Healthy snacks

Your little boy def needs more breakfast
Depending on the type of bread you are using he may not really be getting much in the way of energy from that either.

DS (2.5) has 250 ml of milk, a piece of toast (often two) usually with peanut butter, and a bowl of cheerios (wht yoghurt or dry, just depends on the day). WHen I have my breakfast (not long after) he will quite happily munch through half of whatever I'm having. RFecently I have switched from toast to muesli for myself and have noticed a massive difference in my hunger levels. Porridge with yoghurt and fruit (ds loves peaches) to sweeten could be an option.

For snacks, gowith vairety and plenty of choice:
Grapes
Mandarins
Cut up apple (or whole, my ds will chow a whole apple now)
Orange segments
Cheese and pineapple on a toothpick
Luncheon sausage cut into strips and rolled on a toothpick
Rice crackers and hummus (referred to as "dip" in our house)
Pieces of non-processed cheese
Raisins or sultanas
Dried fruit
Potato sticks (come in a multi pack)
Homemade mini muffins (sweet and savoury)
Cold pasta (like spirals)
Sushi
Avocado, Capsicum, Carrot sticks
Boiled egg
Mini pikelets (with little or no sugar added)
Plain popcorn

(Lots of mums I know put a plate of these things together to make lunch for their toddler but I can't be flagged so it's mostly just a cheese and rellish sandwich, youghurt and a piece of fruit)

It is really really hard when they beg for a treat but you can do it! I told everyone that NO-ONE was to give my child any food for a period of time as he was being fed by so many people and they were all giving him junk (thinking how kind they were being to him). I had a right tanty about it one day and they all got the message. It's tough work sometimes but you've just got to decide to do it and stick with it.

A treat in our house is a "special lolly" which is one dark chocolate button. (And it has to be earnt)

Not fun when you feel like a meany but your child is very unlikely to starve themselves completely (highly unlikely). Just keep offering lots of things. And make a huge deal about eating it yourself if he won't and keep saying YUM and mmmmmmmm lots (monkey see, monkey do) - he just get jealous of you eating his food.

kebakat wrote: Yeah bigger breakfast too. Daniel has a large bowl of cereal and a big banana chopped up into it and he cleans that up

Sorry wasn't very clear on that. He won't eat cereal thats why he only has toast. I've tried weetbix, cornflakes, rice bubbles, muslie porridge. All with/without milk, yogurt fruit. I thinks its a texture thing.

BessieBear wrote: kebakat wrote: Yeah bigger breakfast too. Daniel has a large bowl of cereal and a big banana chopped up into it and he cleans that up Sorry wasn't very clear on that. He won't eat cereal thats why he only has toast. I've tried weetbix, cornflakes, rice bubbles, muslie porridge. All with/without milk, yogurt fruit. I thinks its a texture thing.

give him more toast then... or an egg or fruit. Or the smoothie for breakfast.

Oh and does he eat breakfast with you? Maybe he will eat what you are having ?

Edited by Bizzy

It is veery easy to say give more breakfast but what if he doesn't want it? Sophie eats pretty well and CAN pack the food away when she wants but many mornings she will eat a small bowl of cornflakes or one slice of toast. The other day she only ate 1/4 a piece of toast.

But on the other advice keep the other stuff hidden away a bit and keep giving the other options. Good luck.

Buzzy - that sounds like Sophie, she is usually starving when we get joke from the kindy run at 9am. I will be telling her what the plan is and that I will be doing x,y & z and she will be saying "and I have some cheese and crackers"

Arianne has a big bowl of coco pops! Thats the breakfast of choice at the moment. Then she has a bottle of milk. Yeap still on milk.

Arianne also doesnt like crusts and eats as far away from them as possible.

Today I found all her sandwiches on the floor and the interior on her face

They keep you on your toes.

I have a ferm no junk food policy. I get so angry when she gets lollies because she constantly asks for it and it becomes a mission. I just don't give in. If its not there they wont want it.

yeah, those high sugar cereals are amazing. i was giving taine nutrigrain as they are 25% RDI iron and he has very low iron stores (and doesn't absorb iron well), and then someone pointed out that it actually had the same iron level as cocoa pops - which are over 30% sugar. after chekcing, i found weetbix are also 25% RDI iron. so after that, out the window went the cocoa pops - although I do occassionally buy some now for dessert.

the healthy food guide mag does some great articles about snacks for kids


we personally try to maintain a no junk food policy here too - mainly cause they get enough of that at my grandmother's house - but I think it can be easy to get oTT about it.

Some children just won't eat a bigger breakfast - my daughter is one of them.

If I was in your shoes, I would do a number of things.

1) Don't buy any junk for a month. Trust me, the first 3 days will be challenging but be strong.

2) Buy fruit. Lots of it! Apples, banana, strawberries, pineapple, watermelon, oranges, make sure you buy fruit he hasn't tried.

3) When he asks for something to eat, feed him - make a plate with 3 different colours on it (eg yellow cheese, green kiwifruit, red apples) and go all out in how you present it. Make faces on the plate, serve little pieces on toothpicks (cut the ends off once the fruit is on), try sticks, thin slices, whole halves, skin on, skin off. When you make him lunch, don't just make a sandwich - put a sandwich, some fruit, and a LITTLE treat (like one or two mini marshmallows).

4) Make healthy food look like junk food if that is what it takes - put thin apple slices in a bag, make homemade hawaiin burgers, even cube up fruit (as if you were making fruit salad) and serve it in a pretty bowl - all the colours can be very appealing.

He eats toast - great! Try different sorts of toast, with different toppings - fruit toast (mmm raisins), white toast with avocado on top, wheatmeal toast cut in circles spread with cream cheese and sprinkled with finely chopped dried apricots......