Wellness Mama®
Simple Answers for Healthier Families
My favorite healthy, real food snacks for busy families can be found below. All recipes are grain-free, dairy optional and kid-approved. Need help meal planning? Check out my meal planning service!
I love chia seeds and use them in a variety of ways. They add a nice crunch when they’re used dry and gel when added to a liquid. Even better, I love their spectacular nutrient profile. I’ve used chia seeds in many ways, but these chia seed energy balls are without a doubt my favorite! …
I love how happy and healthy spending time outside makes me feel, so I garden. Part of the result of that is there’s always an abundance of zucchini during the summer months. Zucchini plants are such super producers that I frequently find myself with more vegetables than I know what to do with. I’ve come …
Sometimes the simplest recipes end up being our favorite. This yogurt fruit dip is one of those recipes. It’s so easy to make that it seems a little crazy to even call it a recipe. And since I make my own yogurt, making this yogurt dip was extra easy. Straining Yogurt: Whey and Greek Yogurt Have …
New muffin recipe time! My kids love muffins. They get tired of eggs for breakfast after a while and are always excited for muffins. And they love them at all times of the day. They make a great snack mid-morning, after school, or after sports. Apple cinnamon muffins are a fall favorite, but when spring …
I’m not a fan of the chemicals, artificial flavors, and preservatives in microwave popcorn (actually, we don’t use a microwave at all… here’s why.) However, we do like popcorn as a crunchy, savory snack on family movie or game nights. We decided to look up the old-fashioned way to make popcorn and discovered it’s actually not …
Kids are snackers. I make sure they have a filling and nutrient-packed breakfast every morning and I don’t encourage snacking near mealtime. However, when they’re playing outside and burning off energy or going through a growth spurt they’re going to need snacks from time to time. These chocolate coconut energy bars fit the bill perfectly. They’re tasty, …
Ever miss that crunchy texture that foods like chips and crackers used to provide? This easy cheese crisps recipe will hit the snacking spot! Best of all, unlike most storebought cheese crackers, the one ingredient is 100% real food! The next time you need a healthy alternative to crackers or a break from carrots and celery …
Need a delicious summer treat without added sugars and preservatives? Make this real fruit smoothie sorbet. It’s a simpler recipe than my strawberry coconut milk ice cream. I use coconut milk and fresh fruit to make a cool sorbet that tastes like a fruit smoothie. What’s a Fruit Smoothie Sorbet? Well, it’s really the same …
Tater tots were a very occasional treat when I was growing up. (I confess, I loved them.) The grated zucchini in these fritters mimics the texture of tater tots and is a great way to reinvent an old favorite in a healthier way. The zucchini gives them a nutritional boost that tater tots don’t have, …
I came up with the idea for these bacon chicken bites when I needed an idea for a potluck. I had chicken in the fridge that I was going to use for Parmesan chicken nuggets, so I made these up instead and had them done in less than an hour. The key is the honey, mustard, …
Pickles are one of the items that I always have in my naturally stocked fridge. I learned how to pickle cucumbers because I wanted to avoid the less than ideal ingredients found in most store-bought pickles. Not only are homemade pickles healthier, but they taste great! Why Pickle Cucumbers? Aside from the fact they’re a …
Since we don’t eat a lot of grains, I’ve had to get pretty creative to find alternatives to eggs for breakfast. We’ve done cottage cheese crepes and chia seed pudding. This coconut granola recipe was created in an attempt to find something new. If you’ve been looking for a healthy “cereal,” this is a good option. Granola Without …
I’m a huge fan of deviled eggs. They’re one of the few modern snack foods that can easily be made healthy! Deviled eggs are perfect for family get-togethers, picnics, and backyard parties since almost everybody loves them. They’re also really easy to throw together. I wanted to try something a little different from the same old …
Every once in awhile, there is a food that we really miss from our pre-real food lifestyle. Like the kids’ desire for waffles. Or my love of Chinese food. I’m not willing to throw healthy eating out the window just for the sake of a craving though, so I usually come up with a healthy alternative that …
Have you ever heard of a charcuterie board? If not, it’s simply a French word for a platter of cured meats and cheeses, and sometimes dried fruits, nuts, and pickles. I kept seeing them at events and on appetizer menus in nice restaurants and finally decided to try making my own. It proved to be a …
Like beets, kale is a super nutrient-dense food, but not always a kid favorite. It’s taken a good amount of recipe testing to come up with uses for kale that my family enjoys. My kids don’t much like kale in stir-fries or cooked dishes, but they really like this crispy kale chips recipe! All About …
I like to feed my family as few processed foods as possible, so concession-stand nachos topped with canned cheese product is not something I care to serve. But I’m a firm believer that almost any crowd favorite can be a really fun and healthy meal when made with real food ingredients. So… let the nacho …
We’ve talked about what to pack in kids’ school lunches for healthy food, but healthy snacks are important too! It’s taken many years to get this area of life down, and we’ve made a lot of strides. Here is our ever-growing list of our favorite healthy snacks that aren’t heavy on sugar and contain lots …
We are big fans of gelatin at our house and we use it in a lot of different ways. These homemade fruit snacks and homemade marshmallows are the kid-favorites in our house, and I can feel good about giving it to them since it is a source of protein and vitamins. Erase the idea of …
We’ve been brewing kombucha on our kitchen counter for years, long before it was available in grocery stores. It turns out you can do more with kombucha than just drink it… you can turn it into a favorite kids’ snack that they won’t even know is good for them! This SCOBY fruit leather recipe doesn’t require …
We first tried this “recipe” the week we finally got our first snow day that actually involved snow. For two days, my kids (and all the kids in the neighborhood) were outside 8-10 hours a day sledding, building snowmen, and making snow angels. One of the children suggested making snow cream and once the idea had …
I discovered this grain-free apple cinnamon muffin recipe out of desperation, really. (Isn’t it so true that necessity is the mother of invention?) On this particular morning I realized I only had five eggs in the fridge — not even close to enough to feed us all, especially when each kid could easily eat three each! I …
Ahh, fall… the glorious season of apples, pumpkins, changing leaves, and cooler weather (finally!). I definitely get in on the fall pumpkin craze and start making pumpkin spice everything this time of year — from pumpkin spice lattes to pumpkin spice room freshening spray. This coconut flour pumpkin bread (and muffin) recipe is the perfect way to ring in …
If you tend your own garden, chances are you’ve had your share of zucchini. This flourishing little veggie has an almost magic ability to thrive in nearly any condition, leading to an abundance that can be rather overwhelming. So what should you do with the excess? Enter this gluten-free zucchini bread! Why Zucchini? But first, …
