This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Yoplait®. The opinions and text are all mine.

As moms, we are always waging a healthy food battle (a.k.a the “veggie war“) with this junk food world. I spend a lot of time planning my children’s meals and snacks to ensure they get a variety of fresh foods each day.

I love it when I can get them to eat nutrient-filled foods whether we’re at home or out and about.

It’s no small task, considering all of the tasty not-so-good-for-you convenience food options available wherever we go. But it’s worth it!

I like to have fun mixing up our snacks so the kids (and me, too), don’t get bored with healthy foods.

Inspired by Yoplait®, I came up with seven different snack pairings that to be eaten at home and on the go.

7 Wholesome Snack Pairing Ideas for Kids

Even though I know plenty of healthy snack pairings in my head, sometimes I draw blanks when it comes to packing our snack bag!

Does this happen to you?

I am printing out this snack list for my kitchen so I never run out of ideas!

1) Blueberries and string cheese – I do blueberries a lot during peak season around here (June/July) then back off other times of year when they’re not as fresh and more expensive. My kids could eat a pint of blueberries each in one sitting if I let them!

2) Hard boiled eggs with carrot sticks – All three of my kids love hard-boiled eggs, and it’s so easy to fix a quick batch on Sunday or Monday and use them all week long. They’re hot and cold on carrot sticks, but it’s nothing a bit of coaxing and a hungry belly can’t fix. I find if they’re hungry enough, they’ll eat just about anything! 🙂

3) Peanut butter on honey graham crackers – My old standby – protein-packed peanut butter in between crunchy slightly sweet graham cracker layers. This is a great option when you want something super portable.

4) Cheese cubes and strawberries – One of my absolute favorite snacks. Something sweet & tangy + something salty & creamy = heaven! My kids gobble up cheese cubes and strawberries like nothing else!

5) Cucumber and tomato salad with italian dressing and/or ranch – Amazingly enough, my girls (ages 7 and 5) have started liking cherry and grape tomatoes this year. I offer them tomatoes all the time, but never have any takers. I offered them yet again the other week and had two out of three children gobble them up with a bit of ranch! I’m still working on my 3-year-old but I realize his palette isn’t the same as theirs yet, so I’ll give him some time. Ranch may be fattening, but a little bit goes a long way as a dipping sauce. If you’d like, you could make a healthier ranch with Greek yogurt instead.

6) Celery sticks with cream cheese and a handful of nuts – My kids are learning to love celery slowly but surely. I’m so proud of them. Our favorite nuts are almonds, pecans, cashews, and pistachios. I usually let one child choose the “nut of the week.” They all have different favorites, so this allows everyone to get a chance to eat what they like best sooner or later.

7) Bananas, peaches, and freezable yogurts – Sometimes I like to have a variety of options available. My kids love bananas while I love peaches better. When fruits are in season, I try to throw them into the mix as much as possible (mainly because I can’t resist them in the store!). My kids love fruit with yogurt. It’s right up there with our favorite snack pairings.

Getting kids to eat (and like) fruits and veggies takes a lot of work.

I’ve found that if I stick with it and keep a variety of fresh snack options on hand, they are less likely to ask for unhealthy snacks and I am less likely to default to a quick drive-through meal or snack for them.

I like to take a “whole day view” approach to snacking. If they eat a fruit-heavy snack, I’ll plan a veggie heavy dinner.

Over the course of the day, I try to even out their servings of fruits and veggies, proteins and fats to a healthy balance.

Now only if I could figure out how to keep grandma from sabotaging my efforts with sweet treats!!

Healthy Snack in Action

This week we’re visiting my grandparents and had the need for lots of snack options.

Yesterday we went to the park for the afternoon, but it had been a while since the kids had eaten and I knew they’d be hungry before we returned. So I put idea #7 in action!

I grabbed freezer packs, a handful of Gogurts® from the freezer (that’s how my kids like to eat them!), some bananas and peaches, and we were on our way!

I realized after I grabbed the freezer packs that the frozen Gogurts® might be cold enough to stay fairly frozen until it was time to eat.

But I suppose they can’t be too frozen, right?

On an unrelated note, I am really pleased with myself for keeping our gear at a minimum – check out our empty trunk!

I am by no means a clean freak, but I’m trying very hard not to over pack. So we took the stroller, the snack bag, and a couple bottles of water to the park, put less-needed items in binds below the floor, and left everything else behind.

I’m so glad I got a picture to document this. 🙂

Are you waging a healthy snack food war in your home? What types of snacks do you like to pack for family outings?

If you want to check out some easy, make ahead breakfast/ snack ideas for kids, Mom of 5- Elizabeth Thrives, has some great ones here for you in this post. 

10 Wholesome Breakfast Ideas for Kids Before School (easy make ahead recipes)

Another Healthy Snack Idea from WhatMommyDoes

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Yoplait®. The opinions and text are all mine.