Great Ingredients to Keep on Hand
Before you can build great snacks, you need to have solid ingredients to pull from. Keeping these types of simple ingredients on hand is a great way to make snack time a lot easier. You can pull a little of this and a little of that and BOOM, you’ve got a nutritious snack.
- Bread & Easy to Use Carbs (whole wheat dinner rolls, sliced bread, English muffins, bagels, tortillas, etc.)
- Dried Fruit (raisins; dates especially, which can be used for homemade power balls, etc.)
- Eggs for kids without an egg allergy
- Fresh Fruit (bananas, blueberries, strawberries, grapes, oranges, mandarins, pineapple, and anything else your child loves)
- Frozen Fruit
- Freeze Dried Fruit (great for adding a crunchy element to snacks, or adding to muffins and granola bars)
- Fresh Vegetables (celery, cucumber, zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, baby spinach, etc.)
- Healthy Fats (avocado, guacamole, hard boiled eggs, chopped nuts, sliced nuts, chia seeds, hemp seeds, etc.)
- Mini Chocolate Chips (great for adding a little pop of excitement to a snack or new food)
- Oats or Organic Gluten Free Purity Protocol Oats (great for making a wide range of snacks at home)
- Peanut Butter, Nut Butter, Seed Butter, Legume Butter, and/or Tuber Butter (basically, spreads your child can have)
- Whole Grains (can be gluten based or gluten free, think crackers, tortillas, and other easy carbohydrates)
- Unsweetened Dairy Products (plain yogurt, cheese sticks, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, string cheese, etc.)
- Unsweetened Dairy Free Products (yogurt, cheese, cream cheese)
Get my Gluten Free + Top 9 Free Toddler Cookbook for loads of delicious recipes (including snacks).
How to Pack Cold Items, Perishables, and Dips in Your Child’s Lunch Box
If you’re new to sending snacks to school with a child, let’s talk about food safety for a moment. Not all foods can be safely stored at room temperature for an extended amount of time. That means you’ll either need to have an insulated lunch bag for your kiddo, or have ice packs ready to be used.
Some foods that are normally stored in the fridge, such as celery, are fine at room temperature until snack time. Other foods such as yogurt and cheese sticks will need to be sent with ice packs or in an insulated bag.
The other thought to keep in mind is your child’s preferences. For example, some kids won’t touch an orange slice if it’s not nice and cold whilst others only want their fruit at room temperature. You’ll want to pack accordingly to make sure your child has the largest chance of eating the foods you’re sending (to both prevent food waste and keep them fueled).
To send dips (which are awesome by the way), you’re going to want to invest in a great set of leakproof containers. Personally, I love all things Planet Box, especially the Rover lunchbox and the leak proof dip containers they sell. Other brands including Bentgo also sell kid sized dip containers that fit into the lunch boxes and snack boxes the company makes. Both of these brands also sell insulated lunch bags that specifically fit their products, and have pockets for ice packs which can be super helpful.
When you’re making this kind of decision for school lunches, one of the biggest considerations to make: can your child get the lid off without help. You’ll want to either find a local store that sells what you’re considering, or order one to start, then practice at home. If your child can’t twist the lid off or grip the lid to pull it up, you may need a different solution for now. That’s not to say their daycare teacher won’t help them, but some kids may not think to ask for help and just leave the dip uneaten.
Great Dip Ideas
As you start to tap into the great ideas below in this article you’ll notice I mention dips quite a bit. A dip can be just about anything, and the key to choosing one is to know that it’s a dip your child enjoys. Let’s say you have a child that won’t eat celery with peanut butter but they’ll eat celery with ketchup. Guess what? You’re sending ketchup as a dip 🙂
The point is that your toddler’s snack doesn’t need to follow any conventional ideas. It needs to be good for them. Now, here are a range of dip ideas for you to try at home with different meals and see what your kiddo thinks.
