yummy nutritious snacks to make at home for toddler tums!

Pick + mix snack ideas

We’ve put some ideas below, so simply pick + mix your toddler’s fave, or introduce a new food alongside their favourites!

Carbohydrates

• Wholegrain bread or pitta fingers, breadsticks, mini wraps, crumpets/muffins, fruit bread, mini pancakes, oatcakes, rice cakes, pasta pieces

Protein + dairy

• Cheese slices or soft cheese, nut butter, hummus or other pulse/yoghurt-based dips, hard-boiled egg, tuna or other canned fish, lentil dhal, small pieces of cooked meat

Fruit and veg

• Chopped soft fruit, cooked veg sticks, veg based dips, fruit smoothies

Snack ideas from our infant nutritionist

Our nutritionist Claire has put together some ideas on how to mix + match these into yummy snack plates for hungry little kids. Go for about half the portion size you’d offer as a meal + enjoy your snacks together:

• Crumpet with peanut butter, sliced banana or strawberries
• Fruit bread with olive oil spread + fingers of kiwi
• Tuna, mackerel or hummus dip with toasted pitta fingers + sticks of cucumber
• Toasted muffin with cream cheese + dried apricots
• Cucumber + pepper sticks with hummus
• Mini cheese on toast with avocado fingers
• Greek yoghurt with tinned peaches + a sprinkle of ground nuts or seeds
• Thick pancake with nut butter + strawberries
• Veggie pizza roll ups with cucumber sticks
• Pesto + Cream Cheese Sandwich Cartwheels
• Crackers with lentil or hummus dip + grated carrot
• Frozen yoghurt lollies with a crispbread – try our Fab 'n' Fruity Lollies or Watermelon Sunshine Slushy recipes
• Chapati or pitta with cheddar or cream cheese + raisins
• Malt loaf spread with peanut butter + thinly sliced apple
• Oatcakes with cream cheese + thinly sliced pear
• Pasta with grated cheese + peas
• Half a bagel with cream cheese + cucumber sticks

fun ways with fruit + veg

As little kids get older + the picky phase starts, they can start to turn up their noses at their fave fruit + veggies. Follow our tips to help make them more appealing at snack time!

• Fruit becomes a lot more exciting when it’s visually pleasing or looks different. Chop colourful fruit into bite sized chunks (avoid anything too hard like apple) + thread onto sticks for a rainbow kebab snack. Yummy!
• Veggie sticks + dips can be a winner but why not make an exciting veggie poke bowl snack? Simple grate some carrot finely + arrange in a small bowl with some quartered cherry tomatoes, a spoonful of sweetcorn and some kidney beans with a dollop of hummus. Switch up the veg to your little kid’s faves + let them help you make the poke bowl so they see it all come together!
• Bananas are often a winner but if you have any leftover bananas, try slicing + freezing them. When the sun comes out, blend them with a little milk of your choice until they’re thick + spoonable and you’ve got a tasty, healthy banana ice cream!

fruit snacking on a budget

When fresh fruit isn’t an option, try these money saving options for fruit snacks:

• Canned fruit in juice (avoid sugary syrup) can be just as good as fresh but with much less waste. Canned peaches, chopped up with Greek yoghurt + ground nuts or seeds make a great snack.

• Pop canned cherries (as long as they have no stones) with the leftover banana ice cream hack + a handful of toasted oats. Deeelicious!
• Canned pineapple chunks are great with coconut yoghurt or even cottage cheese.

Or give our frozen fruit tips a go to save money + waste:

• Add a handful of frozen berries to thick plain yoghurt with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup + leave overnight in the fridge. That next day the berries will have thawed and turned the yoghurt a pretty colour for an easy peasy yummy yoghurt snack!
• Add frozen berries to fruit juice in lolly moulds for lovely frozen lollies in the summer.
• Blend frozen fruit up with yoghurt, a splash of milk of your choice + a dollop of nut butter for a super smoothie snack.