Nut-Free Pack-and-Go Snacks for Kids

Many places are nut-free in order to avoid risks for those with allergies. Here are healthy, packable snacks that your kids can take wherever they go. Quick-Easy-Delicious!

5 min

JamieGeller .com

Posted on 15.08.22

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Many places from schools to camps are nut-free these days in order to avoid any risks for those with allergies.  That means that even if you don’t have a nut allergy you do need to find healthy packable snacks that your kids can take wherever they go.

We love recipes the kids can actually make themselves…

 

Click the following links to go directly to the recipe:

 

NUT-FREE GRANOLA BARS

I totally adore these nut free energy bars. They satisfy my sweet tooth while being good for me and my kids at the same time. Filled with nutrients from dried fruits, sesame and flax and you don’t even have to turn on the oven.

  • PREP TIME:
  • SERVINGS: 9 BARS

INGREDIENTS

  • 1½ cups assorted dried fruit such as dried cherries, pitted dates, stemmed figs – all checked for bugs
  • 2 cups dried apricots – checked for bugs
  • Hot water
  • Pinch of kosher or sea salt
  • 4 tablespoons sesame seeds (checked for bugs), toasted in a dry pan until lightly golden
  • 2 tablespoons brown flax seeds – checked for bugs

PREPARATION

  1. Line a 9- x 9-inch pan with parchment paper.
  2. Soak fruit in a small bowl of hot water for 15 minutes until softened. Squeeze out as much water as possible.
  3. Chop fruit and blend in salt in food processor until broken up but still a bit chunky.
  4. Sprinkle ½ of sesame seeds and ½ of flax seeds on the bottom of the lined pan. Press fruit into the pan. Top with remaining seeds. Chill until firm. Cut into bars. Wrap each bar and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.

 

LUNCHBOX GRANOLA BARS

  • COOK TIME:
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INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups rolled oats 500 ml – checked for bugs
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour 250 ml – checked for bugs
  • ½ cup ground flax seed 125 ml – checked for bugs
  • ⅓ cup packed brown sugar 75 ml 
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon 5 ml 
  • 1 cup raisins , chocolate chips or your favorite dried fruit 250 ml – checked for bugs
  • ½ cup sunflower seeds 125 ml – checked for bugs
  • ½ tsp salt 2 ml
  • ⅓ cup honey 75 ml
  • 1 egg, beaten 
  • ¼ cup canola oil 60 ml
  • ¼ cup applesauce 60 mL
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract 10 mL

 

PREPARATION

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Oil a 9 x 13 inch (22 x 33 cm) baking pan.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, flour, flax seed, brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins, sunflower seeds and salt. Make a well in the center; set aside.
  3. In a small bowl, combine honey, egg, canola oil, applesauce and vanilla. Add liquid ingredients to well and mix. Pat the mixture evenly into a prepared pan.
  4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

Source: canolainfo.org

 

SPICY OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES

 

  • PREP TIME:
  • SERVINGS: 48 cookies

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 package Duncan Hines® Moist Deluxe® Spice Cake Mix
  • 4 large egg whites
  • 1 cup uncooked quick-cooking oats
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ cup raisins

PREPARATION

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease cookie sheets.
  2. Combine cake mix, egg whites, oats and oil in large mixing bowl.
  3. Beat at low speed with electric mixer until blended. Stir in raisins.
  4. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.
  5. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets.
  6. Remove to cooling racks; cool completely.

Source: www.duncanhines.com

 

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ENERGY BITES

 

Quick and easy and perfect for every kid and grown up lunch box. 

  • PREP TIME:
  • SERVINGS:15-20 BITES

INGREDIENTS

  • 2-3 cups oats
  • ⅓ cup cacao powder
  • ½ cup natural peanut butter and a ½ a cup of raw tahini ( feel free to change the butters if there are allergies)
  • ⅛ teaspoon Himalayan or sea salt
  • ½ cup pureed dates
  • ½ cup ground flax seed
  • ½ cup 60% cacao chocolate chips
  • 2 tablespoon chia seeds
  • 1 tablespoon date honey
  • 1 cup of shredded coconut
  • Pinch of cinnamon

PREPARATION

  1. Mix all ingredients and form the balls.  May be eaten as is or stored in the freezer. 
  2. Freeze on cookie sheet for an hour and then move to Ziploc bags for an easy grab and go snack.

