TOP 5 Healthiest Baby and Toddler Snacks at Target & 3 Snacks To Avoid

I currently have a 3-year-old and a 9-month-old and already, my approach with each of them has been radically different regarding store-bought snacks. With my first, my husband and I found ourselves with a complex relationship with packaged snacks – as my daughter became more and more accustomed to them. ‘Well, they seem healthy,’ I would tell myself as I found myself back at Aisle O11 for the third time this week. My daughter ecstatic, of course.

If you’ve ever been down the baby and toddler snack aisle at Target, or any one of them for that matter, you know how quickly “healthy snacks” are being thrown at your face… well, not literally, unless there is a toddler in the middle of a tantrum (been there). What I mean is that every baby snacking brand will whip out their most organic clean option in hopes you’ll pick them over the snack next door.

It didn’t dawn on me, though, that for thousands of years children and babies developed without any packaged snacks. In fact, there only choice was milk of some kind and whole foods – pureed or in bite-size pieces.

Regardless of a 15th century baby’s diet, I am sure their mother was not stuck having to pick between two packaged go-to snacks.

Now that I have our second daughter to feed, I have grown less inclined to visit the snack aisle. Although, I should mention one important detail: What eventually stopped me at my tracks was my eldest’s radical behavior change after a snack or two. ‘I thought this was going to make her happy,’ I would often think – completely perplexed and concerned.

It was not until shortly after when I came across a webinar on excitotoxins… ‘Excitotoxins? In our packaged foods? No wonder they’re so yummy and addictive!’ And there I had it, my answer. My daughter’s behavior change and overall mood was being affected by these “excitotoxins” in the snacks we were buying her.

Since then we are much more careful about the foods and snacks we buy for her. Not due to any allergy necessarily, but to not place her brain under so much damage.

Excitotoxins are a whole article on its own, but for context for this post here are some basic things to know:

1. There are dozens of chemicals under the umbrella term excitotoxins. Some you have come across in a number of ingredient lists are: Natural flavor, artificial flavor, MSG, Xanthan gum, guar gum, carrageenan, and lots more.
2. How do they work? These are artificially made by food scientists to enhance flavoring and sometimes for coloring as well.
3. What is the issue with excitotoxins in our foods? They do just that: a) They excite our brain cells, also known as neurons, to fire more than a food normally does – bringing in a feel-good, almost addicting feeling to our body (think of that one snack you just can’t seem to put down. For me it’s the Turbo chips). b). Excitotoxins are toxic to our brain and after these super excited neurons fire and fire and fire, they die.
4. How does this relate to my baby, toddler, or young child? Well, given children’s brains are under major development, you can only imagine how disrupting these excitotoxin chemicals in our foods can be. Research has shown excitotoxins cross the blood-brain barrier in the hypothalamus region of the brain. The hypothalamus is the part of the brain responsible for sleep-wake cycles, emotional control, immune system regulation, and automatic nervous system regulations…

Well, shoot! No wonder my daughter was acting out and breaking down the way she was after a bag of these yummy snacks made just for kids. Fortunately, ever since making this major connection, we have been able to better support her with a higher quality of life by simply limiting these snacks and being very selective – to save herself from a breakdown or two.

So how does all this tie down to today’s Top 5 Healthiest snacks for babies and toddlers? Well, because one of the things these top 5 snacks will not have will be excitotoxins.

In the contrary, the top 3 things to avoid when it comes to kid snacks will be filled with these brain-damaging chemicals.

So, without further a due here you are:

TOP 5 Healthiest Store-bought Snacks for Baby and Toddler

1. Serenity Kids Baby Pouches (6+ months).
   • What is so great about them:
     • Use of olive oil rather than vegetable oils.
     • Not to high in carbs or sugar.
     • Organic.
     • Simple ingredients with no excitotoxins.
2. Once Upon a Farm Baby Food Pouch (6+ months)
   • What is great about them:
     • Organic
     • Simple ingredients with no excitotoxins
3. Happy Baby Food Pouches (6+ months)
   • What is great about it
     • Organic
     • Simple ingredients with no excitotoxins
   • What to watch out for:
     • High carbohydrate and high sugar
4. Once Upon a Farm Fruit and Veggie Puffs
   • What so great about them
     • No wheat
     • Use of avocado oil over vegetable oils
     • organic, simple ingredients with no excitotoxins
5. Once Upon a Farm Toddler Soft-baked Bar
   • What I love about them
     • Organic and clean, no excitotoxins
     • No harmful vegetable oils

What to Avoid

1. To minimize chronic inflammation is our kids’ tiny bodies, try to avoid any snacks containing wheat flour or corn. These wreck havoc in the intestine and can cause leaky gut in children
2. Avoid vegetable oils at all cost. These further inflame the body and our kids’ cell membranes
3. Avoid kid drinks heavy in excitotoxins and other harmful ingredients, such as:
   • PediaSure Grow & Gain Kids’ Nutritional Shake
     • Ingredients List:
       Water, Corn Maltodextrin, Blend Of Vegetable Oils (Soy, High Oleic Safflower), Sugar, Milk Protein Concentrate, Cocoa Powder (Processed With Alkali), Soy Protein Isolate, Less Than 0.5% Of: Vitamins And Minerals,† Cellulose Gel, Natural And Artificial Flavor, Tuna Oil, Cellulose Gum, Monoglycerides, Soy Lecithin, Carrageenan, Salt, Potassium Hydroxide, Inositol, Turmeric Color, Taurine, Stevia Leaf Extract, L-Carnitine, Red 3, And Lutein, †Vitamins And Minerals: Calcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Potassium Citrate, Potassium Phosphate, Magnesium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Ascorbic Acid, Choline Chloride, Ferrous Sulfate, Dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate, Zinc Sulfate, Niacinamide, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Thiamine Hydrochloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin A Palmitate, Copper Sulfate, Folic Acid, Chromium Chloride, Sodium Molybdate, Sodium Selenate, Biotin, Phylloquinone, Potassium Hydroxide, Vitamin D₃, Vitamin B₁₂, Menaquinone-7
   • Kinderlyte or Pedialyte
     • Filled with sugars and excitotoxins.
     • NOTE: ONLY USE WHEN ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY FOR MEDICAL/HEALTH REASONS (i.e. dehydration)

This is a quick list of do’s and dont’s when choosing a packaged snack or drink for babies, toddlers, and children. Please note that even though I feel confident in my top 5 healthiest store-bought snacks, there are other healthy options and brands out there. As long as you stay away from the ingredients mentioned above, or at least limit them, your child will feel and be better for it. You can do this!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out via the Contact Me page or you can also DM me on Instagram at any time and I will be happy to help out in any way I can.

I hope this helps and see you in the next one,

Lili