Healthy Snack Ideas for Toddler

my kids love carrot with ranch dip, a little dip goes a long way with them, they also love strawberries, I mix it with sugar free cool whip and it is a great snack. My kids also like cucumbers with spinach dip, tomatoes, I dice them up and they eat them with a fork, my kids love apples and peanutbutter, they love dry cereal as a snack, so I through some bananas in that and they eat that up, they also love sun chips which have whole grains and fiber in them! If you get any good ideas, please share, I am alwasy looking for more ideas!
M.

My twins are 22 months old. They just started eating whole apples after watching my 6 yr old do it. I get it "started" by peeling off some skin with a potato peeler. They also love string cheese. I cut the stick in half, though, so the pieces aren't too long when they try to string it. I also make sweet potato fries. We all love them. I just peel and slice them up, and and bake on a sprayed cookie sheet (or parchment paper with no spray) at 375 until they're soft inside, maybe 10 minutes if you make them like a McDonald's size fry. They also like pickle spears, sliced into even thinner spears. I give them carrot shreds (bagged in the salad section or julienne cut them myself) with a little ranch to dip in. I also make them turkey veggie roll-ups. I steam broccoli & carrots together (or any veggie), then mash them up, mix in some ranch, and spread it on a whole wheat tortilla or wrap. Then I put in a slice of turkey and roll it up tightly. I've also done that with a pretzel rod inside. And peanut butter rolled around finely diced apple. I try to slip in veggies and make them fun. I recently discovered my twins and my 6 year old like salsa, so I've been making my own with diced tomato, a little fresh garlic, cilantro, and fresh lime juice. It's not spicy and they really scoop it up with pita chips and tortilla chips. My twins actually just eat the salsa and use the chip as a spoon! I hate to sound so random and rambling, but that veggie spread I make for the roll ups also mixes well with cream cheese and hummus and all 3 of my kids like it spread on crackers. If I ever tell them they're eating "dip" they don't care what it is or what it looks like, they'll eat it. I just give them their own little bowls and chips or crackers. They don't have a clue they're eating well. Good luck!

Use a variety of colorful fruits and veggies to make a 'face' on a paper plate.

Get mini wooden skewers and make fruit kabobs and serve with a side of vanilla yogurt for dipping.

Involve your child in the grocery shopping process and let him pick out a new fruit and/or veggie snack to try.

Play the alphabet game - start with the letter 'A' and give a snack of a fruit or veggie that starts with that letter.

My son's favorite snack is dried blueberries. It's great on the go. They also have dried veggies too. My guy likes the dried peas. I give him yogurt and apple sauce as a snack sometimes too, but only if we're at a place we can do that.

I've got triplets the same age as your son and they all do the same things, they eat at meal time and often crave snacks. Since I make sure that their meals are healthy and part of a complete daily plan of nutrition, I don't always worry if their snacks aren't simply veggies and fruits.

My triplets like to be very mobile while snacking, so I have these two-handled cups with a soft plastic lid that has cuts in it (like pie slices) that I give them with whatever snack I choose. Because I'm the only one around and I'm often doing household chores, I don't want to spend too much prep time getting these done, so I'll opt for any of the following "snacks" for the kids:

-Raisins
-Honeycombs (They're a great size & the honey has been cooked so no worries about baby botulism)
-Imitation Crab Meat (Chunk Style)
-Fig Newtons, each cookie cut into 4 pieces
-Goldfish Crackers
-Teddy Grahams

Sometimes I'll also just sit in my recliner and feed them pieces of chunk pineapple, peaches, pears, or mandarin oranges.

I don't really do veggies as a snack for them yet because I'd rather they ate them cooked at this point due to choking hazards, although black olives might be OK if they are cut up.

On the opposite end of this spectrum since he's only 21 months is that you let him cry it out and limit his snacks so he doesn't begin to depend on the snack as part of his food intake. You could try giving him a bigger meal or giving him a sippy cup with water or a water/juice blend or milk/kefir (but that's probably higher in calories which might defeat this purpose).

So far this has worked out great for me and my wife (on the weekends). Hopefully this will work out well for you too!

PS. I know the imitation crab meat may throw up some red flags, but it isn't bad for them. We checked with our ped first and my wife is a physicians assistant. Since it's imitation and not 100% crab meat, it's actually ok for them to eat and it's an interesting texture to introduce to them early on to help with eating new foods at later stages.

Hummus - sooo easy to make and the kids can help. Great dip for whole wheat pitas and all veggies.

While I'm making dinner, I put a spread of fresh veggies out on the table. The kids are usually hungry as dinner approaches and they all(there's 4) make a sweep by the area and grab some broccoli, carrots, sugar snap peas (kids love these) or celery. My youngest loves grape tomatoes...go figure. I think it's because we grew them in our garden two summers ago, and he learned to pick them and eat them. Raw spinach - believe it or not - is rather sweet. Add a little ranch on the side, and you'll be surprised.

That's another suggestion - if you grow it, they will (okay reality check - they will be more likely to) eat it....spring is approaching, you can grow almost anything in a pot if you don't have a large enough backyard. Start some seedlings inside by a window next week. Kids love gardens!!

What we've found is most beneficial is that they see us eating a lot of veggies every day. They want to replicate what we do. Put in on your plate, and they may ask to taste it.

Hi B.,
lot's of good ideas, but I wouldn't give baby carrots and cherry tomatos just yet, choking hazard.
I love the book deceptively delicious, from Jessica Seinfeld,
lots of good ideas in it.
I like to make zucchini bread for snacks, with peanutbutter and jelly on top or just nothing,pancakes with pumpkin ( from a can),banana and peanutbutter,cereal with yoghurt in it,
maby steaming some babycarrots to make them softer works,
Rolled up turkey slices. That's all I can think of right now.

Have you tried the freeze dried apples, bananas, strawberries, corn, etc. that Gerber makes? My daughter loves those and it's a great way for her to eat her fruits and veggies. Also, since my daughter was about your son's age, she has loved olives and kidney beans (from the can). She also loves baby carrots dipped in ranch dressing and apples dipped in caramel. Hope this helps!

Breanna, they say you have to offer it over 12 times before a kid realizes they like it, or maybe 12 times before they try it, something like that?!! I like those itty bitty fresh carrots dipped in dip or yougurt dip, there are ways you can make hidden valley ranch dip with yogurt, sour cream and it's less fat and good for them. Other snack ideas outside of veggies, chunks of apple, cheese, raisins, chunks of turkey, crackers, yogurt with fruits added. And, basically anything they are allowed to help with encourages them to eat. Turkey wraps with shredded cheese are fun and kids like to help make em. And, frankly, don't be afraid to eat wierd "breakfast" foods any time of day or lunch foods at breakfast or snack times. When it comes to eating, i really think if people ate what sounded good (within reason of course) when it sounded good instead of when other people at or at a certain "time" they wouldnt be as overweight as they are. If oatmeal with raisins sounds good at supper, eat it at supper. If a turkey wrap sounds good at breakfast, have it at breakfast.

GOod luck!