Healthy Summer Snacks for Busy Toddlers

July 3, 2018

This week, the high is supposed to be 102 across the boarder land. Yikes! As a Mom of a very active toddler and fresh faced newborn, I dread the days of intense heat. Hot summer days means a day spent indoors with the air conditioner on full blast. With a living room littered with toys, messy beds from pillow fights and hide and seek, it is not a surprise that my snack loving son is constantly running towards the pantry for food! We play pretty hard around here, which means we have a continuously hungry toddler.

Children and toddlers grow and change at a very rapid rate. As parents, we strive to do all we can to foster the growth and development of our children the best way we can. That is why it is so important to offer our kids a variety of healthy snacks and foods that will help them develop, explore and grow. A well balanced diet with a combination of different types of foods will ensure that our children will get the right nutrients they need to help them excel as well as assisting them in learning about new flavors while developing healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime.

As a mom with two under two, it is quite a challenge to find quick healthy snack to grab. Sometimes it’s just easier to reach for the box of Goldfish crackers throw it into a bowl and call it a day. That’s I do my best to prep healthy snacks over the weekend so that we will have quick and easy snacks to grab and go all week long! Today, I’m sharing my top 5 favorite summer snacks for a growing toddler as well as photos from our 4th of July picnic! I hope you love these snacks as much as we do!

5 Healthy Summer Snacks for Toddlers

1.) Frozen Yogurt Bark

Enjoy this easy to make protein packed snack poolside!

Ingredients:

2 cups greek yogurt

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp craisins

1 tbsp raisins

5 fresh strawberries, chopped

1 tbsp dark chocolate chips

1 tsp shredded coconut

Directions:

1.Combine yogurt and honey until well mixed then add craisins and raisins and stir.

2.Line a baking tray with parchment paper and pour the yogurt mixture on top. Using a spatula spread the yogurt evenly across the baking tray.

3.Next take the chopped strawberries, chocolate chips and shredded coconut and sprinkle them on top of the yogurt. Place the baking tray in the freezer for 2-4 hours until it’s frozen.

4.Remove from the freezer and use a sharp knife to break the bark into pieces. Voila! Enjoy this afternoon delight anywhere any time! The bark can be stored in the freezer in plastic baggies.

2.) Peanut Butter & Banana Popsicle

This two ingredient snack will have your kids wishing there was more!

Ingredients

2 large bananas

3 tbsp peanut butter

Directions:

1. Blend the bananas and peanut butter together in a food processor/ blender until smooth consistency.

2. Pour banana and peanut butter mixture popsicle molds, and insert a wooden stick and place the molds into the freezer.

3. Freeze for 2-4 hours and enjoy a sweet healthy popsicle!

3.) Mini Zucchini Pizzas

Delicious healthy mini pizzas in 15 minutes or less.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch thick rounds

Salt

1/3 cup marinara sauce

1/2 cup finely grated mozzarella

1/4 cup pepperoni minis

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to broil.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Working in batches, add zucchini and cook on either side until golden approximatly 1-2 minutes on each side; season with salt.

3. Place zucchini rounds onto a large baking sheet. Top each zucchini round with marinara, mozzarella and pepperoni.

4. Place into oven and cook until the cheese has melted 1-2 minutes.

5. Serve immediately, sprinkle with Italian seasoning.

4.) Watermelon Popsicles
This simple snack is a fun way to serve kids watermelon!

Ingredients:

Watermelon

Popsicle Sticks

Directions:

1. Dice watermelon into desired sized pieces.

2. Use popsicle sticks to spear the watermelon to create pops.

3. Serve and Enjoy!

5.) Fresh Zucchini & Corn Salad