Healthy school snacks for children: 7-day menu and shopping list

Who is this meal plan for?

It is designed for healthy children aged 3 and over, in preschool and primary school, who take a mid-morning snack to school and have an afternoon snack after school. These snacks help meet their energy needs throughout the day. They are also a good opportunity to include fruit, dairy products and whole grains.

If your child is under 5, give them nuts ground or as a spread, never whole. The UK National Health Service (NHS) advises against giving whole nuts before this age because of the risk of choking [1]. For the same reason, cut grapes and cherry tomatoes lengthways into quarters [1].

This meal plan is not intended for children under 3. For them, see the guides to complementary feeding and feeding from 18 months to 3 years.

It is also not a suitable plan for children with coeliac disease, a food allergy or type 1 diabetes treated with insulin. In these cases, plan their snack with their paediatrician or medical team.

A full week of mid-morning and afternoon snacks

From Monday to Sunday, with breakfast, a mid-morning snack and an afternoon snack. The mid-morning snack column includes sandwiches with fruit designed by Vanesa Rus, Alimmenta registered dietitian-nutritionist.

Day	Breakfast	School snack	Afternoon snack
Monday	A glass of milk or unsweetened soy drink with oat flakes and a slice of melon	Fresh cheese sandwich with a thin slice of quince paste or jam · two mandarins	Plain full-fat yoghurt with diced pear and ground walnuts
Tuesday	Wholemeal toast with extra virgin olive oil and tomato · a glass of milk	Sandwich with canned tuna in water and tomato slices · a banana	Skewer of kiwi and strawberry pieces with diced mild cheese
Wednesday	A bowl of plain full-fat yoghurt with chopped apple and unsweetened cornflakes	Sandwich with natural turkey breast, lettuce leaves and sliced cucumber · two kiwis	Wholemeal toast with 100% peanut butter and banana slices
Thursday	A glass of milk with unsweetened defatted pure cocoa and wholemeal toast with fresh cheese	Sandwich with ripe avocado, tomato and tender shoots with a pinch of pepper · three plums	Plain yoghurt whisked at home with blueberries and ground almonds
Friday	Warm porridge made with oats cooked in milk, ground cinnamon and diced peach	Sandwich with sliced hard-boiled egg and crunchy lettuce · three fresh or dried figs	Fruit salad with orange, quartered grapes and apple, with unsalted roasted hazelnuts (ground for children under 5)
Saturday	Homemade oat and banana pancakes with a touch of cinnamon · a glass of milk	Fresh cheese sandwich with lamb’s lettuce and cherry tomatoes cut into quarters · a pear	Small wholemeal bread sandwich with dark chocolate (70% cocoa or more) and a mandarin
Sunday	Toast made with traditional bread and a one-egg plain omelette, with tomato slices	Sandwich with very thinly sliced apple, lamb’s lettuce and a few drops of Modena balsamic vinegar · a peach	Plain yoghurt with oat flakes, pieces of plum and pumpkin seeds

Weekly shopping list for mid-morning and afternoon snacks

The quantities are a guide for one child for one week . They are planned so you can shop once and avoid wasting food.

Fruit shop

• 6 medium mandarins
• 4 ripe bananas
• 5 kiwis
• 5 ripe plums
• 4 fresh or dried figs
• 3 Conference or other juicy pears
• 3 peaches or nectarines
• 4 apples
• 2 eating oranges
• 250 g table grapes
• 1 punnet of blueberries (125 g)
• 1 small punnet of strawberries
• 1 wedge of melon
• 2 ripe avocados

Bakery and grains

• 4 medium loaves or individual 100% wholemeal bakery rolls, to slice and freeze in portions.
• 500 g fine oat flakes
• 250 g cornflakes with no added sugar

Fishmonger, butcher and eggs

• 2 small cans of tuna in water or olive oil
• 150 g sliced turkey breast, with more than 90% meat.
• Half a dozen eggs

Dairy and alternatives

• 2 l whole milk or unsweetened soy drink with calcium and at least 3% protein.
• 6 plain, unsweetened full-fat yoghurts
• 350 g Burgos-style fresh cheese or curd cheese
• 150 g mild or semi-mature cheese, in a wedge

Vegetables

• 1 kg ripe tomatoes for salad
• 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes (250 g)
• 1 Romaine or Batavia lettuce
• 1 bag of lamb’s lettuce or tender salad leaves (100 g)
• 2 cucumbers

Nuts and pantry

• 100 g shelled walnuts
• 100 g unsalted roasted almonds or ground almonds
• 100 g unsalted roasted hazelnuts
• 100 g raw or unsalted roasted pumpkin seeds
• 1 jar of 100% peanut butter, with no added sugar or oils.
• 1 small jar of quince paste or jam with a high fruit content.
• 1 bar of dark chocolate (70% cocoa or more)
• Unsweetened defatted pure cocoa
• Extra virgin olive oil, ground cinnamon, black pepper and Modena balsamic vinegar from your usual pantry staples.