- Applesauce Dip (think jazzed up applesauce with cinnamon and nutmeg)
- Avocado Dip
- BBQ Sauce
- Cream Cheese Dip (this is made by combining cream cheese with anything, including dried herbs, maple syrup, and even ketchup)
- Flavoured Ketchup Dip (you can start with regular ketchup, then make jazzed up versions with ingredients such as ginger, mushrooms, and more)
- Granola Butter
- Guacamole (Costco sells individual containers of guacamole which are perfect for sending with packed snacks and lunches)
- Hummus
- Nomato Sauce (these are sauces made without tomato for those who need it, but come in a wide range of great flavours even if you don’t need it)
- Nut/Peanut/Seed Butter Dip (these are great when mixed with a little maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, etc.)
- Salad Dressing (start with creamy dressings which most kids enjoy)
Note: for kids and adults with blood sugar issues, if something like ketchup is an issue, check out the brand True Made Foods. Last I checked they have a 100% sweetener free ketchup. In fact, I used their option for my child with a can sugar allergy and my kids who can have sugar love the brand.
Establishing a Good Toddler Feeding Schedule
As we know, our little ones have smaller stomachs, but also have high energy needs with all of their activity and body & brain development. What that means for us as parents with young children is that having a schedule with regular feeding intervals will prevent our kiddos from going long stretches without food (which we also know can help prevent toddler meltdowns).
Each child and home is unique, so you’ll need to craft a toddler feeding schedule that works for you. If everyone is up at 5am in your home, you don’t want to start the schedule at 8am. Generally speaking, a toddler feeding schedule will have three main meals, and two or three small snacks. Toddler meals can be spaced 2 – 3 hours apart, or as frequently/infrequently as your child needs.
If you have a toddler that’s always up at the crack of dawn before you, set up a toddler snack station in your home. Teach your child that if they’re awake and no one else is where to go to pull out their snack. Your snack station can be a little bucket in your kitchen or dining room that has healthy options to choose from that are pre-portions.
Here are a few examples:
- Crackers + Individual Portion of Peanut Butter etc.
- Dry Cereal
- Easy to Open Meat Stick
- Homemade Trail Mix
- Puffed Snacks
When setting up your station, you may need to get containers like the Munchkin or WeeSprout which will allow you to portion out something like cereal whilst also making sure your child can easily access the snack. Not every home needs a snack station, and not every toddler needs snacks, so make sure you adjust as needed.
Note: For those in a mixed allergy household, colour-code everything. I managed a very mixed allergy home and each child had a specific colour (that even extended to their individual snack containers) so there was visual recognition. Their name was on everything as well. If you live in that type of home, you’ll have to teach your toddlers how to stick to their items only.
Helping Your Child Develop Healthy Eating Habits
One privilege we have as parents is helping the next generation develop a love for good nutrition and healthy eating. Snacks may seem frivolous at times, but they’re a fantastic opportunity to offer more essential nutrients to our kids throughout the day.
Now, not every meal is going to be a balanced meal, and that’s A-OK. We should have a goal to offer nutritious food as often as possible, throughout the course of a week. Over time, what you’ll notice, even with younger toddlers, is that kids are developing an affinity for nutritious options which can lead to healthy eating habits in the long run.
One of my kids is a great example. I offered my kids a very healthy diet, especially by the Standard American Diet standards. Vegetables were on offer at almost every meal, there was a lot of produce, clean snacks, blah blah blah, you get the idea. As a teenager, this child would ask me for all sorts of vegetables and sprouts when it was time to grocery shop. Not a lot of teen boys will do that, yet, that’s what I had. This kid later told me that eating that way just made them feel good.
One thing to do when crafting nutritious meals is to also teach your kids about intuitive eating. Never force them to eat food, model the behaviour, and allow them to eat foods that they gravitate towards. As the adult in charge, you decide what to buy and serve, and as the child, they decide what to eat (also called Division of Responsibility).
I personally see DOR as a great opportunity to help our children learn over time what their body needs, how to listen to their body, and how to nourish themselves. I’ll warn you now: this doesn’t happen overnight. I don’t want to mislead you. If you’re reading this article, there’s a good chance you have a kiddo in the under five age group which means you have a long road ahead of you.
