Hey there mama’s, papa’s, grannies and grandpa’s, and anyone who likes a good snacky snack, slide a little closer!

Navigating the snack isle can be mind boggling at the best of times, add to that the lunchbox boredome dilemma, and you have yourself a ripper of a migraine, usually! Well, in an effort to ease those weekday woes, here is a comprehensive list of the snacks and treats you can safely add to lunchboxes or the treat basket at home (yes, we have a snacks and treats basket in our cupboard). I’ve done the work for you.

Piggy backing on the my 2 part blog on feeding your child vs nourishing your child (look on my blog page), these snacks come with no guilt. 🙂 Free of all the worst offenders and trigger foods (foods that cause inflammation, respiratory issues, mucus, immune suppression, mood swings, concentration issues).

Below is a full list of all the safest, store bought snacks and yummies, sidebar, I am always pro making your own from scratch, but there isn’t always time for that, and you need to know what you can grab on the go without worrying about junk and nasties.

Before you close this blog page down because you ‘Just know its all going to be so expensive’, hold your horses, comparatively, these snack items are, for the most part on par or in some cases slightly more expensive, than commercial snacks, but what you spend a little more on, you save ALOT on in pharmaceutical costs because less dairy, less sugar, less E numbers, less wheat, gluten, preservatives, GMo free, refined sugars free, and no junk, equals LESS snots, infections, respiratory issues, and general immune malfunctions that lead to expensive medical bills and prescriptions. Fact!

Taking that into account, have a look at these items. Available at most health stores, food lovers markets, Woolworths, dischem, wellness warehouse, checkers or online at:

Shop most, if not ALL Faithful to nature – click on the icon on my homepage here to navigate right to their page.

or at hap health here: https://haphealth.co.za/

on take-alot even: https://www.takealot.com/

on Soaring free superfoods https://superfoods.co.za/

on off the gluten path:https://offtheglutenpath.co.za/

on Sogaorganics: https://www.sogaorganic.co.za/

on popsecret for amazing ice creams for home time and treats https://www.popsecret.co.za/our-products

on impressice for superfood loaded ice creams https://www.impressice.co.za/nutritious-ice-lollies/shop-all-ice-lollies.html

on Antonia’s botanicals https://antonias.co.za/

so they can be delivered to your door monthly!

Snack bars:

1. Grizzly bars, various flavours – no junk at all!  Dates, Almonds, raisins, coconut, Flax seed, cacao, pumpkin seeds, camu camu powder

2. Nanuki boom bars! Snack size or full size, but oooweee are they yummy too!

The metamorphic brownie is our favourite and it fits beautifully into a lunchbox or sports bag!

• Coconut Flour, Rice Flour, Date Syrup, Sunflower Seeds, sesame seed, Flaxseed, Coconut Oil, Tapioca, hemp hearts, Dark Chocolate (Cocoa mass, Organic Coconut Sugar, Cocoa Butter Spirulina (2%), Mesquite (2%), Lucuma (2%).

3. Flik flax bars

• Apples, Chicory Root, Cinnamon. Dates, Flaxseed, Pumpkin Seeds, Raisins, Vanilla Essence

4. Rush bars – game changer bar (nice for long sports days, endurance races and just plain yummness)

• Dates, Pumpkin Seeds Ground, Almonds Ground, Quinoa, Cacao Powder, Chicory Root Fibre, Chia Seeds, Spirulina, Cinnamon, Himalayan Salt, Moringa.

• Dates, Sunflower Seeds, Cranberries, Chicory Root Fibre, Goji Berries, Almonds, Pumpkin Seeds, Pomegranate Arils, Cocoa Nibs, Rooibos, Ginger, Himalayan Salt.

5. simple truth vegan raw cocoa, hazelnut and chia bar

R14.99 

6.

7.

8. Almond, pecan & macadamia bars (woolworths)

Works out to R8.99 per bar

 

OLIGOFRUCTOSE (CHICORY FIBRE), ALMOND FLAKES (13 %), PECAN NUTS (12 %), HONEY, SUNFLOWER SEEDS (8 %), WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE, ALMOND FLOUR (5 %), MACADAMIA NUTS (5 %), SESAME SEEDS (5 %), AVOCADO OIL, FLAVOURING, ALMOND BUTTER (3 %), EMULSIFIER (RAPESEED LECITHIN), SALT.

