Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Snack Trays



When Zeal was just a toddler, starting to really gain a repertoire of solid foods, we began using a "snack tray" in our house to serve a variety of functions:
-introduce him to new foods without a bunch of fanfare,
-monitor what and how much he was eating, and
-give him the opportunity to graze between meals (which incidentally really helps with any unexpected meltdowns that usually have something to do with low blood sugar)

The tradition continues. These days, our snack trays and grazing sites have less bite-sized little chunks of cucumbers and muffins pieces separated out into their own places in a muffin tin and are more elaborate spreads of fresh veggies and dips.

We made this one the other day with what we had on hand: olives, radishes, carrots, a bit of leftover fennel bulb, a few pieces of romaine and basil from the night before, and some pita bread we picked up on the way home. Zeal is a big fan of tomato chunks, so we also always have those lying around for him to snack on. He usually prefers his favorite Annie's Sesame and Shitake salad dressing as a dip, but this time the dip is a blended mixture of good olive oil and feta cheese and I highly recommend the combination.

What do you put out for your kids to graze on?
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