Ideas for 'school snacks' - fruit & veg only....

[Mo2]

DS1 has just started reception. The kids are allowed to take in a snack for mid-morning (which I think DS will need) but it can only be "chopped fruit or vegetables" - nothing that can be classified as sweets, crisps or biscuits.

I support the school policy on this, but am racking my brains for all the options so as not to make this really boring. So far I am think of:

banana (not chopped technically but I hope OK)
chopped apple (anyone know whow to stop it going brown?)
grapes
Plum / peach (a bit messy?)
pineapple slices
carrot sticks
cucumber sticks

what else??

can they have dried fruit? they're less messy and you can get nice banana, pineapple etc.

Squeeze lemon juice onto the chopped apple.

raisins, segments of orange, put the apple slices in a tupperware pot with a tiny amount of Oj that should stop them going brown without too much mess. Cherry tomatoes, dried apricots

Our school supply the infants with fruit every day but in the juniors they are expected to bring their own fruit or plain biscuit as a snack. 2 boys in the juniors last year brought in a PACKET of all butter shortbread fingers for snack each day but were only allowed 4 a day!!!! another little girl brought in a packet of snakajacks (ricecakes) and she wasn;t allowed to eat them.... then of course the children see the teachers walking around with cans of fizzy drinks and munching on crisps..... ooooh it makes my blood boil

Yes - it gets a bit confusing really - they're not allowed cheese strings or pepperami (fine by me!) but I wonder if they could have 'real cheese' in strips or cubes - probably not!

I'm not even sure about dried fruit - that woudl be good as you can get little packets of that ....

Mo2 our school does this too. I put cut up apple etc in a small plastic pot as clairabelle says. Also baby orange, raisins, have done plums, halved then stoned then in the pot. They eat it at first break so it's only in there for a couple of hours. TBH I don't think you need to kill yourself over variety - my ds seems to always want baby orange. I think your ideas are fine. I also send a pear sometimes but not chopped up, just in a little plastic freezer bag, and that seems OK (but maybe check with the school).

I feel awful because the school asked for snacks for my dd for snack time and I wasnt prepared. So i shoved 3 packets of crisps and 3 tweenies cake bars in her box. Feel a bit now

What about things like blueberries, strawberries, etc? They're small and not too messy.

Mine have, raisins, grapes, plums, chopped apple, oranges, chopped mango or papaya, banana (left in skin until needed), strawberries. They are also allowed to bring in cheese or bread as an alternative.

fio2

You can get choppped apple and chopped apple and grapes in little packets from supermarkets.

As long as it wasn't a Pot Noodle Fio, I think you will get away with it.

baby tomatoes
chunks or small slice of melon

dd's school request a 'healthy snack' so she is getting a babybel and some carrot sticks. Don't see why they can't have a biscuit quite honestly, I would at 11am.

Slight digression, but some Swiss Kindergartens do not include bananas in their definition of a healthy snack !!

ds likes to have the same stuff in his snack box, atm a snack bar, babybel cheese and grapes. How about slices of raw pepper or pear to add to the list ?

I have been recommended to stay away from dried fruit as it is very high in sugar and is sticky, therefore staying on the teeth for prolonged periods of time. I give them later on in the day now to minimise the time that they are on the teeth.
On a more positive note, DD loves kiwi fruit peeled and chopped into 4 circles for her snack time along with a pot of grapes or strawberries.

OK - confession time - I am getting into this fruit snack thing in a BIG way now....
I found myself in the kitchen gadget section of John Lewis on Oxford Street this afternoon (ahem - work meeting in London....) and came away with... wait for it...

• one 'Good grip' apple corer and slicer
• one cherry stoner
• one pineapple corer and slicer

whahey! we'll be eating fruit salad every day from now on...

(What's great is that DS thinks these are so great, he wants to do it himself!!)

Crikey, our school doesn't allow any food to be brought in (other than packed lunches obviously).

Reception children are provided with fruit at snacktime - which the parents pay for (50p a week) although the school will be getting Government funding shortly for this.

Year 1 and above - they don't have snack time AT ALL!

Chopped? Sounds too much like hard work!

Demented - agree - hence my 'investments' today!

My dd just has an apple which she seems to be ok about.

Her school recently sent home a letter from Dept of Health saying all 4-6 yr olds would soon be getting a free piece of fruit or veg every day (nice); oh, and could we fill in a survey for them over the course of a week detailing exactly how much fruit and veg (excluding potatoes - huh?) the children ate at home. Hmmm, call me awkward, but whats it got to do with them anyway? We've nothing to be ashamed of btw cos I'm always onto the fruit and veg thing but it's a bit nosey don't you think?

Our school same as Slinky's - no food allowed to be taken in but all infants given fruit and from next week veg as a snack every day. They are provided with this in the afternoon but we have to pay 50p a week for morning snack of fruit or wholemeal toast.