A toddler is pretty new to the world of food, tastes and flavours, and while some really take to and enjoy trying new food, others can be pretty fussy and be decisive early on about what they like and what they don’t. This can make it hard to come up with new and nutritious snack ideas so that they are eating a healthy and balanced diet. That’s why we’ve come up with a few awesome snack ideas for you.
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Fresh Fruit
Sure, this one is pretty broad, but you can’t deny that fruit is healthy and delicious. We get that you don’t want to invest in fruit only to find out they don’t like the type of fruit you chose and won’t eat it. But there are a number of fruits that are favoured more than most, meaning there is a higher chance your toddler will like these ones more than others. We looked at First We Eat, Ranker, Share Ranks and Top Tens, and here’s the definitive list of the top 5 best tasting fruits:
- Strawberries
- Watermelons
- Pineapples
- Mangoes
- Apples
You can even make fruit instantly more appealing with simple tricks like cutting bite sized pieces into cute shapes like stars or hearts. You could also use these fruit shapes to make fruit sticks or you could create fruit and jelly cups.
Dried Fruit
Change up your child’s fruit intake by adding dried fruit into the mix. Our top picks for toddlers are dried apple, bananas, apricots and prunes. Along with being yummy, dried fruit has great health benefits too. Not only is it a great source of iron which helps to prevent anaemia, but it can also help to relieve constipation too.
Dips
Not only is dip easy for toddlers to eat, but they come in so many flavours. It’s also an easy and yummy food option that encourages your little one to feed themselves. Anything they can get their fingers into will be a joy to them. To make sure you’ll find at least one flavour they like, consider purchasing one of those multi-dip flavour packs, and the ones they don’t eat can turn into a tasty snack for yourself. You can even make some simple dips yourself for fresh, preservative-free flavours. Hummus, guacamole or tzatziki are simple ones to make.
Cheese
When it comes to cheese, chopped cheddar cheese and mozzarella or cottage cheese are our top picks. Cottage cheese is especially diverse because it can be paired with both savoury and sweet things including vegetables or fruit to add a whole new texture and flavour. You can also opt for little pre-packed cheeses too like Babybel cheese, string cheese or for something a bit fancy, bocconcini cheese are wonderfully soft bite fulls of cheese that toddlers can get their hands around.
Eggs
Boiled, scrambled, fried, poached. Eggs can be made in so many ways and combined with so many other ingredients and flavours, there’s no way your little one will get sick of them. Scrambled eggs are the best option for easy bite-sized pieces that little hands can grab onto. You can also chop up a boiled egg into biteable chunks, fry up an omelette with some tomato, ham and cheese or create toad in the hole by cutting a hole in bread and frying an egg into the middle of it.
Bread & Toast
Bread and toast with some spread is pretty easy but making it a healthy snack all comes down to the type of bread you choose and the topping. Rather than plain white bread with Nutella, butter or peanut butter, consider wholemeal or grain bread and spread the bread with honey, vegemite, cream cheese or an all-natural spread purchased from the health food aisle in your grocery store.
Vegetables
It’s a great idea to get your toddler into veggies as early as possible, even as a snack before dinner time. Cubed freezer vegetables are small, colourful and easy to eat for toddlers. You can also cut up and steam or roast standard favourites such as broccoli or green beans, mash veggies like pumpkin or sweet potato or get your little ones to eat chopped up carrot, celery, cucumber and tomato fresh.
Fresh & Nutritious Snacks at Ascot Childcare & Kindy
Filling the tummies of your little ones with nutritious and delicious food is all part of the care we provide here at Ascot Childcare & Kindy. If you’re interested in bringing your child to a childcare centre that takes health and nutrition seriously, contact us for a chat.