However, I want to encourage you from the other side: all the work you’re putting in now, it really REALLY does pay off one day.
Tips on Introducing New Foods
Before you can make a healthy snack choice for sending to daycare or preschool, you first need to know that your kiddo is willing to eat the food. When your child is away from the comfort of home isn’t the best time to send something that’s 100% new to them.
On the other hand, dinner time is an excellent opportunity to introduce new foods and new flavors for your toddler to explore. You can also model the behaviour, include food play, and make sure your kiddo is comfortable with the new item before sending it to their child care facility as part of a packed snack (or packed lunch).
When introducing new foods, think about your child’s unique needs:
- Do they like food touching? If not, a divided plate or small bowl off to the side can be helpful.
- What textures do they enjoy? If this is a new one, have patience.
- Can they help prepare the food? If so, they’re a lot more likely to give it a try.
- Is there a way to add a novel element? Even a fun utensil can help some kids.
- Will your toddler be more open to this new item if a dip is involved? If so, it’s not too much effort to add a little dip to their plate.
Finally, decide if you should describe the food to your child. Some toddlers (especially depending on the age) do really well if you tell them what to expect. You can take a bite in front of them, then talk about the taste, texture, temperature and so on. Also, compare it to something they know like this: “this blueberry is soft, almost like the bread that you had for breakfast, but it’s also sweet, like a banana”. Creating those connections can help give your child confidence to try new foods, which is a huge win over time.
Healthy Snacks For Toddlers
Here are some healthy snack options for toddlers. Some of these are a little less daycare friendly, but are still a great option you can serve at home.
- Baked Cereal Bars
- Banana + Spread of Choice (peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.)
- Cheese + Whole Grain Crackers
- Dry Cereal + Hard Boiled Egg
- Fruit Salad + Cashew or Seed Butter Dip
- Guacamole + Crackers
- Homemade Trail Mix (kids can help mix the ingredients together)
- Quartered Grapes + Graham Crackers (choose a graham cracker with ingredients you’re comfortable with)
- Power Balls (these are easy to make at home and kids can help, plus you can rotate thru different flavors)
- Strawberry Banana Baked Oat Bars
Healthy Toddler Snacks for Daycare, Preschool, and Kindergarten
If you’re looking for healthy snack ideas, here are a few to get you started:
- Apple Slices and/or Banana Slices + Nut/Seed/Legume Butter (avoid using a super ripe banana as it can be mushy and difficult to pick up)
- Banana + Graham Crackers
- Dry Cereal + Mini Cheese Wheel of Choice (Babybel now sells a dairy free version as well)
- Happy Face Hard-Boiled Eggs (peel the hard boiled egg, then use a small tool to “engrave” a smiley face)
- Homemade Energy Bites
- Hummus + Dipping Item (baby carrots, bell pepper, crackers, pretzels)
- Meat Sticks + Flavoured Rice Cakes (my kids like the Lundberg brand)
- Pouch + Crackers
- Pretzels + Dip
- Puffed Snack + Fruit + Cheese or Yogurt
Looking for healthy toddler lunch ideas? I’ve got you covered. Check out this article for all sorts of delicious ideas and a variety of foods your whole family will enjoy.
Mini Cookie Cutters: Low Effort Fun Shapes
If you’re managing picky eaters, you may find that fun shapes and novelty utensils are a fun way to help your toddler (and even older kids) enjoy what’s being served. When sending snacks to daycare and preschool, a set of mini cookie cutters may be the perfect addition, and can help you put together cute and creative bites.
You can get purchase shapes (stars, circles, diamonds, etc.) and you can also purchase cute little animals, like penguins. You can use cookie cutters on fruit, veggies, and even meat slices, cheese slices, and tortillas. Here’s an example of a cute cookie cutter in action:
Does every child need this? No, absolutely not. However, it’s a great tool to have in your tool chest, especially if you’re in the hard days of selective and picky eating.
