candied)
    • Almonds, Pecans, Walnuts, Peanuts, Pine nuts
  • Seeds
    • pepitas, sunflower seeds, chia
  • Avocado/guacamole
  • Cheese (crumbled, grated, sliced)
    • Goat cheese, Mozzarella, Parmesan, Feta, Gorgonzola

Homemade Salad Dressing

Salad dressings can also be a great source of healthy fats. Don’t forget how easy they are to make at home! My favorite is is a combo of avocado oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard and a little honey. Dressings are also a great place to add fresh herbs for maximum flavor! 

And if you don’t love traditional salad dressings, things like guacamole, salsa mixed with greek yogurt and even hummus are good substitutes. 

What’s your favorite salad combo? Need more ideas:

Use this list of things to put in a salad to choose a combination of vegetables, protein and healthy carbs and fats and make a salad you love!

–Lindsay–

Peanut-Free & Tree Nut-Free Packaged Snacks

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This list of Peanut-Free and Tree Nut-Free Packaged Snacks is designed to help parents and caretakers who need to provide allergy-friendly snacks for their own kids or to an entire school class or daycare.

Peanut-free and Tree Nut-free Packaged Snacks for School

*Originally published August 2019. Updated August 2021*

Hi friends!

This roundup of Peanut Free & Tree Nut Free Packaged Snacks for School has been a long time coming. You guys have been asking me for nut-free ideas for YEARS, literally…and to be honest, I’ve been putting it off. I’m not an allergy mama. My kids don’t have allergies and up until recently, they haven’t been in schools that require things to be nut-free so I selfishly haven’t had a whole lot of reason to write this post. But I finally sat down and did it!

Note that all of these snack ideas would also be great in lunch boxes. If you need help with packed lunch ideas, check out my guide: A Month of Easy Packed Lunches For Kids.

A few things to note before we go further:

  • This is not an all-inclusive list. There are a lot of options out there. Some of which are not the healthiest. It would be impossible to include them all, and as an RD I approached this list as still wanting it to be filled with snacks that have some nutritional value and not just full of pretzels and potato chips (both of which are fine but not something I give my own kids every day, especially when not paired with a protein or healthy fat, etc. Just know that I did my best to include items that are somewhat healthy, that I would feel good about giving my own kids.
  • It’s still your responsibility to do your research. I spent a lot of time on websites and looking at packaging but things can change quickly in the manufacturing process so you still need to check all the labels yourself and check them every time you buy them..not just the first time.
  • I haven’t tried them all. Like i said, I’m not an allergy mama so we haven’t had the occasion to buy a lot of these products and therefore neither I nor my kids have tasted a lot of them.
  • Some wouldn’t be my first choice nutritionally. But most on this list are things I feel are good choices when packaged snacks are needed.

Peanut Free Snacks + Nut Free Snacks

The best way to determine if foods are allergy-free snacks is to read the label since brands should 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 can also check the FAQs on the website but packaging should have the most updated info.

Some schools give guidelines that foods must not contain peanut or tree nuts but don’t require them to be from nut-free facilities. Some do. Be familiar with the rules for wherever you’re sending food so you can make sure to choose snacks that comply with their guidelines. And remember that although choosing allergy-friendly options like this can be a pain if your family does not have allergies, it’s important for the safety of a lot of kids and allergy families appreciate you putting in the time and effort to keep their kids safe. My hope is that this list will make your job just a little bit easier.

