Toddler snacks~ Clean eating vs. Gerber aisle~ Ideas?

ExplorinLauren

The more I am eating healthy, and cleaner.... the more I have spread it around the household.
The one place I'm finding the most problem is with my 2 and 1/2 year old....
I'm big on the "Gerber" aisle at the grocery store, between all the yogurt melts, cheesy puffs, cereal puffs, graham crackers... yada yada yada .... I'm finding, that I hate buying her that stuff! If I'm not eating out of a box (as much as possible anyway) why is she having to?? Especially if I want to instill at a young age healthier eating habits. Not to mention it costs a fortune! :sad: ( I do feel however Gerber is the way to go... I prefer buying that over other adult type foods that have way less nutrients and a lot more fat and cals, such as chef boyrdee, or cookie aisle cookies/chips, etc.)
Don't get me wrong, she has a TON of fresh fruit and veggies, strawberries, bananas, grapes, broccoli etc. I always try to balance everything. But, it can get boring.... especially with her attention span. lol
I would like to get away from the Gerber aisle a little more, if not all together. .... Any ideas on snacks??? Or even healthy meals your toddler/children love?? Clean as possible please

Pebble321

I think it is fantastic that you are looking at your daughter's diet now, if it's better for you as an adult, it has to be even more important at her age when her body and brain are developing so fast.

At the risk of sounding stupid... I don't get why can't she eat what you are eating? It sounds as though you aren't eating ready meals or cookies or chips, why would she need them?
I remember my friend's kids (when they were that age) eating avocado, cheese, grainy bread, fruit, veggies, pasta, meat, chicken, zucchini slice, frittata, milk, natural yoghurt, home made muffins etc.

ExplorinLauren

I think it is fantastic that you are looking at your daughter's diet now, if it's better for you as an adult, it has to be even more important at her age when her body and brain are developing so fast.

At the risk of sounding stupid... I don't get why can't she eat what you are eating? It sounds as though you aren't eating ready meals or cookies or chips, why would she need them?
I remember my friend's kids (when they were that age) eating avocado, cheese, grainy bread, fruit, veggies, pasta, meat, chicken, zucchini slice, frittata, milk, natural yoghurt, home made muffins etc.

For the most part she is eating what I eat... I try to load her up with fruit and veggies... but I have to be kinda slick about it lol... like salad, she will eat it off my plate all day long, but if I put it on hers... she takes 2 bites and shes done. She loves when I make a fruit salad, and while I'm cutting the cantaloupe, strawberries, etc, she loves to steal it as fast as I cut it. She will eat carrots, but I have to include low fat veggie dip. I don't eat avocado, so I'm unsure if she would like that.
I guess the problem is, she will only eat so much fruit and veggies in a day. Any more than that, and she is losing interest in it... not to mention, too much fruit and veggies is hard on her system... her tummy can't handle it.
I'm kind of looking for ideas of how other people make snacks and cool twists on things I already give her or new ideas I've never tried.... to spice it up for her so she isn't bored.
:happy:

Kamikazeflutterby

I'm not sure how "clean" these are, but my kid loves "martian dip,"--half of an avocado pureed with equal parts ripe banana. She dips animal crackers or vanilla wafers into the green stuff and loves it.

Almond butter/peanut butter sticks are another favorite. Take half of a whole grain tortilla, spread almond butter, and cut into strips. We'll crush up one or two frozen raspberries and put those on the almond butter sometimes, but it increases the cleanup time.

This lead to spinach sticks. Take the whole grain tortilla, mix cream cheese and steamed chopped spinach, and spread a thin layer on the tortilla. Cut into strips. Further variation: dip these into a mild salsa or hummus.

Basically, any food my daughter gets to dunk into another food is a hit. And once you start buying the whole grain tortillas for cheap at a bulk food store you start going "I wonder if..." and get a new variation.

