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Thursday, April 16, 2009

Easy Snacks for Kids



This is not a post about how to pretty up snacks. My toddler could care less at this point, maybe that will be another post down the road. What I wanted to talk about were just snack ideas. Snacks are a constant at our household and I am sure I am not alone when stating that. There is a morning snack, afternoon snack, after dinner snack (sometimes) and of course you need those snacks to pop into your bag for when you go out. I will on occasion buy the bit over priced toddler snacks of Gerber puffs and Gerber wheels that my son absolutely loves. He can literally eat an entire container on what snack sitting. However, to save money, especially in this economy, I needed other snack ideas. Maybe my snack ideas are nothing new to you, but if they are then perhaps this post will be useful to you. So here are a list of my own snack ideas:

~ Bananas
This is a must in my house. My toddler goes through a entire bunch in just one week.

~Pretzel Sticks
Any size. I prefer the pretzel sticks vs the ordinary pretzel shapes because it is easier to hold and just a fraction of a percent less messy. I love these for on the go snacks. It takes a while for them to get stale in case you forget them in your glove box.

~Goldfish
We used to buy a small container of these and between the poodles getting some of the remnants and my son’s power snacks, these would disappear all to quickly. I love these for on the go as well.

~Rice Cakes
The average size rice cake about the size of a waffle is not really my favorite. I much prefer the ones that come in the chips aisle that are the size of half dollars. My son LOVES them and it’s a good snack for when your kid wants to eat something NOW and you are sitting down for a meal. They don’t fill you up too quickly.

~ Granola Bars/Cereal Bars
This is for the toddler that has some teeth and can chew well. My husband accidentally bought me the wrong brand, but my toddler loves them. I also like the fact that they are individually wrapped so its easy to pop into a bag when going out.

~ Cheez-It
I love these like I love the goldfish snacks. It is easy, you can buy a big box and they are easy to throw into a bag.

~Fruit/Mixed Fruit
If you are tired and don’t feel like cutting up fruit then you can just by the stuff in the jars. I do try to get lite syrup, but my toddler eats this up like no mans business. He also LOVES fresh honeydew. I know my nephew would not mind a fruit skewer...he loves sticks and eating with it is even more fun for him.

~Vanilla Wafers
More for a dessert item then a snack item. I have to get these for my son b/c for one it is a snack I used to eat as a kid and LOVED it and also because they think they are getting something great. They are pretty damn good.

~Yogurt
I honestly HATE this stuff, but every so often I buy it for my son. He likes it okay, but its messy and I don’t like the smell. I just don’t want him to say he was denied yogurt as a child.

~Muffins
Obviously a messy snack, but a good snack, especially if you make muffins the night before for dinner and they need to be eaten up before they go stale. Ragamuffins (blueberry kind) are da bomb. Yes I said “da bomb”.

~Dried Cereal
Easy snack that also can be bought in large quantities. Healthier the better, but I’ll admit my son loves Fruit Loops.

~Cheese
My son loves cheese of any type. It doesn’t matter if it is cheese cut up in cubes, single slices of American cheese or string cheese. Any cheese is a hit.

~Jello
This is also a snack of my childhood. My husband loves it, as it is his dessert for his Atkins diet (that and can whip cream), which is zero carbs. Plus its fun to eat and makes for a great dessert or snack.

That just about wraps it up. If you have any great snack ideas then feel free to share!

3 comments:

MoreThanMommy said...
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MoreThanMommy said...

Also, I really like raisins as a snack. They're cheaper than bagged fruit snacks, have less fake sugar, and Ella loves them. I know the pediatricians say they're choking hazards, but if the kid is sitting and you are watching I feel like they're ok.

Erin said...

for anyone who shops at costco, they have these organic vanilla animal crackers that are awesome! the jar is huge, priced well, and julie loves them.
also, if you want less messy yogurt, try "go-gurt". julie can actually work the thing herself and there's no spoons necessary!