So, here is the really nice news, the children's pastor at our church wants to make sure my child is totally safe, and wants to remove all gluten containing products from his classroom, SO nice of him!! I need help though coming up with ideas for the group... he's asked for suggestions from me. They are little... 1-2 year old kids, and right now they have cheerios, teddy grahams, animal crackers etc... you know where a whole box is cheap and lasts awhile. He asked about fruit snacks, which some are okay, but any other ideas?? I've always brought my son's own snacks, so I haven't really thought about a whole group thing like this.
Thanks.

Aww, that's really wonderful of your pastor to do this! I love string cheese, but you might not have access to a refrigerator. How about raisins? Or homemade trail mix?

You know, that is fantastic because as we all know, those cheerios will go everywhere and any little tyke walking along will bend down and pick it up and pop it in his mouth. . .

fruit chew snacks
raisins
popcorn (that may be a choking issue)
dora the explorer cereal
trix
chips


Obviously, some are healthier options than others . . . I'll keep thinking.

My son's helper at church is also working on switching his Sunday school class to snacks that everyone can have. He is 7 and his aide (he is also severely autistic) had the kids think about ideas. One thing the kids mentioned is fruit--not as cheap as the goldfish or as convenient esp. with toddlers when a grown-up would have to cut it up. I think they were considering apples, grapes, etc. It's easy enough to get g/f chips but that's not very nutritious. Maybe some flavored rice snacks? I should see her tomorrow and I'll try to post more of her ideas. She also has celiac disease so she has good insight.

Marsha

PS. Are Trix really safe? I didn't know I had any mainstream cereal options other than Fruity Pebbles & Cocoa Pebbles and those little pieces get so messy. Josh loves Trix.

I think Trix has been an on again/off again type of cereal. However, they are made by General Mills and they list their gluten sources so if you check the label you will be able to tell.

Luke eats Trix almost everyday, and has had no problems so far. He is pretty sensitive, too. I do check the ingredients list each time I buy a new box- as Janet said, sometimes it is gluten-free and sometimes not. At least, that's what I hear- but every box I've picked up has been ok so far.

Other suggestions:

*Trix yogurt (real yogurt, fun colors and flavors)
*Bananas (inexpensive and fast to slice up)
*Glutino pretzels
*Envirokids Vanilla Animal Cookies (drier than animal crackers, but have a great vanilla flavor)
*Applesauce
*365 (Whole Foods brand) Cocoa Comets (this cereal is a lot like Cocoa Puffs, and it's cheap- but it sells out crazy fast at our WF.)

I usually just send Luke's snack with him for his Faith Formation class. Then once in a while I'll make gluten-free cookies for the whole class. It's really wonderful that your children's pastor understands the hazards of cross contamination! If my kids were younger (in that stage where everything goes in the mouth) I'd be tearing my hair out!!!

fruit cups, jello cups, pudding cups (some can be stored at room temperature), don't forget carrot sticks, celery sticks, rice krispie treats made with the fruity or coccoa pebbles, perky O's cereal
just a few things to add to the list.

Kinninickinick K-Kritters
Amaranth-Os
Perky-Os
Gorilla Munch
Ener-G pretzels

Envirokids Vanilla Animal Cookies
I have yet to find a child who will eat these. I didn't like their texture at all, the K-Kritters are much better IMO.

My older son doesn't care for them, but my younger one loves them. I think they're pretty good, as long as you don't expect them to be like animal crackers.

I have been meaning to order some K-Kritters- we haven't tried them yet. Thanks for mentioning them!

Also-- a note about the Envirokids Animal Cookies: Only the vanilla are gluten-free, NOT the other flavors!

Thanks for this thread. We had three 8-9 month old baby boys in the nursery this morning. It's just a given that their hands and mouths and slobber are all over everything and it was quite tricky keeping myself safe.

I will discuss these items with the director of children's ministries as soon as she gets over the flu!

My 4 yo loves rice crunch-ems (which come in a huge box) and rice cakes.