R8.99 per bar

CHICORY FIBRE (OLIGOFRUCTOSE), ALMONDS (15 %), SESAME SEEDS (9 %), ALMOND FLOUR (9 %), HONEY, WATER, COCONUT FLAKES (6 %), SUNFLOWER SEEDS (6 %), COCOA POWDER (5 %), ALMOND BUTTER (4 %), WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE, AVOCADO OIL, FLAVOURING, SALT, EMULSIFIER (RAPESEED LECITHIN).

9. Vegan protein bites (woolworths) or fruit and nut bites

use 1 per lunchbox (R8.31 per portion)

Juice boxes: juice is massive sugar, without the fibre, so go easy on the juice boxes. Rather use water in a glass bottle (not plastic, especially if its going to be in a sports bag in the heat all day, releasing toxins and chemicals that are known to cause cancer.) Also make on your own herbal ice teas, with rooibos, and fruity teas, honey, lemon and ice blocks.

1. Pura juice boxes (Water, Pure Cane Sugar, Natural Flavour, Citric Acid.) Faithful to nature.

2. Simple truth juices (available at checkers stores)

3. Oh my goodness range (at checkers)

4. Soga organics – at spar, or online  – check their website for sales in your area. Organic and pure!

Dried fruit snacks (be very aware of dried fruits as they contain sulphur dioxide, which can worsen or mimic respiratory issues like asthma and wheezing)

1. Earth & co SOS fruit pulp pop out puzzles – fun and safe

• Apple pulp, Pear pulp, Strawberry puree (6%), Apple juice concentrate, Black carrot juice concentrate, Vitamin C, Flavouring.

2. Dried mango: sulphite free – 2 to 3 slices is perfect

3. White mulberries : one of our absolute favourites, a small handful does the trick! Chewy and delicious

4. The fruit cellar : a wide range or beautiful, sulphite free dried fruit

5. Montagu sour wiggles:

• Fruit Pulp [Apple (85%), Lemon (5%)], Fruit Acids, Agar (Gelling Agent), Colourant (Carrot), Flavouring, Free Flowing Agent.

6. Zamli dates or medjool dates in fruit isle of grocery stores

also have a look at Antonias, faithful to nature’s own brand and fresh medjool dates in stores.

7. Simple truth mango fruit gums

99% fruit and no added sugar. R12.99

Mixed berry fruit gums

8. Fruit rolls, simple truth – sulphur free – (the rolls are too big for one portion so break them up into 3 or 4)

9. Various simple truth dried fruit options

10. Freeze dried berries, strawberries, and coconut (woolworths) – literally only fruit.

11. Farmworld (https://farmworldsnacks.co.za/, takealot or healthstores) A super fun range with no junk! Remember to divide the packets up if you need to stretch the budget.

12. Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and raisins make amazing trail mix! (always look for sundried and without commercial salts and sulphur dioxide)

Dry roasted chickpeas : Amazing and delicious! You can share 1 packet between 2 kids for a more budget friendly approach

1. Grumpy snacks

the dry roasted sea salt is our favourite!

• Chickpeas (76%), Coconut Oil, Nutritional Yeast, Sea Salt.

• Chickpeas (61%), Coconut Oil (Coconut Kernel), Organic Coconut Sugar, Chicory (Dietary) Fibre, Cinnamon, Maple Flavour, Rosemary extract.

Dry roasted coconut chips:

Raw unsalted almonds, cashews or macadamias: 

2. Earthshine activated super seeds : activated means easier on the gut

• Activated Sunflower Seeds, Activated Buckwheat, Activated Pumpkin Seeds, Tamari* (Soy), Kalahari Salt, Ormus Minerals.*ORGANIC

3. Simple truth (checkers) coated almonds

very berry protein balls (again, divide the packet between 2 or more kids if you need to stretch budget)

Biscuits and rusks: add in 2 to 3, you want to watch out for commercial flour and white toxic sugars, so stick with better brands if you can’t bake your own yet.

1. Bags of bites range: various amazing flavours

• Oats (Gluten), Coconut Sugar, sunflower seed Flour, Coconut Oil, Beetroot, Coconut (So2), Pea Protein Isolate, Chia Seeds, Cocoa, Flaxseed Flour.

