Finger Foods For Toddlers

Do you have to run after your toddler at every meal time with a spoonful of grain? Are you tired of its pick-eating tendency? Well, know for sure that meal time does not necessarily have to be a struggle period every time. It all depends on what you are feeding your child with and how good are your presentation skills. Today, you have a lot of healthy finger food options available in the market, which your toddler can enjoy both during meal and snack time, without cribbing. Preparing a decent mixture of healthy and fun toddler-friendly finger food for your child can help you become a champion mom! This article has best finger food options which you can choose from, for your baby.

 

If your baby belongs to the age group of 12 to 24 months, it needs around 6 servings of grains each day. And what better than snack time to feed the little one with some grains? Low-sugar cereals, such as cheerios, serve as great option, not only because toddlers can feed themselves easily, but these cereals act as appetizers and keep your baby filled and busy while you are preparing lunch or dinner. However, make sure the cereal that you have purchased for your toddler is made up of whole grain and does not contain any form of added ingredient or preservative. Whole grain crackers, pita and wheat bread with nutritious peanut butter spread or hummus or any dipping make for fun finger snacks for toddlers.

 

Usually toddlers are picky eaters and it is seen that most moms hassle every other day to feed them with fruits and vegetables. However, ask a nutritionist and he would say that it is the presentation that matters. If your child has still not gone beyond strawberries and peaches dipped in yoghurt or ice-cream, the options are unlimited. With the help of a cookie cutter, cut thin slices of melon, apples, pears and bananas. Even peeled and sliced cucumbers serve as a great option for mild snack. This would pique the curiosity of your toddlers and make your task of feeding easy. You can try serving smaller fruits like blueberries and raspberries as a whole. Vegetables such as cooked peas, corns and green beans can be a healthy meal option. Carrots, sweet potatoes and potatoes when cooked become nice and soft and can be easily eaten by toddlers using their fingers.    

 

Another interesting finger food option you can try serving your toddler is dusty snacks. This is prepared by combining both cereals and fruits. Besides being tasty, the combination is highly nutritious. Moreover, it is quite easy to prepare. All you have to do is to take sliced up bananas, peaches, pears, avocado, cubed tofu or any other soft fruit and coat them with cheerios, graham crackers or wheat germ. Rest assured, your toddler would love you for this. 

 

Meat is another nutritious finger food option. Stuffed with protein, including meat in your toddler’s health chart is very important. Try cooking chicken or soft beef such as pot roast. Cut them into small pieces and feed your toddlers. You can also cut the meat in interesting shapes with the help of cookie cutters. This would make your little one’s eating time full of fun and frolic. Toppings are essential to add the extra bit of flavor to the meat. Cheese serves as a great topping option. You can also try serving meat along with ranch dressing or gravy. 

 

Cheese is a fun food option mostly preferred by toddlers. Go for cheese sticks, but make sure your byab does not fill in too many cheese sticks in its mouth. Few toddlers love biting into cheese cubes even during their play hours. Encourage them so that their diet is sufficiently loaded with enough protein and calcium content. This is the age of growth as well as bone strengthening. Both calcium and protein are prerequisites to keep your toddler healthy and fit and what better to squeeze them in the form of finger foods? To make things more appealing, try cutting the cheese pieces into fun shapes with the help of cookie cutters.