Every parent wants to make the best choice when it comes to providing their children with a healthy and wholesome diet. But busy lifestyles often take over, and parents find themselves packing their kids with easy-to-grab processed snacks and foods. For babies and young toddlers, this often means expensive snacks with little to no real nutritional value. As parents, we all want the option to give our children healthy foods with ingredients we can pronounce, especially when we are on the go. But there are so many different options out there it can be hard to decide which ones are best.

Making a Healthy Choice

Making sure our tots get the proper nutrition can be difficult, especially when you are out and about. Fruits and veggies won’t keep throughout long days, and they are often bulky to pack. Many parents end up reaching for highly processed snacks like rice puffs just because they are convenient. Toddler “biscuits” and granola bars are high in sugar and contain ingredients that you can’t find in your kitchen. Most of those options hold little to no nutritional value and offer little calories – things your growing child needs.

One of the best ways to know if the item you’re looking at is a good choice for your little one is to look at the ingredient list. In recent years, fruit and veggies pouches have become more and more popular. And although those seem like a great alternative to some of the other snack options available, some brand’s labels can often be deceiving. They may list healthy things like kale, spinach and quinoa on the front but their ingredient list on the back shows other additives like high fructose corn syrup or preservatives.

For example, Sprout is a baby food company that is committed to offering healthy and wholesome foods to babies and toddlers. Sprout pledges to “Keep It Honest, Make It Real.” Their Honesty Pledge Mission & Values  promises parents that they will use only non-GMO ingredients and no preservatives. The only ingredients you will find on Sprout’s ingredient list, in fact, are the foods listed on the front of the pouch. For example, when you pick up a Sprout food pouch and see flavors like Mango, Spinach, Banana Apple, Blueberry Banana Oatmeal, and Pear Spinach Prune you can be assured that those are the only things you will find in the ingredients list. They are committed to honest labeling so as to be transparent about what they include in their pouches and foods. Just take a look at the Sprout Pouches below:

Any busy parent can be overwhelmed with the options when staring at the baby food aisle. There are so many brands that tout being healthy and wholesome but they aren’t always true to form. Taking a look at the ingredient list is a great way to know if you’re making a healthy choice for your child or if the labels are deceiving you. 

Nutritional Needs

When choosing snacks for your baby, you also want to make sure they have the proper balanced nutrition. For the first 6 months, babies get all of their nutritional needs from breastmilk or formula so parents often don’t put much thought into making sure baby gets all the right vitamins and minerals. Once children are introduced to table foods, however, they will start needing their vitamins and minerals from other foods.

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Some of the most important nutrients a growing baby needs are iron, zinc, calcium, vitamin D, Omega 3’s/DHA, and vitamins A, B, C, and E. It is no secret that the best way to get those vitamins and minerals are through whole, natural foods. But whole, natural foods are hard to have when you’re on the go, especially given the options of many baby food brands.

Sprout is committed to providing each product with wholesome fruits, veggies, and grains which helps your baby get the nutrients he or she needs to help their growing body. In addition, they are USDA certified organic and promise no GMO’s or preservatives in their baby foods. These are all things that parents want to offer their children to make sure they are receiving the proper nutrition in their snacks. Check out their commitment to real, pure ingredients in the video below:

Healthy Snacks for Kids

With our busy lifestyles, we always seem to be on the go and nothing is worse than trying to run errands with a hungry, fussy baby. We all want healthy snacks for our children, but we also want things our baby will eat! Below is a list of six healthy snack options that you can take on the go with your baby:

1. Baked apples – These are a great go-to snack that you can prep in bulk and pack to go using these reusable snack bags.
2. Finger size veggies – Snow peas, asparagus, green beans, and sugar snap peas are all great options.
3. Sprout fruit and veggie pouches – Whole fruits and most veggies can be messy, so pouches are a great way to get those foods while you’re on the go. Sprout offers a variety of flavors helping to expand your child’s palate to a variety of wholesome foods. They are perfect for on-the-go: east twist on-and-off caps, and the perfect size to put in your diaper bag or stroller. Click here to find out Where to Buy your Sprout food pouches.
4. Cheese – Organic cheese sticks are a good way to get much needed calcium into your baby’s diet while you’re out and about.
5. Homemade oat bars – Making a pan of oat bars are a great way to have easy, healthy snacks both at home and on the go. There are several different recipes out there that you can find that will suit your baby’s tastebuds.
6. Homemade muffins – Another great option for bulk snack prep, muffins can be made with wholesome ingredients. They can be frozen so they will keep longer, too. You can even use a Sprout food pouch to add in some extra flavor – a great way to know your child is getting those wholesome foods along with a tasty muffin!

Choosing wholesome, healthy foods for your baby can be stressful but the options seem even more daunting when you’re on the go. We are all tempted to pick up a quick, highly-processed snack but choosing something like Sprout’s food pouches, where you know you are getting wholesome, nutritious foods with no added preservatives and no GMO’s, are a great option. Choosing a company that has transparent labeling and uses only real ingredients will make you feel confident that you are getting the best out of your baby’s snack foods.

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Resources: What to Expect

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