Guest author Christina, shares a few ideas about finger food and snacks for children.
There are so many tempting offerings at our supermarkets, all cleverly packaged and branded – some with even cute cartoon images plastered all over them. I will be the first Mum to admit I have bought such snack foods for my toddler , believing the messages on the front stating “excellent source of calcium” ,” no preservatives”, but little did I realize the true contents of these foods.
However, I am also a true believer in the “some -time foods” and like us, our wee ones do deserve a “treat” once and while!
But we still can provide some healthy snacks and even treats for our toddlers. Here are some ideas!
Fresh Fruit – you can’t go wrong with fruit! I use a apple slicer – that you hold over the apple/pear and it slices down the whole fruit and cuts it into perfect wedges!
Pears
Apples
Strawberries
Oranges
Banana
Blueberries
Kiwifruit – excellent source of Vitamin C!
Cheese – kids love cheese! My son loves eating grated cheese from a wee bowl! Or slice then use a cookie cutter to create shapes out of the cheese
Sandwich’s; Marmite and cheese; using the cookie cutter – cut shapes and designs for the sandwiches
Raisins/Sultanas- a wee bowl of these or one of cute boxes are an excellent treat. But beware; our dental nurse informed me that these are like SWEETS for our wee ones teeth!
Rice crackers – I buy the plain ones however, I do limit them, as I am aware some brands may have high salt content
Homemade cookies! Treats but I make them, so I do know what went in them
ANZAC BISCUITS:
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup shredded coconut
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup melted butter
1 Tbs Golden Syrup
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 Tbs boiling water
Preheat oven to 170 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, coconut, and rolled oats. On the stove, melt the butter and stir in the golden syrup until well combined. Dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water and add this to the butter mixture. Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well. Place one tablespoon of mixture onto greased cookie sheets. The mixture will be very sticky so try not to handle it too much. I just used a tablespoon and scooped it out and onto the sheets with a teaspoon. Bake 12-15 mins.
