I'm looking for healthy, yummy, portable snacks for a toddler.

March 4, 2013 9:31 AM

My two year old likes to snack and enjoys trying new foods. What are some healthy, nutritious snacks that I can keep in my bag for when she needs something to eat? I'm looking for stuff that I can make myself or buy off the shelf. Ideally, I would like things that don't cost too much money, but I'm willing to try anything.

I typically keep a box filled with five or six snacks in my backpack so that I am always prepared. She'll usually eat two or three snacks during an outing, so we rotate frequently. However, we are not on the go every single day, so I need things that can survive in a box for a few days without refrigeration.

She likes to try new things but does not like snacks that are messy or stick to her hands.

In the box right now:
- Almonds
- Clementines
- Freeze-dried apples
- Crackers of several varieties
- Tomato chips from the dehydrator
- Roasted Seaweed

I'm going to walk across the street and buy dried anchovies during lunch time (as suggested by an article I googled), so don't hold back if you have a less than usual suggestion. In fact, I'm really hoping that AskMeFi will yield lots of tasty suggestions that I never would have imagined.

Obviously, "healthy" is a subjective word. I'm of the "eat lots of different kinds of things and everything will work itself out" school of eating, so every suggestion does not have to be a perfect example of low-salt, low-fat, low-sugar, low-carb, low-whatever snacking.

posted by Alison to food & drink (24 answers total)

Holy cow can I have your kid? Or can they teach mine how to try new foods?

How about hummus? Ours love the Wild Garden hummus singles with some pretzel chips. And the container just tears at the corner so she can squirt the hummus directly into her mouth if she chooses.
posted by tigerjade at 9:39 AM on March 4 [1 favorite]

What about other forms of dried fruit? Apricots, dates, figs, cranberries, raisins, etc.?

Healthy-ish cereal that comes in bigger, chunkier pieces (Cheerios, Quaker Oatmeal Squares, frosted mini-wheats, etc., as opposed to Rice Krispies/anything flaky) might also work.

Also: pretzels (regular or peanut-butter filled), granola bars, an oatmeal-raisin cookie (not super healthy, but not terrible, and you can make a batch at home to fit any specific dietary/health needs), or popped popcorn.

Aaaaand now I'm hungry.
posted by rebekah at 9:45 AM on March 4

Halva
Home made trail mix/granola
Cheese sticks (no, they can't survive in a box for days without refridgeration, but they last a long time in the fridge, and they are fine going a day without refridgeration)
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 9:49 AM on March 4

hard-boiled eggs
olives
sunflower seeds
pumpkin seeds
a banana
dried fruit strips
cucumber slices
carrot
posted by xo at 9:50 AM on March 4

When my son was about that age, we had an airtight container of homemade trail mix that we'd continually add new ingredients to. Before going out we'd put a scoop of the trail mix in a baggie or travel container. It was mostly a variety of nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and different types of cereal, but we'd occasionally add in dried veggies or other small things. I would buy small amounts of different items from the bulk aisle -- hmm, let's see if he likes pumpkin seeds -- and would mix them into the main container. He was exposed to a lot of different types of food this way, and eventually he made his preferences known -- if, at the end of the day, his baggie was empty except for the dried apricots, I'd know they weren't a hit. But he was generally into trying all sorts of things, and today (at almost eight) will eat almost everything.
posted by lisa g at 9:52 AM on March 4 [2 favorites]

(And for our trail mix, I didn't start introducing small, solid, potential choking-hazard items like nuts and dried banana slices until I felt *very* confident our son would chew them up well. We were also lucky that he didn't have any allergies. So everyone's trail mix will vary!)
posted by lisa g at 10:03 AM on March 4

Many kids really like kale chips. In addition to being easy to make and carry, they are crisp and delicious, so even if your daughter doesn't like them, well, that's just more for you! They're not sticky, but I don't know if she'll find them messy, as they do have a tendency to shatter and can be crumbly. However, that'll be mitigated if you cut/tear them into bite-sized pieces before baking. (They do shrink, so not too small.)

Smitten Kitchen has a good how-to. I recommend you start with a low oven temp if you suspect your oven heats high, or else it's too easy to end up with kale charcoal instead.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 10:06 AM on March 4 [1 favorite]

My kids love seaweed. Sometimes they eat sheets of Nori, but that's not too portable. We live on these rice cakes, sometimes with peanut/almond/sunflower seed butter.
posted by rouftop at 10:09 AM on March 4 [1 favorite]

Japanese rice crackers. They usually have a little variety of shapes and tastes in the mix, which might appeal to your daughter. These days I can usually get them in my basic supermarket in the Asian foods section.
posted by dlugoczaj at 10:32 AM on March 4

My Mom always liked to give me Cheerios since they would entertain me for quite a while before I ate them. :)

I'm always impressed that my friends' kids like olives...your daughter sounds adventuresome, so maybe give it a shot?! I wouldn't leave them out of the fridge indefinitely, but I think they'd be fine for a day or two.
posted by rainbowbrite at 10:32 AM on March 4

Freeze dried sweet corn is awesome. It's crunchy, it's sweet without being sugary, it's healthy, it's not really like anything else, it cleans up easily, and it's very very tasty.

These are very different from corn nuts in just about every possible way except for that they're both corn.
posted by phunniemee at 10:52 AM on March 4 [2 favorites]

Honestly I'd stay away from nuts until they're four (also popcorn). Too much of a choking hazard.

