Many parents wonder what healthy snacks to give their active toddlers so they have enough food to supply their busy bodies the entire day. These tiny humans are so preoccupied that food is often the last thing in their minds. Parents constantly get frustrated, thinking they’re not caring for these kids well.
Toddlers are kids aged 1–3. It is the stage where they explore and develop their motor skills. This is the same stage where they’ll undergo many social, emotional, and intellectual changes.
Because many developmental milestones happen at this stage, toddlers must get proper nutrition by eating healthy food choices, so they won’t grow up addicted to processed food.
No worries – I’m here to help.
As you might know, I am a late in life mom – and bestselling wellness author with about 2 million books sold globally.
Plus I founded a groundbreaking video course called The Anxiety Cure – which has helped a lot of stressed out moms!
I love sharing insights and strategies to help parents and their families to be happier and healthier.
So I put together this article to help parents recognize the best healthy snacks for their toddlers.
Typically, these should be served to toddlers:
That’s because grains are a good source of fiber, protein, and carbohydrates.
These are essential for kids to give them enough energy to match their growth and developmental needs. One of the best sources of grains for toddlers’ healthy snacking is baby puffs.
Meanwhile…
The same goes for food products high in saturated fats, sugar, and salt.
Surprisingly, a lot of healthy snacks are already in your cupboard. However, if you’d like to purchase from reputable sources online, you may check Serenity Kids and other similar sites.
To give you an idea, here are some of….
One serving of fruit for a toddler could equate to one medium apple, pear, kiwi, or banana, one cup of diced fruits, or two small plums. Fruits should be a part of a toddler’s diet because they are high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Fruits are also high in antioxidants. They protect the body against cell damage caused by oxidative stress, such as air pollution and the consumption of unhealthy foods.
Fruits are easier to give to a child because they’re delicious and colorful. For kids who are picky even with fruits, it would help if moms cut the fruits in fun shapes to entice the little ones to try them.
Parents need to remember that there are also dangerous fruits for kids. Fruits like grapes should never be given to toddlers without supervision, as this could be a choking hazard. A grape’s size and slippery skin could easily slide down a child’s windpipe and block airflow. If your toddler insists on having them, it would be best to peel the grapes, remove the seed, and cut them into quarters. This way, you’ll know it won’t cause any choking.
Toddlers might be reluctant to try out vegetables, so their presentation must be attractive for kids’ curiosity to be piqued. Showing kids that you enjoy eating veggies yourself as parents would also help. Many toddlers imitate what they see from adults, and if you role model this behavior, they will likely follow suit.
Some veggies many toddlers like are cucumbers, carrots, celery, and cherry tomatoes. Because carrots could be hard for them, it would be best to blanch these first to soften them. To get them to enjoy eating veggies, you may pair them with a healthy dip like curried hummus, cashew dip, and a healthy kale pesto without the garlic.
The creamy, cool, smooth, and tangy qualities of yogurt make it easy to feed toddlers. Yogurt is also rich in protein and calcium, essential for their nutrition. Calcium is vital for bone and tooth growth and strength. Moreover, because some toddlers start to wean from milk at this time, they would need something to replace it.
Yogurt has protein vital for repairing and recovering muscles, skin, hair, nails, organs, and blood. It plays a crucial role in many body functions. Thus, protein deficiency will be visible in a toddler. Some kids with protein deficiency show slow healing of wounds and stunted growth.
You may give your toddler two servings of lean meat, which is equivalent to one to two ounces of cooked lean pork, chicken, or fish, and a half to one whole boiled egg.
Lean meat is also rich in protein, critical for a toddler’s growth and development. It also has vitamins and minerals like iron, zinc, vitamin B12, and omega-3 fatty acids.
You may choose properly cooked lean turkey and chicken. If you’re not too keen on giving lean meat to your child, you may choose to substitute it with any food with lean protein like tofu, quinoa, soybeans, and legumes.
As parents, you only want the best for your children, and feeding them with healthy snacks that have only the best quality ingredients will always be your mission. It would give you peace of mind that there are companies that have made it their mission to only provide the best healthy snacks for babies and toddlers.
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