Great On-The-Go Toddler Snacks
When you’re putting together snacks for the road, or just a busy day of running errands, you’ll want to look at a few key components. First, how portable are the food items? If utensils are required, said food items probably shouldn’t be on the menu. Additionally, how messy are the food items? Requiring a napkin or wet wipe isn’t a big deal. However, I’d avoid foods that produce a lot of crumbs such as muffins.
Here are some great on the go snacks for toddlers and all ages really:
- Granola Bar (packaged or home made)
- Homemade Power Balls (these are low mess, but may get your fingers a little dirty so have a wet wipe on hand)
- Dry Cereal + Freeze Dried Fruit (mix these together for a tasty combo that’s almost like a crunchy trail mix)
- Fruit and/or Veggie Chips (apple chips, carrot chips, beet chips, etc.)
- Homemade Waffle Quarters or Waffle Halves (I use a large Belgian waffle maker, so quarters and halves are a good snack size, and you can rotate thru flavors)
- Baked Cereal Bars (pack them in sandwich bags and eat over the bag to catch any crumbs produced)
- Meat Sticks + Seaweed
- Flavoured Rice Cakes + Dip
- Sliced Fruit (choose non-messy fruits like apples)
- Fresh Veggies (carrots and celery are great non-messy picks)
Another snack I’ll mention is popped sorghum or popped popcorn. They’re a good source of fiber, but aren’t for kids under the age of 4 (choking hazard). If you have an older toddler, this could be a great snack to add to your rotation.
Daycare Snacks For Toddlers with Food Allergies
this article on daycare lunch ideas includes allergy friendly options
for example, roasted sweet potato cubes, quartered cherry tomatoes, small cubes of fresh pineapple, or watermelon balls can all serve as a fantastic snack for your toddler. As long as you’re meeting their energy needs, nutritional needs throughout the week, and food allergy needs, you’re doing great. You don’t need to overthink snacks, or try to make them too fancy.
- Fresh Fruit + Crackers
- Fresh Veggies + Dip
- Homemade Chocolate Chip Waffle Quarters (I batch cook and freeze waffles, so they’re always ready to go)
- Homemade Granola Bar + Banana
- Homemade Muffins + Veggies
- Homemade Pancakes + Nutritious Dip
- Homemade Uncrustables (you’ll need a special cookie cutter set if you want the authentic seal)
- Homemade Yogurt Tubes
- Meatballs + Dip
- Quartered Grapes + Homemade Graham Crackers
You’ll notice I’ve said homemade quite a bit here. That’s because food allergies and dietary restrictions come in all shapes and sizes. If you have a safe convenient option for something, buy it if you don’t have the time to make it. If you’re new to managing food allergies, check out the Spokin App for leads on could-be-safe products, as well as the Advanced Recipe Search on RAISE. The ARS allows you to use over 100 filters for allergies and special diets to find recipes that meet the needs of your household.
A few brands to investigate that are very allergy friendly:
- 88 Acres
- Awsum Foods
- Bear Nibbles
- Blake’s Seed Based
- Everybody Eat
- Karen’s Naturals
- Lesser Evil Snacks
- Made Good Foods
- Parake Foods
- Serenity Kids
- Zego Foods
Convenient Toddler Snacks
If you’re living a busy life or feeling like you’re stretched too thin and need a convenient option to purchase for snacks, here are some ideas to get you started:
- Freeze-Dried Fruit
- Fruit & Veggie Pouches (I like the brands Once Upon a Farm and Serenity Kids)
- Low/No Sugar Dry Cereal
- Rice Cakes
- Roasted Chickpeas
- Smoothies (you can purchase reusable pouches and fill them, or get durable toddler sized smoothie cups)
- Soft Baked Granola Bars
- Trail Mix
- Veggie Straws
- Whole-Grain Crackers + Individual Mini Container of Guacamole (Costco sells these)
For some of you, cost may be a huge factor, or dietary restrictions and/or food allergies. Remember, homemade freezer friendly foods are GREAT convenient snacks. Yes, they require some energy investment upfront, but the ROI is fabulous. And I’m not just blowing smoke, I live the free-from freezer life day in and day out. It was the only way I could keep all of my kids well fed with all of their unique dietary needs.
