TL;DR: As a toddler mom, you know that snacks are life. However, as your child’s nutritional needs change, it’s important to make sure their snacks keep up. This blog has tons of tips for the best snacks, worst snacks, and snack tips that toddler moms can use every day.
Let's Talk About Toddler Snacks!
Every toddler mom knows the number-one thing to bring whenever they leave the house with their kiddo. Snacks! Snacks keep toddlers happy, calm, and busy when out in public and help regulate their emotions, mood swings, and anxiety. Doctor’s office? Snacks. Going to a restaurant? Snacks. Stroller walk? Snacks! Keep reading for our complete guide on the best toddler snacks, the worst toddler snacks, and tips and tricks for taking your snacks on the go.
What Are the Best Snacks for Toddlers?
It’s no secret that toddlers love to eat, but making sure they are eating the right snacks is important. Why? Because this can make mealtime more difficult. If you find that your toddler is picky, never finishes a meal, or tends to only eat their snacks, chances are you are giving them too many. Stick to just 2-3 snacks per day and avoid grazing as much as possible.
Focusing on healthy snacks packed with nutrition is ideal. Depending on how many teeth they have, their developmental level, and their tastes, there are a ton you can try.
Some beloved toddler snacks include:
- Smoothies
- Oatmeal
- Trail mix
- Fruit and vegetables
- Muffins
- Banana bread
- Cheese
- Mini pizza
- Quesadilla
- Waffles, toast, or pancakes
- Bars
- Mini bagels
What Snacks are Worst for Toddlers?
Yes, there are some things to watch out for when giving snacks to your toddler. They include choking hazards, foods that are too hard, and foods that can get stuck in their teeth and cause cavities.
Some common choking hazards for toddlers:
- Round foods like hot dogs, sausages, cherry tomatoes, and grapes
- Hard foods like apples, carrots, and other hard raw veggies
- Nut butter by the spoonful or thickly spread on bread
- Marshmallows, whole nuts, gum, hard candy, chips, and popcorn
The good news is you don’t have to avoid most of these foods completely. Here’s how to modify some of the common choking hazards so they’re safer for toddlers:
- For round foods: cut lengthwise into quarters
- For hard fruits and veggies: grate, cut into matchsticks, dice, and saute, steam, or roast to soften
- Nut butter: spread thinly on toast
- Chop whole nuts into very small pieces and consider softer nuts like cashews/pecans/pistachios vs almonds/peanuts
Source: https://www.theleangreenbean.com/healthy-snacks-for-toddlers/
Snack Hacks and Tips
Sick of Ziplock bags, messy carseats, your disaster of a stroller, and your child never finishing their lunch or dinner? It’s time to reexamine snack time and find some good snack storage!
Limit Snacks to a Designated Time
If your child seems to be a picky eater when it comes to meals but will chow down all day long on their snacks, it’s time to change up your snack routine.
Here are our tips:
- Designate a snack time. Depending on when your child wakes up, give them a snack around 2 hours after breakfast time. Make sure it isn’t just a bag you hand them, but rather, a sit-down experience. Make snacktime fun by having them help you with the process and treat it like a mini-meal.
- Find foods that keep them busy. Snack time should be fun, and utensils can be frustrating for toddlers. Snacks that keep them busy include finger foods such as dipping pancake strips into syrup, dipping carrots into hummus, or spreading cream cheese on their mini bagel.
- Hide healthy stuff whenever possible. If your toddler isn’t super into vegetables just yet, hide them whenever you can! Blend them into smoothies, pasta sauces, or make zucchini bread.
Find Good Snack Storage
Every toddler mom needs some good snack storage. It’s time to ditch those flimsy Ziplock bags and invest in something that won’t make your car or stroller a mess, is easy enough for your toddler to use themselves, and won’t leave your toddler with crushed snacks!
Packin' SMART Twistable 3 Tier Essentials
A diaper bag, nursery, or home must-have to store, dispense, and organize snacks!
Get smart and get organized with our stacking, twistable, and LEAK-PROOF containers. Each container can be securely stacked until ready to use, thanks to our leak-proof twisting design.
The removable inner lid makes dispensing easy and spilling hard, thanks to our innovative funnel design.
Each container holds approximately 1/2 cup of liquid or up to 5 scoops of powdered formula for a full 10 oz. bottle feeding. Stack as few or as many containers as needed with our interchangeable lid, base, and containers. Packin' SMART twistable storage containers are dishwasher and freezer-safe. The entire line is BPA-free, phthalate-free, PVC-free, and lead-free.
Packin' SMART Stackables
Our innovative stackable containers are the perfect all-in-one storage solution for parents and kids on the go!
A diaper bag must-have, these space-saving containers store, dispense, and organize all of your toddler's mealtime essentials. Use it to store powdered formula, cereal, fruits, sweet treats, and more! Buy a second one to store pacifiers, bandages, cotton balls, hair ties, or other diaper bag essentials that always get lost in the bottom of your bag.
Our patented click lock system ensures your snacks and essentials stay neatly packed together without all the mess of traditional storage. Our unique funnel-shaped lid means pouring formula or snacks is easy and mess-free. Stack as many or as few as you need!
Written by Written by: Jaclyn Uloth, marketing copywriter and Mama of three boys, five and under.