It's October, the school year is in full swing, and every morning the same question comes up in the kitchen: what goes in the backpack today? Chips and chocolate bars are the easiest grab at the school canteen, but with a little planning a whole week of snacks is simple to make at home. Here's a practical checklist for parents: five days and five ideas, packing tricks, the cost in lari, and what you must keep in mind about nut allergies.
Why shop-bought snacks aren't the best choice for a school bag
A bag of chips now and then is no disaster. The trouble starts when it becomes the daily default. Packaged snacks often come with a long ingredient list, chocolate goes soft by midday, and crumbs end up between notebooks and textbooks. With a homemade snack you know every ingredient yourself: Peanut Butter Classic, for example, is made from just roasted peanuts and Himalayan salt.
You're not alone in wanting this. According to Tastewise's analysis, “healthy” comes up more often than “indulgent” in snack conversations, and brands are moving toward 10–15 g of protein and low-sugar claims [1]. The same analysis finds that homemade nostalgic snacks are among the things getting the most social engagement [1]. In other words, the good old sandwich is back in fashion.
5 days, 5 snacks: a week's menu
- Monday — a shoti sandwich with peanut butter. Slice the shoti lengthwise, spread a thin layer of peanut butter and tuck in thin slices of banana or apple. A 36 g portion of Classic has 232 kcal and 9.6 g of protein; a child's sandwich usually needs less than that.
- Tuesday — apple “sandwiches”. Cut an apple crosswise into rings, remove the core, spread almond butter between two rings and sprinkle with a few oat flakes or raisins. A drop of lemon juice keeps the apple from browning until the long break.
- Wednesday — homemade cookies with a nut butter filling. This idea comes straight from the GULIANI family. The founder says: “My older daughter is three, and she adores toast with peanut butter and the cookies with a nut butter filling that their mum bakes for them.” Bake a batch on Sunday and it will last until midweek; find ideas in our recipes.
- Thursday — lavash “snails”. Spread lavash with Peanut Butter with Honey, lay a whole banana on top, roll it up tightly and cut into small rounds. A 36 g portion of the honey version has 216 kcal and 8.4 g of protein. One lavash is enough for two kids.
- Friday — a dip box. Carrot sticks, apple and pear slices, plus a small screw-top jar of Cashew Butter with Coconut — inside there's nothing but roasted cashews and coconut flakes. Lots of kids love doing the dipping themselves, so Friday's snack doubles as a little game.
What won't melt or stain the notebooks
Nut butter doesn't melt the way chocolate does, but it still needs proper packing. A few rules that keep the backpack clean:
- Instead of foil, use an airtight lunchbox with a snug lid.
- Spread the butter in the middle of the bread and stop short of the edges, so nothing oozes out the sides.
- Wrap the sandwich in baking paper before it goes into the box.
- For dips, use a small screw-top jar, not an open bowl.
- Skip chocolate coatings: in a warm classroom, especially once the heating is on, they soften quickly.
- Oil can rise to the top of natural nut butter — that's normal; stir it well before spreading.
- Pack a napkin and a wet wipe in a separate pocket, and keep the lunchbox away from the books.
If there's a nut allergy in the class: rules and swaps
“The allergy question is always relevant. Even though the percentage isn't large, we should always remember that nuts, especially peanuts, are allergenic foods,” says the founder of GULIANI. “Cross-contact in production is unavoidable, so we honestly state on the label of our cashew and almond butters too that the product may contain traces of peanuts.”
- Ask the class teacher whether any child in the class has an allergy and what the school's rule is.
- If nuts are banned, don't send almond or cashew butter either — because of the peanut traces stated on the label.
- Teach your child not to share food and to wash hands after eating.
- Nut-free school options: shoti with cheese, a boiled egg, fruit, vegetable sticks, or mchadi with cheese.
- Save the nut butter for breakfast and after-school snacks at home.
When there's no allergy and you're choosing for home, the founder has his own advice: “For a child I'd recommend almond butter — it's the most complete, both in taste and in its content of beneficial nutrients, and it's less allergenic than peanut.” If your child hasn't tried nut butter yet, offer it for the first time at home, where you can keep an eye on them, and talk to your paediatrician if you have any doubts.
What it costs in lari
A 350 g jar of Classic costs 15 GEL — roughly nine to ten 36 g portions, so about 1.5 GEL per portion. A child's sandwich takes less than that, so the jar lasts longer. Peanut Butter with Honey is 18 GEL, Almond Butter is 25 GEL (about 2.6 GEL per 36 g).
On the website there's 20% off the whole order from 2 jars: Classic plus Almond Butter comes to 32 GEL instead of 40. For comparison, jot down for one week how much your child spends on chips and chocolate bars at the canteen — the total is often a surprise. Work out exact calories and protein for any portion in our nutrition calculator.
Start on Monday
There's no need to change everything at once. Monday — shoti with Peanut Butter Classic; Sunday — a batch of cookies for Wednesday; the rest falls into place. More ideas are waiting in our recipes and the Healthy Table section.
