Conquering Snacktime With A Fussy Toddler

This is a guest post written byBaby Momma Blog

Often as a mum it is hard to offer a healthy variety of snacks… especially if you have a fussy toddler. The dreaded word: ‘Yuck’, seems to become part of our children’s vocabulary at such a young age. My 15 month old has just started to use this word and I know it won’t be long until he associates it with certain tastes and flavours. As a mum, we also don’t have a lot of spare time on our hands, yet we still need to provide our little ones with nutritious snacks that they’ll love. This article will give you pointers on storing and serving snacks to your fussy toddler.

Snack Containers and Bags

Over the past year and a half I have bought many snack containers. Many have failed to keep ingredients fresh and others have not withstood toddler hands. I have listed below my favourite snack containers that I have personally tried and tested.

Skip Hop Food Containers– I cannot fault this brand. All the food containers and drink bottles I have purchased from Skip Hop have proven their quality. They have even held their shape after the mischievous toddler decided to throw them onto the tiled floor. The items I have purchased and recommend include:

Fork & Spoon Set– This set I recommend for any toddler. The sizing of this set fits little hands perfectly. At 15 months my son can use his own Skip Hop fork to pick up his ravioli at dinner times.

Straw Bottle– My son has only ever liked drinking from a straw bottle (back to the fussy child syndrome). I have found the Skip Hop bottle is the perfect size to fit in the side of any backpack.  This bottle also comes with a Velcro to allow it to be strapped onto your pram etc. The flip top cap can be easy pulled back by little hands.

Snack Cup– By far, this snack cup is the best I’ve used. It allows your toddler to pick out their snacks without spilling half of them on the ground. My son currently love blueberries and this container allows me to take them out without the stress of the mess they can cause.

Suction Bowl– When I began offering my toddler snacks I would place them in a simple plastic bowl. This was until he realised that this bowl could be easily thrown from the highchair.. with contents in it. I was fine with this for snack time as they were easily picked off the floor but my final straw was the time he threw it filled with cereal and milk. I headed to the shops looking for a suction bowl that actually worked. After trialling many, that easily lifted, the best one that I have found to date is the Bunnykins, Royal Doulton Suction Bowl. To date, I have not had any messy moments when using this bowl at snack times.

Zip Lock Bags– Yes, they aren’t the most environmentally friendly choice but sometimes they are the easiest for us busy mums. The other day when I was shopping I even came across zip lock bags with cartoon images on the front. Perfect for transporting biscuits and dried fruit in the nappy bag.

Snacks That’ll Have Them Asking for More

Making mealtimes ‘fun’ can increase the likelihood of your children enjoying both fruit and vegetables.  If you have a fussy toddler, try some of the following ideas for snack times.

Cookie Cut Cheese & Fruit Kebab– You can offer a simple fruit salad to your toddler but adding a touch of fun can often be more enticing. Using a few cookie cutter shapes, cut out a selection of cheese and fruit. Simply slide your cheese and fruit onto a skewer (I recommend only offering this snack to children over two years due to the use of a skewer). Some fruit that is easy to cookie cut includes: watermelon, apple, pineapple and pear. You can also serve vegetables such as sweet potato and pumpkin in a similar kebab style.

Lady Bug Crackers– The perfect way to entice your little ones to eat vegetables in a fun way are these lady bug crackers. To create these fun snacks you will need cherry tomatoes, olives, crackers and cream cheese spread. Simply spread the cream cheese spread on the cracker of your choice. Cut the tomatoes in half to create the lady bug’s wings. The olive represents the head of the lady bug.

Yoplait Yogurt–These yogurts come in a variety of flavours including strawberry, blueberry, banana, vanilla, fruit salad and plain. From personal experience they have always been a hit with my fussy son and are the perfect size for little hands. Many days we have been on-the-go and they have been a great in-between-meal snacks.

Cheese Sticks & Wedges– Cheese products are great for increasing the amount of calcium your toddler is getting in their diet. Most of the time children love cheese. I have found cheese sticks and wedges are liked more than the simple slice of cheese.

Sultanas and Dried Fruits– Sultanas are a great snack for toddlers. You can purchase toddler sized packets of sultanas from the local supermarket that are perfect to store in the nappy bag as a just in case snack. Other dried fruit selections such as dried apple, mango and apricots are also toddler pleasers. Dried snacks last for many months in the cupboard and are always good to have on hand for days when you can’t make it down to the grocery store.

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