Fun Snacks for Picky Tots - Creative Snack Ideas

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My older son has been a terrible eater since the first day I slipped a spoon of rice cereal into his mouth.  The only meat he will eat is chicken - and that is only ...

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My older son has been a terrible eater since the first day I slipped a spoon of rice cereal into his mouth.  The only meat he will eat is chicken - and that is only if it is in the form of a nugget.  The only vegetable he has ever willingly eaten was a couple nibbles of carrot.  He will eat pizza, but not too saucy.  He will eat pancakes…plain.  He has tried almost every fruit under the sun but always says he doesn’t like it.  He likes bananas, but not the pointy ends or the brown spots.  He can’t eat anything with a grainy texture without vomiting and he will not eat strawberry ice cream if it’s the kind with the chunks of strawberry in it.  Over the years I have had to adapt quite a bit in order to accommodate a kid with a very complex eating plan.  Doctors say that you should just wait kids out and eventually they will eat.  This may be true for some kids but it has never worked with mine.  That little bugger will go days without eating until finally I crack, desperate for him to have something in his belly.  These are some of the snacks that even my son, surely the pickiest kid of all, will eat...

  • Smiley face pizza!  English muffins, cheese and sauce…simple as that.  You can sneak some pureed vegetables into the sauce if you want.  If your kid will eat vegetables without a fight then use them to make the face—carrots for the eyes, pepper for the mouth.  You can make the face or let the kids make their own.
     
  • Ants on a log!  This is my variation of the traditional raisins on celery since my son won’t eat celery.  I use pretzels instead, but you could also use bananas or anything else your mind dreams.  Dip pretzels into peanut butter and then cover in…just about anything, raisins, sprinkles, granola, crushed cereal, whatever you like.  It’s a reasonably healthy snack that your kids can help make and won’t put up a fuss about eating.
     
  • Frozen Chocolate-Covered Bananas – Kids will love snacking on them and so will you.  These will need two hours to set so plan in advance!  Use a melting pot to melt chocolate (dark chocolate if you want to pump them full of antioxidants—those are good, right?)  Cut bananas in half and put each half on a popsicle stick.  Kids can dip their banana stick into the chocolate and then roll them into the topping of their choosing.  We use coconut.  Lay them on wax paper and freeze for two hours…or as long as you hold out. 

 

Snacks are a vital part of our children’s diets.  Kids are always on the go so they need lots of healthy snacks to keep their energy up.  Make snacks fun by getting creative and letting the kids help out in the kitchen.  As usual, I always encourage costumes so if you happen to have an apron and chef hat handy, now would be the time to break those things out.  Happy cooking!