I've never done the Gerber Graduates stuff, but I still buy the Gerber baby cereals that read like multivitamins for kids. I mix the Gerber cereals with plain yogurt or cottage cheese until it is a consistency that my kid can keep on a spoon. Then I add whatever fruit we have in the freezer and leave it overnight for her breakfast.

I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but those are my quick go-to snacks, and my own compromise with the Gerber collective.

yentess

My toddler goes absolutely nuts for hummus and her fav lunch is a bunch of veggies to dip in hummus. Natural PB is a great dip for fruit. Light string cheese, and hardboiled eggs are good too. I make a homemade trail mix for my kiddos with raw nuts, dried fruit and some dark chocolate chips. My kids really like smoothies too. I buy berries in the summer when they are cheap and then I wash and freeze them to use in the winter when they are super expensive. We blend some frozen berries with Kefir, which is a drinkable type of yogurt that has tons more immunity boosting probiotics than regular yogurt.

My kids really like the brand of chicken nuggets "Yummy." They are made with breast meat only and the breading is made with flax.

jfrankic

My toddler likes.....
**ants on a log (celery and peanut butter and raisins)
**plain yogurt and we make our own parfaits with fiber cereal and fresh or frozen fruit
**trail snack mix with nuts, raisins and cheerios

She eats what we eat at breakfast, lunch and dinner and has fruits and vegetable snacks, but these are some other things she likes. Yes, like the previous poster, my girl likes hummus too. She thinks dipping things is fun.

spngebobmyhero

I am not a mom, but what about a green monster smoothie? Give it a fun name and make it taste good! Bananas will cover up almost any "yucky" flavor and some cocoa powder would be good with it. Perhaps use raw honey as a sweetener if necessary?

Make some banana "ice cream" with some healthier alternatives?
http://www.thekitchn.com/magic-one-ingredient-ice-cream-5-ways-peanut-butter-nutella-and-more-171618

Most of that Gerber stuff is just carbs and I don't think it has much in the way of real nutrition. She's probably a lot better off with all of the real food you are eating!

tistal

Do you have a dehydrator? You can puree just about any fruit and dehydrate it and make "fruit rollups" or dehydrated fruit. I do that for my kids and they love it.

bluex232

bump

Kamikazeflutterby

Do you have a dehydrator? You can puree just about any fruit and dehydrate it and make "fruit rollups" or dehydrated fruit. I do that for my kids and they love it.

I totally forgot about this, thank you for posting that. I really want to go to a u-pick berry place this summer and score lots of cheap fruit. I don't think you need a dehydrator for fruit leather (though that's probably better for your power bill), just a really low setting on the oven.

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_fruit_leather/

araxiedyck

I make yogurt pops--puree whatever fruit, and plain unsweetened yogurt, put them in the moulds and my kids can eat however many they want---I add no sugar

nataliefamily3

my 2 yr old lovessssss yogurt covered raisins that is about the only snack I offer besides fruit.

momtokgo

The more I am eating healthy, and cleaner.... the more I have spread it around the household.
The one place I'm finding the most problem is with my 2 and 1/2 year old....
I'm big on the "Gerber" aisle at the grocery store, between all the yogurt melts, cheesy puffs, cereal puffs, graham crackers... yada yada yada .... I'm finding, that I hate buying her that stuff! If I'm not eating out of a box (as much as possible anyway) why is she having to?? Especially if I want to instill at a young age healthier eating habits. Not to mention it costs a fortune! :sad: ( I do feel however Gerber is the way to go... I prefer buying that over other adult type foods that have way less nutrients and a lot more fat and cals, such as chef boyrdee, or cookie aisle cookies/chips, etc.)
Don't get me wrong, she has a TON of fresh fruit and veggies, strawberries, bananas, grapes, broccoli etc. I always try to balance everything. But, it can get boring.... especially with her attention span. lol
I would like to get away from the Gerber aisle a little more, if not all together. .... Any ideas on snacks??? Or even healthy meals your toddler/children love?? Clean as possible please

Besides one type of Gerber puffs, we have never bought anything from the Gerber isle. Our kids like pretzels, rice crackers, triscuits, apple sauce, fruit, rice cakes, mini bagels, whole wheat toast with jam or honey, "strawberry milk" (a thin smoothie of soy or rice milk and strawberries) turkey or ham, sun rype fruit bars, and homemade granola bars.

