Our Favorite Toddler Snacks! ("Our" = Mom + toddler)

Mal's 15.5 months old and decreasingly interested in pouch purees (unless another kid is eating them). He wants to eat what we're eating, or fruit. However, he does love his snacks, and there are a few upon which we agree heartily.

First I want to say that there are several I really wanted to love but that because they have beets as an ingredient (which is awesome, tasty, healthy... and stains like the dickens) I can't endorse because I don't let my child eat them anymore. He still likes to taste things, maybe spit them back into his hand to look at them, and then put them back into his mouth. And beets... it looks like somebody got murdered.

Also, at the end, I'll admit one snack that I buy because Mal can put away half of a package in one sitting and EVERY KID WE'RE EVER AROUND seems to agree. They're not my favorite because they're basically junk food, but as an adult, I appreciate "fun" food, too, so I'll tell you what it is.

No particular order:

1) Sprouts Crispy Chews. These are basically tiny squares of fruit leather, but because of I'm guessing the oat fiber, they also have sort of "crunchy" feeling bits in them. It's not enough to choke a kid, but enough to make it more fun than just a big chewy piece of fruit goo. They have three different flavors, including one with beet that I can't recommend! The ingredients include rice flour and the oat fiber I mentioned, but are otherwise all fruit- and veggie-derived. Except maybe for the mysterious final ingredient: natural flavors.

2) Gerber Fruit & Veggie Melts. Mal likes the yogurt drops that Gerber and Happy Baby make, too... but he LOVES this stuff. Again, the majority of the ingredients are from fruits and veggies, with less than 1.5% stabilizers, fortifications, and "flavors." They come in Very Berry and Truly Tropical.

3) Plum Teensy Fruits. These are what fruit snacks should be, if they were actually, you know, mostly fruit. There are no dyes, so no vibrant colors. There is cellulose and pectin, and besides those shape-keepers, they're just fruit. They come in apple, peach, and berry.

4) Ella's Kitchen Nibbly Fingers. If you've never bought anything from Ella's Kitchen, it's worth the purchase just to read the label, which is darling. I love the "I'm just" which tells you what the ingredients are. Looking at this, I'd say: wheat, oats, raisins (first thought: coffee beans), apple, pear, lime juice, and strawberry. Survey says: Organic whole grain oats, Organic malt extract, Organic raisins, Organic dried apples, Organic dried pears, Organic palm oil, Organic sunflower oil, Organic dried strawberries. Ha! Well, I was kind of close.

Anyway, you can see that there is no sweetener other than that the fruits bring. I like these because they're not hard, they're nice and chewy. But they are also not crumbly. I mean, your kid could probably crumble it up if he really wanted to, but if the kid is intent on eating, this is a pretty neat food (as opposed to chewing bars that promise "no mess." LIES.).

These come in three different flavors: apples and strawberries, banana and raisin, and cranberry and acai... but I've never seen that last flavor in the store.

5) Happy Baby Organic Creamies. Yes, if you want to be a jerk (like a certain male who lives in this house) and laugh at this name, have at it. but these are really good. Along the same freeze-dried lines as the Gerber Fruit & Veggie Melts, these are mostly veggie and fruit purees, but with coconut milk and probiotics.

Both the Gerber melts and these are delicious, as far as this grown-up is concerned. And they only have 25-40 calories per serving, so if you don't mind spending $5ish on a pack of snacks, you could totally carry them around to munch on when you get a craving.

So, okay, here are two other things. Two bonuses! You thought you were only getting one!

The first; This is what Mal loves.

Gerbers Li'l Crunchies. I'm convinced that these are the Chee-tos of the toddler world. They melt away but I've seen the kid smash one up in his car seat pretty good. Usually, I just let him eat one or two as I'm strapping him in (to distract him from the fact that he hates it), or wait until we're sitting somewhere. But, yeah, at the gym or at church, he can put away half a can of these. If another kid sees them? They want them, too. And the cannister is gone. We've gotten most of these, and he likes them all. I have avoided the Cinnamon Maple version, which lists sugar as one of its "seasonings." Nice try.

And, finally, this isn't a kid food, but it's perfect for my kid... and for the rest of us in the house.

Freeze-dried fruit from Costco. I've tried the cheaper Sunkist freeze-dried from Wal-Mart, but here's the deal: 1) They keep the peel on the apple, which I like but which gags my son. 2) The bigger container has a tendency to absorb moisture, even if you use the resealable close top.

When we get these, my son will typically eat the grapes (yes, peels; no, choke) and apples. The strawberries are surprisingly (to me) tart and would probably be really good on cereal, but the kiddo doesn't love them. I guess they're to balance out the super sweet pineapple.

So there you have it, folks! What are some of your favorite quick and on-the-go snacks for your littles?