Nut Free Snacks For School

Here’s my list of peanut-free and tree nut-free packaged snacks from several allergy-friendly brands, many of which are known for keeping their facilities free of the top 8 allergens. You can click the hyperlinked brand name below each image to be taken to their website, use their store locator etc. I’ve also listed some of their products that might make good snacks. Most brands offer more products than the ones I’ve listed and you can use your discretion to choose those as well! And remember that some brands may have some products made in nut-free facilities and other products that are not so read carefully! I hope it gives you some new ideas if you need them for school and daycare lunches especially!

made good strawberry granola bars

Made Good

Granola Bars
Granola Minis

safe and fair popcorn quinoa chips

Safe + Fair

Popcorn Quinoa Chips
Pea Protein Chips
Remy’s Honey Grahams
Granola (add to yogurt)

enjoy life grain and seed bars

Enjoy Life

Chewy Bars
Lentil Chips
Seed & Fruit Mix
Breakfast Ovals
Protein Bites (not my first choice)

zego fruit and chia bars

ZEGO Foods

Fruit + Chia Bars
Just Fruit Bars
Decadent Bars
Seed & Fruit Bars (slightly high in added sugar but still decent)
Mix-ins (mix with cereal to make trail mix, add to yogurt)

88 acres seed bars

 88 Acres

Seed Bars
Protein Bars
Seed’Nola
Seed Butter

somersaults crunchy bites

Somersaults Snacks

Crunches
Crunchy Bites

this bar saves lives

This Saves Lives

This Bar Saves Lives Kids Bars

zeezees roasted sunflower seeds

Zee Zees

Roasted Sunflower Kernels
Applesauce
Fruit Cups
Mixzees Dried Fruit
Soft Baked Bars
Nutrition bars (higher in calories and added sugar than I’d like for kids)

rw garcia crackers

RW Garcia (peanut-free facility)

Crackers – Lentil Turmeric, Chickpea, Sweet Beet, Sweet Potato
Corn Chips
Tortilla Chips

popchips

Pop Chips

Pop Chips
Yes Peas

lundberg rice cakes thin stackers

Lundberg Family Farms
(Website says the facility that makes rice cakes is free from peanuts and tree nuts)

Rice Cakes
Thin Stackers
(use a peanut butter alternative for topping)

bitsys

Bitsy’s 

Smart Crackers

gogosqueez fruit and veggie

GoGoSqueez

Applesauce
Fruit & Veggie Squeez
Pudding
Yogurtz

nature's bakery baked ins

Nature’s Bakery 

Baked Ins
Lots of people ask about the fig bars but they’re too high in added sugar for my liking

skinny pop

SkinnyPop

Popcorn
Popcorn Cakes
Popcorn Mini Cakes
Popcorn Puffs
SkinnyPop Chips

my superfoods granola bar

MySuperFoods

Granola Bars
Granola Bites
Super Cookies
Super Pops

garden lites muffins

GardenLites 

Muffins
Veggie Cakes

hillary's breakfast sausage

Hilary’s 

Sunny Sau’sage Sandwich
Meatless Sausages

beanfields chips

Beanfields

Chips
Cracklin’s

biena

Biena

Roasted Chickpeas
*note they’re peanut/tree nut free and facility is peanut free but not tree nut free*

A few other ideas
That’s It Fruit Bars

rule breaker blondies

A few ideas for allergy-friendly treats:
Rule Breaker Blondies
Free2b Sun Cups & Snack Breaks
Made Good Soft Baked Mini Cookies & Crispy Squares
Enjoy Life Crunchy & Soft Baked Cookies

nut-free peanut butter alternatives

Peanut Butter Replacements
(Pair with pretzels, fruit, celery, put on sandwiches etc)

SunButter
(Made with sunflower seeds)
WowButter
(Made with soy)
88 Acres Seed Butter
(Made with pumpkin, sunflower or watermelon seeds)
Don’t Go Nuts Spreads
(Made with roasted soybeans)
Oat Haus Granola Butter
(Made with oats and flax)

Peanut-free and tree nut-free packaged snacks for schools

There are also some other packaged snacks that I frequently see mentioned on allergy-friendly lists. Some of their websites say the snacks themselves are peanut/tree nut free but the facilities are not. Others I couldn’t find specific info about the facilities so you’ll need to do your own research based on how strict the guidelines are at your school/facility:

  • Quaker Rice Cakes
  • Triscuits
  • Wheat Thins
  • Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies
  • SunChips

And a few other packaged snack ideas:
(DO YOUR RESEARCH AND CHECK THE LABELS)

  • String cheese
  • Fruit: fresh, dried, freeze-dried, fruit leathers, dried fruit bars, fruit cups
  • Individual guacamole and hummus cups
  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Yogurt cups/tubes
  • Cottage cheese + fruit cups
  • Meat sticks/jerky
  • 8oz Lifeway kefir

So there you go! Hope that was helpful.

