Healthy snacks

[Kat160417]

Hi!

Just looking for some ideas for morning and afternoon snacks for my 9 month old DD. She sometimes has some grated cheese on an afternoon and she's getting a taste for kiwi. She always has a yoghurt after her lunch/tea so I don't really want to give her another one for a snack.

DD has only really just gotten used to more lumpier foods so need to be careful what I give her.

She was weighed at her hospital appointment today and she's only put about 2lbs on since the last time she was weighed which was October!! 2lbs to me doesn't seem very much at all so I'm really cautious we need to be feeding her more.

TIA

Smoothies are a great option if you want to make sure what you're offering is calorie dense. I used to make spinach, avocado, banana and nut butter smoothies for mine, or various other combinations I could come up with that had either avocado or nut butter in it, which are high in calories and healthy fats. I also used to melt butter, coconut oil or nut butter into porridge for breakfast (not a snack, but it might help). Toast with hummus, nut butter, just butter, etc. is good too.

It's hard to come up with really calorie dense snacks as they tend to be more fruit and veg, but breadsticks with hummus or rice cakes with nut butter that she can gum would do. Otherwise, I'd probably just beef up the rest of her meals and add in healthy fats where you can. Then you don't have to worry as much about snacks. At that age, I still mostly offered fruit and veg as snacks along with plenty of milk feeds still between meals.

Also, if you are offering yogurt, I would do a greek yogurt with some added fruit puree (I used to buy ella's kitchen fruit pouches to flavour plain yogurt). It's higher in fat and protein than normal yogurts and especially the kid ones, which are mostly just sugar.

You say only put on 2lb but if she's following her line, that's not a problem.

My DS only put on 6oz over about 5 weeks over Xmas but he's still tracking 98% line so no problem

Avocado is the best weaning food ever.

I make blueberry muffins sometimes and cut right back on the sugar. Pancakes are also great. Cheese crackers (the Nairn's oatcake ones are good), baby cereal bars, raisins.