I can’t tell you the number of times I am wiping down my kids hands when we are out and about. So many germs everywhere and although getting sick is part of growing up, every mom wants to minimize the sickness in their home. So with summer here and being on the go more, I had to come up with lots of snack and picnic ideas. For my full range of ideas and more tips, see this post. For the times when their hands are extra dirty, (ie. they have just pet a turtle!), I like to take some no-touch snacks along. Here are a few of my favourites this summer. 
1) Cheese strings. You can use the wrapper as a protection from touching the actual cheese and still offer your children protein (most have 6 grams of protein) and a source of calcium. 2) Yogurt drinks and pouches. We use the iogo ones from Costco; however, there are other options too such as Danino. For a homemade version of this, you can mix milk and Greek yogurt together in a blender (maybe even add some fruit) and pour it into an insulated cup to stay cold for your kids to enjoy later in the day. For smoothie ideas check out this post. 3) Fruit purees in pouches. I stopped taking apples and bananas and pears with me out and about because they always became mushy and unappetizing for the children. While grapes and berries and melon are wonderful, they require hands. So I like fruit puree pouches for times when hands are dirty…or just for variety. You can purchase them ready made such as GoGoSqueeze or you can make your own using a product from Resqeeze or Squooshi or Mymoshiko, etc. The nice thing about the reusable ones are that you can control what goes into your fruit puree. With only fruit and no preservatives, these can be enjoyed daily with no guilt for mom and dad. 4) Milk in an insulated cup. This one is so simple and yet one of my kids top choices. Children 2 years of age and over should have 2 cups (16 oz.) of milk every day. If your child is not reaching this goal, then bring milk in an insulated cup for them to enjoy while you are out and about. Be careful not to give over 16 oz per day though as this may interfere with your child’s ability to eat all the other foods they should be eating. Well hopefully this gives you some ideas for the next time you are heading out and not sure how clean your kids hands will be at snack time. Try to keep the cheese strings, yogurt drinks, and the store bought fruit puree packets treats for only these occasions. Whole foods are always the best choice and these are a good back up for times when whole foods are not an option. Until next time…stay healthy!