Are you seeking healthy snacks idea for your toddler? One should develop healthy eating habits from the first days of a baby’s life. Parents feed them on demand with breast milk or every three hours with baby formula. When a baby starts independently sitting, walking, and exploring the world, it can demand more food.
Toddlers shift from breast milk or formula to solid food, and it is essential to cook nutritious meals that are easy to digest. Snacks help kids stay full and avoid overeating. What should one cook? How many snacks should you provide? Read the answers here.
How Many Healthy Snacks Should I Give to My Toddler?
The number of snacks depends on the portion of a baby’s meal. If meals are big, it is enough to give one snack. Some kids have small meals and need 2 to 3 bites to feel full. A toddler’s stomach is tiny, so a baby might need to restore nutrients more frequently than usual adults.
Nevertheless, a kid shouldn’t kill hunger by only having bites. Otherwise, a baby doesn’t get the required nutrients properly.
What Are Healthy Snacks Should Be?
The main courses and snacks must not be of the same size. There are several rules to follow to promise the best nutrition to a kid.
Snacks must be mini and healthy
As a rule, parents regard snacks as unhealthy treats like sweets, but they must be as nutritious as regular meals. It is a good idea to experiment with products that a baby refuses to eat for breakfast or lunch. For example, if a toddler does not eat greenery, a parent can add it to smoothies, which are nutritious and healthy.
 Be creative
Snacks must not be the same every day because toddlers can get sick of them. Search for the recipes on the Internet and try to adjust bites to things your baby likes. It’s better to make food attractive, so involve cutting, curving, and color combination. Kids adore funny animals or cute clouds made of fruit, bread, meat, eggs, and vegetables.
Texture and tastes must be different
Snacks should be of different textures. A boiled egg, smoothie, the best organic baby cereal, and banana chips are healthy and can introduce a variety of flavors to a toddler. Due to that, a baby develops personal food preferences, which can be nutritious and healthy thanks to the choices parents provide.
Top 5 Best Healthy Snacks to Keep in Mind
Parents often make snacks wrong. They usually prepare tasty bites by adding too much sugar, salt, and spices instead of using healthy alternatives. Honey and ripe bananas can replace sugar, and almond flour can be used instead of wheat flour, which is unhealthy.
Below, you can see a list of healthy foods. You should combine them to guarantee a tasty snack full of vitamins and the required macronutrients.
- Whole grains (the best organic baby cereal, crackers, rice, and bread)
- Fruit (all, but better not to start with exotic ones)
- Healthy fats (avocado, cheese, egg yolk, dairy)
- Proteins (ham, white egg, beans, fish)
- Vegetables (all, except for allergic ones)
For example, one can take a portion of the best organic baby cereal and add berries or fruit to the ready portion. Due to that, a snack will be healthy and tasty. Some brands make cereal with fruit, but fresh berries contain more nutrients. Another perfect combination is fruit salad with yogurt, which looks colorful and attractive.
The important thing is to buy fresh products and keep cooked goods properly. For instance, cubed fruit cannot stay fresh for long. So, whole bread with peanut butter and a carton of milk or juice suit a lunchbox better than a vegetable salad. So, parents should consider the time products get spoiled or buy organic goods for snacks.
