A Few On-the-Go Snack Ideas

D is only two and a half which makes dealing with Ulcerative Colitis and eating a Paleo diet a bit more difficult. Toddlers can't always wait to eat between meals and it seems like as soon as we leave the house he asks (yells, really) for something to eat. I used to just pack a container of Cheerios or pretzels, but I can't do that anymore. The harsh truth about this condition and diet is that practically everything has to be made by hand. You can go to a store and find tons of gluten-free stuff. Maybe there's even a gluten-free section. I have yet to see or hear of a Paleo section. So what can you snack on that's Paleo? Plenty of things, like nuts, veggie sticks, fruit, beef jerky. But what about a toddler? Nuts can be dangerous choking hazards at this age, veggie sticks like carrots are too hard for little teeth especially if they don't have all their molars, and beef or turkey jerky are also gagging/choking hazards. In the short time we've been dealing with this diagnosis I have found a few things that are great to keep in my diaper bag...besides tons of diapers, wipes, plastic bags and a few changes of clothes for all those blowouts!

I don't know what parents did before these fruit pouches! I never leave home without at least two. But some do have grains so make sure you get them with fruit and vegetables only. And preferably organic (Bio), if possible.

My kids absolutely LOVE fruit leather. Besides people, Trader Joe's is the one place I really miss from the USA. Thank goodness my parents and in-laws send us care packages full of these fruit leathers.
And of course raisins and cranberries are easy to pack and snack on.

Since we live overseas I can't get to fancy, alternative food stores like Whole Foods which probably has plenty of options for D, so I order a lot of stuff from iherb.com. They ship to our APO address which is something not every online store will do. I really appreciate it! Among other stuff like natural bath and beauty products, they have alternative food products like these bars from KIND. There are other flavors but for now I got these: mango, apple, chia seed. That's all. 

I was just reading that chia is controversial in the Paleo world, so eating them should be kept to a minimum. But with so few options for toddler snacks I'm definitely going to let my boy have these. He already tried one and loved it!

One "solution" that I found for D not being able to eat regular breads was to make mini muffins. They're also the perfect size for snacks. I happened to have the Paleo Slow Cooker by John Chatham even before D's diagnosis, so it's been perfect for finding some good family recipes. I highly recommend it. You guys, this recipe for Zucchini Bread is SO good. It's meant to be made in a slow cooker, so it's really more like spoon bread, but I just half-filled some silicone mini muffin cups from Ikea and baked it that way.

I made my first batch with 1/2 honey, 1/2 maple syrup. Delicious!!

I have muffins ready all the time!

If you have any other great snack ideas for Paleo (or similar) toddlers please let me know!