Healthy Snacks for Picky Kids
Moms, do you struggle to come up with healthy snacks for your picky eaters? Healthy snacks for picky kids that are ready made are hard to come by. Even if you were to look for a packaged snack in the health food section of the grocery store, you’ll still likely find that it’s full of sugar and toxic oils. You don’t have to rely on sugary snacks and junk food to feed your child - if it’s not something you would eat, don’t give it to your child either! Nourishing them with nutrient dense foods will help to prevent chronic and acute illness.
Here, I’ll list healthy snacks that can be quickly made, some that take a little longer, and a few healthy packaged snacks from the grocery store that are quick and easy and sure to satisfy that picky eater. Mom can even join in for the snack knowing that it is nourishing both!
Some Ingredients to Avoid
Refined sugar - there are so many names for sugar or a sugar type substance. High fructose corn syrup is one name for sugar. A quick google search can help you learn the terms. Refined sugar is inflammatory and causes blood sugar spikes.
Seed oils - canola oil, cottonseed oil, grapeseed oil, soy/ soybean oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, corn oil, rapeseed oil, and rice bran oil. These are inflammatory oils (1).
Dyes - Red No. 40 (Allura Red), Yellow No. 5 (Tartrazine), and Yellow No. 6 (Sunset Yellow) are common but there are more. These may be linked to behavioral problems. Many food dyes are derived from Petroleum.
Artificial sweeteners - aspartame, sucralose, saccharin and more should be avoided. Artificial sweeteners are linked to obesity, metabolic syndrome, poor gut health, and intense cravings for more sweets (2).
Artificial flavours - These are a concoction of different chemicals to achieve a unnatural flavours. There are so many substances that could be in here, it’s hard to know what substances this term actually mean. “In some cases, adulteration of food and additives causes potential health risks, such as learning disabilities, hyperkinesis, kidney damage, tumors, skin rashes, migraine, asthma, sleep disturbance, and gastric upset (3).”
Quick and Healthy Snacks
If snacks are going to contain something sweet, like fruit (which they often do), I like to pair snacks with a protein to slow the absorption of sugar to allow for stabilized blood sugar. This is the same for any dense carbohydrate food. Some quick snack ideas I have are:
Dried fruit and Cheese (raisins, dates, apricots + cheddar or gouda)
Fresh fruit with cheese/ dried nuts/ nut butters
Cooked frozen strawberries (or any berry) with 24 hr yogurt or sour cream
Fruit smoothie with raw milk/ yogurt/ sour cream/ kefir / raw egg yolks
Yogurt with a spoonful of raw honey mixed in (cinnamon and vanilla too!)
Bananas (sliced) cooked in lots of butter with cinnamon and sea salt
veggies with homemade ranch sauce
Homemade sorbet (Blend frozen fruit) topped with sour cream or crispy nuts
Apple slices with peanut butter + pumpkin seeds
strawberries with sour cream/ honey mix
Snacks to make in bulk
When I go through the steps of actually making a snacks that takes time, I like to make bigger batches and refrigerate or freeze enough to last at least a few days in order to add variety and keep snacks “exciting” while also being nutritious.
Hard boiled eggs or deviled eggs (great for on the go!)
homemade beef jerky (easy with a dehydrator)
date balls (use soaked then dried nuts here)
freezer “cookies” - mix peanut butter (or any other nut butter) with honey (to taste), add shredded coconut, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds. Mix well. Drop spoon size dollops on parchment paper and freeze. Eat like cookies! Similar to this.
Banana “pancakes” - blend at ratio of 1 banana to 1 egg. Cook small pancakes in lots of butter or coconut oil on medium heat (small ones are much easier to flip). Eat with lots of butter on top + cooked berries.
Homemade popsicles (made with blended fruit) - strawberries and fresh lemon juice is a great combo!
homemade sorbet (blended frozen fruit, optional honey)
Pemmican - I have yet to make this but it’s on my to do list!
homemade trail mix with dried fruit and soaked/ dried nuts and seeds
Packaged snacks on-the-go
There are times when I need to buy ready made snacks. Most snacks have unnecessary ingredients but here are a few of my go-to’s to grab when we are rushing out the door.
Apple chips (Like these ones from Costco)
Organic applesauce pouches (found here)
Individual cheese slices like these with crispy nuts
Almond flour crackers like these + Kiri brand cream cheese
Jovial brand sourdough crackers with cheese
Grass fed beef/ bison sticks like these
Seaweed snacks + hard boiled eggs
Your picky child might probably won’t like ALL of these but he/she might surprise you when you start adding some healthy snacks in and removing junk food. Give it time. Taste buds change over time (yours too!). Small steps lead to lasting change that the whole family will benefit from. Enjoy these healthy snacks for picky kids (and moms too!).
Let me know what you try or what I’ve missed!