Secret Snacks

This year, I had plenty of goals for myself, but only one goal for each of my children (yes, the good thing about being a parent to little children is that I can make goals for them . . .).

For Ani, the goal was “Sleep better.”

After her sleeping went completely off the rails in October, we finally cracked down and made her fuss it out again and she’s back to sleeping quite well (she’s not really a crier in the night. She just sits in her bed and starts whining really loudly. And then she’ll stop. And then right after you’ve drifted back to sleep, BAM! Another loud moan. It was good times, for sure).

For Ella, the goal was “Eat better.”

Ella has always been a pretty good eater, but she’s hit a stage where she just chooses to be picky. She’d resist eating whatever we were having for dinner, negotiate about every. single. bite, and basically make me want to tear my hair out.

At the start of the year, we really came down hard on no snacking except for right after quiet time so that she’d actually be hungry enough to eat dinner.

I really try to avoid giving her anything else to eat during the day so she’ll eat legitimate meals and so dinner can be a peaceful occasion (well, as peaceful as eating with two small children can be).

All that said, I’m definitely that mom who always has a snack stashed in my bag. Sometimes, if I’m just desperate for something to keep my girls happy during a last errand or at an appointment, nothing works as well as a surprise snack.

Because I use them so rarely, I need something that won’t go bad if it sits for weeks in a zippered pocket and won’t make an enormous crumbly mess. I also want something that I can dole out one at a time depending on how long I need to make it last.

My go-to secret snacks are dried fruit (for some reason, my girls are WILD about raisins. I didn’t start liking raisins until I was well into adulthood, but my girls think they are on par with. . . I don’t know. Something better than raisins) and cold cereal.

They last forever, they don’t make an enormous sticky mess (lollipops, I’m looking at you), and they’re inexpensive.

And. . . to be honest, at least half the time, the reason I have to restock is because I eat them when I’m out and about by myself and suddenly starving. But I feel completely justified because I always eat my dinner still.

You can see other easy on-the-go snack ideas at Kelloggs.com/GreatStartsTips.

 

Kellogg’s® believes that From Great Starts Come Great Things®. So we’re helping Moms start every day with a tip from the top athletes of Team Kellogg’s™ and Team USA dietitians. The thirty days leading up to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games will each feature fun pieces of advice to help families fuel just like the athletes of Team Kellogg’s. To see all 30 tips, visit Kelloggs.com/GreatStartsTips

Compensation was provided by Kellogg’s via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Kellogg’s.