I spend hours each week researching products, recipes, and meal strategies for my very special pediatric clients. I also live in Boulder, Colorado – ground zero for foodie start ups (even my son’s baby sitter started a food company whose products are now in Whole Foods and other store shelves!). Just about every time I go to the grocery store, there is an interesting new product to check out around here.

Whatever I can find on store shelves right down the street, you can find on line. There’s no excuse to miss out on healthful, real food for your kids, even if you’re short on time and your kids have special diets or food allergies. Here’s my latest favorites for parents who don’t have time to bake, cook, or prepare scratch snacks. I often post new finds on my Nutrition Care Facebook Page too, so be sure to follow me there!

Tres Pupusas – Years ago I ate these delicious pupusas hot and freshly made at our Farmers’ Market. Now they are on store shelves, in the freezer section. Gluten free, organic non GMO masa (corn) flour pockets, with options from vegan (dairy and gluten free) to meaty (carnitas) or with cheese. Nicely sized for little kid hands (there’s even a bite sized mini pupusa), they make good finger food. Throw in a dip for your kids’ snacking, like avocado, hummus, or salsa.

Feel Good Foods – This is a good go-to for teens or college kids who have a microwave or hot plate and big appetite. This company’s egg rolls, potstickers, and other good stuff are gluten free, with several dairy free options too. Tasty if you have time to heat in your regular oven too. The pot stickers even come with their own gluten free dipping sauce. Have them ready when your starved kids come home from school starved, mad, and ready to kill you because they didn’t eat all day.

Capello’s Foods – Here’s an interesting line up of products: Gluten free, grain free manchego pizza, pastas, and… cookie dough?! If you can’t scratch-bake those lovely hypoallergenic cookies for the classroom party or your kids just like eating cookie dough, you have that option. And pizza – so missed by kids who don’t do dairy – can often work with manchego cheese (sheeps’ cheese), which some kids tolerate when they do poorly with cow’s milk or even goat cheese. Capello’s pizzas are the real deal – delicious, and you can build in more toppings if your kids like – chopped olives, basil or spinach leaves, bell peppers, or pepperoni. Almond flour is the base for these products.

CauliPower – This cauliflower crust pizza has taken the media by storm. Several topping options, with a crust based on cauliflower, and crazy good. All have cheese, but you can buy just the crust and build your own (try this cheeseless combo: Tomato sauce, salami, chopped olives, fresh basil leaves, scallions, oregano sprinkle and olive oil drizzle). Throw it in the oven 15 minutes before kids get home from school and you’re good to go.

Chebe – This product has been around for years. For Paleo, grain free, or gluten free diets, it’s a winner for giving your kids a sense of “bread”. It is basically tapioca flour, boxed as a mix, to which you add an egg, some vegetable oil, and liquid (water or almond milk). Period. I know a few noses will wrinkle at the thought of tapioca flour as Paleo, but the fact is, one of the biggest mistakes I see when kids go Paleo or GAPS is that they are underfed, their growth slows down, and they get cranky – usually because they’re eating too much fermented food, too much protein, and not enough good carby stuff. Kids do need carbohydrates to sustain normal growth patterns, sleep, focus, and to not feel anxious all day. So try this fast-to-prepare item and shape it into rolls, breadsticks, buns, or focaccia. Mince in some peppers or scallions. Plain, with herbs, slather on butter, ghee, olive oil, nut butters, or cut into awesome sliders and stick in a slice of prosciutto with mustard.

There you go – Five mostly heat-and-eat goodies to get your kids fed easily when you can’t prepare much of anything. Be sure to check each of these manufacturers pages for recipe ideas with their products too. Enjoy!