2. Bags of bites naturally loaded rusks: various flavours

• Ground Sunflower Seeds (22%), Coconut Sugar, Coconut (S02), Coconut Milk, Coconut Oil, Pumpkin Seeds (9%), Flaxseed (5%), Raising Agent, Salt (Sodium).

3. Gracious bakers chocolate biscuits:

• Macadamia nut Flour, Coconut Flour, Desiccated Coconut, Butter, Erythritol, Eggs, Coconut Cream, Cocoa, Whey Powder, Vanilla, Salt, Cream of Tartar, Bicarbonate of Soda, Stevia.

4. Happy Earth people, choc peanut cookies – pure magic and goodness!

• Gluten-Free Flours (Chickpea & Tapioca), Coconut Sugar, Crunchy Peanut Butter, Coconut Oil, Flaxseed, Bicarbonate of Soda, Salt.

5. Cravings bakery (a luscious, dangerously delicious range of pure goodness)

• Tapioca Flour, Organic Coconut Sugar, Coconut Oil, Water, Dark Chocolate Chips (15%), Cocoa Beans (Cocoa mass) (65%), Organic Coconut Sugar, Cocoa Butter (5%), Emulsifier (Sunflower Lecithin)), Organic Coconut Flour, Coconut Fine, Golden Linseed, Raising Agent (Bicarbonate of Soda), Flavouring (Vanilla)

Chocs: yes, you can have your choccie everyday without the damage!

1. The chocolate yogi Oscars : dairy free goodness, with no nasties

• Coconut Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Coconut Flour, Desiccated Coconut, cacao Solids 34%

2. Soaring free superfoods chocolate bars : the zero added sugar bar is diabetic and banting friendly. 2 — 4 blocks is ample!

raw cacao(65%), Mesquite, Prepared Foti, Chaga, Lucuma, Hemp seeds, Baobab, Maca, Hemp Protein, Wheatgrass, Barleygrass, Moringa, Spirulina, Mucuna, Sunflower Lecithin, Vanilla, Reishi, Taheebo, Cinnamon, Sea Salt

Jams, sarmie spreads and nut butters: always watch out for added sugars, and veggie oils like canola or sunflower, which are inflammatory!

1. Nut butters and No sugar added peanut butter, in 1kg tubs or sachets (sachets are great for sport, lunchboxes or on the go!)

Coming in at R10.99 per sachet, bargain!

Peanuts, vegetable oil (Flaxseed), Honey (2%), Vitamin E

macadamia

Made from pure, dry-roasted, ground Macadamia nut. R16.99

Made from pure, dry-roasted, ground Macadamia nut. R14.99

Macadamia nut, Cocoa Powder, Honey. R12.99

1kg 100% dry roasted peanuts.

just peanuts and salt (crunchy option also available)

just almonds

Woolworths

simple truth peanut butter range, no junk and affordable! Peanuts are more acidic and do contain aflatoxin (carcinogens and mutagens from fungi is soil), so that is why other nut butters are recommended, but, if budget tight, this is a good step up!

Woolworths

antonias nut butter range is superb!  activated, pure and delicious!

smooth or crunchy

 

2. Antonia’s Raw Stoneground Chocolate Hazelnut Spread : decadent!

• Raw Hazelnuts (Corylus Avellana), Raw Organic cacao (Theobroma Cacao) Powder, Organic Coconut (Cocos Nucifera) Sugar.

or find my ‘nutella’ recipe on my social media pages.

3. Antonias blueberry jam (no junk and even non irradiated honey, what a win!)

• Blueberries, Pectin, Honey, Lemon Juice, Non-irradiated Honey

4. Free range Biltong powder! Who doesnt remember a good sarmie with butter and biltong powder on it? Now you can use a very good quality hormone free butter or Fauxmage plant based butter, or coconut oil and a healthy sprinkle of free range biltong powder.

 

Chips: very tricky department to navigate so stick to these options and NON GMO popcorn

1. Eat REal hummus chips

packets range from R21.99 for 45g, but shared between 2 kids, its very reasonable!

• Chickpea Flour (24%), Rice, Potato Starch, Rapeseed Oil, Corn Flour, Sea Salt.