Please remember – I spent a lot of time and energy on this post, but things change. You are responsible for checking the labels and doing research on the things you choose to buy!

And if you’re looking for more snack ideas check out these posts:

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Cilantro Lime Chicken {Slow Cooker or Instant Pot}

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This Cilantro Lime Chicken is the perfect healthy dinner recipe and can be made in the slow cooker or the Instant Pot. Serve it over rice or as a filling for tacos. You can even prep it ahead of time and freeze until you need it.

This Cilantro Lime Chicken is the perfect healthy dinner recipe and can be made in the slow cooker or the Instant Pot. Serve it over rice or as a filling for tacos. You can even prep it ahead of time and freeze until you need it.

*Originally published 2014. Updated 2017 & 2021*

Hi Friends!

I shared this Crockpot Cilantro Lime Chicken recipe over 7 years ago and still make it fairly often. It’s one of my favorite crockpot dump meals. I love it because it’s super forgiving – you don’t need exact measurements you can prep several batches ahead of time, freeze in ziploc bags and then just pull one out to thaw and cook during a busy week. It’s perfect for giving to a family after a new baby, in a time of need, etc because it’s so easy to prepare and they can just toss it into the crockpot whenever they need it most.

This meal is also perfect for sunday meal prep. If you want to learn more about meal prep and how it can help you eat healthy during busy weeks, check out my course: Mastering Food Prep.

Cilantro Lime Chicken in the crockpot or instant pot

Cilantro Lime Chicken Crockpot Recipe

It’s also super versatile. You can serve it on its own over rice, or use it as the filling for tacos or burritos. I’ve even served it over chips topped with cheese for some easy nachos!

I’ve tested this cilantro lime chicken in both the crockpot and the instant pot. Here’s how you make it:

Print

Cilantro Lime Chicken

This Cilantro Lime Chicken is the perfect healthy dinner recipe and can be made in the slow cooker or the Instant Pot. Serve it over rice or as a filling for tacos. You can even prep it ahead of time and freeze until you need it.
Print Recipe

★★★★★

4.5 from 2 reviews

This Cilantro Lime Chicken is the perfect healthy dinner recipe and can be made in the slow cooker or the Instant Pot. Serve it over rice or as a filling for tacos. You can even prep it ahead of time and freeze until you need it.

  • Author: Lindsay
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: serves 4-6 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 – 1.5 pounds chicken breasts
  • 1 (15 oz) can no salt added black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 (15 oz) can corn (or 1.5 cups frozen or fresh)
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 cup onion, diced
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
  • 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice (I use the juice from one lime)
  • 2 serrano (or jalapeno) peppers, minced (optional)
  • 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 Tbsp cumin (You could also use taco seasoning)
  • Optional toppings for serving: salsa, cheese, avocado

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients to slow cooker.
  2. Stir to combine and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
  3. Remove chicken, shred, return to pot, stir and serve over rice, as is or in tortillas. Top with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and cilantro before serving if desired.

Notes

To prep for freezer: Combine all ingedients in a ziploc bag and freeze flat. Thaw in the fridge the night before cooking. Pour contents into crockpot and cook according to directions.

You may need to add a little water to the ziploc bag and swirl it around to get cilantro out if it sticks to the sides of the bag.

To cook in the Instant Pot: Add all ingredients to the Instant Pot. Seal, press the manual button and set time for 10 minutes. If your chicken breasts are thick, cut them in half before cooking. Shred chicken and serve.

Keep in mind you can use 90 second rice or even make your rice ahead of time and freeze it to make this dinner even easier.

