Mar

12

By Heather ·  Print This Post

Due to all the snow days we’ve had this winter, my son just hit his 100th day in school last week. His teacher planned all kinds of fun counting activities for the kids to mark the 100th day. The week before the activity, the teacher emailed me saying that she wanted to have the kids each make their own trail mix snack. They would each count out 10 pieces of 10 different food items and combine them to come up with 100. So, she gave me a list of snack foods that she has used in the past for this activity, and asked me what we could do to make sure it was gluten-free. There is another student in the class that has an allergy to eggs, so they needed to be egg-free, too. I was surprised how quick and easy it was to come up with a list of items.

The teacher was able to find 9 different items at her local grocery store with no problems. I provided the 10th item, a bag of small pretzel twists for the class because I had a spare bag in the pantry. Glutino makes great pretzels that are gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, casein-free. If you haven’t thought about making a trail mix for snack foods, here’s a list of items to get you started. Choose two, three or ten! items to create that perfect snack for you and your kids. Obviously, you can make it as healthy or unhealthy as you like. And, of course, check labels to make sure that the items you are buying are gluten-free (and egg-free if you need it to be egg-free as well).

This is a great activity for the kids. It certainly makes a good counting activity, but also encourages them to prepare their own nutritious snacks. Give them a choice of appropriate snacks to choose — maybe one of each of the categories below. Whatever works for you and your family, just have fun and enjoy eating gluten-free!

Cereals:

• Chex cereals (Rice, Corn, Chocolate, Cinnamon, Honey Nut)
• Envirokidz Panda Puffs
• Evirokidz Gorilla Munch
• Perky O’s
• Erewhon Crunchy Corn & Amaranth cereal

Dried Fruits:

• raisins
• cranberries/craisins
• blueberries
• yogurt covered raisins

Protein:

• Peanuts
• Cashews, almonds, or other tree nuts
• Sunflower Seeds

Snacks:

• Gluten-Free Pretzels
• Popcorn
• Corn Puffs

Sweets:

• Mini marshmallows
• chocolate chips
• M&Ms
• Skittles
• Fruit snacks
• Gummy bears

So, I’m sure I’ve missed some snack ideas. Do you have any to share? What do you put in a snack mix?

Notable Links:

• Don’t forget to check out this week’s Friday Foodie Fix at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang. It’s all about raisins!
• Celebrate the 100th Day in 100 Ways at Education World
• Kids in the kitchen making fruit kabobs.