What the meal plan includes and leaves out

The week combines wholemeal bread, whole fruit and a variety of fillings. Some sandwiches contain cheese, egg or tuna; others, avocado or apple.

• Bread from a bakery, 100% wholemeal, as a baguette, loaf or rolls, frozen in portions.
• Fillings such as tuna, hard-boiled egg, fresh cheese or turkey with more than 90% meat.
• Fruit, whole and in season, and crunchy vegetables such as tomato, cucumber, lettuce, lamb’s lettuce or carrot sticks.
• Healthy fats from avocado and extra virgin olive oil to spread on the bread.
• Nuts, plain or unsalted and roasted, whole from age 5 and ground or as a spread before then.
• Dairy products without added sugar, such as plain full-fat yoghurt, whipped cheese, kefir, whole milk or soy drink.
• A sweet touch from dried fruit with no added sugar, homemade quince paste with fresh cheese, or apple with cinnamon.

Pastries, biscuits, cereal bars, and sweetened milkshakes and dairy desserts are for occasional treats. The same goes for fatty processed meats such as luncheon meat or mortadella, and fried snacks such as crisps or corn puffs.

Should you count calories in a child’s school snack?

No. Healthy children should not have their calories counted or be put on a diet. That is why this meal plan does not set kilocalories or grams per portion. Children’s needs change with age, height, development and how active they are each day. You decide what is offered, and their appetite decides how much they eat. See “Sugar in childhood”.

We explain this in more detail in our guide to school-age nutrition.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says that messages to families should focus on habits, not weight [2]. Some teenagers who try to lose weight on their own go on to develop an eating disorder [2]. By contrast, properly managed treatment for excess weight, with professional follow-up, does not increase this risk [2].

At home, this means three simple things.

• Do not talk about weight or bodies at the table, including your own.
• Do not label foods as good or bad
• Keep more fruit, vegetables, pulses, wholemeal bread and water available, and fewer ultra-processed foods.

If you are concerned about your child’s weight, talk to their paediatrician first, before changing anything on their plate.

How to choose good bread and avoid pastries at school

For decades, a sandwich was the classic school snack. In many school bags, pastries, biscuits and sliced bread with child-focused marketing have taken its place. To bring the sandwich back, start with the bread.

• Choose by ingredients. Look for wholemeal bread with simple ingredients, from a bakery or packaged.
• Wholemeal is better. The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) prioritises whole grains [3].
• Check that the first ingredient is wholemeal flour; it provides more fibre than white bread.
• Freeze in portions. Slice and freeze the bread; defrost it before making the sandwich.

What should you pack in a lunchbox to keep food fresh until break time?

A mid-morning snack is more appealing if it arrives whole and fresh at break time. If it contains fresh cheese, egg, turkey or tuna, it needs to be kept cold during transport, according to FoodSafety.gov [4].

• Stop fruit from browning. Add lemon to sliced apple or pack a whole mandarin.
• Keep wet ingredients separate. Pack tomato and cucumber separately so the bread does not go soggy.
• Use a rigid lunchbox. It protects the fruit and keeps wet ingredients separate.
• Keep perishable foods cold. Use an insulated bag with an ice pack, or refrigerate the snack at school [4].
• Water to drink. It is the main drink [3]; pack a reusable bottle.

Healthy snacks for adults and children: ideas and tips

A healthy snack can be fruit, plain dairy or a protein option. Add bread or whole grains if you are hungrier. You do not need to combine every food group every afternoon. For children and adults, choose according to appetite and what has already been eaten. AESAN prioritises fruit, whole grains and minimally processed foods [3].

• Seasonal fruit with plain, unsweetened yoghurt
• Wholemeal bread with tomato and olive oil
• A mandarin and a small hummus and cucumber sandwich
• Sliced apple with fresh cheese
• Banana with oat flakes and milk
• Wholemeal bread with a thin layer of unsweetened peanut butter
• Melon and walnuts; before age 5, serve walnuts ground [1].
• For adults, wholemeal toast with avocado and tomato

If you take yoghurt, fresh cheese or egg out of the house, keep them cold until you eat [4]. For more snack combinations for children, see healthy snacks for children and our paediatric nutrition service.

What mistakes do we see in consultations?

Three common pitfalls come up among families who come to see us, almost always with the best intentions.

• Replacing fruit with juice. It has less fibre; the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies its sugars as free sugars [5].
• Trusting “for children” labels. Many biscuits, bars and children’s drinks contain added sugars; read the label [3].
• Insisting they finish it. Avoid forcing them or using sweets as a reward; respect their appetite [2].