Given that generally we bake and pop treats like the Malteaser cheesecake on the blog you would be forgiven for thinking that all I feed the Toddler is sweet delicious sugary goo.
As much as he would like me too I refuse. Besides nursery has rules about what can and can’t go into his lunchbox for snack time.
So how do you send a healthy variety of snacks each day covering different food groups?
Start off on Pinterest for inspiration and get a bit lacklustre towards the end of the week and go in with goldfish crackers and strawberries.
Or look at the list below for some of the delicacies the Toddler enjoys.
10 Healthy Children’s Snacks On The Go
1. Fresh Fruit
Sliced juicy red strawberries.
Beautiful plump blueberries.
A shiny green apple.
Lovingly chopped melon.
Sliced seedless grapes.
Vitamin C packed kiwi fruit.
The list is endless. I often try to send him with something he doesn’t eat at home because he tends to eat it (or give it away) at nursery. It’s how we discovered a new love of kiwi fruit.
2. Raw chopped veggies
Carrots for crunch (like Peter Rabbit apparently)
Strips of cucumber.
Sugar snap peas.
Cold baby sweetcorn.
3. Bread sticks with Strawberry Philadelphia
Bless the people over at Kraft they try all sorts out and get all sorts of stick (chocolate philly springs to mind) but this is pure genius however wrong it sounds.
Strawberry. Philadelphia.
Basically strawberry cheesecake. With breadsticks. A kind of “I feel like a good mum” choc dip. No strawberry philly where you are, and there doesn’t seem to be in the UK? Beating together pureed strawberries and normal philly would work just as well (but take more effort).
4. 2 Ingredient Dough
Homemade bread that you can fill with a variety of fruit, cheese, herbs. The beauty of it? The basic dough is just TWO ingredients. Great to get the little ones involved in. Bake and slice.
5. Pizza Pinwheels
Puff pastry pizza style.
6. Omelette Bites
Baked mini omelettes made using my silicon baking tray. Fry off some veggies, pop them in the cases, fill with beaten egg and bake at 180 for about 15 minutes.
7. Mini Sandwiches
One piece of bread cut in triangles, and triangles again – let’s face it sandwiches taste better as triangles – filled with your little ones favourite filling. Ham. Cream Cheese. Normal cheese. Jam. Marmalade (ala Paddington Bear).
8. Quiche
Homemade quiche is delicious served cold or warm. I make an old-school Quiche Lorraine (with turkey bacon out here) that the Toddler gobbles up. Again you can make them mini by busting out the trusty old silicon baking tray!
9. Crackers
With or without cheese. Goldfish shaped or not. The Toddler loves all varieties of dry crackers so that’s what I tend to send him off with when I’m running out of inspiration.
10. Flapjack
Skip the nuts and replace peanut butter for actual butter in this fruit filled recipe and the balance of slow energy release oats and honey will be enough to see him through to lunch.
What are your top healthy children’s snacks on the go?
We love bread sticks with humous. I didn’t know Philadelphia did a strawberry version – may have to try that.
Author
It might be an American / Dubai thing but easy to replicate I’d say!
Great post – I love to give Riley as much variety as possible when it comes to his lunch for preschool and you’ve give me some super ideas here! I too find that he eats things at preschool that he won’t eat for me at home so i try to sneak new foods in all the time. xx
Author
Fantastic glad I can help! It’s so tough thinking of different things every day when you want to encourage new foods all the time x
My daughter will eat fruit til it comes out of her ears, although she’s pretty good with raw veggies too (better than cooked, mostly) but crackers/breadsticks are always a winner too. That two ingredient bread is definitely going into my repertoire, cannot believe how easy it is. We usually have natural yoghurt in, and she’s a bread fiend (gets it from me) so a good way to try a few new tastes as well.
Author
It’s so easy and great fun to make with them, but messy. Disgustingly messy!
Breadsticks and humous for me, or sausages on sticks with peanut sauce x
Author
Ooh never tried sausages with peanut sauce only chicken! X
Baby is such a fussy eater, but those pizza pinwheels might do the trick. Thanks for sharing x
Author
They were delicious – I think I enjoyed them more than the toddler…
I always mean to make those egg muffins snacks but forget! They look lovely and would fill up the tummy.
Author
They are my big go to in order to sneak some more veg in!
I’ve been getting in a rut recently with healthy lunch ideas. DJ has got fed up of cucumber but won’t eat any of the other raw veggie ideas. One that I do occasionally is healthy no sugar muffins then freeze and then when we need them to put them in the microwave from frozen for a couple of minutes
Oh some lovely ideas here! I never thought of bread sticks with strawberry philadelphia before! That would be a really good lunchbox food! Omelet bites is another good one. Great post. Thank you for sharing. xx