Toddler Snacks and Fun Recipe Ideas

Toddler Snacks are important for your child's growth. Toddlers love to "snack". It was so cute to watch my son walk around eating Cheerios. It is also at this stage that you must watch for potential choking hazards as you are experimenting with different foods.

Some kids at this age may seem too busy exploring the world to slow down and eat. Others may be fickle about food or refuse to eat what's served at mealtime. Toddlers need about 1,000 to 1,200 calories a day, but often don't eat a lot at one sitting. That's where toddler snacks come in.

Healthy, well-timed snacks can help balance out an uneven diet, tiding toddlers over between meals and keeping them from getting so hungry that they become cranky. And you boost the intake of nutrients your toddler needs to be healthy when you serve fruits, veggies, whole grains, protein, and calcium-rich foods. Most toddlers do well with three meals and two or three snacks a day — perhaps mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and again after dinner, if necessary.

Between-meal snacks are tailor-made for a toddler's diet. These small food servings, given throughout the day, are perfectly sized for such tiny stomachs and usually don't require the skilled use of a spoon or a fork. In other words they are Perfect for your child. I am going to share some examples of some snacks that will be ideal for your toddler.

Quick Toddler Snacks To Keep on Hand

• Graham crackers spread with just a little peanut butter
• Hard-boiled egg
• Cheerios...:)
• 1/2 banana
• Fresh fruit thinly sliced or cut into small pieces
• Whole-grain crackers and mini-muffins
• Cheese cut into thin slices or shredded

Toddler Snacks and Recipes:

Homemade Fruit Jigglers

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fruit juice of your choice (100% Natural Fruit Juice Only!)
• 3 tsp powdered gelatin
• 1/4 cup small cubed fruit of your choice

Directions:

1. Place 1/4 cup of the juice in a cup; sprinkle gelatin over juice.
2. Stand cup in a small pan of simmering water, stir until gelatin is dissolved.
3. Stir gelatin mixture and fruits into remaining juice in a medium bowl or square/rectangular pan.
4. Refrigerate until firm.
5. Scoop into a cup or cut into shapes to serve. Let your Toddler help with the cutting of the shapes!Break out the cookie cutters and make this a Toddler activity!

Banana Wheels

Place a cup or so of cheerios in a plastic bag and using the back of your hand or a rolling pin flatten until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Slice a banana into rounds and place a few at a time in the plastic bag. Shake lightly to cover the banana pieces (banana wheels) with the cheerios mixture! :)

Quick Cheese Quesadilla

Place a soft tortilla on a microwave safe plate. Top one half with cheese and fold the other half over it. Microwave 30-60 seconds or until the cheese is melted. Cut into wedges and let it cool a little before serving.

Peanut Butter Sandwich

A PB&J has been a snack staple for ages. Mix things up by topping the peanut butter with some thin slices of apple or banana instead of the jelly. Or try smearing the peanut butter on a tortilla. Add jelly and roll it up. Cut the rolled up tortilla into strips for a fun new way to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

** Important Note To Remember: Stick to a Snack Schedule **
Kids do better with routine, so try to serve snacks and meals at approximately the same time every day. That way your child will always know what to expect.

There you have it, some awesome toddler snacks. You can have Fun preparing them while your child has "Fun" eating them. Snacking is very important and you can provide healthy foods for in between meals. So enjoy these recipes and Happy Snacking....:0)

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