We are dairy and peanut free so that takes out a lot of what they can eat, but you can also offer your daughter yogurt (greek or regular) cheese strings, cheese cubes, cheese quesadillas on whole wheat tortillas, pizza (you can make that on whole wheat crust too) veggies and dip...there are tons of choices outside of the Gerber isle.

angelaraedesigns

check out www.weelicious.com
every recipe I've tried from her site has been a hit with my four year old.
Especially RiceKrispWEE Treats.
1/3 c almond butter
1/3 c Peanut butter
2/3 c brown rice syrup
and 3 cups whole grain rice crisps.

(her recipe doesn't add this, but I do now, made the original recipe first, then I started slowly adding in ground flax and ground chia seed with each subsequent batch. I sprinkle the flax/chia on the gooey mass while it's still hot. I started with 1 tbsp of each in one recipe then, next recipe, I'd add a little more......no one noticed....so then next recipe.....I added even more.....muhhhahhhhahhaa)

I roll them into balls while the mixture is still hot. Awesome treat.....I just have to make sure I eat just a few. Gots some hefty calories it does, no worries for my toddler though, he is a going concern.....zoooom! Sure he burns it before it hits his stomach. lol

Flafster

In the UK so I'm not really sure what Gerber is, but both of mine have been fed normal family food.

I treat snack as mini-meals. Things we've had is
- Pitta bread / sourdough with houmous (home made is SO easy - tin of chick peas, garlic, lemon juice, tablespoon of olive oil = blend. You may need some more water to loosen it)
- Cheese, veg stick & breadsticks
- PB on toast.
- broccoli & tahini / soy dip
- smoked mackerel & broccoli
- or whatever leftovers we have in the fridge.

I think it's important for young children, especially toddlers to have lots of good fats. We bake at home with fruit, butter & sugar, rather than artificial substitutes, and freeze the slices in wax paper so they can be defrosted in hungry-toddler emergencies. Date & walnut bread, banana bread, raisin & cinnamon bread are all popular.

We have the Organix brand here and I could never see the point of weaning children onto crisps. They'll find them soon enough from other people. If I have problems leaving crisps in the house, why would I give them to my children to eat?

sablake427

My two year old is highly unpredictable about what she'll eat (not picky--unpredictable)--but I'm definitely trying to push the cleaning eating on her,
She definitely loves avocado (raw and just cut into chunks)--it's a bit messy but. . . she'll eat it when I can't get her to touch other veges.
She's been big into chick peas (garbanzo beans). You have to be careful buying them--some of them have a lot less sodium. I buy the cans of organic ones--the big nuisance is that they have a skin that I don't dare give her. They peel off super easy, but it takes time.
She loves granola bars---with and without nuts or chocolate. Pretzels and gold fish are huge and super easy. Oh, and you have to be aware with these two but. . . . prunes and raisins (I think she would live on them if she could). But any dried fruit in general---be careful that little ones drink lots of water with dried fruit though.
oh and on the expensive store bought side--the Mash ups at BabiesRUs are great--they're vege puree and apple sauce mixed. I'm on a mission this summer to figure out how to replicate them, but haven't managed yet.

Anybody with vege ideas would be great.

