Whether my son and I are going on an outing to the zoo or a walk in the park it is always important to pack a snack. With months of going out and about with a toddler I noticed there were not any snack mixes out there geared towards young children.To help fix this dilemma I started to make my own snack mixes and they were a total hit. Now we bring some with us to ensure there are no meltdowns from lack of food or interesting snacks in the diaper bag.
Below I have listed a bunch of different possible ingredients to use in the snack mixes. You can use any of them as long as your child has no known allergies and is over the age of one. If they do not like something then cross it off the list and do not add it. The nice thing about having lists is that you can make snack mixes out of items you most likely already have.
The rule is to make sure you use three or more of the items to make each mix to give the child variety. This way there are multiple snack items to choose from and if they are not in the mood for one it does not matter. They still have two or more other goodies to snack on when you have a mix. This is nice for you and the toddler so you do not have to listen to a frustrated child and they have a yummy snack mix.
Here are the different snack mix ingredients to choose from:
Dried Fruit
• Raisins
• Dried Cranberries
• Dried Banana Chips
• Diced Dried Pineapple
• Dried Apple Pieces
• Dried Apple Chips
• Dried Apricots (cut in fours)
• Diced Dried Pears
• Prunes (cut in small pieces)
Dried Nuts & Seeds
• Peanuts
• Pistachios (not in shell)
• Almonds
• Macadamias
• Sunflower Seeds (not in shell)
Other Dry Snack Items
• Mini Pretzels
• Fishy Cheese Crackers
• Small Square Cheese Crackers
• Bagel Chip Pieces
• Pita Chips
• Vegetable Puffs
• Cheddar Puffs
• Husk Free Popcorn
• Rice Cereal Squares
• Corn Cereal Squares
• Cocoa Puffed Cereal
Based on the food items listed above and similar items in your food pantry you can make infinite snack mixes to take out. I use those snack cups with the soft top that the child can get their hand through but it does not let the snacks fall out everywhere. They are sold in most stores in the kids and babies section and are great for snack mixes
Always remember that with a few simple ingredients you can make a delicious snack for your toddler to enjoy on the go. Have fun making different snack mixes and experimenting with new snack foods along the way.
