Providing the perfect healthy snacks for toddlers can certainly be time consuming! Toddlers love to try new things, and they also love to assert their individuality and growing opinions on all that they consume. That makes feeding toddlers a bit tricky. Fortunately we’ve been there, and would love to share with you some of the top healthy snacks for toddlers!
A toddler is generally considered any child who has begun toddling, or walking, through preschool. Most kiddos walk around 12-14 months, so toddlers are generally 1 ½-3. They have various nutritional needs throughout this stage, but generally move from drinking all their calories to eating all their nutritional needs in just a short year and a half.
Toddlers are often really good at snacking every few hours, helping to refuel their energy supplies! They have tiny tummies, so eating too much at any one time doesn’t work well for young toddlers, so healthy snacks for toddlers are ideal! 3 year olds are much better at getting more nutrition at meals and less at snacks.
Toddlers are notoriously picky eaters. One day they like pears, the next they won’t touch them. So finding just the right balance of foods can be tricky. Parents should remember to offer a variety of foods to their toddlers on a regular basis, but don’t be too worried about how much or what items they choose to eat. Their eating habits will change in spurts as they grow, but if you keep offering, they will get all the nutrition they need!
Healthy snacks for toddlers are a necessity, so let us help take the guesswork out of snack time. So whether it’s morning snack, mid-morning snack, second-breakfast snack, afternoon snack, or bedtime snack, we’ve got healthy snacks for toddlers that you’ll love!
Favorite Toddler Snacks
Having a bunch of go-to snacks for toddlers is helpful. Snacks that you know your toddler will love, no matter what! Consider offering two of these options to your toddler. Check out these snacks that are certain to be favorites for your toddler!
- Apples: Cut apples into thin slices, or small chunks. Young toddlers may not be able to eat the peal, but with enough practice, they’ll be eating the whole thing. Some toddlers enjoy eating a whole apple… or at least attempting to. They may just nibble half of it, but they’ll feel proud of themselves for eating an apple like a grown up.
- Yogurt: Pouches or bowls, yogurt is an excellent snack (or small meal). Try for whole milk yogurt, regular or greek. Opt for plain yogurt and add your own flavoring and sweetener. Most toddlers aren’t too picky about sweet things, and they might surprise you!
- Pretzel Rods: Pretzel rods are a perfect snack for toddlers. They’re just the right size for a toddler palm, and easy for them to gnaw on, depending on the number of teeth they have!
- Goldfish Crackers: Toddlers gravitate toward goldfish crackers. They’re crunchy and salty, and hit the spot for little guys.
- Cheese Sticks: Cheese sticks are a hit with toddlers. The sticks are fun to grab for young toddler fists, and as they get older they can practice stringing the cheese.
- Frozen Peas: Peas are sweet and healthy, and when they’re frozen they make for a fun and special snack for toddlers.
- Grapes: Chop grapes into halves (length wise) and let toddlers enjoy these sweet treats.
- Almonds: Although not something for young toddlers, older toddlers enjoy crunching on almonds. They’re a healthy protein, so win, win!
- Cheerios: Dry, plain cheerios may not sound like much, but they make for a great healthy toddler snack!
- Veggie Straws: We love veggie straws for a quick crunchy snack, perfect for toddler fists.
- Veggies and Hummus: Always a favorite, anything to dip or dunk for toddlers! Cut a variety of veggies like peppers, carrots, celery, and cucumbers and serve with hummus!
Toddler Snacks on-the-Go!
Having snacks ready to go wherever your toddler takes you is important. Here are some of our favorite things to throw in the diaper bag for those on-the-go moments!
- Low-Sugar Granola Bars: Super easy on-the-go, these Junkless Granola Bars will fill up your toddler and leave you knowing you’ve picked a great snack!
- Sandwich Bites: Make a sandwich and cut into rectangles, triangles, or cubes, the perfect size for toddlers! PB&J is often a toddler favorite, but just cheese, banana and peanut butter, or ham can be great choices.
- This Saves Lives Kids Bars: These delicious Dino Mite snack bars are delicious, allergen free, and nutritious!
- Harvest Snapeas: Harvest Snaps Snapea Crisps are a delicious salty snack that is super toddler friendly, and mom approved.
- Peanut Puffs: If you don’t have any peanut allergies, these Bamba Peanut Puffs are a delicious and healthy snack for toddlers on the go!
- Fruit Leather: Stretch Island Fruit Leather is delicious without the added sugar. Easy to throw in your bag for toddler snacks!
- Applesauce Pouches: Unsweetened applesauce pouches are a great quick snack for toddlers. Throw them in a bag and they’re ready to go when your toddler is hungry!
Easy Prep Toddler Snacks
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Muffins: There are tons of muffin recipes out there that make fabulous snacks or small toddler meals. You can hide veggies and different seeds in the muffins! Plus you can make any of the recipes into mini-muffins, perfect sized for little toddler hands! Here are just a few muffin recipes to get you started:
- Healthy Toddler Muffins (Blueberry and Banana) by Jar of Lemons
- Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Muffins by Fox and Briar
- Spinach Muffins for Picky Eaters by DetoxInista
- Veggie Loaded Chocolate Muffins by the Natural Nurturer
- Healthy Oatmeal Toddler Bites: These No Bake Toddler Oatmeal Bites by Learning Mama come together quickly and are just the right amount of energy for your little toddler!
- Berry Granola Bark: This recipe for Berry Granola Bark by Baby Foode makes a quick and delicious snack for both you and your tot! 4 simple ingredients come together in 5 minutes for a delicious and refreshing snack!
- Healthy Apple Oat Bars: These Healthy Apple Oat Bars by My Kids Lick the Bowl are kinda like a granola bar meets an oatmeal cookie. Your toddler will want more and more of these!
Apple Nachos: Dipping is a favorite pastime of toddlers, so why not serve up some Apple Nachos for a snack! Apple Nachos can be made lots of different ways, but the basic recipe is a glob of nut butter and sliced apples for dipping. These Apple Nachos by Good Cook are another great option for toddlers!
Conclusion
We know having a toddler can be a constant battle of wills! Feeding them healthy snacks for toddlers does not have to be one of those battles! Take the guesswork out of snack time with these great healthy snacks for toddlers.
For more great snacking ideas for kids, check out our Healthy Snacks for Kindergarteners or our Gluten Free Snacks for Kids!
