How To Pick and Pack Healthy Raw Food Snacks for Kids on the Go

by Guest Blogger

So this was a very busy week. We homeschool and my daughter started first grade. I also organize our homeschool co-op which began in all its glory this week. And, my daughter had a horse show yesterday that had us up and out of the house at 5AM and home at 7PM. Needless to say, I was running around like a crazy woman trying to figure out how to continue our mostly raw and highly nutritious way of eating while also being teacher, Learning Team committee head and “Horse Mom”! How do folks do all of this AND still have time to prepare a high raw and nutritious diet?

No BPA For Me, Please!

You can see where this is headed and you can expect many, many blog posts on this as I find those answers. This first post will be on how to pack a raw lunch box that is appealing to my child, able to withstand the heat of the deep-south and not leak and seep all over everything, and leave me feeling satisfied that my daughter nourished her body throughout the busy day.

So, the first step I took was finding the appropriate containers to pack her lunch in. I’m not a huge fan of plastic, even if they tout they are BPA free, etc, etc. Too many companies have left me feeling skeptical after finding out they weren’t all they claimed to be. Glass is my preferred choice, however many of our events and outings have a glass-free policy, especially around pools and the horses. Hmmmm … stainless steel! Yes, stainless steel. I love it. But, a lot of those little stainless steel containers with the divided compartments don’t work well with liquid dishes, because they seep into the other compartments and the lids don’t seal tight.

Finding the Perfect Raw Food Lunchbox

After a lot of research, I finally found one I think we’ll be happy with. The Planet Box lunchbox (http://www.planetbox.com). It has several compartments and even two little containers that are supposed to seal tight, a nice carry bag and an ice pack that slips into the bag neatly. I also found a stainless steel water bottle from Eco Vessel (ecovessel.com) that we really love. We purchased the triple-insulated one and it keeps cold drinks cold (even after an 8 hour horse camp in July!) and it keeps hot beverages, or warmed raw soups warm!

Okay, so we have the containers … what do we put in them???? Bento boxes are really fun to fill. Think of them as “monkey platters” on the go. You all remember “monkey platters”, right? No? Maybe that’s just what we can them in the south. When my daughter was a toddler (and still today, but “shhhhh”, because she’ll get embarrassed if she knows I told you) I would arrange all sorts of finger foods on a platter in really cute ways. Make sure there are fruits, veggies, nuts or nut butters, etc.

Our Favorite Raw Food Snacks “To Go”

Here are some favorites around our house that I tested out this past week:

Apple shapes (thin slices cut into shape with little cookie cutters) with a mound of almond butter of to the side
Grapes, raspberries, strawberries pieces, banana chunks, raisins, etc. – on mini-bamboo skewers or decorative toothpicks
Granola in an mini-muffin unbleached paper liner with a tiny little fairy sized spoon to scoop it
Raw bars (LaraBar, etc.) cut into cubes with decorative toothpicks
Cherry tomatoes, cucumber chunks, zucchini chunks, olives, mini broccoli florets, etc. – on mini-bamboo skewers or decorative toothpicks
Kelp noodles and finely chopped veggies with mini chopsticks
Green smoothie in our Eco-Vessel
Mini coconut cream dipping sauce in a small sealed container – great for serving with the granola or dipping fruit
Mini salad dressing in a small sealed container – great for pouring over the kelp noodles and veggies or dipping the veggie kabobs

This was a big hit this week. But, my daughter is one of those children that craves variety and she will really not be happy to see a repeat of this next week. So, I’m off to find more ideas for next week. I got my hands on these cute little nori cutters . So, I’m thinking next week will be some raw food version of sushi rolls and I’ll find a way to use these little cutters.

I would love to hear your ideas for raw food “to go” snacks!!

More Healthy Raw Food Lunchbox Ideas

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