Ideally Birch + Mazen eat lots of fresh real foods. Fresh fruits, whole grains, dairy, vegetables (I try!), proteins. I give hem both whole foods and mixed foods leftovers from our dinners. I always try to use up the fresh foods before reaching for freezer or pantry backups. First because I want to use up what could spoil but second because I believe fresh food is best. That said, sometimes the fresh food is running low and the kids still have to be fed! These are 10 healthy packaged foods for kids that I rely on when my fridge is looking bare.
Healthy Packaged Foods For Kids
1 + 2 // Frozen waffles and whole wheat mini pancakes.
Birch often has these for breakfast on days when I don’t have a baked good (like oatmeal cookies or muffins!) prepared and/or we’re low on bread for toast. He LOVES them both!
3 // Frozen Spinach Pizza
This has been a staple for Mazen for years when I need a kid dinner like when we have a babysitter. I love that it has spinach and is single serving (no leftovers) and M is thrilled any night he gets to have one. I think Birch is almost ready to try it himself in tiny cut-up bites. (Warning: it does give kids garlic breath!)
4 // Chicken nuggets.
Fact: This is either the first or second time in my life my freezer has had chicken nuggets in it! Not because I am holier than thou but because Mazen has just never been a big nugget eater. And I haven’t found one I like! A friend recommended this brand to me and it has some pureed veggies and whole grains for a little boost. I cook these in the microwave for Birch if we need a fast lunch protein.
5 // Ready Pasta
I found this at Wegmans (most of the foods in this post are from Whole Foods). It’s just pre-cooked and vacuum packed pasta that you heat in the microwave. It was kind of amazing how fast the pasta was ready with not a dish to do! I added butter and parmesan and will also try pesto soon.
6 // Canned Salmon
I can’t say that Birch LOVES it, but it’s been nice to flake onto his tray, especially if I’m making a little salmon salad for myself!
7-8 // Freeze Dried Fruits + Veg
Another tip from a friend are freeze dried fruits. I’ve always loved these pea pods for Mazen, and Birch is just old enough to eat them. I also love those peanut butter bombas from Whole Foods. We also do fruit cups with soft pears or peaches if we’re out of fresh fruit.
9 // Soft Bars
“Nutrigrain” style for Birch because he’s not quite ready for nuts. These are good in a pinch for a snack or on the go.
10 // Pouches
Of course – the toddler staple. Birch can crunch one in less than one minute. These are also a our go-to if I’m eating lunch or dinner away from home and want to make sure I have something he can eat. (Say, if we’re going to a party where I’ll find some finger foods). He eats at least one pouch a day.
Please share some of your favorites!
I find that mom-to-mom recommendations are the best way to get more ideas!
Shana says
Unsweetened applesauce cups are a favorite in our house. Not exactly packaged, but I also make a huge batch of pancake mix that just needs some milk, vanilla, and oil added to it for super fast pancakes and waffles. I recently discovered I can take about four cups of pancake batter, pour it onto a cookie sheet (with sides) and bake it at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes. Then I use a pizza cutter to cut them into pancake sticks! We freeze the sticks and pull out 2-3 at a time to heat and eat. LIFESAVING!
KathEats says
LOVE THIS!!!!
Kelly T says
Question on the pancakes because my mind is blown – do you put anything down on the cookie sheet so they don’t stick?
Shana says
I use cooking spray. You could use butter or whatever you normally use to prevent cookies from sticking!
lisa says
WOW this idea is amazing. Thank you for sharing. I am going to give this a try this weekend
Terry says
My son liked the Kidfresh nuggets and other foods when he was younger, but as he got older we switched to Bell & Evans chicken nuggets and tenders also at Whole Foods, real chicken, not processed and my husband likes them too!
Lisa says
These are awesome, highly recommend!!
Emily says
The Kidfresh meatballs are delicious too! Sometimes I even add them to my own homemade ramen or sneak a bite! For my one year old, I’ll take a waffle and spread it with some whole milk yogurt or fruit & veggie pouch as well 😀
KathEats says
Just added to my grocery list to look for them!
