Snacks On-the Go for Picky Toddlers

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sprout Organic Foods. All opinions are 100% mine.

It never fails.

We’re out and about running errands and the hanger hits. (That’s hunger and anger coming together to form a monster inside of your precious, adorable toddler’s body.)

I know it’s my fault for not getting out of the house sooner in the morning, for adding one too many stops to our outing, for lingering too long in the grocery store because I’m making a meal plan up in my head as we go. We should already be home by now and because we’re not, it’s getting crazy.

We’re 30 minutes past lunch time, 15 minutes away from nap time and if I don’t come up with something FAST, meltdowns will ensue (for ALL of us.)

I’ve been caught off guard one too many times and now it won’t happen ANY more. I’m not getting overpriced fast food that my kids will only pick at and won’t be nourished by anyway. No, I’m going prepared with nutritious choices. Did you know that research shows that developing a love of healthy foods early on helps foster healthy eating habits for life? That’s why I’m packing healthy snacks that even my picky little 17-month old will eat, and they’re good for him. It’ll squelch a meltdown before it hits.

Now, I’m not great at planning ahead, so I like snacks that are easy to grab on the way out the door. Thus, I give you, my picky one-year-old approved snacks on the go:

Blender Pancakes:

He lives on these. And I am 100% okay with it because these are not your average nutrion-less flapjacks.

Here’s how a I make them:
-1 cup cottage cheese
-1 cup oats (not quick and not cooked)
-4 eggs
-1 banana
-1 teaspoon of vanilla
-a few spoonfuls of ground flaxseed or chia seeds if I have them on hand.
All in the blender–pour like regular pancakes on the griddle and WAH-LAH. Serve them for breakfast, make extra to have on hand as an on-the-go snack for the week. Bonus points if you haven’t let your baby in on the magic of syrup just yet, hold that stickiness at bay for as long as you can and enjoy this nice clean snack!

Steamed Baby Carrots

We usually have rice with at least one meal per week so I’ll steam half a bag of baby carrots on my rice cooker along with the rice. My little guy loves the sweetness of carrots and steaming them so that he can eat them with his six little teeth on the go is great. Another clean snack!

Bananas, of course!

Never underestimate the power of the simple banana. I feel like they can always fill in the hunger cracks, ya know? Here’s a fun way to add some protein: spread your favorite nut butter all over it and roll it in your favorite cereal. Is this messy? Yes. Can you make in 60 seconds and have it ready to fight the hanger later on? Yes.

Crackers

Keep a box of these in your car. Whole grain with peanut butter, goldfish, whatever your family likes. They’re good in a pinch. These are good for every one in our family (including myself because let’s be real, I get hangry too) when we’re out and we’re getting close to meal time, but we’re trying to hold out until we get home.

Cheese sticks

I buy these in bulk and freeze them. Grab a frozen cheese stick in the morning, and it’ll be thawed by late morning/early afternoon for a snack!

Dried fruits

My kids looove fruit, but when I can’t have the fresh stuff on hand, they’ll eat it dried and freeze dried too! Dried mangoes are a big hit at our house. Freeze dried strawberries are also a home run.

Sprout Organic Pouches

These pouches are an absolute lifesaver. I can keep Sprout Organic Foods in my diaper bag so they’re always ready for a quick and nutritious boost for my babe while we’re out and about. I love the handy pouches with the twist on caps. And I love that Sprout offers delicious blends of whole fruits, vegetables, and grains giving babies greater exposure to wholesome foods. When I don’t have time to pre-make healthy snack options before we go out, I appreciate that Sprout only uses ingredients that I would find in my own kitchen!

Sprout encourages parents to flip their pouches over and look at the ingredients in their pouches. I did just that and found on every pouch that all of the flavors listed on the front were always the first listed ingredients on the back. That is not the case with every brand and it’s so important for us to realize that! You’ll never find ingredients like palmitate, tocopherols, zinc sulfate, DL alpha tocopherol acetate, or ascorbic acid in Sprout Organic foods, and yet, many of their competitors do use those unnatural ingredients. No thanks, this is my BABY we’re talking about.

Read more about Sprout’s Mission & Values here.

If you’d like to stock up and have Sprout Pouches and snacks on hand so you can beat the hanger on the go, find a Target near you that carries it. And of course, because you’re all awesome, I have Sprout Coupons just for you to give it a try! It’s okay if you hug them at the store. ;)