Are you stuck in a snack rut?

Recently I have been attending a free healthy lifestyle programme for 2-5 year olds and their families, provided by the NHS. The sessions focus on nutrition and activities to keep your family fit. I'm only half-way through the 6-week course so there is more to come but so far I have found it interesting and helpful.

Three meals and two snacks is the recommended daily eating pattern for toddlers under 5, here in the UK. A morning and afternoon snack should help contribute to your child's balanced diet, helping them achieve their 5 portions of fruit and vegetables each day. I often find myself  struggling for variety when I give my son his snacks. Fruit always seems an easy healthy option but if he's eating fruit at mealtimes, I don't want to overload on it. There's a wide selection of organic, sugar and salt-free toddler snacks available in the supermarkets but I don't like to rely on those all the time.

In the last session of the aforementioned healthy lifestyle programme I attended, we talked a bit about snacks and were given some suggestions of healthy snacks to give our children. For those of you like me who sometimes feel stuck in a snack rut, I thought I would share the ideas with you:

• 1 slice of medium wholegrain toast with low fat cream cheese / marmite / ham


• 1 mini pitta bread / crispbread and low fat hummus


• 1 crumpet with low fat spread


• 1/2 bagel and low fat cream cheese


• small sandwich filled with cheddar cheese & cucumber / cheese spread & tomato / tuna & sweetcorn / ham & tomato


• 2 crispbread / bread sticks and low fat cream cheese


• vegetable sticks and dip, eg. low fat hummus, guacamole, salsa


• plain unsweetened popcorn (25g)


• rice cakes or Ryvita minis


• handful of nuts / seeds (not for any nut allergy sufferers or young ones at risk of choking)


• piece of fresh fruit (dried fruit is advised for mealtimes only to help protect your child's teeth)


• cereal eg. 1 Weetahbix, 30g porridge


• no added sugar custard / rice pudding


• natural or healthy eating yoghurt


• 1 plain biscuit


• 1 slice fruit bread / malt loaf


• wholemeal scone with low fat spread / sugar free jam


• 1-2 oatcakes

What kinds of snacks do you give your toddler? Do you try to give them a wide variety or do you find they always want the same thing no matter what you suggest?
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