Emily says
Target had Kidfresh stuff 20% off on Cartwheel recently and we stocked up 🙂
KathEats says
Score!!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
How I wish I could get some of these products where I live! I swear you guys in the US have the best groceries, haha! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Emily says
Those Whole Foods waffles are a staple for us – love all of the flavors!
Laura says
I’ve seen the precooked pasta at our grocery store but it just seems weird to me. I don’t know what my hang up is about it! My son also loves pouches and generally gets one a day when we get home from daycare. We do frozen blueberries that are slightly defrosted and those get gobbled up! Cheerios are another staple!
KathEats says
Frozen berries always seem like a choking hazard to me, so I like the idea of defrosting them some so they are a little mushy. I’m going to try this soon!
Emily says
If they have “wild blueberries” frozen where you are I’ve learned those are 2 times smaller than normal blueberries (like pea sized) and my one year old’s favorite thawed too.
KathEats says
Thanks!!
Megan says
I buy my 12 month old frozen veggie patties (I like the Dr Praegers or Golden brand) – he loves the spinach and zucchini varieties. We also buy Alexia sweet potato tots, which are the perfect shape and texture for a young toddler! Also, this probably doesn’t count as “packaged”, but an awesome short cut is rotisserie chicken – we rely on that a lot!
KathEats says
Great options! I’m going to look for those dinos
Beth says
I love this list!!
My daughter also love the Earths Best Meatballs and the kid fresh meatballs (I also cut these up and toss them into Annie’s Mac and cheese for extra protein) 🙂
Elizabeth A Weber-Falk says
This was a great post. My children are grown but I they are busy and when my husband is hungry he’s hungry NOW. You gave me some ideas for fast and easy and for on the go meals and snacks. Thank you.
KathEats says
So glad!
Steph says
We always keep the small bottles of strawberry and blueberry Activia in the fridge. The kids think it’s a mini yogurt smoothie and the probiotics are great for them! I never have trouble selling one of those after school or while I’m making dinner.
KathEats says
Love yogurt for a snack
Becky says
The kidfresh Chicken Meatballs are ADDICTING. I eat these myself with a bit of pasta, bone broth and spinach as a quick and dirty wedding soup!
Carla says
This was a great post. I have a 2 year old and a newborn so I’m totally always looking into this. What do you think about the recent report about pre-packaged baby foods (including purées and puches, even for some organic brands) having toxic metals? I totally rely on pouches for nutrition for my toddler but now I’m a bit more wary. Love those pea crisps, and so does she! KIND has some simply pressed all-fruit/chia bars my toddler digs.
KathEats says
My instinct tells me whatever news story said there are metals in pouches was being a bit dramatic for the news. But I could be wrong? I’m not too worried though.
Julie says
FYI – The metals that were detected, some of which are naturally occurring and some are increased due to pollution, are coming from the soil in which the crops are grown, so this isn’t a problem exclusive to packaged foods. Homemade foods will have similar metal concentrations as their packaged counterparts. But, my takeaway from that report is that as long as you are feeding your child a varied diet and not sweet potatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, they will be okay!
KathEats says
Thanks for clarifying! Makes sense. Variety is always the answer!
Morgan says
We buy sous vide veggie (spinach and feta) egg bites from costco. They’re great for the baby and for us!
Theresa says
My kids love the frozen cauliflower pizzas we get from Costco! Also applegate farms pretty much everything, their frozen breakfast chicken sausage and turkey pepperoni are faves in our house. The Trader Joe’s maple chicken breakfast sausage is on point as well
Kelsey @ So Much Life says
Thank you for this! I just gave birth to my first (2 weeks ago!) and now I’m scouring your blog and researching healthy eating tips for kids so I can make sure my transition into solids in a few months helps him eat as many healthy foods as possible. 🙂
KathEats says
Congrats!!
Kendall says
I know people already talked about meatballs, but we are really into the turkey meatballs at Trader Joes. They are great! We also eat a lot of crunchy chickpeas. I am trying to get my kids to eat any kind of beans…so it’s a start.
Sarah says
How did you teach Birch to eat the squeeze pouches himself? My little James is 9 months and I would LOVE it if he could do this himself haha.
KathEats says
I used to hold it for him. He caught on pretty quickly – around that age!
Sarah says
Ok we’ll try that, thanks!