18 Healthy Packaged Snacks For Lunches And After School

With the school year kicking into high gear once again, you’re going to be pretty busy rushing to pick-up and chauffeuring your kid to all their extracurricular activities. If you don’t have time to prepare all the cute Pinterest-worthy snacks you envisioned for your little ones, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered with these healthy snacks for kids that are easy to toss in a backpack or nibble in the car when your kid’s on the go.

Our make-life-easier suggestion: keep an extra lunch bag stocked with delicious packaged goodies so that you can grab it on your way out the door. (You can even direct kids to help themselves to the “snack bag” and build up their independence when you’re working from home.) Many of these healthy snacks come individually wrapped, and the ones that are sold in larger packages are easy to dole out into reusable containers.

Having an on-hand supply of easy snacks will help you ward off after-school meltdowns, reducing your own stress and giving you more time to connect with your kid.

MadeGood Soft Baked Mini Cookies

These yummy cookies are perfect for when you want a treat that’s got an extra dose of veggies in the form of vegetable extracts. They’re also lower in sugar, free of common allergens and come in seven flavours.

Once Upon A Farm Refrigerated Oat Bars

Truly one of our most beloved healthy packaged snack options, this bar offers the goodness of organic fruits and veggies in a granola bar-like format that surprisingly tastes good. It's sweet, but not too sweet. It's made with toddlers and little kids in mind, but our older children (ages nine and 11) were thrilled to have these packed in their school lunch bags.

If your kids love Chewy bars, switch 'em out for these and you'll both feel better about the ingredients upgrade.

Mary's Gone Crackers Organic Everything Crackers

These vegan, gluten-free crunch machines are everything you could ask for in a cracker. They're perfectly sized for a small slice of cheese or dipping in a hearty bowl of hummus. They've got the intense, rich flavor of an everything bagel, only without the blood sugar spike of all-white flour.

Get your seeds, grains and fiber on with these delicious crisps!

Good To Go Soft Baked Bars

Perfect for when you’re craving something sweet, these cake-like bars have only 2 grams of sugar or less.

Clif Kid Zbar Organic Energy Bar

This protein-packed bar with a soft and chewy texture is sure to keep kids energized during their after-school activities. The bar comes in three tasty flavours: Iced Oatmeal Cookie, Chocolate Brownie & Chocolate Chip.

Nature’s Bakery Whole Wheat Fig Bars

These fig bars are packed with fibre and healthy whole grains. Your kids are sure to love the texture of the fruity filling, bursting with blueberry or raspberry.

Kind Healthy Grains bars

KIND’s gluten-free bars contain some super whole grains, including oats, millet, buckwheat, amaranth and quinoa. If your kid is active this will give them enough energy to power through playtime or after-school sports.

LesserEvil Berry Blast Cosmic Rings

These slightly sweet, crunchy O's hit all the right flavor notes without any added junk. They're made with better-for-you avocado oil, and offer a melt-on-your-tongue texture that's safer for toddlers and younger kids to enjoy. Our kids enjoyed them so much they heartily asked for, "more, please!"

The Good Bean, Sea Salt chickpeas

Crunchy roasted chickpeas are lots of fun to eat. But better yet, they’re high in protein and fibre, making them a filling afternoon snack. Pack a few extra in a lunchbox for your kid to sprinkle over his salad like croutons.

Bumble Bee Snack On The Run

Protein-rich packaged snacks are often hard to find, but this Bumble Bee Snack on the Run option is the exception. It's a just-right portion of protein-packed tuna and wheat crackers for belly-filling bites between meals.

Jackson's Sweet Potato Chips

The perfect mashup of sweet, savory and crunchy exists in each bag of Jackson's kettle-cooked sweet potato chips. They're made with avocado oil, gluten-free, allergen-friendly and school-safe. We also love how easy they are to throw in a lunch bag or take in the car for road trips. Choose from plain (our fave) or oodles of jazzed-up specialty flavours.

Crispy Apple Chips

There’s only one ingredient: apples. Slices are dried in a way that makes them light and crispy—so they feel and taste like sweet chips.

Did you know? Dried fruit is a good source of fibre and a nutritious snack (one serving equals ¼ cup). Just be sure fruit is the only ingredient (no added sugar!).

Annie’s Bunny Grahams

When your cookie monster needs a treat, consider animal crackers. They’re lower in sugar than most other biscuits. Bonus: These cute ones are made with whole grains.

Triscuit, Low Sodium

Kids love these crispy crackers because they’re delicious; parents can love ’em because they’re nutritious—low in salt and high in whole grains.

Solely Organic Mango Guava Gummies

If they're absolutely insisting on candy, make the switch to these better-for-you Soley gummies made with organic mango and guava fruit. They have no added sugars, artificial colours or flavourings—and we love that. Be sure to load up on the best kids toothpaste though, these are definitely sticky.

Little Bellies Organic Sweet Potato Sticks

Crunchy, mildly sweet and just a touch savory in one package? Sign us up, because these baby and toddler-friendly healthy packaged snacks are a total dream. Our older children called these "super good" and asked for large reusable bags of them in their lunch bags three days in a row.

Harvest Snaps Snapea Crisps

These pea-based treats will satisfy your sweetie, because each serving contains four grams of fibre and five grams of protein. Baked, not fried, they’re also lower in fat than many other munchies and have a light puffed texture. (And if you can find them, the lightly salted variety is a great option.)

GoGo Squeez Tropicalz

Mess-free pouches are particularly handy healthy snacks for on the go. These ones come in three tropical flavours that are kosher, vegan and gluten-free, with no added sugar or artificial flavours or colours.