As a stay-at-home mom of three kids 4 and under, I find that one way to keep my sanity is a daily morning outing.
Sometimes we go to the playground, or to the library. Sometimes we run errands or go grocery shopping. But we almost always go somewhere.
And it can be a huge struggle to actually get out the door. Shoes have to be on. Jackets need to be found. The baby has to be fed and diapered. The diaper bag has to be checked. And the older kids usually need a snack.
Which is why I created a car snack basket, filled with easy-to-grab, non-messy snack options for the car.
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Creating a toddler snack basket
First I found a small basket that I wasn’t using anymore, and placed it on the lowest pull-out shelf in our pantry cabinet (right in front of our deep fryer, haha!)
Then I filled it with snacks that the girls could choose from on their way out of the door.
I also made room for their water bottles, and we’re working on carrying our own water bottles to and from the car, and putting them back on the shelf when we come in. (So that I can clean/refill them.)
The basket mostly contains dry snacks like granola and cereal bars, crackers, veggie straws, cereal, goldfish, etc. in snack-sized plastic bags. (Scroll down for a full list of all of my favorite toddler snacks.)
I also included this car label because it’s just cute. 🙂 It’s just a printout of a clipart car, which I popped into one of my favorite adhesive labels. Easy peasy.
Refrigerator snack drawer
In addition to this snack basket, I also created a snack drawer in our refrigerator for refrigerated car-appropriate snacks.
It’s at the bottom of the fridge, where the girls can easily reach it by themselves. The snacks don’t actually take up the whole drawer- just a little pop-out in front of one of the veggie drawers:
I stocked the drawer with things like cheese sticks and cubes, bags of fruits and veggies, and yogurts (which I quickly realized are not car-friendly for my two year old! My four year old does fine with them in the car.)
Between the snack basket and the refrigerator snack drawer, our morning outings have been a lot less hectic, and the car has been a lot cleaner. I’m going to call it a win. 😉
Our favorite toddler snacks:
These are some of my daughter’s favorite snacks. She’s two and a half, so they might not all be appropriate for one year olds. Always be cautious of choking hazards, especially with snacks in the car. 🙂
Car-friendly snacks
- Crackers: Wheat Thins, Triscuits, Oyster Crackers, Ritz Crackers, Saltines, Graham Crackers, Goldfish Crackers, Cheez-Its
- Cookies: Nilla Wafers, Animal Crackers, Teddy Grahams
- Dry cereal: Our favorites are Kix, Cheerios, Fruit Loops, and Oatmeal Squares
- Bars: Granola bars, cereal bars, Nutri-Grain bars, Soft-baked oatmeal squares
- Chex mix or trail mix (careful of those peanuts!)
- Cheese or peanut butter sandwich crackers
- Fruit or applesauce pouches
- Rice cakes
- Pretzels
- Raison boxes
- Veggie straws
Refrigerated snacks
- Cheese: Sticks, Babybel, cubes, or slices
- Yogurt pouches
- Fruit: Chopped grapes or blueberries
- Chocolate milk boxes
- Lunch meat: Sliced turkey, ham, chicken, salami or pepperoni
Other favorite snacks
- Cut up fruit: We love melons, bananas, kiwi, mango, and berries of any kind
- Yogurt parfaits
- Pancakes or waffles, cut into strips
- Muffins
- English muffins
- Veggies with hummus or dip
- Pear or apple slices with caramel dip
- Eggs cooked any way: Hard boiled, over easy with toast, or scrambled with cheese
What are your favorite toddler snacks? I’m always looking for new ideas, so leave your favorites in the comments. 🙂
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