What are some healthy snacks for toddlers?

-Rosanna Shavron Lafontaine, RD, RDH

Snacks for toddlers are very important especially if they are not getting all of their nutrition and energy needs at every meal, especially for those that can be ‘picky eaters’. The snacks throughout the day (usually a mid-morning, mid-afternoon snack, and/or evening snack ) can provide half or 1/3 of their daily energy requirements. Here are some tips for snack time:

1. The key here is to concentrate on routine and well-timed snacks. With a routine of eating healthy snacks, children learn at a younger age to choose the healthier snacks over the convenient high sugary, high fat, ‘junk’ foods. 
2. Snacks can help your child avoid over-eating & under-eating to achieve a good balance by getting the nutrients they need.
3. Parents, you are in control of your child’s eating habits now, not them.  They can choose what they want, but it’s your responsibility to provide them with the best healthy choices that are packed with protein, minerals and nutrients.
4. What I’ve noticed from my toddler is that he likes to hold his food and feed himself. At 15 months, he is ‘Mr. Independent’ and if Mommy even attempts to feed him, he does not like it and makes sure to let me know! Make the snacks or food at meal time, kid- finger-food-friendly, whether it’s eating meatballs off a stick or the carrot pieces are cut length-wise for easy holding and snacking. 

Here are some quick snack ideas that are great at home or so easy to throw in a zip lock bag and into your purse if you leave the house.

1. Veggies: Cukes (smaller type of cucumbers) or carrots cut lengthwise. You could even boil the carrots to soften the texture and avoid any choking hazards.
2. Bite size fresh fruit (apple slices, grapes-cut-in half, peaches, whatever is in season!)
3. Dried fruit cut into bite sized pieces
4. Cheese, bite size or cheese strings, cottage cheese with pieces of fruit in it
5. Unsalted crackers
6. Fruit cup (variety of fruit)
7. Celery sticks with peanut butter or cheese and raisins, aka ‘ants on a log’
8. Yogurt drink
9. Fruit smoothie (combine all fruits of your choice, yogurt or whole milk into a blender and serve)