5 Healthy Finger Food Ideas Your Kids Will Love

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When your little ones want to feed themselves, it’s the perfect time to introduce them to fresh and healthy finger foods that can make mealtimes more fun. Whether it be fruits and vegetables, meats, beans or whole grains, there are plenty of healthy finger foods that can satisfy your kids’ taste buds.

Fruit Finger Foods

As your child starts out in life, you will want to ensure they are getting the right amount of fruit each day. To do this, you can make the experience more fun by creating fruit finger foods. Not only do they look more appetizing, but they also taste it too! There are all sorts of fruits that you can include such as apple slices, kiwi slices, plum slices, banana, blueberries, peach slices (tinned or fresh) and melon chunks. It may be a case of trial and error at first, but once your child has found fruits that they like, you can fit them into their daily diet.

Dried Fruit Finger Foods

There are various dried fruit finger foods that your child may enjoy. These include raisins, sultanas, cranberries, banana chips, mango and organic fruit snacks. Apricots and apple rings are also great dried fruit finger foods; however, they will need to be chopped for younger children. You will want to make sure you have the right equipment when it comes to cutting up foods, so take our word for it when we say that walnut cutting boards are the best.

Vegetable Finger Foods

There are all sorts of vegetable finger foods that you can bring to the table, giving your kids something new and healthy to try out. Popular vegetables include cucumber sticks, tomatoes, avocado slices, cherry tomatoes, baby sweetcorn, carrot sticks, squash wedges and sweet potato chips. The possibilities are endless when it comes to finding vegetables that your kids will try and enjoy. You can also share the finger foods with the rest of your family to promote healthy eating in the home.

Carbohydrates

As well as fruits and vegetables, incorporating carbs into your kids’ diet is important. To do this, there are plenty of finger foods that you can make to add a bit of excitement. Carbs such as new potatoes (roasted or boiled), homemade potato wedges, cooked pasta shapes, sushi, rice cakes, oatcakes, pancakes, toast, dry cereal and mini sandwiches are great foods that your kid can get their hands on.

Dairy & Protein

Dairy and protein are an important part of a young child’s diet. Not only are they a great source of protein and energy, but they also contain a range of minerals and vitamins (such as calcium) that kids need to build healthy teeth and bones. Popular dairy and protein finger foods include rolled ham slices, turkey slices, roast beef slices, fresh mozzarella sticks, prawns, hard boiled eggs and chickpeas. With so many options to choose from, there really is no right or wrong answer. Simply pick foods that you know your kids will enjoy.

Finger foods can help your kids’ relationship with food, allowing them to explore with their hands and find foods that they enjoy. Letting your children be in control of their food choices is incredibly important and can be a great way to overcome fussy eating habits. Make sure to offer a wide variety of finger foods at every meal. The more choice they have, the more likely they are to try something new, even if they don’t eat everything that’s presented to them. Sticking to healthy options and avoiding foods high in sugar will get your children off to a good start.