Healthy Snack Ideas for Kids {Guest Post}

Today I have a guest post from Katie.  She is sharing some ideas for healthy snacks for kids.    So, here’s Katie!

Hi ya’ll! My name is Katie Moore, blogging Momma from ‘Moore from Katie.’ I have been allowed this wonderful opportunity to guest post for Jamie! Getting our little ones to eat can be a hard enough task in itself, getting them to eat healthy can be even harder! Hopefully some of the tips and ideas here will provide you with some creative ways to get your youngster “hooked on healthy!” Enjoy!

Family Friendly Food

As a mother, you worked hard to provide your baby with a great start from your pregnancy to their birth; you learned about ways to care for your body with diet and exercise and ways to care for your baby immediately following delivery with vaccinations and options like umbilical cord blood banking.

Now that your baby has quickly grown into a child, you continue to look for ways to keep them eating healthy so they continue to grow and thrive. Family-friendly meals that pack a nutritious punch and please your toddler can be hard to come by. Toddlers are typically very selective and may not like a certain color, texture or entire class of foods. Making mealtime as fun as possible won’t necessarily stop these developmental idiosyncrasies, but it can reinforce positive eating habits and a fun, welcoming environment a toddler will appreciate., and it just may coax her into trying something she wouldn’t otherwise.

Taking healthy meal recipes intended for adults and presenting them with a fun design or presentation is a wonderful way to make a meal toddler-friendly while getting him to eat what everyone else is having. A sandwich can be cut up into discs and lined up to create a caterpillar, complete with a cherry tomato head, cucumber chunk feet and carrot stick antennae. Making funny faces with healthy toppings like nuts, berries or veggie bits can make a new dish seem less intimidating.

Classics like ants on a log — a celery or carrot stick layered with peanut butter and raisins — work very well for coaxing reluctant eaters. Keeping whole grain crackers, a large variety of crunch vegetables and fresh fruits and other healthy food that can be cut up into finger-food can help a toddler eat with his fingers if he’s reluctant to use a utensil, making the process more manageable.

Sweet Butterfly Treat
Angela Sionna gives a great idea for a toddler-friendly meal in her book, “Bean Appetit” creating a dragonfly from toddler-friendly food. Here is a variation of that recipe for a protein and potassium rich and quick lunch.

Photo courtesy: Bean Appetit: Hip & Healthy Ways to Have Fun with Food

1. Cut a 100-percent whole grain pita pocket into six semi-circular shapes for the butterfly’s wings. Set them aside.

2. Slice a banana lengthwise to make the butterfly’s body. Cut the top inch off for its head, and set that aside.

3. Place the banana on the plate, and arrange the pita slices on either side so they resemble butterfly wings. There should be one oval slice on each side near the bottom of the butterfly’s body, and two on each side of the top, since a butterfly’s top wings are typically larger than the bottom.

4. Place two tiny matchstick carrot slices on the top of the “head”, and set the head just above the body.

5. Place a thin layer of all-natural peanut butter or fat-free yogurt on the pita slices.

6. Arrange apple and banana slices on the wings for a spot of color. Experiment with different fruits like blueberries, or drizzle a bit of raw honey over the top for a special desert treat.

With fun recipes like this one, you’ll watch your toddler grow before your eyes into a healthy and happy child!

“This article was written by Katie Moore. Katie is an active writer within the blogging community who discusses maternity, motherhood, prenatal health, childbirth and other topics within this niche.  If you have any questions or would like to connect with Katie please contact by visiting her blog, Moore From Katie or her twitter @moorekm26.”

Thank you for the fun ideas, Katie!