2. Simple truth organic french sea salt coconut chips (its a big bag for 1 lunchbox so i split it up)

3. Roasted seaweed snack with olive oil (woolworths) – one of our favourite snacks and a healthy does of iodine

4. Chocolate Kale chips and plain kale chips (varieties exist, but keep it clean here – no added oils like canola or sunflower, or nasty flavourants) – I love Antonia’s on faithful to nature or antonias botanicals website

 

Crackers: 

1. Faithful to nature wild sesame rice cakes or any plain brown rice cakes with seeds if possible
2. Rice, Wild sesame seed, Salt (Iodised). Woolworths

2. Gracious bakers beetroot crackers (individually wrapped parcels, so convenient for lunchboxes!)

• Beetroot (50%), seeds (sunflower, Flax, golden Flax, Sesame, poppy, and Chia), water, psyllium powder, Guar Gum, Rosemary, Salt, pepper, Onion & Lemon juice.

and zesty zuccchini

3. Clearspring organic rice cakes

• Brown Rice*, Buckwheat*, Millet*, Sea Salt.

4. Simple truth garlic and herb seed crackers (2-3 per lunch)

5. Simple truth vegan brown rice crackers (there are seeded ones too that are also a good option)

6. Gluten free pretzel knots, simple truth (checkers)

R17.99

7. Gluten free brown rice and sesame seed crackers (woolworths) – use 4 per portion

and with pumpkin and sunflower seeds

8. Powergrains multigrain brown rice crackers (woolworths) – although they have sunflower oil in which is inflammatory, they are a big step up from other commercial brands

9. Gluten free rice and chickpea flour crackerbread (in convenient packs for lunchboxes) Woolworths

Biltong (a tough one to navigate because they actually add alot of sugars, hormones, antibiotics and colourants, yes scary, and msg – so be careful.)

1. Free range biltong slices (add in about 25g as a portion – then a packet goes a bit further)
2. Free range drywors nibbles or sliced biltong nibbles, in a multi pack which is clever for lunchboxes
3. Free range venison drywors (use 1 stick and break it into little pieces – very budget friendly) and venison is much healthier than beef. 
4. Venison nibbles
5. Free range chicken biltong
6. Free range venison slices

7. Vegan Drywors (droewors) – Nori wands – Listen, I would eat my weight in these! No jokes! An amazing, nourishing snacky snack –

Only R13.90 per wand and you can break it in half for kids, if you need to stretch da budget.

Ice creams for after school, sports days, and weekends

There are few that are truly 100% safe, these 3 I trust implicitely – not only are they yummy but they put goodness back into the body.

1. Impressice (check out their webpage and instagram page for amazing pics of this awesome range) Cold pressed fruit and juices, with added superfoods! What more could you ask for!

Beautifully done, and loaded with goodness, especially amazing after heavy sports days and hot days – to help get those minerals and nutrients back into the bod!

• organic pineapple, organic cucumber, organic apple, filtered water and organic baby spinach
• organic banana, filtered water, organic coconut milk, dragon fruit, acai berry concentrate and organic maple syrup.
• Organic coconut milk (Organic coconut, water), Strawberries, Rude Health organic brown rice drink (organic brown rice, organic cold-pressed sunflower oil, Spring water, Sea salt), Organic maple syrup, Organic coconut palm sugar, Organic vanilla bean
• Organic coconut milk (Organic coconut, water), Rude Health Organic brown rice milk (Organic brown rice, organic cold-pressed sunflower oil, spring water, sea salt), organic maple syrup, Soaring Free Superfoods organic raw cacao powder, organic coconut sugar, organic vanilla bean.

2. Pop secret – another lovely range, with great ingredients. These 3 are my favourites.

Peanut Butter Choc Chip (vegan)

Coconut milk, nut milk, peanut butter, cocoa, coconut sugar, coconut oil, vanilla, xanthan gum

Chocolate (vegan)

Coconut milk, nut milk, coconut sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, xanthan gum

Granadilla Gone Rogue (vegan)

Mango, pineapple, granadilla, orange, lemon, ginger, turmeric, coconut sugar, coconut milk, xanthan gum

and a whack load of other yummy, superfood flavours too!

3. Soga orange lollies – organic, delicious and great for hydration!

4. Woolworths ice lollies – (only these are deemed safe in my eyes)

Boxes, each lolly works out to R10.83

Individual are R15.99

APPLE JUICE FROM CONCENTRATE (80%), BLUEBERRY (20%), FREEZE DRIED RASPBERRY (0.5%).

There we go! That should hold you for a while!

If something isnt on this list, from these stores, there is a reason 😉

Happy shopping!

Live Wholesome