Toddler friendly non-lacto vegetarian snacks?!
Toddler friendly non-lacto vegetarian snacks?
Lately my 1 year old has been wanting to snack more than eat meals, and my 3 year old finally has more of an appetite, so she also wants to snack more. For the time being I've been using processed (with little sweetener) like crackers, and raisins and fruits, but my oldest is getting bored. Anyone have some sites or ideas to help my little ones get less processed, more nutricious (maybe a little extra protien) snacks?
I'm not worried about actual meals as my oldest eats those well enough.
Answers:
Try making green smoothies for them. If they don't have dairy, you should get them used to having these things. Leafy greens are crucial because they are high in complete protein and calcium. Blending them destroys the cell walls and make these nutrients available to us. Use 1/2 sweet fruit, 1/2 leafy greens, and water. Add dates, honey, lemon, etc. The smoothies are really pretty good and young palates seem to enjoy them.
Source(s):
rawfamily.com The Boutenkos have been vegan for over ten years and have recently added these drinks to their diet to counteract some ill health effects from apparent lack of certain nutrients found in greens. Even the teens like em.
The 3 year old may be old enough to try some nuts. Raw, roasted, honeyed, etc. And trail mix, which is quite tasty. Also peanut butter and jam on crackers is also excellent. Or, apples slices dipped in peanut butter.
Edamame is quite tasty too and has protein. If they think it's too plain put a little italian dressing on it.
Try LaraBars. They are gluten-free, raw, vegetarian, non-lacto bars that are delicious. I ate one this am and the total ingredients list was cashews and dates. Period. My 1 year old loves them, too.
My girls are enjoying apple cereal bars from whole foods, a little sweet for my taste but right now they both have colds and it is hard to get anything in them. Also lightly steamed baby carrots, hummus with bread or veggies to dip, kiwi (they love the bright green), I found these great cookies http://www.snikiddy.com/ and they also have pizza puffs and other good snacks.