Toddler Snack Alternatives

I’m always looking to save money and today I’m sharing some toddler snack alternatives that we use. Lia is always ready and willing to be the taste tester!

Yogurt Bites

My year old great granddaughter loves yogurt bites and when my granddaughter shared a Facebook post about making them I jumped at the idea. I added the yogurt to a baggie, snipped a corner off and squeezed penny sized drops on a silicone baking sheet.

I put them in the freezer for a few hours and when frozen, they easily pulled off the silicone sheet. A container of yogurt bites cost a little under $2.00 and a container of yogurt is about 30 cents. Half a container of yogurt made 30 bites. I put the extra ones in a freezer container for next time.

Snack time approached and Lia was ready to do a test! She is such a dainty eater, picking up one yogurt bite, examining it then popping it in her mouth. She loved them and I think the cold made her little swollen gums from her molars popping in feel good. One container of yogurt will make about 50 – 60 bites and for 30 cents, that’s a great deal!

Fruit & Grain Bars

After checking the nurtrition facts on fruit and grain bars, I came to the conclusion that the Gerber or Great Value brand toddler bars compared to Great Value regular fruit and grain bars were very similar. The only difference is the “big people” bars were about twice the size.

Each package had 8 bars but the toddler ones are shorter, narrower and thinner. After cutting them in pieces, the larger one had almost twice the amount.

The price for the toddler bars, depending on the brand are between $2.00 – $3.00 for eight bars compared to $1.50 for twice the amount of “big people” bars.

For the taste test on the bars, mommy cut up the same number of pieces of each and set them on opposite sides of Lia’s tray. We were trying to see if she liked one better, thinking she would eat those first. Instead, she alternating the sides and when they were all gone she held her hand out for more! So bottom line on this, 8 toddler bars for $2.00 or 8 regular sized bars that equal the amount of 16 toddler bars for $1.50 is another no-brainer.

Cereal Finger Snacks

These are great finger snacks and good to keep in a zipped bag when traveling. I have some heavy silicone storage bags that are great because you can’t rip them! The canister of different snacks are about $2.00 for 1.48 ounces. But look at the Cheerios, I got this 10.9 ounce box on sale for 99 cents! Cheerios come in so many flavors and they don’t make a mess when eating them in the car.

Adding Flavor to Yogurt

One last thing with yogurt. Lia loves yogurt so we always have a variety of flavors on hand. But if we just have vanilla it’s so easy to add things to add flavor. One thing is to add seedless raspberry or strawberry jam, a small amount of honey or even granola. This is left over strawberry yogurt from when I made the yogurt bites and I added some vanilla/almond flavored granola to it. Once again Lia devoured it all!

I’m always looking for alternatives so if you have any ideas I’d love to hear them!