Sometimes nutritious snacks are more work, but not always. There are plenty of healthy, no-hassle snacks out there. Toddlers should be feeding themselves, so think simple, finger-friendly, bite-size foods like:
* low-sugar breakfast cereals
* fresh fruit thinly sliced or cut into small pieces
* whole-grain crackers and mini-muffins
* cheese cut into thin slices or shredded
Think small portions, too. Adults tend to overestimate the amount of food kids need to eat, but the recommended serving size for a toddler’s snack is actually quite small: ½ cup (118 ml) dry cereal and ½ cup (118 ml) milk (serve low-fat if your child is over 2 years old) make a fine mid-morning snack, just as a banana and ½ cup (118 ml) milk are great in the mid-afternoon. Not only are small portions less overwhelming for a picky eater, but they also help prevent an avid eater from overdoing it at snack time.
You will be surprised to realize that anything you pack for your toddler from your fridge will be a thousand times more healthy than the public school lunches. If you have read The School Lunch Test from the New York Times, you might never let your kid eat at school again. There is something wrong with our eating habits when a company thinks its worth the money to produce and market an antacid for kids, designed specifically to ease discomfort brought on by “an overindulgence in food and drink”.
Knowing now the attitude of your kids towards food and their eating habits will determine the type and size of lunch boxes you need to buy.
Remember, snacks shouldn’t be something that gives kids the “Three O’Clock Crazies”. Prepare apples with a dip, either peanut butter or vanilla yogurt, or some other, healthy snack that isn’t full of refined sugars.