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Home › Articles › Toddler Nutrition › Snacks for Tiny Tummies

Snacks for Tiny Tummies

Healthy Foods for Toddlers

By Kelly Burgess

Pages:  1  2  3  4  

1/2cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey
1 smashed banana
2 tablespoons powdered milk

Mix together until smooth. Serve with graham cracker sticks.

Not-so-healthy Snacks
Years ago, parents didn't realize that transfats, artificial sweeteners, artificial colors and additives for flavor and preservation were probably not the best choices for our growing kids. Now we do. Unfortunately, these unhealthy additives are very common in many of the "traditional" toddler foods, such as graham crackers, animal crackers, toddler biscuits, flavored yogurts, colored cheeses and peanut butter, that pantry staple.

Julie Matthews, a San Francisco-based certified nutritionist, says the best tip she has for parents is to read the ingredients on the back label, not the marketing pitch on the front label. "A product may say that it's made from all natural ingredients but still contain flavor and color enhancers," she says. "These are allowed in products even though a food manufacturer's definition of natural includes things that are definitely not found in nature."

Matthews' top additives to avoid include the following:

  • Trans fats: These will be listed as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils.
  • MSG: This flavor enhancer is a common source of food sensitivities. Look for it to be listed as monosodium glutamate or hydrolyzed vegetable protein.
  • The preservatives BHA and BHT.
  • Artificial sweeteners, which are actually less healthy than regular sugar.
  • Artificial colors.

The good news? There are simple substitutions for all these things. Matthews suggests trying these instead: