Travel Snack Hacks: Healthy, Portable Food Ideas for Babies and Toddlers

9/16/2024

Contributed post.

Traveling is one of the best ways to experience different cultures and explore your interests but they can become even more rewarding when you get the opportunity to travel with your kids. However, feeding your children while touring can be a real struggle. Since sitting them down and preparing complete meals might not be possible during your travels, finding snacks that are healthy and portable can make it easy for you to enjoy your journey. If you’re wondering what to pack in your bag so that your child doesn’t go hungry and become irritated as you’re enjoying a well-deserved vacation.

Ten Healthy and Portable Food Ideas For Your Little One

Hummus And Carrots
Hummus is a delicious and easy to prep snack option. Not only is it a healthy treat but can also be carried around in your snack bag. Feel free to add as many vegetables as you like to the hummus along with chickpeas. Since chickpeas are a great source of protein, it’ll keep your toddler satiated for longer. Combine that with some carrots and you’ve got a perfect combination of proteins, fats, and fiber that’ll keep your kid full of energy as they enjoy the traveling experience.

Hard Boiled Eggs
Hard boiled eggs only take 10 minutes to prepare, can be stored upto a day and are a great source of protein and healthy fats for your growing child. You could simply pack some hard boiled eggs in a box for a ready-to-eat treat, or you can get creative and make an egg salad with onions, tomatoes, chicken or other accompaniments of your choice. It’s a healthy treat that can be enjoyed at any time of the day and is mess-free.

Cottage Cheese
Cottage cheese is filling, tasty, and needs no accompaniments to make it a whole meal. The protein and fats in cheese can be enjoyed with spices. If you want, you can also add a few other raw vegetables to the box so that your toddler can enjoy a snack box filled with different types of vegetables and cottage cheese. The creaminess of cottage cheese will make it easy to enjoy the rest of the vegetables. Afterwards, a piece of salt water taffy will make their snacking time complete.

Nuts And Dried Fruits
Nuts and dried fruits such as raisins, figs, cashews, almonds, and walnuts are the healthiest form of fats that your toddler can enjoy while they’re on-the-go. You can cut up nuts into small pieces or even blend them if you want to give them to your baby or sprinkle it on top of yogurt or smoothies. Since they have a higher shelf life, you can easily store them in containers and take them with you while traveling. That way, your kids will always have a ready to eat snack on their hands, irrespective of where you are.

Roasted Fox Nuts
Fox Nuts are known for their high antioxidant content along with anti-inflammatory properties. Simply roast some fox nuts in a pan until they are crispy and store them in a box for later. You can sprinkle them with salt and pepper, or add other spices of your choice. If your toddler has a sweet tooth, you can also add a little bit of melted dark chocolate on the fox nuts instead of spices and they’ll be ready to be enjoyed while traveling. Think of them as an alternative to popcorn, but with higher nutrient density. This can be an easy to store snack option if you’re on a family vacation with a toddler.

Mashed Potato
This is a specific snack-cum-meal option that caters to both toddlers and babies. You can add some milk and herbs to your mashed potato recipe to make it softer. If you want a healthier alternative, switch your potatoes to sweet potatoes for a nutrient dense treat. Just remember to store them away from heat to avoid spoilage. You can also add some green onions and tortilla chips to the containers to make it an enjoyable snack option for your toddler.

Vegetable Puree
Kids aren’t the best followers of rules when it comes to eating vegetables. While as parents, you know that it’s great for their health, they might not enjoy the taste of vegetables so much, so what do you do? Hide them! Create a vegetable puree of the vegetables you have at home. Cook it for a few minutes and add some salt and pepper, along with spices, a little bit of lemon juice, and cheese to it to prevent your kids from tasting the vegetable if they don’t particularly enjoy them. This is a nutritious and easy-to-make meal that can be taken anywhere. Keep some pita or other type of bread along with you so that they can enjoy the vegetable puree as a dip. This can also be served to babies 6 months and above, but without the spices.

Fruit Puree
This can be a sweet treat that’s easy to make and can be enjoyed anytime during the day. Simply blend some seasonal fruits until they attain a puree-like consistency, add a little salt to the puree and pack it in a container for your children to enjoy later. The snack can be enjoyed by babies and toddlers alike. You can also add some nuts in there to make it an energy-packed snack.

Formula Milk
If your baby is below the age of 2, chances are that they’re still being fed breast milk but it can be inconvenient when you’re traveling. So, pack a few boxes of formula milk to ensure that your baby has something to eat every few hours, even when you’re out. The formula milk is healthy, portable, and can even help the baby sleep better during the travels.

Lentil Porridge
Lentils are a very healthy and easy to eat snack option if your baby or toddler is super young, or if you prefer a vegan-friendly snack option. Lentils are a good source of protein, zinc, iron, and vitamin B. When paired with vitamin C such as lime juice, the iron can be better absorbed by babies. This is an excellent snack option if you only have 10 minutes on your hands to prepare a healthy travel snack, as they don’t require any soaking unlike other legumes.

Wrapping Up
Whether you have a baby or a toddler at your hand, it’s important to find healthy and portable travel snacks to keep them satiated throughout the trip. Finding things that are easy to carry yet nutritious might seem like a task but there’s more variety in the market than you can imagine. The options given above are just a glimpse of what your snack bag can look like. However, feel free to choose items that your child finds delicious, and are in alignment with your travel plans and the duration of your stay. Or you could get a little creative and find ways to incorporate more macronutrients and micronutrients into your child’s diet, even when you’re on a trip!

Some related articles we think you'll love: