I often get asked about healthy snack ideas for toddlers and the answer is really endless. There are so many good foods out there, and by around 2 years of age, toddlers should be eating a diet that is similar to you as an adult (but without any added salt or sugar).
For young toddlers, healthy snacks in-between meals can be beneficial to ensure that children are topping up energy levels and also nutrients throughout the day. It is however, important not to let children graze on foods all day, as this may stop them recognising signs of hunger and also lead to them eating more calories than they need overall. A great way to help stop this happening is to try and have a “max 2 snacks” rule. Change 4 Life have a great way around this too:
Here are a few of my favourite healthy snack options for toddlers:
Healthy snack ideas for toddlers – The basic ones:
- Fruit – remember to offer ‘me sized portions’ – a child’s handful is 1 portion of fruit or veg
- Vegetable sticks
- Bread and/or toast sticks
- Well-cooked strips of meat such as chicken
- Crackers
- Chunks of cheese
- Cereal – Weetabix, porridge oats, shredded wheat, puffed oats
- Ground nuts/nut butters
Healthy snack ideas for toddlers – The jazzy ones (when you’ve got more time):
- Celery filled with cream cheese/ smooth peanut butter
- Vegetable sticks and dips such as guacamole and hummus
- Egg and soldiers
- Eggy bread
- Fruit kebab sticks
- Fruit dipped in dark chocolate or plain yogurt and put in the fridge
- Plain yogurt with blended forest fruits/dried fruits
- Plain/homemade popcorn sprinkled with a little paprika or herbs
- Peanut butter apple slices
- Homemade frozen yogurt
- Cheese and grapes on cocktail sticks
- Mini yogurt and fruit homemade smoothies
- Homemade sweet potato chips sprinkled with paprika
- Baked potato slices with tomato salsa
These are just a few initial ideas for snacks for little ones, because I quite often get asked. I’m going to keep this blog as a work in progress, so if you do have any snack ideas for me that work really well with your kids, fire them over here – contact me.
For more information on feeding healthy toddlers check out my article on picky eating and visit my Child Nutrition page.