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.

You sound like a cool mum :)

NHS advice is 3 small meals and 2 snacks. What you’re suggesting is 3 small meals and 2 snacks of milk… Fine but milk doesn’t offer the variety that some of these suggestions do. Also in high summer I’d rather take something like breadsticks to the park than curdle some milk in my bag.

Mine used to eat:
mini rice cakes
mini breadsticks
sliced pear and apple
sliced cucumber
tiny wholemeal sandwiches with cream cheese or peanut butter
cream crackers
oatcakes
banana chunks
small cubes of cheese (once past the choking age)
Organix Os and Xs

Yes, its recommended for them to have snacks.

Very much agree with the exposure. We always put it on DDs plate alongside things we know she will eat.

Last week for the first time in 2 years she ate broccoli. Its always been on her plate (and she eats it as an ingredient) but she never touched it whole!

Not sure if you missed my first post but her favourite snack is pepper, carrot and cucumber sticks! She also loves strawberries, grapes, pineapple and apples, cheese, yogurts etc and actively asks for vegetables with her dinner or for snacks.

We cook from scratch most of the time as does her nursery (although I do sometimes buy the dreaded supermarket bread) so if she has a handful of cereal occasionally as a snack I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. A healthy diet is important and is something I take great care with for her but it's also not healthy to get obsessed about every last mouthful you/your child eats and I don't want her to get obsessed either.

I’m not obsessed, but honestly that’s not even cereal. I think a homemade biscuit is preferable. It won’t stick in her teeth in the same way either.
If you have that cereal in the house it gets eaten. Best get them whilst you can influence them as by the time they are teenagers, it’s much harder.

https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/vegetarian/courgette-muffins/
these are delicious too. Mine also had mini sausages, melon and pineapple slices and grapes, apple slices etc.
Cheese cubes, cocktail onions, gherkins, olives. Pretty much anything going really!
oh, and celery sticks stuffed with cream cheese/pate/peanut butter.

Oh do bore off.

I couldn’t give a flying fig about eating some UPF. They aren’t the bulk of our diet by a long way and we are all going to die of something. I’m happy to knock a few months off life expectancy to enjoy life.

😂touched a nerve?

Not at all.

I’m going to tuck in to too much wine and a kebab later and am entirely not fussed that DD has had 2 ice creams today and some
haribo. I don’t ever want to be uptight about food.

When the majority of babies are not fed on formula which is processed crap, I’ll give a shit about my EBF child having the odd bowl of cheerios. As it is I’m entirely happy with my feeding decisions.

But why so aggressive? It was merely an observation and you react like it’s a personal slur - bore off? Er OK!. As you’re listing the crap like a badge of honour, perhaps I did touch a nerve.

The thing about life expectancy is that it isn’t a straight line. Childhood cancers are up 10% since the 90’s. I’m concerned. You’re clearly less so. Or perhaps you don’t like the shit we eat as a possibility.

EBF is easy compared to feeding kids for the next 18 years.

Being healthy isn’t boring BTW, it just takes a bit more effort to create the joy! Good luck with your choices

I don’t think it’s really necessary or fair to bring up formula and refer to in that way @AlltheFs. First of all, as you will obviously know, plenty of people don’t have a choice about whether or not they BF (and I EBF both of mine and bf them to 18 months so fully support it as a choice). And second of all, it’s not like two wrongs make a right as it were - breastfeeding your child doesn’t make it ok to feed them other kinds of crap?! (That can’t be what you’re saying is it?)

I don’t think a few cheerios or whatever is awful but I also don’t know why you would make an active choice to give them to a toddler or small child when you could give them something else better. Not giving your child processed sugary cereal as a snack is not the same thing as having or encouraging hang ups about food.

I’m very healthy thank you, as is my family. No obesity or health concerns here. We are very happy to occasionally eat non healthy food, and UPF, I believe in balance. I am not aggressive either!

But I do object to the fake concern that the smug bastards of mumsnet like to portray. You do you. I’m happy with the cheerios, they are rather nice.

Other people are happy to stuff their offspring full of organic cucumber whilst simultaneously bringing them up in dirty polluted towns and cities, drive polluting vehicles filling their lungs with crap. I don’t, we opted for a rural idyll and only drive electric vehicles. We keep our own hens, grow our own fruit and veg and my DD’s childhood is one of ponies and peace. Much better for her overall health I feel than worrying about the occasional chicken nugget.

Then why be rude and not offer your reasons. I’m not smug, simply stating a fact. Perhaps you just need more sleep, who knows.

https://stateofchildhealth.rcpch.ac.uk/evidence/long-term-conditions/cancer/#:~:text=Childhood%20cancers%20are%20varied%20and,diagnosed%20are%20surviving%20for%20longer.

Glad you’re doing what you can. Over and out.

But it’s not like you’ve got to either use formula or feed your kid cheerios…you could do neither you know. It just makes zero sense as a justification.

We could all do more. No one is perfect. It’s a pretty easy thing not to buy UPFs and feed them to your kids imo.

I think this guide is helpful:

https://www.babycenter.com/toddler/feeding/age-by-age-guide-to-feeding-your-toddler_1736045

I'm in Canada, so hope those in UK can open the link. I do my best to avoid is processed meats, ie deli meats, and I don't buy packaged foods, ie crackers or dry cereal, frozen foods/ready meals. We eat store-bought bread and I buy sprouted whole grain bread. I swap in English muffins, challah or brioche here and there. I use regular pasta cooked al dente and I think that's quite ok. Obviously no pop, but we also don't drink juice either. I love sweets, cake in particular, and will give teeny little bites to my dc (we share). I don't add sugar to porridge, but do allow small pieces of home baking like banana bread. It's a balance. Too restrictive could lead to food issues and too lax could lead to health issues/poor nutrition/aversions to whole foods.

We're all just trying to do our best, right?
No need to bash each others choices.
If my kid is at your place and you serve KD for lunch I'm not gonna lose my shit.
🤷‍♀️

Mine used to have a glass of orange squash and two rich tea biscuits while watching Play School. They survived.

I bet they have fond memories of that ritual. ☺️

Ah come on guys lets not turn this into a parent bashing thread.......