Need to pack peanut-free and tree nut-free snacks for school?
Because of the popularity and severity of nut allergies, school snacks often need to be peanut- and tree-nut free. Here are some nut-free snack-packing tips; for more detailed info, see our post on peanut/tree nut allergies.
General Snack Tips:
- Include some protein! Protein gives your child a nutrition boost to fill him up. Pirate’s Booty on its own doesn’t provide enough nutrition for a healthy snack.
- Make a fruit or veggie part of every snack to up your child’s vitamin and fiber intake.
- Put a small ice pack in a reusable snack bag, then put any cold snacks in the bag. Your child will be more likely to eat cold snacks if they stay cold.
Peanut-free and Tree Nut-free Snacks:
- Read food labels to make sure snacks are nut-free. Nut-containing foods are legally required to show it on the label by:
- listing the allergen in the ingredients, such as “Ingredients: Wheat, peanuts, salt.”
- OR having an allergy statement at the end of the ingredient list, for example “Contains tree nuts”.
You may also see “Made in a facility that processes peanuts and tree nuts.” This means the food manufacturer can’t guarantee that the food is nut-free, because nuts may have cross-contaminated the product in the factory. Opinions differ on whether these foods should be allowed in peanut-free or nut-free classrooms, so check with your child’s school.
- At the time we wrote this, the products in the table below were peanut-free and tree nut-free. Companies can change ingredients any time without informing consumers; read labels every time you shop.
- Create a great snack by pairing a protein from the left-hand column with a fruit, veg, and/or grain from the right.
| Protein | Fruits, Vegetables, Grains |
| Biena chickpea snacks (‘produced in a facility where tree nuts may be present’) | Popcorn (Boom Chicka Pop or make your own) |
| Hard-boiled egg | Dr. Kracker crispbread, multigrain or whole grain Wasa, ak-mak crackers, or Triscuits |
| Babybel cheese | An apple, a clementine, grapes |
| Snapea Crisps | Baby carrots, cucumber slices, celery sticks, red pepper slices, cherry tomatoes |
| siggi’s 4% milkfat yogurt | Joseph’s whole wheat pita bread |
| siggis’s whole milk drinkable yogurt | Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries |
| Hummus snack-sized pack | 365 Multigrain O’s or Kashi GOLEAN Cinnamon Crisp cereal |
Did we miss your kid’s favorite nut-free snacks for school? Let us know in the comments below!