Gracie and I get home from work and day care every day around 4. As soon as we walk in the door (and sometimes in the car on the way home), she asks for a snack. Knowing that it will be at least an hour until we eat dinner, I give her something to nibble one. 
In the past, Grace has enjoyed snacking on goldfish crackers or animal crackers. There's nothing inherently wrong with either of those snacks, but I feel a little irresponsible feeding her a snack that is essentially, a handful of cookies. I don't like that she's developing a taste for salted and sweet foods.
I set out in my favorite grocery store to find some foods that were more nutritious but just as convenient.
Here's what I came up with:
Fruit snacks
Gracie loves fruit, and she'll eat almost any of it. Not long ago, she discovered pomegranates. That was wonderful for her; the berries inside are perfectly sized for a toddler bite. It was also wonderful for me; I peel once and she gets snacks for four or five days.
- Apple slices
- Grapes cut in half
- Orange or mandarin orange sections
- Chunks of watermelon or cantaloupe
- Pomegranate
Cheese snacks
Grace loves cheese. I have been buying it in a brick shape, and I cut off a slice or two for her to snack on. Perfect. I've also seen some individually wrapped cheese slices at Sam's Club that are real cheese, like colby jack.
Veggie snacks
These don't always go over well at my house, but they're worth a try. I've tried carrot sticks, pepper sticks, green beans, and peas - both raw and cooked. They all make great toddler foods, though they require a little prep work ahead of time.
Bread snacks
I make whole grain bread in my bread maker at home. A few cubes of bread with a sauce for dipping makes my daughter a fun (though messy) snack. Her favorite dipping sauces so far have been marinara sauce, apple butter, and ranch dressing.
Not a very long list, is it? What are your thoughts? Share your ideas for after school snacks in the comments.
Grace's Kitchen Friends
Please join in Grace's Kitchen Friends! To play along, all you have to do is fill out Mr. Linky below. (If Mr. Linky isn't there, leave your link in the comments.) You can link up any post that talks about kids and food:
- feeding kids
- cooking with kids
- pretending about food
- food crafts
- and probably a lot of other kids and food things I can't think of now.
I'm easy like that, Dear Reader. The only thing I ask is that you link back here to Grace's Kitchen Friends in your post. I can't wait to see what your kids are doing!
RobynsOnlineWorld says
While my son is a teen now, I think this is a fabulous idea. I wish I would have had you around back when T was little! Can't wait to continue reading about Grace's Kitchen Friends!
RobynsOnlineWorld says
While my son is a teen now, I think this is a fabulous idea. I wish I would have had you around back when T was little! Can't wait to continue reading about Grace's Kitchen Friends!
Tara @ Feels like home says
Robyn - I'd love for you to join up in my little carnival! He's a kid (sort of, don't tell him I said that!), and he's in the kitchen. 🙂 He can be Grace's friend for sure.
Tara @ Feels like home says
Robyn - I'd love for you to join up in my little carnival! He's a kid (sort of, don't tell him I said that!), and he's in the kitchen. 🙂 He can be Grace's friend for sure.
Heartfelt Words says
I also love the ease of opening a can of black beans, or kidney beans (or whatever kind you like)and rinsing them and serving them. My daughter always loves them!
Heartfelt Words says
I also love the ease of opening a can of black beans, or kidney beans (or whatever kind you like)and rinsing them and serving them. My daughter always loves them!
Betty says
These are all great healthy snacks. Good Jog Gracie!
Betty says
These are all great healthy snacks. Good Jog Gracie!
Anonymous says
Just wanted to point out that carrots are not safe for your daughter yet. You can feed them cooked, but raw is a choking hazard. I have three children and was unaware of this with the first - until she did choke on a carrot. Here is a link:
http://tinyurl.com/7s5pep
It is annoying, because carrots seem like such a great snack. We ended up cooking the baby carrots in the microwave and our kids seemed to like them just as much.
Heather Ann
Anonymous says
Just wanted to point out that carrots are not safe for your daughter yet. You can feed them cooked, but raw is a choking hazard. I have three children and was unaware of this with the first - until she did choke on a carrot. Here is a link:http://tinyurl.com/7s5pepIt is annoying, because carrots seem like such a great snack. We ended up cooking the baby carrots in the microwave and our kids seemed to like them just as much.Heather Ann
ridingwithnohands.com says
All great ideas!
My toddler's been eating a lot of Clementines lately. I love them because they are so easy to peel, break up into tiny, bite-size pieces, and NO seeds!
She also really loves dried fruit... raisins, bananas, apples, apricots, craisins, etc. I also always try to have a few packs of fruit leather around.
ridingwithnohands.com says
All great ideas! My toddler's been eating a lot of Clementines lately. I love them because they are so easy to peel, break up into tiny, bite-size pieces, and NO seeds!She also really loves dried fruit... raisins, bananas, apples, apricots, craisins, etc. I also always try to have a few packs of fruit leather around.
Tara @ Feels like home says
Dried fruits are a great idea! I got a dehydrator for Christmas, so we've been wanting to try a lot of dried foods.
Tara @ Feels like home says
Dried fruits are a great idea! I got a dehydrator for Christmas, so we've been wanting to try a lot of dried foods.