Freezer friendly snacks include:
- Granola Bars
- Low/No Sugar Cookies
- Meatballs (yes, those are totally a snack in my book because you can heat a few up and they’re a great source of protein)
- Muffins
- Pancakes
- Waffles
Snacks That Resemble Mini Meals
Whilst all snacks are technically mini meals, there are some that you can send to daycare that really do resemble a small version of breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Here are a few examples:
- Homemade Veggie Sushi
- Meatballs + Noodles Tossed in Oil/Butter
- Mini Pancakes and Waffle Quarters
- Mini Pizza (could be made on a mini pizza dough or made on English muffins)
- Mini Shredded Chicken Sandwich
- Pasta Salad
- Sliders (these work great with small dinner rolls sliced in half, then you can add any filling you’d like)
- Small Burrito (can include anything your child loves, beans, cheese, meat, chopped veggies, etc.)
Remember, your child’s food doesn’t have to be traditional snack foods such as crackers, produce, and cheese sticks. The goal with snack is to serve something you know your child will enjoy, that meets their nutritional needs, that meets their energy needs, and is something they’ll actually eat so they stay fueled to keep learning and playing.
If you send mini meals as snacks, the best tip I can give you is to purchase a reusable snack box from Planet Box, Bentago, or other similar brand. These boxes are dishwasher safe, and can guide you on portion sizes of these mini meals. Be sure to practice at home on a weekend to make sure it’s a good amount of food for your little one.
Answering Your Questions About Toddler Snacks for Daycare
I have a dairy free child. Is soy milk a good choice for baking toddler muffins?
I have good news for you: all dairy free milks are a 1:1 substitute in recipes which means, yes, it’s a good choice when making your toddler muffins. There are a couple of caveats to be aware of. First, soy milk is special because of the protein and has a tendency to bake up differently (not in a bad way, some say it’s great, some say it’s just different).
Second, if you’re following a recipe that calls for any kind of special milk such as “2% milk” or “heavy cream” you’ll need to do some equations to get the milk and fat ratios correct. However, when a recipe calls for “milk” or “milk of choice” you can use any mammal or dairy free milk option available to you. Happy baking!
What are some good snacks for a toddler that’s top 9 free?
A lot of the good ideas I’ve shared in this article are either naturally top 9 free or easy to adapt. For example, whole grain crackers can be replaced by the Made Good star puffs or the Everybody Eat top 9 free crackers. Plain whole milk yogurt can be swapped for dairy free yogurt that’s safe for your child.
Anytime you need a slice of bread, use your fave top 9 free bread option. If you don’t have one yet, check out B-Free Foods. If you can do shared equipment, you may like Little Northern Bakehouse. Another great pick is O’Doughs, which a lot of free-from folks enjoy. I’ll also share the brand Happy Campers GF (shared equipment with egg) which one of my kids tends to eat.
Essentially, you have a LOT of choices, you’ll just want to start with the top 9 free equivalent of packaged raw materials.
Should I offer juice at mealtime?
This is going to be determined by your child’s unique individual needs. Generally, most preschoolers don’t need juice at every mealtime, especially juices with added sugars. A better option may be to offer a smoothie that has a little bit of juice in it as part of the liquid component to bring your ingredients together.
A huge benefit to smoothies is that you can offer a different flavor combo each time which can expand your child’s options in the long run. Additionally, smoothies can be a great source of nutrition since you can add a range of fruits and vegetables, a little protein powder, nut and seed butters, and so on.
However, take all of that with a grain of salt. If your child’s doctor wants them to have a specific amount of juice each day for a specific reason (make sure you understand said reasoning), you’ll want to take their advice and offer what’s needed for your kiddo.
