Healthy snacks for young kids

i make homemade granola bars.
I have been making my own frozen popsicles too with fresh fruit. I just blend combo of fruits in the blender, put them in popsicle mold and freeze.
Also banana soft serve... freeze banana chunks in the freezer, blend them when they are frozen with a splash of milk, add cocoa powder or peanut butter. My kids love it. I don't even have to add any sugar to these.

i make homemade granola bars.
I have been making my own frozen popsicles too with fresh fruit. I just blend combo of fruits in the blender, put them in popsicle mold and freeze.
Also banana soft serve... freeze banana chunks in the freezer, blend them when they are frozen with a splash of milk, add cocoa powder or peanut butter. My kids love it. I don't even have to add any sugar to these.

ooohhhh nice soft serve!! I gotta try that!!
:bigsmile:

melon balls are fun! introduce them to hummus and dip veggies in it! get pop chips! yum yum yumm

I suggest getting this book... "The Petit Appetit Cookbook: Easy, Organic Recipes to Nurture Your Baby and Toddler"
It is awesome. It does have some baby food recipes in there, but there are also recipes that my entire family loves. The celebration 'cupcakes' are our favorite. They are made with wheat germ and a tad on the grainy side, but they are yummy.

I have a yogurt cupcake that I make also that everybody loves. And you can change the flavor based on the yogurt flavor. If you want the recipe, let me know and I can dig it out.

My son love mandarin oranges, my daughter loves celery sticks and broccoli. And of course, they both love graham crackers. We do a lot of cereal for dry snacks too, like frosted shredded wheat.

mozzarella cheese sticks, fresh fruit salad (berries!!), Greek yogurt blended with peanut butter - dip apples, bananas, celery.

Laughing cow cheese spread on celery with almonds or raisins (different twist on "ants on a log")

Acai smoothies with peanut butter - made into popsicles.

Frozen grapes!! (do not wash first -- wash after frozen, before eating).

My niece LOVES "kickin red" and "sweet yellow" smoothies. I use fresh fruit, plain chobani and skim milk

Her and her brothers also love anything w/ peanut butter on it- apples, bananas, whole wheat toast and bagels, multigrain crackers
I also mix plain chobani with fresh fruit and stevia, or honey and nuts, or cinnamon and stevia or this is my favorite 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 cup plain oats
We also bake clean baked goods together I'll get together some recipes for you

Here you go!


Moist Healthy Cupcakes
1 C All Purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 C sugar
1/4 C Butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 egg whites
2/3 C plain yogurt (I use vanilla or flavored)

Cream sugar & butter, add in vanilla & egg whites. Alternate dry goods & yogurt until everything is well mixed. Bake for 20-25 minutes in 350 preheated oven. Makes 10 cupcakes.

Honey Cream Cheese Frosting (from the cookbook I mentioned)
1/2 block softened cream cheese
1/2 stick softened butter
2 tablespoons honey
Blend together


Banana Apple Bran Muffins
1 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C oat bran
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt 1/2 C butter
3/4 C applesauce
3 medium bananas (1 mashed, 2 sliced)
1/2 C light brown sugar
2 eggs

Combine all moist ingredients, mix in dry ingredients just until blended (batter is lumpy and moist). Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full and place banana slice on top. Bake 12 minutes in 375 preheated oven. Let cool for 5 minutes before turning out of tin. The toothpick test doesn't really work on these cause of the banana, you just have to take your best guess.


Pumpkin Raisin Muffins (these are fabulous, you can make them w or w/o raisins and they freeze well)
1 C pumpkin puree (can or fresh)
3 1/2 C flour
1 C sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 C milk
1/4 C butter, softened
1 C raisins
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

Dredge raisins in 1/2 C Flour. Cream butter & sugar, add pumpkin, milk & egg. Sift in remaining flour & spices. Poru in raising. Bake in 400 degree preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.


Some other things I forgot about...
Trail mix, you could let them help pick the ingredients they want to put in it
yogurt raisins
yogurt drops (freeze drops of regular yogurt on a cookie sheet for about an hour - they melt VERY easily though)
zucchini bread with raisins

I do a lot of stuff with pumpkin and they have a ton of recipes here. http://www.pumpkinnook.com/cookbook.htm
I'm pretty sure that is where the pumpkin raisin muffins came from. We also love the pumpkin pancakes, but I substitute whole wheat flour.

WebMD just had a slideshow on how to handle children who are picky eaters. It goes over the different kind of picky eaters, and how to handle each one. http://www.webmd.com/parenting/ss/slideshow-picky-eaters

Great suggestions!

No kids for me, but I do have a 7 year old sister and my girlfriend has a 1 1/2 and a 3 year old...

I make my sis green smoothies and she loves them! 1 banana, handful of frozen berries, 4 cups of greens (kale, spinach, collard) blend it up with a little water adn a couple of ice cubes and they'll love it! Make sure you add blueberries to cut the green color. The banana will cut the green taste.

Also, I've been making ranch dressing with fat free plain greek yogurt, low fat milk and a ranch packet. She's now eating broccoli, asparagus and artichokes dipped in it.

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hahaha -- at my house, there are 2 choices for each meal: take it, or leave it. I have 4 kids, and that's the way I roll.
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I love this. This is my house too...take it or leave it. I'm not a short order cook!