It is so hard to make nutritious snacks for a toddler. I get it!
As the main caregiver to my child with beaucoup food allergies, I feel like all I ever do is cook. So when snack time rolls around, it's so enticing to reach for a bag of cheese crackers, etc. and we still do that, but I am really making an effort to try and fill as many nutritional gaps as possible, and snacking is a great way to do that.
I bought these reusable pouches that I have used for so many snack purposes, and now I'm using them to batch prepare superhero smoothies twice a week. I give him one of these after he wakes up from his afternoon nap and he, as you can see, loves them. I'll include more recipes here as we try them out.
Popeye smoothie
3 Pears (fresh) Spinach (fresh), big, big handful, Green peas (frozen), about 1 cup Avocado Blend (with your toddler watching!). Ollie loves the blender. This should make 4 reusable pouches full. I lay them flat and freeze the pouches we don't eat. Put them in the fridge the night before snacking to thaw out.
Carrot, Pumpkin, Apple
This smoothie is equal parts each fruit and vegetable. I cook them all down before blending so they're more gentle on the tummy. I made the semi-mistake of blending raw carrots into this smoothie before...and let's just say we had a stinky house! Ha. I bake the pumpkin (you can also use canned) and then I cook the carrots and apple in the Instant Pot and combine them into a mushy applesauce of sorts. Then I blend everything together.
