Trail Mix Toddler Snack

By JoannaAugust 4, 20243min read

If your toddler is at the stage where they are always hungry, you may be thinking about how to sneak some easy nutrition in those mini meals every day. For me, I really leaned on anything that was easy and convenient. This could be berries, yogurt pouches, granola bars, veggies, cereal…somewhere along the lines of “grab and go.” An idea that another mom shared with me that really stuck with me was make your own trail mix as a toddler snack. This was really a great suggestion because it is so customizable, you can make something that you know your toddler will like, while keeping it healthy and nutritious. Plus, it is so easy to make! You can make a nice big batch and have it ready to go. So let’s get creative and make some yummy, parent and kiddo approved trail mix toddler snack!

Image of trail mix snack in a clear bowl made with dried banana slices, cheerios, yogurt melts, and puffs. Text above image reads, "Trail Mix Toddler Snack" and text below image reads, "Customizable treat that is safe, healthy, and nutritious for toddlers and babies."

Why Make Your Own Trail Mix

Regular trail mix normally isn’t a great thing for your toddler to eat, especially if they are a younger toddler. Usually trail mix is mostly made up of whole nuts, chocolate or some type of sweet, and pieces of food that are too big for your toddler to eat. Making your own trail mix ensures everything you are putting in there is safe for your little one to eat. You can make it as nutritious as you want, and an added bonus is you know your kiddo likes everything in it!

What Can You Put In A Toddler Trail Mix

There are so many different ingredients you can use in your customized toddler snack. There are main categories for trail mixes that you can go by in order to choose your ingredients. Carbohydrates (such as dried cereal or puffs), Fruit (such as dried or freeze dried fruit), protein (such as nuts or seeds), and any fun stuff (like yogurt melts)! Depending on how old your toddler is, you may just want to chop up some of the ingredients to make it easier for them to eat.

Trail Mix Ideas

Here are some ideas you can use for the different categories.

Carbohydrates

Honey Nut Cheerios
Rice Chex Mix
Whole Grain Goldfish
Pretzels
Life Cereal
Frosted Mini Wheats

Fruit

Dehydrated Strawberries
Dried Banana Chips
Dehydrated Apple Slices
Dried Mango
Raisins
Cranberries

Protein

Chopped Walnuts
Chopped Cashews
Hulled Sunflower Seeds
Hulled Pumpkin Seeds

Fun Stuff

Yogurt Melts
Peanut Butter Chips
White Chocolate Chips
Puffs
Mini Marshmallows

How To Make And Store Toddler Trail Mix

Choose at least one ingredient from each category. You can portion out each ingredient any way you’d like. Combine everything into a large bowl and mix well, until everything is distributed evenly.

If you’ve made a bigger batch and need to store it, there are a few different ways you can do that. My favorite way to store it is in a large, airtight container. I’ve found that if I store it this way, it stays pretty fresh for up to about two weeks. Another way you can store it is portioning it out in ziploc bags. In my experience, I’ve found that the trail mix only stays fresh for a couple days when stored like this. So unless you plan on using up your portions fairly quickly, I wouldn’t recommend this way. One other way you could store it is vacuum seal some of it. Keep an amount you know you’ll use up in a couple days out in a bag or airtight container, and then whatever you have left you can vacuum seal into more portions. I would portion out each vacuum sealed bag into portions that would last a few days to keep it simple.