Need ideas for toddler car snacks/meals

[JElaineB]

I have a new full-time job (about 1 month now) and DS's new daycare is a couple minutes from my office (about 30 minutes from home), so he is spending more time in the car than he used to. Lately we have been waking him up just before 7 when we have to leave (so no breakfast at home) and when we are driving home around 5 he is usually ready to eat supper at that point.

I used to bring mini waffles or mini pancakes in the car in the am but he doesn't seem to like those anymore. He does get a "snack" at daycare at 8 am so I guess I'm not too worried about breakfast. But he is starving at 5 pm on the way home (they have a snack at 3 pm, but I'm not sure how much he eats then), and ends up eating tons of snack crackers and such (that we bring in the car for him) and doesn't really want dinner by the time we get something on the table at 6 or so. I would appreciate any ideas about what to give him on the way home. I don't know if we should try for more/healthier foods on the way home (not too messy - DH has a new car!) or less and see if he will adjust to dinner at 6. Any ideas or specific suggestions are appreciated!

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[hjdong]

I worry, still, about DS eating in the car, although nothing bad has every happened, and he does do it. So, when we get to the point of him eating on a regular basis, I try to steer him towards smoothies or milk. They fill him up enough and I don't have to worry about him choking. I don't know if you have somewhere to store something like that at work? DS likes the drinkable yogurts and I just put them in his straw cups.

HTH,

[kep]

How about string cheese, go-gerts or other drinkable yougert (health food store has a similiar organic kind), Veggie Booty? Sometimes my DS just needs a good protein hit to tide him over until dinner. One weird thing (to me at least! :) ) that my son likes is the sea-weed/kelp that comes in sheets and different flavors. This is the stuff often used for making sushi. He thinks it's kind of fun becasue DH eats it, and it's really healthy for him, too. HTH!

Kelli
Mommy to my beautiful little boy, Luke (April 2003)


"Before you were conceived I wanted you. Before you were born I loved you.
Before you were here an hour I would die for you. This is the miracle of life."
-Maureen Hawkins

[georginawong]

Hi Jennifer,

Have you ever seen 'snack trap'. They are my favourite gadget for feeding DD (20 mths) in the car. I fill up the cups with oatios, mini-wheats and sometimes string cheese cut up into smaller pieces and I vary the flavours/types of food in her snack cup so she doesn't get bored.I also bring along small packs of milk.

For the trip home, I would suggest something healthy and light like fruits, yogurt. DD gets tickled with the idea of having dessert first but I must confess that we do not usually travel so close to dinner time . Sometimes, I would fill up the cup with fresh fruit (cut into bitesize pieces). If you have access to a refridgerator at work, then bring a cooler/lunch bag with the fruits that you can easily prepare before you pick him up. I have had success with peaches, apples, pears and other non staining fruits.

Hope that helps and you can get the snack cups at baby depot or BRU. This is what the cups look like http://www.mossworld.com/TheSnack-Trap.htm

Have fun

Georgina and Gigi

[JElaineB]

Thanks for the ideas. We're still working on this. DS wants to "eat out" every night because he still doesn't want to wait until we get home for dinner. He is on a string cheese kick lately, so I think maybe I'll try to bring some to work and stick it in the fridge and give them to him on the trip home. I'm not sure how well fruits would work in the car...but I might try some freeze-dried or dehydrated fruits too. DS had some once and liked them.

Any other ideas are welcomed!

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[neeter]

Whole foods makes kids cereal bars that are good - they don't fall apart and my DS loves them. Also they are low in sugar, and have calcium and other vitamins. They are in the aisle with the baby food (not in the adult cereal aisle). Good luck!

[neeter]

Sorry double post!

[essnce629]

For a snack in the car, I always fill up Conner's Snack Trap with dried fruits which he loves. His favorites are dried banana, pineapple, raisens, papaya, and dates. I just throw together a little mixture of whatever I have in the house at the time. Trader Joes sells packages of dried fruit very cheap! Smoothies or drinkable yogurt in a straw cup are a good idea for breakfast on the go. I would think real fruit and cereal bars would be kind of messy in the car. Other things I've put in the Snack Trap are veggie booty, pirates booty, dry cereal, pretzal sticks, and mini crackers.

***Latia
Conner, my homebirthed water baby, 8/19/03
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/a/aug2003angel
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_sapphire_24m.gif Self-weaned at 24 months! http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/9870.gif

[Momof3Labs]

We do baggies of grapes, raisins, dried cranberries, even cereals like Cheerios or Kix in the car. I don't like giving messy stuff in the car; grapes are kind of borderline but DS is pretty clean while eating them.