Snack Ideas for Children

One of the most common requests we receive from parents here at Early Start Nutrition, is for snack ideas for children. In this blog we explore how to incorporate snacks into your little ones mealtime routine, how to plan healthy snacks and which foods to include. 


As part of a healthy meal routine, try to offer your toddler 2-3 healthy snacks across the day:

  • one mid-morning (between breakfast and lunch)
  • one mid- afternoon (between lunch and tea)
  • one in the evening (optional).

This will help your toddler to maintain their energy levels, while also providing them with important nutrients to support their growth, development and learning!

Creating Snacks Ideas


Timings of meals and snacks

It’s a good idea to offer meals and snacks at a similar time each day. 

This will support your child to establish a good meal routine, which will help them to manage their appetite.

Ideally, there should be around a 2-3 hour gap between each meal and snack. If offered too close together, for example, snack at 10:30am and lunch at 11:30am, it’s likely to reduce your child’s appetite for the food offered at the main meal.

The ideal mealtime should last around 20- 30 minutes. This is enough time for children to eat as much as they need, without feeling rushed or loosing interest. Of course, some children may take a little longer than others, so it’s important to recognise their individual needs.  

Meal and Snack Routine - Breakfast 8am: Weetabix with chopped banana and flaked almonds made with milk. Cup of water. Mid-morning snack 10am: Plain crackers with cream cheese or cheese cubes. Cup of water. Lunch 11:30am: Baked beans (reduced salt and sugar) with chopped red pepper on potatoes. Winter berry crumble with custard. Cup of water. Mid-afternoon snack 2pm: Cucumber fingers with chopped tomatoes and hummus. Cup of water. Tea 4pm: Tuna, bean and sweetcorn pasta. Fruity kebabs with natural yoghurt. Cup of water. Before bedtime snack (optional) Sliced apple with a cup of milk.


What types of snack should I offer my child?

Snack times are a great opportunity to offer your little one a range of nutritious foods. Think about planning your snacks across the week to help you include lots of variety, and ensure you’re not offering the same snacks too frequently.

Top Tip: To help keep snacks interesting, it’s good fun to occasionally theme them around celebration days, events and your child’s interests!

Snack Ideas for Children- Starchy Foods

E.g. pitta bread, bread fingers, chapatti, tortilla wraps, rice cakes, low salt breadsticks, crackers, crumpet, bagel slices, sliced sweet potato, teacake, malt loaf.

Starchy Snack Ideas- breadsticks, scotch pancakes and pitta bread


Snack Ideas for Children- Vegetables and fruit

E.g. carrot, cucumber, pepper, avocado, beetroot, tomatoes (slice cherry tomatoes into quarters to prevent choking), celery, butternut squash, suede, mushrooms.

E.g. Orange, apple, pineapple, banana, grapes (sliced into quarters length-ways), strawberries, blueberries, pear, raspberries, mango, papaya, guava, star fruit, blackberries, peach, kiwi. Choose fruit and vegetables in season.

Fruit and Vegetable Snack examples


Snack Ideas for Children- Protein Foods

E.g. hummus, tahini, sliced egg, mashed fish dip, mashed bean dip, sliced chicken, turkey, pork, beef, tofu, falafel, Quorn pieces.

Protein Food snack ideas


Snack Ideas for Children- Dairy and Alternative Foods

E.g. yoghurt, fromage frais, cream cheese, hard cheese, milk.

Dairy and alternative snack examples- yoghurt, cottage cheese and cream cheese


Creative Snack Ideas

Starchy Foods

Starchy food snack ideas

Pictures from left to right: homemade bunny pancake, The Very Hungry Caterpillar sandwiches, tortilla stars with hummus, toast with smooth peanut butter and banana.

Fruit and Vegetables

Fruit and Vegetable snack ideas

Pictures from left to right: kiwi and raspberry Christmas tree, celery snails with smooth nut butter/cream cheese, strawberry and watermelon fruit kebabs, orange fruit cups with raspberries and blueberries.

Protein Foods

Protein food snack ideas

Pictures from left to right: pepper frittata (made with egg), pumpkin hummus with pepper and breadsticks, egg fingers with smashed avocado, smooth nut butter with apple fingers.

Dairy and Alternative Foods

Dairy and alternative snack ideas

Pictures from left to right: cheese triangles with pretzels, mini pizzas with cheese and vegetables, plain yoghurt with mashed raspberries, cheese stars with crackers.


FREE Snack Recipe Cards

Check out some of our favourite children’s snacks

Veggie Pitta Pizzas (opens in new tab)

Rice Cake with Nut Butter and Strawberries (opens in new tab)

Smashed Avocado and Egg Fingers (opens in new tab)

snack recipe cards image


Healthy Snacks for Toddlers- Tip Sheet

Below is our Healthy Snacks for Toddlers tip sheet.

This is a helpful reminder of the key points we’ve discussed in this blog. Download your Healthy Snacks for Toddlers Tip Sheet (PDF, 2MB)!

Snacks Tip Sheet

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