Snack ideas for a constantly hungry fussy 5 year old

[Strawberries4days]

I am at a loss on how to fill up my 5 year old.

She is constantly hungry even after a full portion for tea, lunch and breakfast. I'm just thinking maybe the snacks I'm providing isn't enough so was wondering what else to give her.

The only problem is that she is quite fussy with food. Hates eggs of all kind, cheeses, gone off cucumbers and carrots (will eat cooked carrots but will not eat cold cooked carrots don't blame her for that one), doesn't like savoury things such as cheese twist pastries or savoury muffins, etc.

I can't keep giving her fruit bars, crisps and biscuits because it's not great for her! She's gone through a whole pack of bread sticks in 5 days! She is great with fruit but I'm noticing she's turning her nose up at that recently unless it's the last thing to eat!
I'm going for a food shop tomorrow so just looking for ideas or something that is slightly healthier and savoury that's in Tesco's or lidls or easy to make!

her diet is carb heavy - our bodies break carbs down and burn them off much quicker than they do fats and proteins - that’s why we feel hungry sooner after eating carbs than we do after eating fats and proteins.

i would give her more good fats like smashed avocado and as someone upthread said, nuts.

Would she eat smashed eggs? Basically soft boiled and mashed up in a cup with butter - that would be a good source of fat and protein for breakfast.

Maybe try chicken instead of red meat like ham in her sandwiches too.

I find this obsession with snacks rather odd. Is she really hungry?

This is what I meant.

you know op it’s not a bad thing to feel peckish / ready for dinner / wait a bit.

again I’ll say I find this snack obsession very strange and a bit worrying.

I would stop the snacks and focus on adding more protein at mealtimes. Weetabix are yummy, but not giving her energy for the day. I was a picky eater as a child (who loved her Weetabix too!). My mother stopped letting me eat between meals and only offered one meal, so no saying I didn’t like somethings. We had a few arguments about it but she kept to her word and I gradually ate more.

I used to pack my son a snack tub at that age in the holidays. He could eat what he wanted when he wanted it but when it was gone it was gone. I did it daily so there was a pack of crisps, a yogurt, sugar free jelly, small biscuit (Kit Kat, square bar type thing) fruit snack (winder type thing), fruit x 2, cheese snack and then a voucher for an ice lolly.

eta he had to choose from his snacks for pudding if he wanted a pudding after tea or dinner. Dinner was always a sandwich or wrap or pasta salad and he added the other components from his snack tub.

if he was ravenous post tea then it was toast or nothing.

I think her meals are too small, soup for a main meal isn’t enough to sustain her.

what’s her weight like?

Soup and bread for dinner would not fill my DD10 up. I would add something more substantial like pasta, rice, protein - how much protein is she getting? At that age I would give mine some cooked chicken, bread sticks, veg (all small amounts) as a snack if they were hungry between meals.

I can see why she is fussy the snacks are better to her...we have 4 under 5 no snacks, proper meals breakfast-supper time...if there full they won't be needing snacks and ours spend a lot of time running about outside and still no snacks but clear plates pretty much every meal

Your snacks sound sugary and the meals don’t sound filling at all. I’d change the meals before adding more snacks.

My 5 year old is has a huge appetite. Weetabix wouldn’t touch the sides. For breakfast we either do eggs or porridge. I’d swap the weetabix for porridge with various toppings. If we were only doing a sandwich for lunch it would be served with soup. Dinner would never just be soup and bread. Chilli or curry with rice, risotto, tacos, spaghetti and meatballs… The meals have to be hearty to cut the snacking down.

Our go to snacks are mainly bananas on the go but also things like nuts, deli meats, various cheeses, crackers and rice cakes, scones, carrot/pepper/cucumber sticks, and dates.

Her diet is pretty carb and sugar heavy. Increase the protein and fill her up more effectively. Protein is more satiating.

Give her more protein dense main meals and limit snacks to one morning and one afternoon. No one needs to eat every 2 hours, not even active kids.

And make sure she’s drinking plenty.

@MakeMineAMilkyTea I did it daily so there was a pack of crisps, a yogurt, sugar free jelly, small biscuit (Kit Kat, square bar type thing) fruit snack (winder type thing), fruit x 2, cheese snack and then a voucher for an ice lolly.

Daily??

Do you mean weekly? You’ve just listed more sugar laden snacks than mine would have in a week! 😬

for the lunch you need to make the sandwich more substantial with salad, hearty wholemeal seeded bread and lean unprocessed meat eg chicken or roast pork leftovers rather than processed ham. A good sandwich and an apple is plenty until dinner, but perhaps offer melon mid afternoon as a snack. Breakfast of 2 weetabix plus fruit is plenty. Dinner needs to be potentially higher in protein and veggies ideally, though lentils are really good.

Thanks everyone for the advices! Will be upping her meals and aim for more protein and less snacks.

For the soup, it was what I had in the fridge at the time that I can cook quickly. Please don't think we have soups for tea every night 😅 I do generally make a thick soup and the bread isn't a loaf, it is a thick sourdough which filled myself up!

I have tried the eggs and nuts in so many different ways, even the egg in the cup but if she smells it, she will not eat the egg.

I do like that idea of fruit in the water! Could be a new thing she would like to do herself!

It could be boredom in the holidays or could be thirst but her weight is normal for her height.

Sounds like she's not eating enough at mealtimes really

Weetabix isn't filling

This

if really hungry she will eat it

or a slice of toast /some cereal

tho her lunch doesn’t sound much. Sarnie crisps ,olives and maybe a yog

so she may actually be hungry as-apart from slice of ham , no protein

If it helps, one way I bulk out Weetabix or oats for my DS is mashed banana, peanut butter, cinnamon and chia seeds. He loves it and keeps him going until lunchtime.

My child started saying he was hungry when he thought that would get him a treat. We consistently offer him something savoury when he says he's hungry (leftovers from dinner, piece of bread and cheese etc) and 9 times out of 10 he then says he's not really hungry. Biscuits, crisps, sweets etc are junk food and should be an occasional treat not a regular part of a child's diet - and they won't fill up a hungry child.

So I'd lean towards the opposite approach and decrease the snacking. If a child is genuinely hungry between meals it's often because they are not eating enough, and enough of the rights foods (protein, fibre, fats) at meal times to fill them up. Children who snack a lot tend to be less hungry at meal times so eat less and then need a snack and so it becomes a vicious cycle. Add in unhealthy sugary snacks and cravings for sugar are mistaken for hunger.

Good idea to try and add more protein to her meals. Try and cut out the crisps and sugary snacks and replace with something like rice or oat cakes topped with peanut butter and sliced banana or houmous and sliced cucumber. Or slices of chicken breast dipped in tatziki. If she's not drinking much, give a small glass of water before the snack and tell her she has to have a drink before the snack - make it a habit. You can make ice cubes with different fruit to pop in the drink to add interest.

Woukd she eat beans on seeded toast - ? Protein heavy and filling - great for breakfast and easy to make

Offer more salad items?

The fruit wonders are full of sugar and aren’t a snack to fill her if she is genuinely hungry.

Jacob’s crackers with butter? Although crackers are similar to breadsticks which are carb heavy.

Could you cook a couple of chicken breasts and slice for an afternoon snack? It’s protein and quite filling.

Mine ask for snacks when they are bored or when they know there is good stuff in like biscuits!