An Uncomplicated Life Blog: Helping Your Toddler Eat Healthier

Monday, June 20, 2016

Helping Your Toddler Eat Healthier

Healthy AND affordable rarely go hand in hand, but Gerber® Lil Beanies™ is a nutritious and wallet-friendly option!

 

Raise your hand if your toddler is a picky eater! *raises hand* Protein is the challenge in our home. Henry REFUSES to eat meat. I can get a few bites of this recipe by his lips occasionally, but other than that, he sticks to eggs, cheese, fish and hummus. Four. Four measly protein sources! I mean, c'mon Henry... Let's broaden those horizons buddy. This kid even knows when I try to sneak stuff into his meals! That's what I get for having a smart toddler.


I've read the posts from other mom bloggers who tell us to sneak veggies into smoothies. Yeah, that works 50 percent of the time for us. It's like Henry has a radar on him that alerts to protein powder or fresh spinach! Anyone else's kid or am I alone here with the only toddler on the planet with this radar ability?

Fruit and veggie pouches are great, and some of them even have protein in them. They're also super convenient. But holy crap are they expensive! For one pouch they usually run between $1.50-$2.00. My child can eat up to three of them at a time, so that's one expensive snack! Also... Henry thinks it's pretty fun to squeeze all the contents out and smear them around. Then acts like he's mad when he's sticky. I don't need to "act" like anything, I AM mad because he just wasted a pouch AND I have to clean him up! So while these are great, they require supervision and a large(r) paycheck.


The funniest worst is when we have play dates with other kids, and Henry decides it's time to go on a eating rampage. I kid you not, this boy spends his play dates eating ALL the food. And by ALL the food, I mean all the traditional, carb and salt heavy items. I won't name any names... But the current favorite offender is a small orange square that's "cheese flavored" and I can literally see the sodium sitting on the top of the cracker. Let's get serious, they should just call crackers crack. Because Henry acts like a crack fiend when he see's them, and when he's finished consuming them. Worse yet, when he's done with what I packed him (6 minutes later), he moves on to eating what everyone else brought. And let me tell you, non of it is healthy! AHHHHHHHHH.

I know what I feel like after I've downed a bunch of junk food, so I can only imagine what Henry's little system makes him feel like after his binge eating play date snack fest. Poor little dude!


In my desperation to find a snack that isn't just a salty carbohydrate and also save face with all the moms at said play dates, I was thrilled to find out that Gerber® Lil Beanies™ contains 2 grams of protein per serving. It's healthy AND affordable, perfect for toddler fingers and snacking on the go! They're about $2 for a whole container, so I can bring them on play dates and not cringe when a kid takes off to consume them like I do those food pouches.


Helping your toddler eat healthy isn't an easy task. It requires consistency, thought and usually a tad more money. But not with these great snacks! Load up on them the next time you do your Target run (available in the baby food aisle) and rest assured that you're helping your toddler eat healthier.

6 comments:

  1. Sweet Henry.

    I'm not even going to lie, those lil beanies look kind of like cheetos... and healthy cheetos? Can I have some? Ha.

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  2. I mean anyway they can cram some hidden protein into kids foods like this is genius. Not going to lie Henry sounds like me when I had play dates. My mother never kept fun food at our house so the minute I had a play date somewhere else I was like first things first.....what do you have for snacks? ;)

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  3. I second Amanda's comment! My mom never kept fun food in our house either. She didn't really keep any snacks at all. A is going through a no protein phase as well but she likes protein smoothies so we make those each day. It's tough!

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  4. B is a total carnivore and fruitarian--no veggies for her except kale in white bean soup. Like what??? No carrots, cauliflower, squash, or salad. And no green smoothies, so we are always looking for ways to get extra protein and veggies into the kids, so I will have to check these out! I love the fact that Henry is a vegetarian--such a little yogi!

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  5. Cute baby, Henry.
    - My son does not like to eat canned

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