High calorie, nutritious snacks

[babydsmummy]

J is drinking less and less of his mid morning and mid afternoon bottles, so I've been offering him a snack too. However, I'm aware that I tend to give him things like baby biscuits, rice cakes, breadsticks etc which aren't overly nutritious. Obviously I don't want him to fill up on these things then not want his next meal, but he does seem to like grazing and I want to take advantage of any opportunity for him to eat something! What else can I give him that it still handy, portable, relatively mess free and most importantly something he will actually eat! He won't eat fruit or veg in that form. Obviously I keep offering fruit or veg as snack, uaully alongside the rice cakes etc, but it doesn't get eaten. He likes his dry, crunchy type foods. I've got to sticks of cheese then got stuck - any more ideas?

[babydsmummy]

Just remembered that when I was a good mummy of one, I actually looked at the recipes section and made things especially for my lo occasionally. Maybe I should try that now... Any suggestions still very gratefully received though!

[Rose99]

How about cream cheese or hummus on rice cakes and breadsticks. Also my LO likes those fruit bars (date and banana or date and apple) which have a reasonable amount of calories but aren't obviously fruit.

[shye]

With E, I swore by potato scones and added all sorts... Cream cheese, veggies, meat, etc...

[Chives]

We make cheese straws but in the shape of little men and bears, or whatever cookie cutter shapes you have.

Also sugar free banana cookies based on this recipe: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3997&p=43253&hilit=banana+cookies#p43253

Also these I made up trying to copy the Organix bars: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=27512&p=315630&hilit=organix+recipe#p315630

And my dd's like to eat ground almonds and also dessicated coconut with a spoon out of a bowl. Didn't figure out how old your lo is though so maybe too young.

[BadgersMommy]

Savory muffins, cubes of tofu, plain cooked beans, peanut butter cracker sandwiches, small seeds/nuts (sunflower, pine nuts, etc.). Olives, cubes of ham, slices of pepperoni or other cured meats (obviously these are all salt-bombs, but Badger LOOOOOOVES them all and they're okay in moderation, esp. as he gets older).

But also, don't sweat his snacks not seeming "balanced" -- I think as long as you're offering a variety, you shouldn't worry too much about what he chooses to eat. He's probably just in a carb phase, and you might find you spend a lot of time making something and he won't touch it anyway!

[thebean]

Harry was a real grazer up until about 2.5 now he some times snacks but not really bothered either way. I used to grind up brazil nuts and when I baked and used half flour half brazil nut for added protein (he didn't eat any meat until recently) but this would also up the calories in foods.

[babydsmummy]

Thank you, some great ideas there. I made some apricot flapjack things from the recipes section this afternoon. He seemed to really tuch in, but when I gathered together the leftovers at the end there was very little gone! How do they manage that?! Never mind, better than nothing. I'll try some savoury muffins next I think, he loves cheese! He already has cashew nut butter and cream cheese a lot for lunch, but they're a bit messy for on the go! I'll also try things like cheese straws and scones etc. I'd be worried about the salt if he ate more, but for now I don't think I'm too bothered! I like the idea of using ground nuts in baking, that's a great idea.

[OnlyAGinger]

been getting into the habit of making sugar-free muffins and freezing them.
I've doctored the banana muffins from the BLW cookbook - adding wheat germ, flaxseed oil, greek yogurt, thawed frozen blueberries, chia seeds, etc. also, these have been a hit as muffins: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/0 ... kin-bread/

[daydream97]

with my dd she used to eat fruit/veg sticks like carrot/brocolli etc, grapes, peas, cheese cubes and as for baking mini savory scones/muffins etc

[sabrina fair]

Have you tried drop scones? They're dead easy to make, you can easily add ground nuts in place of some of the flour, the egg and oil for frying increases their calorie load, and best of all - they're really non-messy!