Author Topic: Need quick and easy snack ideas!  (Read 1529 times)

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Offline Kirsten~

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Need quick and easy snack ideas!
« on: March 07, 2013, 05:51:47 am »
My DD started refusing her AM bottle the last 2 days, so I think we're going to have to shift her meals to do breakfast at WU, then a mid-morning snack and keep her other milk feeds. My problem is a work FT, and I pack all her food for the babysitter. As it is, the whole process of getting her food and mine packed each night takes 30 mins, so I'm looking for quick and healthy snack ideas I can send with her. I'm not opposed to buying something as long as it's not full of garbage. Right now, I send her with Cheerios and a banana, but I feel like I'm using Cheerios ALL the time for a snack, and that will likely become what she eats at WU anyways.
She has been feeding herself since about 7 months and generally won't take a spoon, so I need finger foods. Ideas????


Offline Canadian_Mom

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Re: Need quick and easy snack ideas!
« Reply #1 on: March 08, 2013, 21:33:42 pm »
When I try to think of snacks for this age I try to think of it in terms of all the food groups, so I would try...
Dairy: Cheese
Grains: other cereals (shreddies etc), toast/bread strips, pita or tortilla strips, those store bought puffs things, have you tried granola bars that you can buy for 12 month + (maybe too young yet??)
Fruits: pretty much anything...can the bbsitter cut it up in the AM? So apples, nectarines? Blueberries, cut up grapes, mango chunks if she can't
Veggies: cucumber, steamed veggie sticks (carrots, sweet potato) can have her warm them up, or serve cold
Meat: DS1 loved kidney beans as a snack at this stage!! Also could put peanut butter on the bread.

HTH!
-Nadia


Offline creations

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Re: Need quick and easy snack ideas!
« Reply #2 on: March 09, 2013, 08:37:53 am »
There's lots of ideas on this recipe board
Baby Food Recipes
(finger food for babies and BLW threads)

and here
Serving sizes and healthy snacks for toddlers

I make batches of veg/fruit pancakes, mini muffins (with carrot or sweet pot, pear, apple etc, I stick with fruit and veg but you can include cheese too), lentil or bean burgers/fritters, oaty chews.  All these things can be frozen interwoven with baking parchment so that a few can be lifted out in the morning or the night before to defrost in time for snack.
Mini cheeses (individually wrapped) are handy if you don't have time to cut chunks of cheese and pack them.
Bread sticks, crackers, canned (unsweetened) sweetcorn, beans (the no salt cans), chickpeas, like pp said any fruit I always use nectarines, blueberries and grapes for out and about because they are so easy to transport and less messy to eat (things like cherries, blackberries, melon, raspberries I save for home because they are messier).


Offline Kirsten~

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Re: Need quick and easy snack ideas!
« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2013, 15:24:20 pm »
THanks for your replies. We already do a lot of fruit, so I'm hesitant to add more, and we do a lot of veggies too, but I need to find more creative ways to give her veggies instead of just frozen green beans. :) Although, she doesn't seem to mind. I like the veg/fruit pancake idea, mini muffins, etc. Those are all things I can make on Sunday and have ready to heat up for the week.

I'll check out the links you sent too. I hadn't thought to look at eating for toddlers since I still think of her as a little baby! ;(

What sort of crackers and/or bread sticks do you use? She has 5 teeth, so I think she can chew more than I give her credit. Just curious what is good and easy for LOs to handle, chew, etc. Also, do you have a recipe for oat chews? Those sound like a great idea!!!


Offline creations

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Re: Need quick and easy snack ideas!
« Reply #4 on: March 10, 2013, 20:13:33 pm »
The pancakes and muffins are all fine straight from the freezer (thawed obviously - I mean you dont' need to re-heat).
At this age they can eat just about anything.  The only things to watch out for a whole nuts (choke hazard) and honey (until 12 months), sugar, salt.  They can eat chunks of meat, bread sticks, crackers, anything with out without teeth (I buy a range of various crackers and put them in a big tin for DS to choose from, he loves getting the choice, esp now he is a little older).  Gums are very hard and can gum through anything, it even helps with teething pain.  My LO has been chomping on all sorts since 6 months, no purees.

For more veg, you could just steam some sticks and pop them in a tub to eat cold the following day, or roasted/baked wedges.  Raw veg are also good if your LO will take them.  Mine wasn't over keen at that age but many are, grated carrot for example.

There are several recipes for the oaty chews on one of those links, various flavours combos, once you've tried it a couple of times you can experiment.  They freeze great too.  I think the recipe will be near the end of one of the threads, and initially called something like dairy free, gluten free sugar free oat cookies.


Offline Lindsay27

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Re: Need quick and easy snack ideas!
« Reply #5 on: March 10, 2013, 21:48:34 pm »
Kirsten I have a great mini muffin recipe made with baby cereal and topped with jam (mmm) so it is a great way to get iron into her too!  I'll PM it to you :)