Quick toddler snacks + packaged finds
I still love making food for Liv, especially since (for now) the little lady has a huge appetite and will try anything. It’s always fun to share different things with her and see what she loves and doesn’t enjoy.
As much as I like making her food, I also use some pre-made and packaged food to supplement or when we’re in a hurry out the door.
I thought I’d share some of her favorite things that you can quickly make or buy pre-made:
[This post isn’t sponsored by any of the companies below; just things we love and want to spread the word!]
Packaged:
YoBaby and YoToddler yogurts
Annie’s bunnies, animal crackers Trader Joe’s rockets
TJ’s blueberry waffles
Fruit pouches and applesauce
Boxed soup
I had no idea she’d love soup so much! I’ll heat a little bit on the stove, then put it into her sippy cup; she loves to drink it through a straw and even surprisingly loves some of the spicier flavors.
Quick combos:
Peeled cucumber bites dipped into guacamole
Sunflower seed butter on banana
“Baked” apple (chopped apple steamed or microwaved with cinnamon)
Little trees (steamed broccoli with coconut oil)
Egg in a hole (a hole cut into toast with an over-medium egg cooked inside)
Bagel and cream cheese (she especially loves blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese)
Chickpeas sauteed in olive oil with garlic, oregano and a little sea salt
Scrambled egg
Hummus and carrots
PB and J sandwich
Baby smoothie (organic whole milk, frozen fruit, nut butter, spinach, banana)
Fresh fruit- super easy to prep and pack to take with us
Snacks I’ve frozen and made ahead, like turkey lentil muffins, baby pancakes or quinoa muffins
These are just a few things in our rotation! Any toddler snacks your kiddo loves??
xoxo
Gina
I’ll defrost frozen blueberries and mango chunks, mix in some baby spinach that’s torn up really small, and sprinkle with hemp seeds. The spinach tastes fruity from all the juice, and the hemp seeds give some protein and fat for staying power. Super easy to throw in a tupperware for the sitter (though the aftermath can be pretty messy!)
I hope when Josh and I have a baby some day she’s as adventurous an eater as Livi!!
This post is great for non-moms, too! I’m a full-time nanny of a little lady who just turned 1, as well as a very picky 3-year-old, so I’m always looking for creative combos. Some of these we already use, but I’m bookmarking this post for the others. Thanks, Gina!
My son (age 20 months) loves pancakes with flaxseed, hardboiled eggs (easy to pack!), oranges (especially clementines), raisins, chex cereal.
Ummm can I steel some of these ideas for my own snacks?! Ms. Liv has good taste in snacks!
ps are we getting a Pilot post any time soon? I always love when the Mr. or Mrs., depending on the blogger, does guest posts on the blogs I read. Tell him he has a fan base waiting for him!
My little man is loving graham cracker sticks with peanut butter on them!
Our standard pre-packaged faves are Cascadian Farms Honey Nut O’s, Peanut Butter Puffins, Sprout fruit & veggie pouches (sweet potato, white bean & cinnamon is the fave), Publix chili-lime hummus, and Stonyfield Whole Milk Yogurt… a little tip about that… Stonyfield sells large containers of whole milk yogurt in French Vanilla flavor and it’s basically half the price of buying it in the Yo-Baby 4 packs even though it’s the same stuff. Both of my kiddos eat yogurt every day, and it was getting pretty expensive to buy 3-4 four packs a week!
we also like organic cheese sticks, frozen greek yogurt drops (idea from Brittany of A Healthy Slice), raisins, Cheerios, and granola bars.
how do you like that cookie monster snack cup? is it easy to wash and can you put it in the dishwasher?
My daughter is currently in the middle of a hummus love affair. Dip anything in it and she’s all over it, cracks me up because it was one of my main pregnancy cravings.
My daughter is 3 and used to be a great eater, but now she’s really picky so I am constantly on the hunt for new snack ideas. Great post! What is this cute Cookie-Monster-Thing in the first picture? Is this a bowl? My little one is obsessed with everything Sesame Street. 🙂
My daughter (3 days older than yours) used to bea great eater, but is not being a little picky. Waffles with almond butter and mashed bananas on top are now her favorite. She also LOVES eggs, so I make her omelettes and I add chopped spinach to the eggs, filling the omelette with other veggies. I thought about giving her puréed soups in a sippy cup like you do. Do you dilute the soup at all? I will try that for sure.
Tripp goes to TOWN on the blueberry waffles. He’s been loving
TJs goat yogurt, clementines, sliced avocado right out of the skin,
and pretty much anything that I’m eating. We had a picnic lunch after
the farmers market today and I gave him a peach that I had taken two
bites from and he destroyed it. It’s amazing what 6 little teeth can do!
Hi Gina,
I noticed you are doing whole organic milk for olivia, just wondering what made you choose this? we are going switch from formula to milk next month and originally wanted to do hemp, but can’t find one without additives. looking into organic whole milk, especially since our costco sells it!
We need Trader Joes in Fort Wayne, IN!
Red bell pepper with hummus, boiled eggs, and dehydrator cookies are toddler favorites for us.
I love how well rounded her appetite is and you’re letting her explore her pallet 🙂 i hope when Eric and I have a child, it will be as curious over different foods.
Hi Gina~
Thanks for all the ideas! Have you seen the ‘mini waffles’ at Whole Foods? They are so cute and so perfect for little hands:) I am going to try the ‘soup in a sippy’ idea, love!!!!!
I’m always looking for different combos and snacks, thanks for sharing! A fun snack that my girl loves, which is also fun is I’ll take a banana and smear some pb on top and then dip into cheerios and repeat with each bit. She thinks it’s hilarious and on a good day I’ll let her use a kid knife to smear the PB herself and dip which is great for motor skills and learning how to use a knife. Another one is carrots and honey, especially fresh local honey!
I can’t wait until my baby girl starts eating next month! I’m busy thinking about what the FIRST food I want her to eat will be…can’t wait to get to this point where there’s so many options!!
My daughter is only 2 days younger than Liv. We have multiple food allergies, so feeding her gives me some serious anxiety…but we do have store bought favorites!
So Delicious coconut yogurts, coconut milk, Annie’s honey wheat pretzels, Erewhon graham crackers, she loves loves pineapple and mango, also freeze dried pineapple.On a good day, she’ll eat Van’s blueberry waffles, they’re dairy and nut free. I put Sunbutter on graham crackers or some of the safe crispy breads when to take with us.I make your granola bar recipe with quinoa flakes (this one is a hit or miss, depending on her mood).
My daughter who is just slightly older than yours (born 1/5/12) is so picky it is ridiculous. I try….and try….and try… She basically likes pancakes and mac and cheese. lol. She used to be open to anything. I swear if I didnt make her eat she would just skip it altogether! Im hoping this is just a phase…….
i’ve heard that it’s pretty common for that to happen- so many of my friends’ babies started to become really picky. i keep thinking it will happen to us any day now because liv is so adventurous
Great list. We mostly feed my 1.5 year old fruit or Sunbutter sandwichs as snacks. We also like the Trader Joe’s mini peanut butter sandwiches. Occasionally, my son gets to eat cheddar Food Should Taste Good chips (he eats 3 or 4 as a snack). I love that they contain whole flax seeds.
Haven’t tried the boxed soups yet. How’s the sodium content? That’s what I always worry about with soups.