Please can someone give a snack option that ISNT carrot and pepper sticks

[Seasonofthewitch83]

I feel like whenever people talk about toddler diets, I see 'I offer carrot and pepper sticks' every few comments rather than their toddler eating (gasp!) fruit.

What are some other healthy snack options? Realistic ones. Not fruit based because apparently fruit is toddler crack.

Fruit is fine! Too much of it, like too much of anything, isn’t ideal.

Do you offer veg sticks? You don’t say. Other options - crackers, breadsticks, yogurt, cheese, hummus, just normal food. What does your toddler like?

Just some solidarity- mine wouldn’t even touch veg sticks either. Lol-ing at the second comment 🤣

The people who are too sanctimonious to feed their toddlers fruit are the ones who will wind up with teenagers who refuse to eat any fruit. Some apples slices, a banana or a statsuma are not going to turn them into sugar crazed beats. On the contrary, it will set them up well for eating healthily throughout their lives.

Otherwise you wind up relying on a lot of ultra processed "healthy" snacks like rice crackers, mini breadsticks, toddler oat bars, etc. If you look in a big supermarket there will be a section with shelves full of this type of stuff. And the fridge section will have kiddy yoghurts full of sugar and cheeses like babebels.

If you have the time and inclination, sandwiches cut into quarters or homemade mini muffins work well.

Basically, no snack is "perfect" other than the carrots and peppers! (And cucumbers and cherry tomatoes and similar). Just feed your DC a wide range of stuff and don't stress.

Mine was/ is a protein fiend. As a toddler she ate a lot of boiled eggs (only the white- I ate a lot of yolks as a result! )

Crackers, oatcakes, breadsticks, houmous, cheese. Definitely give fruit. Anyone who says not to is batshit.

banana bread (home made, freezes well)
Peanut butter on toast
Fromage frais
scotch pancakes (home made, freeze well)
Frittata
cheese and crackers
Many many fruits

Solidarity - my 3 year old won't touch carrot or pepper sticks either! Our go-tos are fruit, crackers, cubes of cheddar, toast, cherry tomatoes pombears

If I offered peppers my toddler would burst into tears and start wailing 'NO PEPPER FOR (hisname)!!!' until I promised he didn't have to eat it and took it away. He likes those disgusting apple rice cakes. Also toast with peanut butter.

My usual snacks for out and about (not necessarily healthy): fruit, cheese (either sticks I’ve cut up or babybel), yogurt pouches that don’t need refrigerating, raisins, oatcakes, breadsticks, crisps, flapjack, cheese scones.

Ive said this before about snacks in general, not just for kids. Its all so unappetising

Yoghurt and fruit - cold and wet
veg sticks - cold and hard

None of that is inviting to me.

I like bits of cheese, nuts (obviously need to be nut butter for children), big piece of dried fruit like figs or apricots, then you dont need to many, boiled eggs etc etc

My 4yr old DD's favourite snack is pepper, carrot and cucumber sticks! She also loves strawberries, grapes, pineapple and apples. Every time I do her grapes I hear a MN voice saying "it's a little ball of sugar" that I read on here once!

She also likes cheese (cheddar or cream cheese by preference!), crackers (cream crackers and cheddars particularly), breadsticks, Nairns raspberry oatcakes and yogurts. I've been trying to get her to like hummus for almost 4 yrs to no avail! I also keep trying hard boiled eggs because I love them, but she's having none of it!

Recently a friend brought round some mini banana muffins that went down a treat. That reminds me that I should get the recipe!!

And then sometimes if we're out and about she has a cookie, some brownie or an ice cream because real-life!

Popcorn

Well exactly! I wouldn't eat a fucking pepper stick as a snack so why would I expect my veggie intolerant 3 year old to?

If you're conscious of giving them healthy snacks
Squares of cheese and little ritz crackers
Homemade veggie muffins (or any little muffins)
My two love little cocktail sausages
Dairylee dunkers or the Philadelphia ones that come with mini bread sticks

My 2yo tends to have a combination of:
A banana or chopped apple
Crackers (with butter if at home)
A chunk of cheese or a babybel
Greek yoghurt and berries
Malt loaf
Breadsticks

I personally think I am quite lucky with DD as she eats fairly well - apart from whole veggies/salad. Hidden in food? No problem. She demolishes broccoli soup or kale and veggie pasta. She eats hummus, yoghurts, cheese, crackers, loves wotsits and quavers, she would eat an entire large packet of fridge raiders if I let her. I did once let her eat four nectarines in a row out of morbid curiosity as to how many she felt was enough. She eats all fruit, in abundance. I guess I was curious as to what the 'alternative' to fruit was that wasnt dairy or bread based.

Def think its time to crack out some muffins to put in the freezer as an easy snack!

Cheese
boiled eggs
hummus and something to dip in like strips of pitta
Olives

Weirdly one of my DDs loves egg as a snack. Chopped up boiled egg. Nothing else. Fruit is crack to my kids, they love it and would only eat fruit if they had their way. Try a fruit yoghurt with breadsticks to dip in, or crackers dipped in hummous/cream cheese. There's nowt wrong with fruit! Toasted pita to dip

You can always go processed.

Cheese strings. Crackers. Mini cheddars. Fruit bars. Cereal bars. Those little cheese dip things. Breadsticks, rice cakes, biscuits, baby puff things.

It gets expensive though. I think that's why people do things like fruit or veg sticks (I like veg sticks and would totally eat them as a snack, or at least as a side.)

If you don't want fruit, veg, dairy or bread based though, what do you want? Protein? Maybe nuts (depending on age)? Cocktail sausage? Pork pie, sausage roll, scotch egg/those little picnic eggs. Cold samosa, cold spring roll - loads of stuff like this in the picnic aisle in supermarkets.

They aren't supposed to have popcorn under the age of five, are they?

Honestly it sounds like you are offering a wide variety - to me that is the key goal. Mind you mine didn't want carrot sticks they wanted the whole carrot with the greenery attached - so they could pretend to be bugs bunny - (retro cartoons ruled here!)

Mine ate tiny scones/muffins - low sugar as I used a recipe from their creche at the time. Both loved melon, oranges, apples, both went off bananas. Breadsticks and humus, was a winner here crackers and "real cheese" , wraps with a bit of peanut butter, Anything put on a skewer, or in a wrap !

I have just looked at the morning snacks offered in the pre-prep part of my DCs school-
-ham and cheese muffins
-oatcakes and hummus
-satsumas and babybel cheeses
-crumpets and butter and strawberry jam

YUM!!.

Mine used to also have little cocktail sausages and ketchup and mini scotch eggs on occasion. Plus I love those little cheese dipper packs. Neither of mine liked them but I still buy them for me sometimes.

Oh and I love smoked polish sausages that you can get from Lidl. i slice them up and they demolish that.

I know, some of it may not be 'healthy' but I am in the camp of everything in moderation and what fills hungry bellies is fine.

My DD loves to snack on pistachio nuts, almonds etc...

The highest value snack for my toddler is those oaty bars for children. He loves them so much he has to hold the packet, unopened, for about half an hour before he can bring himself to open it and eat the contents.