Whole Food Snacks on the Run

Making sense of packaged foods can be time consuming and misleading, particularly when you only focus on the ingredients. I was obsessed with giving my son brown rice cakes, as they were great for teething, an easy finger food, fun to play with and only made with organic whole brown rice, right?

I thought these were an alternative to the highly processed cheerios and other cereals and crackers that were common baby food snacks among my friends. When talking with Lisa-Marie, Weemunch Holistic Nutritionist, I learned that simply reading the ingredients on packages isn’t always enough…one has to look further at how packaged foods are made. It turned out that the process of puffing and shaping rice cakes (a method called ‘extrusion’) and other grains, denatures their nutritional integrity, including proteins, and makes them difficult to digest for infants, toddlers and adults. This may very well be why grain allergies are at an all-time high.

This week is devoted to finding good, whole foods that come out of packages…and make for quick, easy snacks when you are on the go. This is our list…tell us about yours.

Snacks

Peas (6 months +) great alternative to cereals, iron content and a fun finger food
Brown rice crackers (6 months +) one of the easiest grains for digestion. See soaking article on phytic acid. Note: these are not perfect but better than most.
Goat Yogurt (7 months +) organic, whole fat is best
Organic raw cheese (8 months +) some brands: L’Ancetre, Bio Bio, Little Qualicum, Earth’s Best
Sprouted Wheat Bread (8 months +) great with chevre, sprouted wheat is always easier to digest than whole wheat and white flour breads
Organic Raisins and other dried fruit (9 months plus, high in iron, choose non-sulphered)
Mandarin Oranges (9 months +), packed with Vitamin C, great finger food)
Goat Chevre ( 9 months +)
Edamame (9 months +) these are immature soy beans and therefore have not yet built up any phytic acid (other non-fermented/sprouted soy products are loaded with it!)
Avocado (9 months +)
Parmesan Crisps (9 months +) can be expensive, but a better alternative to white flour crackers
Suzie’s Flatbreads (9 months +) made from whole spelt or kamut flour and some seeds *not the easiest to digest but ok for an occasional snack on the go
Lara Bars (12 months + if nuts are not an issue) a very simple yummy ‘energy bar’ with only nuts and dates
Halvah Bars (12 months +) made from sesame seeds, with nuts and brown rice syrup for sweetener.

Drinks

Kombucha (12 months +)
Gerolsteiner (12 months +) a naturally carbonated spring water