Top will all sorts of goodness like salsa, avocado, cheese etc and dig in!

This Cilantro Lime Chicken is the perfect healthy dinner recipe and can be made in the slow cooker or the Instant Pot. Serve it over rice or as a filling for tacos. You can even prep it ahead of time and freeze until you need it.

Let’s chat: What’s your favorite make-ahead crockpot meal?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Sweet Potato Banana Muffins

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These gluten-free Sweet Potato Banana Muffins have just four main ingredients and make a great snack for both kids and adults! 

sweet potato muffins for baby

*Originally published 2/2013. Updated 2019 & 2021*

Hi Friends!

I first developed the recipe for these Sweet Potato Banana Muffins way back in 2013. I previously called them Sweet Potato Banana Bites. They’re one of the first homemade snacks I made for all three of my kids when they first started eating solids and they’ve been a favorite each time. Now my kids are 6, 4 and 2 and I still make them several times a month! Watch my younger two make some to see how easy it is. 

Sweet Potato Muffins for Babies

All you need are four simple ingredients that you probably already have on hand – sweet potato, banana, peanut butter (or your favorite nut butter) and eggs. Then you can add your favorite mix-ins if you’d like – cinnamon and vanilla, chocolate chips, frozen blueberries etc. The thing I love most is that you don’t really even need to measure. I never do.

I grab a medium-large sweet potato, stab it a few times with a knife and throw it in the microwave for 5 minutes. Once it’s cooked, I slice it open, scoop the insides out into a bowl, add a medium banana and a couple spoonfuls of peanut butter and mash it all up. Mix in two eggs, a few shakes of cinnamon and a handful of chocolate chips and you’re done!

If you leave out the chocolate chips, there’s no added sugar so these moist mini muffins are perfect for baby-led weaning. I served them to my kids starting around 6 months. They’re a great way to introduce peanut butter and/or eggs- two common allergens. 

Sweet Potato Recipes For Toddlers

I always make these as mini muffins which makes them perfect for toddlers. If you don’t have a mini muffin tin, use a regular one but don’t fill more than half full. There’s no baking soda like in most muffins. If you’re making for babyled weaning, I actually prefer a regular muffin tin filled just slightly because it makes them a little wider and flatter, easier for young hands to grab.

I find my silicone muffin tin works best. If you use a metal pan, be sure each mini-muffin hole is well greased! I store these in the fridge because they are pretty moist and my kids and I eat them cold at snack time. (If you need them to be nut-free you can try sunflower seed butter.)

Want more sweet potato recipes? Here are 20+ Baked Sweet Potato Recipes.

Sweet Potato Banana Muffins

Gluten-free Sweet Potato Banana Bites

 

They’re even easy enough for toddlers to make themselves and perfect for getting kids in the kitchen since the recipe is so forgiving. Here’s a video of my oldest making them as a toddler!

 

Sweet Potato Bites

A few notes:

  • They’re not super sweet. There’s no added sugar except from the chocolate chips so make sure you use really ripe bananas
  • They’re gluten-free and dairy-free (as long as you use dairy-free chocolate chips if needed!
  • You can eat them for dessert, for an afternoon snack or before a workout
  • The recipe is very forgiving so your measurements don’t have to be exact. I never measure. I just eyeball it.

Sweet Potato Banana Recipes

This is my favorite way to combine sweet potato and banana, but you could also sub banana for maple syrup in my Sweet Potato White Bean Bars or Healthy Sweet Potato Cookies.

Here’s how you make them:

Print

Sweet Potato Banana Muffins

gluten-free sweet potato banana bites
Print Recipe

★★★★★

4.9 from 13 reviews

These gluten-free Sweet Potato Banana Bites have just four main ingredients and make a great snack for both kids and adults! 

