If you have a toddler, you know how one day they will eat anything and the next day, they will refuse to eat it. Frustrating, I know! Below are 10 healthy snacks for picky toddlers that will hopefully help you through those frustrating days of your toddler refusing to eat what you put in front of them.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my kids, but as mamas we all know how frustrating it can be when you spend the time to plan and create such healthy meals and snacks that your toddler will refuse to eat.
Or, one day they will eat it and absolutely love it, but the next day the say it’s “yucky” and will keel over and die if they even look at it. Can any mama’s relate?:)
One thing that my husband and I have found helpful, is that if we allow our 3 year old to help us prepare the meal or snack, he will be more likely to eat it than not. Can this take more time and require more instruction and patience on our part? Yes! But it’s also teaching our kids skills, what healthy food is and knowing that they took part in helping prepare the meal, brings them so much satisfaction!
If you are trying to be creative and find new ways to encourage your toddlers to eat healthy food yet still save money or stay within your budget, check out my post on 5 Ways To Save Money As a SAHM.
Tips for introducing new foods to your picky toddler
- Let your toddler see you eat it first and enjoy it! This will peak their interest (most of the time:)) and will want to try it too.
- Don’t force it on them. If they don’t want to try it, maybe try it again the next day. I have found that the more I would try to force my toddler to just “try it” he would resist more and more. Give it time, and try again the next day or even give it a few days.
- Let your toddler eat out of the box, bag, etc. When I tried to pour some cashews on my son’s plate, he would not eat it. BUT, if I let him eat it out of the jar, he tried them and LOVED them. This is my new go-to when trying to introduce a new food to my toddler. It may not work every time, but it works most of the time.
- Teach them about how the food they are eating is nourishing their body. It’s going to make them stronger, it’s going to make them smarter because they are feeding their brain! Be creative in how you present new healthy foods to your picky toddlers.
Below are 10 healthy snacks for picky toddlers
Green Smoothie
I LOVE this option because you can throw anything and everything into a smoothie and as long as it’s sweetened with a little bit of frozen fruit, they will never know how many greens and good nutrient dense ingredients you can add without them knowing! It’s wonderful!
I swear my recipe changes every time based on what we have in the house, but here is a deeper dive into the world of green smoothies with different combinations to get you started!
Green Smoothie Popsicles
This is exactly how it sounds. Make a green smoothie with all your toddler’s favorite ingredients and then pour it into popsicle molds and freeze! Homemade and you know exactly what is in them without all the added crap that our kids don’t need.
Trader Joe’s Chicken Sausage
I have found that the chicken sausages from Trader Joe’s are a big hit with my picky toddler. If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you, find another healthy and tasty sausage that your toddler likes and see if they like it. My toddler loves dipping his in hummus which is another great healthy snack!
Hummus & Crackers/Sourdough Discard “Cheese” Crackers
Hummus and crackers is another great option for your picky toddler. Yes, you may have to experiment with different hummus to determine which they like the best. Once you find their favorite, guard it with your life!:)
Also, if you are neck deep into the world of sourdough, another great homemade option are these Sourdough Discard “Cheese” Crackers. They are super easy to make and my toddler now loves helping me make them, and eat them, before they are even fully cooled off. Give them a try!
Paleo Valley Beef Sticks, Chomps, or The New Primal Beef Sticks
All 3 of these brand are great options to replace your generic beef jerky that is fill with unnecessary ingredients. I am sure there are other brands that are comparable to the 3 I listed above, but theses are 3 of my favorite (and my toddler’s) and I know that they have simple and no BS ingredients in them.
Give them a try! They also offer sales a lot of times so be on the look out for that.
Lastly, Thrive Market has great options as well as other brands all at discounted prices. Be sure to check out this post on 5 Ways To Save Money As a SAHM for more about Thrive Market and ways to save as you try to teach your children what healthy food is.
Egg cups
Egg cups are also another great way to sneak in healthy ingredients without your kids knowing. I like to sneak in bell pepper, kale or spinach, and of course adding in some sausage or bacon helps too.
Experimenting with these is the best way to help you figure out what your toddler likes. Cutting up the veggies small, or even putting them in a food processor will help to “hide” the veggies.
Here is my “go-to” recipe that my toddler likes:
- 8 eggs
- 3-4 pieces of bacon or 1/2 cup of sausage
- Handful of chopped cilantro
- Handful of chopped arugula, spinach, or kale
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
- 1/4 finely chopped bell pepper
- A splash of oat milk (homemade from my Almond Cow) or your choice of milk
- Seasonings to your liking
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Grease muffin pan and pour egg mixture into muffin pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes and enjoy!
They also freeze quite well, so you can pull them out at a later time if you make too many.
Cashews/Nuts
Alright, mama’s, so this one took a couple tries before my toddler actually tried them!
Like I mentioned above, it wasn’t until a couple tries AND letting him eat out of the jar that he actually tried them and liked them!
Get creative with how you present new foods to your toddler and eventually (hopefully;)) they will follow in your footsteps and at least try the food.
Energy Balls
Energy Balls are a great way to sneak in different nuts and seeds to your child’s food. There are so many different variations out there so be sure to use different combinations and find one that your child loves.
Again, it’s going to take some experimenting but it’s totally worth it!
Ingredients I frequently use and it changes every time. Sometimes I will swap the honey or maple syrup for the dates:
- Nut butters-peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter- 1/2-3/4 cup
- Seeds-sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds- 1/4 cup
- Nuts-almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans-1/4 cup
- Coconut flakes-1/4 cup
- Collagen powder- 1 scoop
- Honey or maple syrup-1/4 cup
- Oats- 1 cup
- Ground flaxseed-1/4 cup
- Dates-4-5
I like to blend everything so it’s nice and fine, combine it all in a bowl, mix well, and then roll into smaller balls. Store in the fridge.
Again, another great activity to allow your toddler to help and you teach them.
Apple & Nut Butter
You can really try any kind of fruit dipped in nut butter. Find what your toddler likes and go with it.
Try cutting the fruits into different shapes, put the nut butter in different containers, be creative and switch up how you present it to them.
Yonanas “Ice Cream”
Ok, so this one, my husband found on Amazon and it has been a lifesaver! Yonanans is a machine where you can make your own homemade “ice cream” using frozen fruit. We use this typically after dinner for dessert instead of a snack in the middle of the day, but you use it however you’d like!
You can use any combination of fruits to create a nice soft serve “ice cream”.
Other ideas, are to let your toddler put “sprinkles” on it using things like nuts, seeds, or even some chocolate chips.
For more on motherhood, check out THESE POSTS as we are all in this together!
Well, mamas, I hope this helps! Comment below with some of your “hacks” to get your picky toddlers to try new snacks and some of your healthy options!
Good luck, mama:)
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