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❏ Whole-grain crackers

Beans

Some beans are worth buying canned, especially for busy parents who don’t have time to soak and boil. Others, as noted here, are really worth the extra time due to improved quality, texture, and flavor.

Dried:

❏ Black beans

❏ Black-eyed peas

❏ Brown lentils

❏ Canary beans

❏ Green split peas

❏ Kidney beans

❏ Pinto beans

❏ Red lentils

❏ Small red beans

❏ Yellow lentils

Canned:

• Black beans

• Cannellini beans

• Garbanzo beans

• Pigeon peas

• Pinto beans

• Small red beans

• Vegetarian refried beans

Vegetables

The best way to encourage your kids to eat veggies is to serve them many ways. Some kids who like fresh, crisp veggies don’t like them cooked and vice versa. Some will gobble up a salad with their favorite dressing, while others will only eat veggies in a soup, or frozen veggies. Keep trying!

❏ Baby carrots

❏ Baby salad greens

❏ Bell peppers

❏ Broccoli

❏ Cabbage (red and green)

❏ Cauliflower

❏ Celery

❏ Corn on the cob

❏ Cucumbers

❏ Frozen corn

❏ Frozen edamame

❏ Frozen peas

❏ Frozen pepper strips

❏ Frozen, prepared potatoes

❏ Garlic

❏ Iceberg lettuce

❏ Onions

❏ Potatoes (any variety)

❏ Snap peas

❏ Spinach

❏ String beans

❏ Vegan polenta

Fruits

Some kids are much more adventuresome than others when it comes to fruits. Here are some kid-approved standards. Avoid seedy fruits, as kids tend to dislike seeds, and younger children can choke on them. To quickly ripen hard fruits, place them in a paper bag with a banana.

Also, be sure to try the smaller, less starchy, baby banana as a new flavor twist on a daily standby fruit.

❏ Apples

❏ Applesauce (jarred)

❏ Apricots

❏ Avocadoes

❏ Bananas

❏ Blueberries

❏ Clementines

❏ Grapefruit

❏ Grapes (seedless)

❏ Kiwi

❏ Lemons

❏ Limes

❏ Local, seasonal fruits

❏ Mangoes

❏ Melons

❏ Oranges (seedless)

❏ Papayas

❏ Peaches (jarred, too)

❏ Pears (jarred, too)

❏ Pineapple

❏ Plantains

❏ Raspberries

❏ Strawberries

❏ Tangerines

❏ Watermelon

Vegan Vocab

Plantains, which resemble large bananas, are a fruit that can be fried, mashed, and cooked in many ways, especially when overripe. They’re a good source of vitamins A and C as well as fiber.

Dried Fruits and Nuts

Dried fruits and nuts are healthy snacks. However, babies, toddlers, and kids with food allergies need to avoid most of these foods due to choking hazards or allergy risk.

Fruits:

❏ Dried apples

❏ Dried apricots

❏ Dried bananas

❏ Dried cranberries

❏ Dried mangoes

❏ Dried pineapple

❏ Raisins

Nuts:

❏ Almond butter

❏ Almonds

❏ Cashew butter

❏ Cashews

❏ Macadamia nuts

❏ Peanut butter

❏ Peanuts

❏ Pecans

❏ Pistachios

❏ Pumpkin seeds

❏ Sunflower seeds

❏ Tahini

❏ Walnuts

Other Canned and Dry Goods

Even if you have only a few basics in the fridge at the end of a week, keep these items stocked in your pantry, and you’ll have everything you need to whip up a nearly gourmet meal—dessert included.

❏ Baking powder

❏ Baking soda

❏ Black (pitted) olives

❏ Blackstrap molasses

❏ Brown rice syrup

❏ Canned coconut milk

❏ Cranberry relish

❏ Diced tomatoes

❏ Dried onion soup mix

❏ Egg replacer

❏ Flour(s)

❏ Green (pitted) olives

❏ Jarred pizza sauce

❏ Jarred salsa (mild for most kids)

❏ Jarred vegan apple butter

❏ Nutritional yeast

❏ Oats

❏ Pickles

❏ Prepared vegan soups

❏ Stewed tomatoes

❏ Sugar(s)

❏ Tomato paste

❏ Tomato purée

❏ Tomato sauce

❏ Vegan chocolate chips

❏ Vegan mayo

❏ Veggie broth (low-sodium)

A word about flours and sugars: you can buy all-purpose, unbleached, whole-wheat, cake, garbanzo bean (great for a protein boost in baked goods), and rice flours, just to name a few. Usually, however, you’ll want to use the kind specified in recipes, or the end result may not be the equivalent of the original intent.

If you or your child has gluten sensitivities, many excellent