These applesauce carrot crushers (also available in apple and apple/strawberry) from Trader Joe's are shelf stable.

There are also reusable ones for sale (1, 2, 3, 4,5) that you can fit frozen purees into fill and fre-freeze, or freeze as small flat ice cubes.
posted by bq at 10:57 AM on March 4

Also, I re-purposed a formula dispenser as a way to keep single servings of small snacks separated from each other.
posted by bq at 10:58 AM on March 4

The Japanese Rice Crackers mentioned above tend to be spicy, check them out before committing to a bulk bag.

Try black olives, or organic popcorn w/nutritional yeast or other savory toppings, or just butter and decent salt. Pack in an airtight bag for transpo.
posted by lakersfan1222 at 11:21 AM on March 4

We are huge fans of eating this puffed corn cereal in a bag as a snack (their puffed kamut is also awesome, but smaller enough that it can get messy).

My son also loves chick peas with salt and pepper.
posted by Mchelly at 12:23 PM on March 4

Edamame is great (we call it "popper beans")
posted by slightlybewildered at 12:33 PM on March 4

If she likes the dehydrated tomato slices, you could also try dehydrated bell pepper slices--I know quite a few kids who've gone wild for those.

My daughter was really fond of roasted chickpeas at that age--we didn't roast them until they were super crunchy, just until they were crisp. They can be seasoned a bunch of ways, too, which keeps it interesting. We never refrigerated ours, though they never lasted for more than a day or two.

What about tiny pepperoni (or veg) rolls? I've made finger-sized pepperoni rolls (bread dough, shredded mozzarella, pepperoni) and spinach rolls (bread dough, shredded mozzarella, spinach) for snacks before. You can buy bread dough, cut it into rectangles, and then put cheese + pepperoni or veggies on it and roll it up. It's not something that I refrigerate, though if it's going to be hanging around for more than a couple days, I'll toss most of them in a ziplock and freeze them. Just leave them on the counter for a few hours and they're thawed. (For small ones. For large ones, it's...longer.)

Onigiri might be an option, as well--I've made them in bulk and then frozen them. They're frequently sent in lunches, so I don't imagine that having them in your bag as you do whatever would be problematic. They might be too messy/sticky for your daughter, though.

Um, possibly this response indicates a rather more cavalier attitude towards food safety than you're comfortable with, but I've done all this stuff regularly, so...
posted by MeghanC at 12:33 PM on March 4

Peanut Butter Playdough - mix natural peanut butter (without added oils) with dried milk powder and a bit of honey until it is like play dough. Roll into balls or leave in a big piece and break off pieces to eat. Yummy. Some people wait until later for nuts, some don't. There's always sunflower seed butter or soy butter if you're looking for alternatives to nut butters.

Beans - not good for keeping in your bag for a few days - canned or cooked beans like pinto beans, black beans, good for picking up. If you drain and rinse they shouldn't be too messy though slightly moist to the hands.
posted by RoadScholar at 1:23 PM on March 4 [1 favorite]

Our kid likes: sesame crackers, bananas, peanut butter pretzels, dry cereal, cashews, Larabars, nori, almonds, raisins, any other dried fruit, freeze-dried fruit & veg (Trader Joe's is where we get that), cheddar bunnies, thinly-sliced carrots...

Thanks for this, though!
posted by linettasky at 2:08 PM on March 4

I have a 2 year old snacker too! I keep a bag of dried cranberries in my bag at all times. On regular bag rotation are: trail mix (we make our own with cashews, peanuts, dried fruit, almonds, and chocolate chips), olives, pickles, mini marshmallows as a little sweet treat, apples, pears, some sort of whole wheat cracker, the squeeze pouches with yogurt and/fruit purée, fruit leather and pretzels. Quick things to grab on the way out that keep well for the day: frozen berries, cheese cubes/sticks, hard boiled eggs. I also have no shame in saying I also keep a dumdum stashed for emergencies.
posted by chiababe at 5:17 PM on March 4

Oh an we buy 95% of those things at Aldi. Super cheap, so if he decides he hates something for no discernible reason, as small people are wont to do, I don't feel too terrible about it.
posted by chiababe at 5:27 PM on March 4

Fresh vegatables (carrots, cucumber, purple cabbage)

Corn Thins (from Real Foods of Austrlia) are, in my opinion, tastier than rice crackers. (Popcorn is considered to be a choking hazard for young children, but my impression is that since these are packed down, they don't have the same risk as popcorn). Organic version is available.

Ella's Kitchen makes some good quality organic products. I don't favor the ones that are very sweet. My daughter loves this one which contains broccoli, peas, and pears, is organic, and has 7g of sugar (not great but not terrible).

Cheerios (regular or multi-grain) are very low sugar. Supposedly the regular ones are also made of whole grains.

Happy Puffs.

Fiddlesticks.
posted by Dansaman at 10:32 AM on March 5

Beef jerky
posted by knile at 1:19 PM on March 5

Sounds like you need to go to a Trader Joes.

On a recent trip I saw freeze dried raspberries, freeze dried grapes, dried coconut strips, dried green papaya, along with more normal dried fruits like prunes, berries, dates, apples, apricots. Also some dehydrated veggie chips (?). Chips might not be the right word—whole green beans, slices of kabocha or banana slices that are dry and shelf stable.
posted by fontophilic at 5:31 PM on March 6