  • Author: Lindsay L
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 14-16 mini muffins 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 c cooked, mashed sweet potato (approx 1 medium)
  • 1/2 cup mashed banana (approx 1 medium)
  • 1/4 c nut butter
  • 2 eggs
  • cinnamon, to taste
  • Optional mix-ins: dark chocolate chips, fruit, chia seeds, etc

Instructions

  1. Smash the sweet potato and banana together in a small bowl.
  2. Add the peanut butter, eggs and cinnamon & mix well.
  3. Stir in any additional mix-ins and spoon into greased mini muffin tins.
  4. Bake at 375 degrees for 18 minutes.

Feel free to customize by using your favorite nut butter. I’ve made them with peanut butter, almond butter and sunflower seed butter- all delicious.

These gluten-free Sweet Potato Banana Muffins have just four main ingredients and make a great snack for both kids and adults! 

You can also mix-in things like chia seeds or fruit instead of chocolate chips- I love mixing in frozen blueberries or fresh cranberries!

These Healthy Brownie Bites require just six ingredients, are healthy enough for a snack and also make a great dessert recipe!

And If you’re looking for something like this that’s a little bit sweeter, you should definitely try my Healthy Brownie Bites! With just two extra ingredients, I transformed my sweet potato bites into a healthy, bite-sized chocolate dessert!

Looking for more healthy snack ideas? Check out some of my favorites:

These Healthy Sweet Potato Cookies are packed with protein! They're gluten-free, made with real food ingredients and packed with protein and fiber. Enjoy them for breakfast or an afternoon snack!

See all my snack recipes here.

These bites are a staple in my weekly food prep routine because they make a great healthy snack for my kids. If you liked this post, you’ll love my ebook – The Ultimate Guide To Food Prep. It dives into even more detail about how to food prep, troubleshoots common problems and provides tons of tips to make it easier! (I’ve also got a Freezer Food Prep ebook if you need help with that!)

 

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Kitchen Tools For Kids

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These Kitchen Tools For Kids are perfect for introducing children to the kitchen. Let them get creative, have fun and develop healthy eating habits from a young age!

These Kitchen Tools For Kids are the perfect way to introduce children to the kitchen and teach them about healthy eating.

*Originally published 11/2017. Updated 6/2021*

Hi friends!

Today I’m sharing my favorite kids cooking utensils! As most of you know, spending time in the kitchen with my kids is one of my favorite things to do. I started bringing both my kids into the kitchen with me at a very young age. They were both up on their learning tower helping me from about 14 months on.

Lots of you ask me what tools I use in the kitchen with my kids so I thought I’d put together a guide with some kids cooking tools that are nice to have on hand for your little helpers! Some of these are brands I love while others are just general ideas and many brands make similar products.

Teaching Kids to Cook

Once you have the tools, the next step is checking out my Ultimate Guide to Teaching Kids to Cook! I have a huge list of kitchen tasks for toddlers, everything from dumping and stirring to using the salad spinner! Don’t underestimate how much kids can do in the kitchen from a young age. Every chance to practice builds their confidence and soon they’ll be cooking full meals like my six-year-old does!

What To Bake With Kids

If you’re not sure what to make, I’ve got you covered there too! Here are some of my favorite Kid-Friendly Baking Recipes. Most of them use a food processor which is easy for kids to use and they’re all healthy muffins and bars that will help your kids make nutritious snacks they love!

Kids Cooking Tools

All of the links in this post are Amazon affiliate links. That means if you choose to purchase something by clicking my link, I get to keep a small portion of the sale at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting The Lean Green Bean!

learning tower

Learning Tower

Once kids can stand comfortably for a while, a learning tower is great to have! They can stand right at the counter to help but are a bit more secure than being on just a chair or barstool. Just watch the younger ones closely though because if they sit or fall down they can definitely fall out through the sides or back. You can buy add-ons as well. We bought the easel to add to the back of ours. It not only makes the back solid, it also adds a magnetic dry erase board and a felt board. Little Partners also makes activity boards for the back!

kids kitchen knives

 

