Grammy's Finger Foods

If it has been a while since you have had to feed a toddler a variety of finger foods in hopes of getting them to eat, do not worry. Grammy to the rescue! My crack research team (OK, friends from Facebook) have scoured their resources and come up with the following wonderful foods to serve your little darlings and start them down the path to self-reliance.

The top three items that everyone seems to use:

1) Hot Dogs - slice them and quarter them first
2) Mac and Cheese - for ease of use try Country Crock Mac 'n Cheese
3) Chicken nuggets - especially served with Ranch dressing
4) Bologna - for a special treat try garlic bologna at the deli counter

The number one item that all grandmothers should have on hand is Cheerios. If you are concerned with sugar content go for the plain old Cheerios with 1 g of sugar compared to 9 g of sugar in Honey Nut Cheerios. But, the Honey Nut Cheerios is still lower in sugar than most that are advertised to children.

Kix is another good cereal that is low in sugar. The final cereal that can be recommended as being low in sugar is Life cereal. Try these if your grandkids get tired of Cheerios.

Nutri-Grain bars are cereal based, fairly low in sugar, and high in fiber. And kids love them too! Rice Cakes come in many flavors, but a young toddler may just love them plain.

Be sure to include fruit in your frig if the grands are coming over. Some of the best choices are:

• Grapes - sliced or quartered since it may be hard for little teeth to bite through the skin. Grapes can also be frozen for a summer treat.
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Pears
• Apples
• Watermelon and Cantaloupe

If you are a little more tropical try Mango too.

Bananas are a great basic fruit that kids love. Slices of banana are great, but may be too slippery for little kids. Try rolling them in crushed Cheerios for an easier-to-hold treat. Bananas are also great frozen on a hot day.

If you have a warehouse store nearby you can buy freeze-dried fruit. Kids think they are eating flavored chips.

Vegis don't show up big time on a list of finger foods. The one exception seems to be fresh, raw peas. Green popcorn!

Yogurt and cottage cheese are favorites, but are not really finger food. Try GoGurts - which is yogurt in a tube. String cheese is easy to carry and can easily made into smaller pieces.

Grandma's scrambled eggs are a favorite and the best are made with milk and butter.

Freezer pops and kool-aid ice cubes are great any time of year - that way their shirts can be decorated with a variety of colors. Motts makes a good line of freezer pops that are made from fruit juice.

Grilled cheese, waffles, mini-pancakes, french toast, and french fries are also toddler favorites.

Mini graham crackers can be filled with yogurt and frozen for a great treat for a cranky toddler.

A peanut butter and banana "sushi roll" can be made by cutting of the crusts on a piece of bread and putting peanut butter on it and then the banana. Then roll the sandwich around the banana and cut into slices.

Leftover white rice can be mixed with vanilla yogurt and applesauce with a dash of cinnamon to make a great Apple Rice Pudding.

Enjoy these great ideas and hope at least a few work for you!