Healthy alternatives for kids?

[C-u-lean]

I need help with some healthy snack alternatives for a two-year-old. She is at the stage that she always wants something to munch on. DH has gotten into the habit of giving her nutri-grain bars, dry cereal, pretzels and the occasional cookie.

She will no longer eat yogourt, she won't eat raw veggies yet, though I do heat up frozen peas for her that she loves. I bought raisins for her, then I read the sugar count :eek: She likes sunflower seeds and drinks only water or milk.

She is not LC'ing (obviously), I just want her to get in the habit of eating healthy foods, and avoid as much sugar as possible.

Thanks!

[potatofree]

Kids that age love fruit. A nice variety of berries, melon, apple with peanut butter "dip"... whole-grain crackers and cheese, even lightly cooked veggies and ranch dressing to dip them in are all finger-food ideas the toddlers I know seem to love.

[LadyBelle]

We have a fresh fruit basket I keep on the table, the kids are allwoed to grab from. The only rule is the usual no more then 2 servings of any one thing in a day. (that is for healthier foods, with treats ther eis one treat period per day).

My kids also found they really liked peanuts. You can try making ants on a log with peanut butter in celery and the raisons on top. If you can get the kid to help in making something, they are much more likely to want to eat it.

You can also have her help making healthier muffins. Put the ingredients into measuring cups and let her add it to the bowl. Then she can have muffins or mini muffins for a snack that are healthier then the store bought junk.

String cheese is also a wonderful snack my kids seem to love. For bars I got the pria protien bars. They are lower sugar then most bars and especially granola and have 0 sugar alcohols (I'm not talking about the carb select ones, just the regular ones).

You can also try diced meat. I good chicken on the weekends then keep diced meat in the fridge for salads. These can also make a fast snack to grab and go.

[rloveman]

My little cousins weren't fond of cheese at home, but then they discovered the cubes of cheese at my house (already cubed when I buy it; it was for giving pills to the dogs, actually). They LOVE stuff that's small and cute, so they like the cheese cubes, the Laughing Cow-type cheeses, anything small like that. Oh, and canned baby corn.

[Hellistile]

My kid (24 years old) like the packages of baby carrots with ranch dressing dip.

[Fireball]

My DD eats fruit, cheese, sugar free popsicles, almonds and occasionally some rolled up salami. She also likes pretzles and my lc tortillas baked with cheese. I know when she was younger we would give her cheerios...I don't know about the sugar count of Cheerios since we don't have cereal in the house but it could be an option - of course not the honey nut version. :)

[twofoofers]

Mine is 14 months now and I give her bite size pieces of cheese, bite size pieces of canadian bacon, fruit juice snacks, cheerios, nutrigrain bars, bite size pieces of hot dog. Anything soft and finger size. Canned fruit cocktail and manderine oranges are good too, just make sure they are canned in their own juice, not in syrup.

[jemman]

great suggestions here! thanks :) my 3yo loves nuts... pistachios & almonds are his fav. he likes opening the pistachios himself. he loves string cheese... & eggs... just about any kind. he likes fruit, but mostly watermelon & apples & bananas... of course the worst ones for him, right? pb&j sandwiches or pb & banana sandwiches... he'll eat any kind of bread. hehe. he could care less. he loves bread. i buy him stoneground wheat cuz i heard or read it was the best. he likes dry cereal, but at like $8 a box for my atkins cereal, i limit that... and refuse to buy junk cereal. he's not a big veggy fan at all, which sucks, but he's getting used to it. he knows if he wants pizza, he has to have salad with it, etc... so, he tolerates it. i so wish he was a veggy lover, tho. oh well, i have a 6 month old baby girl... maybe she'll be a veggy lover :) i need atleast one allie in the family... as of right now, im the only one who voluntarily eats veggies *sigh*

[Nancy LC]

Try giving him peanut butter on apple slices. Might sound a little odd, but I absolutely love it. :)

[weisser4]

My daughter was/is an odd eater. She used to love frozen peas...still frozen. Just take them out of the freezer and put them in a small dish. She also loved peanut butter on a spoon. She was a preemie at 2lbs 7oz at 27wks gestation. At 12, she is 5'4.5" and weighs 105lbs. She has a high metab. and eats about 5-6 times a day. She is only .25" shorter than I am!

[LadyBelle]

I don't know about the sugar count of Cheerios since we don't have cereal in the house but it could be an option - of course not the honey nut version

I get the kids multigrain cheerios. Not only is it lower in sugar then most cereals, but it has 100% of quite a few nutrients. While it may not be the best choice according to some hard core cereal tskers I think it's the best choice overall. Alot cheaper then "LC" cereals as well.

[Lisa N]

Alot cheaper then "LC" cereals as well.

Low Carb Special K isn't any more expensive than other regular cereals and they'll probably like the lightly sweet taste. :)
Cheese now comes in fun shapes (stars, flowers, triangles, etc..) that kids really seem to go for. String cheese is also very popular with my girls.
Be careful with nuts...they are still a choking hazard for 2 year olds.
Apple or pear slices would be good and one of my daughters liked to munch on raw green beans.
Would she eat half a yogurt tube if it were frozen?

[weisser4]

At your child's age, fruit is fine in moderation. As long is he eats a well balanced diet of veggies, meats etc, he should be okay eating bananas and watermelon.