If you feel like you are lucky to get a few bites of each meal into your toddler, you are not alone. Even toddlers who enjoy eating are sometimes too busy to sit down long enough to eat an entire meal. Of course, they eventually do get hungry and they usually do not let you know about it until they are starving and want something to eat immediately. Parents can help their toddlers to get the nutrition that they need by offering a variety of nutritious, easy to prepare snacks throughout the day.
Snacks that include both protein and fat give your toddler nutrients that they need and help to satisfy hunger. Hard boiled eggs are easy to make ahead and keep on hand. Individually wrapped string cheese sticks are tasty, easy to carry along on outings, and packed with calcium. If you can get your little one to the table, a bowl of cottage cheese is a good protein rich snack which can be dressed up with chopped fruit or vegetables. Whole grain toast spread with natural peanut butter (made without sugar) is another kid friendly nutritious snack that you can make in a hurry.
Fresh fruit and vegetables can be cut into pieces that your child can eat safely, and stored in containers in the fridge so that you can take them out when needed. Plain yogurt makes a great base for either a sweet (mix in fruit juice sweetened preserves or honey) or a savory dip for the fruits or vegetables. Kids love snacks that they can dip. Other snack and dip combinations include pretzel sticks with peanut butter and hummus with pita wedges or veggies.
Dylan’s favorite snack is one that he can eat while he plays, indoors or out – a smoothie that I make and put into his sippy cup. I make it with whole milk, plain (unflavored, unsweetened) whey protein powder, banana, ice, and a little flax seed oil. If we have other fruit around, I put some of that in to vary the flavor. I also make sure to put plenty of ingredients into the blender, so that I can enjoy some of the smoothie myself.
Photo by alvimann on morguefile.com.