 

AUNT MINNIE’S DATE AND OAT BARS

This recipe for Aunt Minnie’s Date and Oat Bars is based on one that comes from our friend Sue Truax’s Aunt Minnie, who made them throughout the 1950s and 1960s. They were a holiday special in the Schleiger and Story families. Sue remembers Aunt Minnie cutting her Date and Oat Bars and layering them in a large oatmeal cylinder between sheets of wax paper at Thanksgiving and other holidays. These bars are sweet and chewy, and they make a great gift. We added the grated lemon zest and lemon juice to the date filling.   

  • COOK TIME:
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  • SERVINGS: 24

INGREDIENTS

FILLING:

  • 1 ½ cups water
  • 3 cups chopped pitted dates, checked for bugs
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

BARS:

  • 1 ¾ cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1½ cups rolled oats
  • ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

PREPARATION

  1. Set the oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cover the bottom and sides of a 9 by 13 by 2-inch metal pan with alumi­num foil, shiny side up. Coat the foil with vegetable oil spray. 
  2. To make the filling: Add the water, dates, granulated sugar, salt, lemon zest, and lemon juice to a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and bring the date mixture to a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thickened. Cool the filling before spreading it over the oatmeal crust.
  3. To make the bars: Add the flour, salt, and  baking soda to a mixing bowl and whisk to com­ bine. Set aside. Add the rolled oats to another bowl and set aside.
  4. Add the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla to  the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until the ingredients are well mixed. Add the dry ingredients and beat to com­ bine. Turn off the mixer, remove the bowl, and fold in the rolled oats. Press half of the flour-oat mix­ ture into the prepared pan. Using an offset spatula, spread with the cooled date filling. Crumble the remaining flour-oat mixture evenly over the filling.
  5. Bake the bars for 30 minutes, or until lightly  browned. Remove from the oven, and transfer to  a wire rack to cool. When completely cool, lift the pastry with the foil from the pan, place on a cut­ ting board, and carefully remove the foil. Cut into  2-inch bars with a wide-bladed knife, wiping the blade with a damp paper towel between cuts. Store the bars between sheets of wax paper in a covered tin at room temperature.

Recipe posted with permission from Baking with the Brass Sisters: Over 125 Recipes for Classic Cakes, Pies, Cookies, Breads, Desserts, and Savories from America’s Favorite Home Bakers


POWER-PACKED OAT BARS WITH CRANBERRIES, APRICOTS, AND PUMPKIN SEEDS

 

These delicious Power Packed Oat Bars are filled with great ingredients and provide long-lasting energy.

Oats provide long-lasting energy because the fiber in oats slows down the rate at which sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream. Pumpkin seeds are a good source of iron and zinc and sunflower seeds are rich in vitamins E and B. Dried apricots are one of nature’s great health foods and they are rich in beta-carotene and iron.

  • COOK TIME:
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  • SERVINGS: 12

INGREDIENTS

  • 7 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ½ cup packed light brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons golden syrup or light corn syrup
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1-½ cups quick cooking oats
  • ¼ cup chopped dried apples, checked for bugs
  • ¼ cup chopped dried apricots, checked for bugs
  • ¼ cup dried cranberries, checked for bugs
  • ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
  • 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
  • ¼ cup dried coconut flakes

 

PREPARATION

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line and grease an 8 inch square baking pan with wax paper.
  2. In a saucepan, melt together the butter, sugar, golden syrup, and salt.
  3. In a bowl, combine the oats, dried apples, apricots, cranberries, pumpkin and sunflower seeds and the coconut. 
  4. Stir in the butter and syrup mixture.
  5. Spoon the mixture into the pan and press down with a potato masher to compress and level the surface.
  6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 minutes, cut into bars with a sharp knife. 
  7. Allow to cool completely before lifting from the pan. Store in the fridge.

Contributed by: ANNABEL KARMEL

 
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Jamie Geller is one of the most sought-after Jewish food and lifestyle experts worldwide. She is the bestselling author of 5 books and founder of Kosher Network International, publisher of  JamieGeller.com  featuring more than 10,000 recipes, articles, and videos.  Check out her new #1 Amazon Bestseller, Brisket 101 and her new family meal plan “Fresh Families” at FreshFamilies.us.

 

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