Knives

I get asked all the time about what knives my kids use. We have used three different types and liked all of them. I start all my kids with Curious Chef. Next, we moved to the smaller serrated ones. I love Foost. It’s basically like a pumpkin carving knife and is smaller and I think it’s easier for them to handle as they start to cut firmer fruits and vegetables. The last one we use is Opinel. It’s basically a real chef knife but the right size for kid hands. Around this same time, I also started letting my oldest use paring knives and some of our normal kitchen knives.

kids in the kitchen baking set

Kitchen Gift Set

If they’re really excited about cooking and you’re looking to get several tools all at once, a gift set might be a great solution.

palm veggie peeler

Peeler

My son started out using a regular peeler and never had any issues but some people like the palm peeler better because it fits better in little hands. It’s up to you!

measuring cups

Measuring Cups

There are lots of fun sets out there, stainless steel or plastic, at a variety of price points but my kids have always enjoyed having their own measuring cups and spoons! Fun colors are an added bonus. 

 

cookie scoop

Cookie Scoop

Definitely one of our most used tools. Cookie baking is a great way to introduce kids to the kitchen. This tool also helps them work on their coordination and grip strength. You can also use it to scoop batter into muffin tins.

mixing bowls

Mixing Bowls with Non-Slip Base

Having bowls with a non-slip bottom is crucial! This set actually has accompanying lids which is nice because some kitchen projects may need to get put on hold for tantrums, naps, etc. I actually prefer a glass mixing bowl but it took me a while to work up the courage to trust my kids with my favorite. However once they’re a little older, a glass mixing bowl with a handle it my favorite!

utensils

 

Mixing Utensils

Things like stirring, whisking and brushing are perfect beginner kitchen tasks.

 

inspiralizer

Spiralizer

A spiralizer is a fun way to get kids exciting about veggies! Let them pick the veggie and choose what thickness to cut them. The Inspiralzer brand is my favorite because it suctions really well to the counter so the kiddos can focus on spinning the handle. However I don’t think it’s being made anymore so you could try this OXO one!

grater

Grater

These are fairly sharp so watch kids closely when using them. Ones like this with a built-in box can help minimize the mess. It also has non-slip feet which is nice!

non-slip cutting board

Small Non-Slip Cutting Board

Are you sensing a theme here with the non-slip idea? Get them their own small cutting board so they can chop right alongside you!

veggie scrubber

Veggie Scrubber

Another great tool for simple kitchen task that even young toddlers can handle!

salad spinner

Salad Spinner 

Making salads is a great task for kids. They can tear the lettuce, spin it dry, and peel and chop some veggies all by themselves

cookie cutters

Cookie Cutters

Cookie cutters make baking more fun and are good to have on hand for rainy days, holiday baking, etc!

salad shaker

Salad dressing shaker

If you like to make your own sauces or dressings, these are handy to have! Let the kids help add all the ingredients and then have fun shaking them up!

ziploc bag holder

Ziploc Bag Holder

If you make freezer meals, especially chop and dump style meals to stock your freezer for the slow cooker, these are handy. They hold a ziploc bag upright and open so kids can help add stuff to the bag.

silpat

Silpat

These are great for baking but can also be great to use on the counter when rolling out various doughs, kneading bread dough etc.

mini rolling pin

Mini Rolling Pin

Full-size rolling pins can be tough for kids to manage. Get them a mini one and give them their own section of dough to work with.

crinkle cutter

Crinkle Cutter

Anything to make veggies more fun! Let kids cut veggies like potatoes, zucchini, cucumbers and carrots into fun crinkle strips.

 

Silicone Muffin Tins

I also love these silicone muffin tins for easy, no-stick baking!

————

That’s all for now! I’m sure there are some things I forgot.

Any of these would make a great gift! Want more gift ideas? Check out my Gift Guide for Toddlers (Ages 1-3) or Kid Gift Ideas {Ages 4-7}.

These Kitchen Tools For Kids are perfect for introducing children to the kitchen. Let them get creative, have fun and develop healthy eating habits from a young age!

Let’s chat!

Do you cook with your kids? What are your favorite tools?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

 

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