Well, so far you have not lived up to your goal of cutting down on sugarey snacks.
How about Chex mix? I put more cereal in with the buttery mix, so it's a bit less greasy.
How about caramel corn? Again more popcorn than the recipe calls for.
How about those peanutbutter cheese crackers? Or goldfish? Juice boxes? Kid sized bottles of bottled water.
Linda C

I make our own trail snacks for hiking and backpacking. One version, using dried fruits, might be perfect for this use.

Run a mix of dried fruits (pears, peaches, apples, raisins, even dates if that trips your trigger) through a meat grinder.

Take this amorphous mass and pack it into a section of PVC tubing. I use a section of 3/4" about 4 inches long. Use the handle of a wooden spoon or a dowel rod to really pack it in.

Extrude the fruit log out of the tube. If you want you can roll it in crushed nuts, sesame seeds, sunflowers seeds, or even powdered sugar.

Double wrap the logs in plastic wrap and foil. Unpeel the wrap and eat the logs like a banana.

BTW, these keep two days longer than forever in the freezer. So don't be afraid to make large quantities.

I second Linda's suggestion of peanutbutter crackers... Also, how about some of those flavored soy chips -- they taste just as good if not better than rice cakes, have lots of protein, and come in different flavors like BBQ, cheddar, etc... If you can't find the soy chips, flavored rice cakes might work without being sugary, but wouldn't have the protein...

Also, just baggies of cereal might work -- I find the quaker oat squares are not too sugary and are absolutely delicious as a snack...

NUTS & BOLTS
2 small boxes Cheeze-Its
3 cans mixed nuts (3-4 cups)
8 oz shelled pecans
1 qt popcron
2 pkg sesame chips
2 cans coconut chips
1 small box pretzel sticks
2 sticks margarine
1/2 tps garlic salt or 1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder (you can omit)
Dash Tabasco
1 TBL Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 250°. Mix the Cheez-Its, nuts, popcorn, chips & pretzel sticks in a large roasting pan. Melt the margarine in a small pan & stir in the seasonings. Sprinkle over the mixture in the roasting pan. Bake 1 hour., stirring 2-3 times. Cool on absorbent paper & store in cans orjars.~~Cincinnati Celebrates

SPICED PECANS (4 cups)
1 egg white, slightly beaten
2 TBL cold water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups pecan halves

Preheat oven to 250°. Coat 2 baking sheets lightly w/vegetable oil cooking spray. Combine the egg white, water, sugar & seasonings, mixing well. Set aside 15 minutes. Add the pecans & mix. Spread evenly on the prepared baking sheets. Bake 1 hour. Immediately loosen the pecans from teh sheets with a spatula\. Store in an airtight container.~~Atlanta Cooknotes

SNACK MIX (9 cups)
9 TBL butter
1 1/2 TBL Worcestershire
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
4 1/2 cups Corn Chex
4 1/2 oz canned potato sticks
18 oz mixed nuts
8 oz sesame seeds
8 oz sunflower seeds

Melt butter in a large skillet; add Worcestershire sauce & Parmesan; mix well. Add dry ingredients & toss until well-coated. Spread on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a pareheated 350° oven for 15 minutes, stirring twice. Watch carefully as it can burn easily. Drain on paper towels. Cool & store in airtight containers.~~Uptown Down South

Sandy I make a Gorp that my kids loved:
1 pkg.Goldfish crackers
1 bag pretzel nuggets
1 jar Dry roasted peanuts
1-2 cups raisens
1 bag plain M&M's
1 bag Peanut M&m's
Mix and enjoy! Gina

Thanks for the ideas!!! I know these all sound 'sweet', but compared to the other junk that they are constantly eating...it is NOT! LOL DD was so thankful that I was thinking of doing this...just so she didn't have to have sweet all the time. I still want the kids to like/eat these, so it has to have some sweet stuff to it.

Gina, that sounds like a really good Gorp! I know the little kids will pick out all the M&M's first...but I think they will eat the other stuff too.

Thanks again! I really appreciate the ideas..I have kept many of the ideas for later use for us! =)

Not everything has to be "a recipe". Mini pretzels, goldfish, or even string cheese with crackers are all tasty.

How about:

CAJUN BAGEL CHIPS

6 plain unsliced bagels
1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted
1/4 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
1/4 tsp. onion salt
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. garlic powder

Preheat oven to 400ú F. Cut each bagel vertically into 1/8-inch-thick slices. In a small bowl stir together melted margarine or butter, thyme, onion, salt, red pepper, black pepper, and garlic powder. Brush one side of bagel slices with margarine mixture. Arrange slices in a single layer on baking sheets. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes or till top edges are crisp. Turn chips over. Bake about 4 to 5 minutes longer or till crisp. Cool on a wire rack.
For giving as a gift, place chips in clear plastic gift boxes or bags. Makes about 60 chips, 2 gifts.

Basil-Garlic Bagel Chips: In a small saucepan combine 2 cloves crushed garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil, and 1/4 cup margarine or butter. Cook over medium heat till margarine is melted. Remove from heat; let stand 30 minutes. Remove garlic. Stir in 1 tablespoon snipped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed. Brush on bagel slices and bake as above.

HERBED CHEESE-AND-CRACKER BITS

2 (10-1/2 oz.) boxes Ritz Bits cheese crackers (not peanut butter flavor)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 (1 oz.) pkg. Hidden Valley Original Ranch salad dressing mix
1 heaping Tblsp. dried dill
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. celery salt

Place the crackers in a large sealable freezer container. In a bowl, mix the oil, salad dressing mix, dill, garlic powder, and celery salt. Pour this mixture over the crackers, cover the container, and invert it to coat the crackers with seasoning. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours, turning the container every so often to keep the crackers coated. Let the mixture come to room temperature before serving. Store in the covered container in refrigerator.

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen.

MELANIEâÂÂS SUGARED PEANUTS
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 cup raw Spanish peanuts (the kind with the red skins on them)
Preheat oven to 300ð F. Combine water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in peanuts and continue to cook over medium heat until peanuts are completely sugared (no syrup remains). Pour peanuts onto an ungreased baking sheet (I use a jellyroll pan so none of those critters escape) and spread out as much as possible. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Allow to cool and break any chunks apart. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe courtesy of Melanie Warren.

How about some of the prepackaged (or make your own) beef sticks & cheese sticks? Could use some different salami or pepperoni and string cheese, or cheese cubes or something. As you snack along on some meat, cheese and then get the sweeter & saltier accompaniments (and I'd second the bottled water) you could have almost a meal. The mini rice cakes from Aldi (Fit & Trim I think is the brand) come in cheese and an apple/cinnamon flavor and are very good.

One of my favorite snacks these days is the Old Dutch white cheddar popcorn.

oops. didn't notice how old this was.... sorry.

That's OK, because I've been looking for a spiced pecan recipe, and Ginger's looks good. I'll just add a little cayenne to taste! Thanks!