Beginning when my kids were little, we talked about food: how it tastes, how it makes us feel, etc. Read more here on why I don’t label foods good or bad. As they have gotten older I’ve started to teach them about the components, like macronutrients. We talk about how carbohydrates give us energy, fat helps protect our cellular function, and protein helps us build and maintain muscle. Simplified? Certainly. But I like that they understand they need all three. Today I want to dig into protein, since it can be the one that takes a little more effort.
Protein is an essential nutrient — especially when it comes to growing kids! Not only does protein help to build their growing muscles, but it also boosts their immune system, provides energy for them to learn and play, and repairs damage done to muscles when they play a little too hard.
Protein requirements vary based on your kid’s age, gender, and weight; however you can expect toddlers up to the age of 3 to need 13 grams, kids aged 4 through 8 to need 19 grams, and kids aged 9 through 13 to need a whopping 34 grams of protein.
Thankfully, high quality protein rich foods are tasty and easy to turn into snacks. Choosing high protein snacks for kids helps you to reach the suggested daily dose of this vital macronutrient. I’ve gathered together my favorite high-protein snack ideas for your kids to enjoy!
7 Protein Snacks for Kids
Trail Mix
There are so many reasons trail mix is a great idea for your kids. Trail mixes are highly customizable, and you can include some of your kid’s favorite protein rich foods in one easy-to-prep snack. All you do is mix your trail mix ingredients together, pre-portion them out, and then the next time your kids need a snack they just grab a portion and go! If it’s your preference, you can avoid animal products which makes trail mixes a great option for the best plant-based snacks for kids.
- High-protein trail mix additions: walnuts, dry roasted edamame, raw almonds, roasted cashews, roasted pumpkin seeds, and roasted sunflower seeds.
- Other fun additions: crackers, cereal (you could even use a higher protein cereal like Three Wishes), chocolate chips, dried fruits, and your favorite herbs and spices to add flavor to your homemade trail mix.
Cheese Sticks
Cheese sticks are one of the easiest protein rich snacks you can feed your kids. They’re already pre-packaged and ready to be combined with other nutritious and tasty foods that will help your kid’s growth and development.
- Grams of Protein: The average pre-packed cheese stick has 7 grams of protein.
- Healthy Additions: Consider giving your kids some of their favorite fruits, vegetables, or crackers to pair with their cheese sticks for an added boost of nutrients.
- Tip: If you don’t want to pay for pre-packaged cheese sticks, why not make your own? Cut some cubes of your kids favorite cheese and put them in mini glass snapware containers so they’re easy to grab, enjoy, and reseal any leftovers. Making your own cheese sticks aren’t quite free protein snacks for kids, but it’ll sure save you money!
Peanut Butter
Peanut butter is a favorite of so many kids. It’s a great source of protein for a childs’ nutritional needs and it’s versatile enough to be worked into a ton of healthy snacks for kids. If your child is a peanut butter lover, you can mix this spread with other healthy ingredients, but in a pinch, a spoonful or two is a super quick and protein-rich snack!
- Grams of Protein: In a 2 tablespoon serving of peanut butter you’ll find 8 grams of protein.
- Healthy Additions: Peanut butter can be mixed into Greek for an added protein boost yogurt (a half-cup serving has 7.5 grams of protein), making a tasty dip for dipping apples. Or spread it over a piece of whole-grain toast, drizzle with honey, and sprinkle with chia seeds for a quick and easy snack.
- Tip: If your kid isn’t a fan of peanuts, try another type of nut butter. Almond butter has 7 grams of protein in a 2 tablespoon serving and cashew butter has 5 ½ grams of protein in a 2 tablespoon serving.
High-Protein Cottage Cheese Bowls
Amy over at Healthy Kids Recipes has come up with two versions of a cottage cheese bowl that will help your kids meet their daily protein requirements. She has a savory option as well as a sweet one so you can pick the one that matches your kid’s tastebuds the best. Both bowls are loaded with protein as well as healthy fruits and vegetables.
- Grams of Protein: Each bowl has 17 grams of protein (the recipe makes enough for 2 bowls).
- Ingredients in the Savoury Cottage Cheese Bowl: You’ll need cottage cheese, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, balsamic vinegar glaze, and everything but the bagel seasoning.
- Ingredients in the Sweet Cottage Cheese Bowl: You’ll need cottage cheese, berries, granola, honey, nut butter or peanut butter, and some cinnamon.
- Tip: If you don’t think you like cottage cheese, give the brand Good Culture a try. It’s a favorite around here! Also, if you are using cottage cheese to mix into a sauce to boost protein, you can blend it to make it smooth.
Almond Butter Protein Shake
If your kid is more of a sipper than a snacker, Healthline’s Almond Butter Protein Shake will delight their taste buds. This healthy snack idea offers a double dose of protein by using cottage cheese and almond butter. Add in some fruit for sweetness and you’ve got an easy, creamy, high protein snack idea.
- Grams of Protein: The cottage cheese has 7 grams and the nut butter has 3 grams so this shake has a total of 10 grams of protein.
- Ingredients: A ripe banana, cottage cheese, almond milk, and almond butter.
- Tips: Instead of nut butter, you could use peanut butter. You could also add in different flavors of berries, or a scoop of protein powder for a supercharged protein snack!
- More tips: How to Build a Better Smoothie
Hard-Boiled Egg
Sometimes the simplest ideas really are the best. Eggs are a fantastic source of protein as well as other essential nutrients like Vitamin A, Vitamin B12, and iron. In fact, eggs are considered a complete protein because they contain all 9 of the essential amino acids. Hard-boiled eggs are easy for little fingers to pick up, so this simple protein rich snack is perfect for toddlers.
- Grams of Protein: A single hard-boiled egg contains 6 grams of protein.
- How to Hard-Boil an Egg: Place your eggs in a pot with enough cold water to cover them. Allow the pot to come to a boil, then remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let the eggs cook in the hot water for 12 minutes. After cooking, rinse the eggs under cold water right away.
- Flavor tips: Sprinkle your eggs with some spices like salt and pepper, paprika, chives, dill, or everything but the bagel seasoning. Or make simple deviled eggs by mashing the yolks with a tiny bit of mustard and mayo plus a bit of sweet relish and refill the whites (my kids LOVE these)
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Balls
If you have some spare time on the weekend to meal prep some healthy snacks for kids, these delicious energy bites are a great option! Using healthy ingredients like oats, coconut, and chia seeds combined with delicious peanut butter, honey, and chocolate chips, these are sure to be a hit. You can even add in a scoop of your favorite vanilla protein powder for an added protein boost. This recipe recreates a classic cookie dough flavor and texture for your kids. Although these are protein and energy packed healthy snacks, they look, feel, and taste like a treat so you’re kids will gobble them up! One of the best things is, that they only take 10 minutes to prepare with the help of a cookie scoop, and can be made in large batches and stored in the freezer so you always have some healthy snacks ready for your kids.
- Grams of Protein: Each little protein ball contains 3.5 grams of protein (before protein powder) so those little bites can add up quick!
- Ingredients: You’ll need oats, shredded coconut, peanut butter, chia seeds, honey, salt, chocolate chips, and vanilla protein powder (for the boost).
- Tips: Although you could just mix the ingredients together to make the balls, blending the oats and coconut in a blender is a great way to break down the thicker chunks, making the texture smoother and better suited to kids who can be picky sometimes.
Because kid-friendly ingredients like peanut butter, cheese, and nuts are loaded with protein, it’s not difficult to find plenty of protein-rich healthy snacks for kids. Try out a few of these recipes and let me know which ones your kids liked best!
