Hi and happy Feel-Good Monday!
This is where we share our favorite tips, tricks, secrets, and ways to "think like a healthy person" so that you can find your own delicious path to healthy living.
"Feel-Good Mondays" are meant to help us get back into that place of feeling energized, nourished, and ready to take inspired action for the week ahead.
Toddlers: Adorable! Energetic! Wild range of emotions! Notoriously picky eaters!
As the mom of an almost-three-year-old, my play-date conversations with other parents often turn to the question: “So, what are you feeding your kid these days? What foods are they into right now?”
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| Rye sipping on some oat milk. |
Toddlers are infamous for being ALL into a food one day, only to look upon it with disgust (and throw it to the floor) the next. So, I like to have a rotating list of meal and snack ideas when our typical go-to foods no longer work on any given day.
While this toddler behavior can be annoying, it's super typical and normal AND I'll even go so far as to say it's absolutely biological. As adults, we get so programmed to reach for our favorite foods simply because they're part of our routine. We rarely stop and ask what food our body needs or is craving. Cravings (or food aversions) can be a sign that our body needs a specific vitamin, mineral, or macronutrient (protein, fat, carbohydrate) that we're lacking. Kids are much more tuned into their body's own intuition because they haven't been trained to ignore it yet!
I try to remind myself of that (and approach my kid with patience) when the sautéed spinach he was obsessed with just one day earlier is greeted with absolute repulsion at the next meal…
With that in mind, here's my current go-to list snacks that my child likes most days. Like any toddler, these come and go in the rotation, depending on his current mood.
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| Our current favorite sweet treats |
Some more sweet ideas:
Larabar: Rye LOVES these (especially the Apple Pie and Peanut Butter and Jelly flavors). Choose varieties that only have dried nuts and fruits, and no added sugars.
Kind Fruit Bites: The same company that makes the beloved Kind Bars just started making these “fruit bites”. They only contain dried fruit and come pre-packaged, which make them super easy to throw into a bag.
Fruit Leather: Veggie-Go’s makes fruit leather that reminds me of the Fruit Rollups I had as a kid, except these only contain ingredients like sweet potato, spinach, and berries (no added sugar of any kind!). My husband and I are stealing these from Rye all the time.
Coconut Banana Bites: The company Barnana makes these coconut banana bites that contain – you guessed it – just organic, dried coconut and organic, dried banana. They’re (relatively) soft and mushy and great for budding toddler teeth.
Banana and Almond Butter: This one is pretty messy and best left for at-home snacking, but Rye loves it when I slice up a banana and give him a little dish of almond butter to dip it into.
Smoothies: Cool, creamy, and healthy (when you’re choosing clean ingredients), smoothies work well for those ice cream cravings on hot days (for kids and adults alike!).
SALTY SNACKS: Rye definitely inherited my salt-tooth. Most days he’d choose smoked salmon over ice cream, if given the option! (Weird kid, I know.)
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| Our current favorite salty treats |
More salty snack ideas:
Seaweed Snacks: I’m particularly fond of SeaSnax brand, which roasts its seaweed with just olive oil and sea salt.
Pickles: Opt for the “real” kind, that’s naturally cultured and refrigerated (or sold in those barrels at your local farmers market).
Cheese Sticks: This is an easy protein for on-the-go snacking. Choose organic, grass-fed brands like Organic Valley.
Spelt Pretzels: It’s hard to find a kid who doesn’t love to munch on pretzels, but most store-bought varieties contain simple, refined flours and don’t offer much in the way of nutrition. Spelt is an ancient form of wheat that tends to be more easily digested than run-of-the-mill wheat and offers up more nutrients, as well. I’m also loving gluten-free Quinn-brand pretzels.
Shelled Sea-Salted Pistachios: A new family fave. Easy to grab, fun to munch.
What is your family snacking on these days? Tell me about it on our Instagram or Facebook page!
With love,
