Snacks for 3 year old

[Ineedsleepzz]

Could I have some ideas about what you snacks you feed your 3 year old?

My Daughter has always eaten very healthily, but I've recently let her healthy eating slip and have started buying cakes, crisps etc because she loves them, but now all she asks for is unhealthy snacks. She has started refusing dinner and just wants junk food. We have started refusing any junk food if she won't eat a proper dinner/lunch etc.

I'm going to get rid of the crisps and stop buying junk for her. What snacks could I give her? Vegetables, fruit, rice cakes, crackers, yogurt. Then I get a bit lost. Any ideas?

Hi!

My 3 year old likes
malt loaf
Popcorn
Fruit
Veggie sticks
Toast and marmite
Cheese
Chicken bites
He likes to munch on dry cereal like bran flakes, Cheerios etc!

Not all super healthy, but a mixture of things

Cucumber carrot cheese & hummous
Apple and peanut butter
Crackers & cheese
Bread sticks
Dried apricots/raisins
Nuts
Malt loaf
Cheese baby bell etc
Cereal bars
Flap Jack's
Fruit and savoury Muffins (no sugar) one handed cook.
Yogurts
Rice crackers
Popcorn
Raisin toast
Banana bread
Crumpets etc.

I would be working towards minimising snacks altogether if it's affecting her eating, unless there's a really long gap (eg I gave mine a snack after school because we ate late around 7.)

As a general rule I avoided empty carbs like biscuits and crisps for snacks so gave fruit, veg mostly, a yogurt perhaps. Carrots and humous were a favourite. Cake etc was for pudding if dinner was eaten

This might be controversial but after listening to a podcast I’m trying to not give snacks. We have breakfast, lunch and usually an afternoon snack as it’s too big a gap till dinner.

But my aim is to have fruit for afternoon snack only.

We had got into unhealthy habits too so trying to row back.

The podcast was with prof Tim Spector if anyone is interested. Feel better live more podcast!

They're allowed a bag of crisps or a couple of biscuits once a day, and fruit is unlimited within reason.

Yes I agree smacks are a modern phenomenon- we didn’t have them when I was a kid in the 80’s/90’s unless it was some kind of treat. We all ate 3 good meals a day and were hungry enough that we ate everything!

So I too am trying to avoid snack S much as possible. It’s a tough cycle to break but the kid needs to learn to feel proper hunger in order to learn to eat well enough at meal times

I blame food marketing for selling mums the idea that kids must have snacks and that they aren’t ever allowed to get hungry for longer than 30 seconds!

Raw green beans
Cherry tomatoes
Cubes of avocado
Snowpeas
String cheese
Carrot sticks
Tiny teddies
1 slice vegemite toast cut in quarters
Mini cucumbers
Apple cut in segments
Half an orange cut in segments
Boiled egg
Half a banana
Snack box of sultanas
Previous days roast chicken cut in cubes
Sliced cabana sausage
Cheese cubes
Nut and dried fruit mix
Dried apricots
Prunes

Grazing is healthier than only eating 3 large meals a day - as long as nutrition needs are met

Also 3 year olds that are hungry can be hard to deal with - easier to keep them topped up

He can have fruit only as an afternoon snack. He doesn’t really realise that there might be other options, so he asks for a piece of fruit. I have no idea if it’s the right or wrong thing to do, but he’s a healthy weight, gets his 5 a day and doesn’t badger me for shit food.

I’ve had similar issues with my DD and I’ve now started a firmer routine of a 10.30-11am snack and 3pm snack as otherwise she’d snack all day and not eat. We have fruit, crackers, yoghurt, the vegetables crisps, cereal bars, raisens, malt loaf, little cheese snacks. If she doesn’t want any of that then she doesn’t have anything as I figure she’s not really hungry if she won’t eat a healthy snack.
I’m not sure I agree that snacks are a modern thing; even my mum says that yet I remember snacks at break time at school (80s/90s) and having a snack when I got home from school and I wasn’t the only one doing that. Snacks were definitely less interesting but we had them.

Great, thank you everyone!

I will be adding a load of those to the next food shop.

You know you've gone wrong when your child kicks off at 7am because she can't have a cake for breakfast 🙈.

Not sure how I've let it slip so much, but time for change.

Thanks all.

Grazing is not actually healthier. It’s a myth sold to us by food manufacturers.

If interested this is fascinating:

drchatterjee.com/tim-spector-why-everything-youve-been-told-about-food-is-wrong/

Any raw fruit and veg. Mine eats whole carrots, big chunks of cucumber, sugar snaps, mangetout, apples, melon, bananas, etc.
Frozen peas straight out of the freezer
Yogurt
Raisins and dried fruit in moderation
I let mine eat raw nuts with careful supervision (but only certain more irregularly shaped ones, like a pecan or walnut, not a hazelnut)
Crackers, oatcakes, breadsticks
Cheese
Small sandwiches (like cheese sandwich, cream cheese, hummus)
Cereal or porridge if you can sit at the table so it's not too messy