ExplorinLauren

My two year old is highly unpredictable about what she'll eat (not picky--unpredictable)--but I'm definitely trying to push the cleaning eating on her,
She definitely loves avocado (raw and just cut into chunks)--it's a bit messy but. . . she'll eat it when I can't get her to touch other veges.
She's been big into chick peas (garbanzo beans). You have to be careful buying them--some of them have a lot less sodium. I buy the cans of organic ones--the big nuisance is that they have a skin that I don't dare give her. They peel off super easy, but it takes time.
She loves granola bars---with and without nuts or chocolate. Pretzels and gold fish are huge and super easy. Oh, and you have to be aware with these two but. . . . prunes and raisins (I think she would live on them if she could). But any dried fruit in general---be careful that little ones drink lots of water with dried fruit though.
oh and on the expensive store bought side--the Mash ups at BabiesRUs are great--they're vege puree and apple sauce mixed. I'm on a mission this summer to figure out how to replicate them, but haven't managed yet.

Anybody with vege ideas would be great.

The mash-ups your talking about sound like the Gerber graduates "grabbers" I buy my daughter... they mix veggies with fruits in a squeezable pouch (she thinks its a juice box, calls them her veggie box. lol) Its how I sneak in her veggies! I would love to be able to duplicate them!

ExplorinLauren

Do you have a dehydrator? You can puree just about any fruit and dehydrate it and make "fruit rollups" or dehydrated fruit. I do that for my kids and they love it.

No, but thats a great idea! I've already been thinking about one for making jerky, but fruit roll ups are a great idea

ExplorinLauren

My toddler goes absolutely nuts for hummus and her fav lunch is a bunch of veggies to dip in hummus. Natural PB is a great dip for fruit. Light string cheese, and hardboiled eggs are good too. I make a homemade trail mix for my kiddos with raw nuts, dried fruit and some dark chocolate chips. My kids really like smoothies too. I buy berries in the summer when they are cheap and then I wash and freeze them to use in the winter when they are super expensive. We blend some frozen berries with Kefir, which is a drinkable type of yogurt that has tons more immunity boosting probiotics than regular yogurt.

My kids really like the brand of chicken nuggets "Yummy." They are made with breast meat only and the breading is made with flax.

Trail mix! Thats a good idea! She would love that!

ExplorinLauren

I'm not sure how "clean" these are, but my kid loves "martian dip,"--half of an avocado pureed with equal parts ripe banana. She dips animal crackers or vanilla wafers into the green stuff and loves it.

Almond butter/peanut butter sticks are another favorite. Take half of a whole grain tortilla, spread almond butter, and cut into strips. We'll crush up one or two frozen raspberries and put those on the almond butter sometimes, but it increases the cleanup time.

This lead to spinach sticks. Take the whole grain tortilla, mix cream cheese and steamed chopped spinach, and spread a thin layer on the tortilla. Cut into strips. Further variation: dip these into a mild salsa or hummus.

Basically, any food my daughter gets to dunk into another food is a hit. And once you start buying the whole grain tortillas for cheap at a bulk food store you start going "I wonder if..." and get a new variation.

I've never done the Gerber Graduates stuff, but I still buy the Gerber baby cereals that read like multivitamins for kids. I mix the Gerber cereals with plain yogurt or cottage cheese until it is a consistency that my kid can keep on a spoon. Then I add whatever fruit we have in the freezer and leave it overnight for her breakfast.

I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but those are my quick go-to snacks, and my own compromise with the Gerber collective.

Thanks! several good ideas in here!

bcattoes

I think it is fantastic that you are looking at your daughter's diet now, if it's better for you as an adult, it has to be even more important at her age when her body and brain are developing so fast.

At the risk of sounding stupid... I don't get why can't she eat what you are eating? It sounds as though you aren't eating ready meals or cookies or chips, why would she need them?
I remember my friend's kids (when they were that age) eating avocado, cheese, grainy bread, fruit, veggies, pasta, meat, chicken, zucchini slice, frittata, milk, natural yoghurt, home made muffins etc.

I agree with this ^^ Prepackaged baby food is not more nutritious, it's just more convenient.