3 Rules for Toddler Hiking Snacks

*Personal note* I wrote this blog post quite some time ago and it has been sitting waiting for me to actually launch my blog.  At the time, I thought these “rules” I have for hiking snacks for my kid were pretty universal.  And they *are* universally applicable.  But I now realize that I developed these rules specifically as an accommodation for my neurospicy kid. I think this blog post is still useful for all parents! But especially for parents who navigate life with a rigid thinking, restrictive eating, easily overwhelmed toddler - I hope this helps.

Snacks are one of our most vital hiking tools.  Whether we are taking a very short natural stroll or an 8 mile mountain hike, I always have snacks. And more snacks.  Because snacks are fuel, comfort, distraction, or motivation - whichever you need at the moment!  We have really dialed in our hiking snack game over the years and want to share our favorite choices and some rules I have for picking and packing our hiking snacks.  These hiking snack “rules” are what work for our neurodiverse preschooler - because it makes things predictable and embeds as much choice as possible.

Rule #1: Snacks have to work for BOTH parent and child.  One of the things I really worked on is finding snacks both me and my toddler enjoy.  Making sure everyone can and will eat all of the items in the pack increases your ability to be flexible in the moment.  I would rather pack snacks we both eat and have the ability to do some swapping as desired than be limited to whichever specific 3 things I packed for her versus me.  For example, if I can tell half way through a hike that it is going to take waaaaay longer than I anticipated to return, I know that I as the adult can ration “my” portion of snacks to be able to share more with her as needed.  Or if she really enjoyed a granola bar I can give her the second bar to eat too knowing I can eat one of her other options instead.  Having that kind of flexibility helps both of us.

Rule #2: Snacks have to be consistent hits.  Hiking is not a time to try new things or even things that are “hit or miss”.  Parents of neurodiverse kids in particular know that the idea that “kids will eat when they’re hungry” or “if they are hungry enough they will eat what they are given” is not true for all brains.  Doing something physically demanding and far from home/the car are not times we try to push or stretch our child’s eating habits.  We stick to tried and true favorites for both of us.  Does this also mean our long hiking days are filled with more processed snacks than we would normally eat in a given day at home? Yes.  Do I worry about this? No I don’t.  Context is key and our number one goal when hiking is always joy.  To maximize joy, we pick high value snacks that we are consistently excited about.  Our snack choices are almost all things we have on hand at home for regular snacking as well - no surprises.  Sometimes I remove a few of the options from the pantry for the week or two leading up to a big hike or camping trip so that those things are even more exciting on the trail - but they are still very familiar and consistent hits.

Rule #3: Snacks have to be easy and mess free.  You won’t find me packing slices of watermelon, plums, or saucy spaghetti on the trail.  Would a slice of watermelon half way through a hike be amazing? Uh, yes.  But it’s not worth the sticky hands, soaked shirt, etc.  I also don’t bring anything that requires refrigeration.  A freezer pack isn’t worth the weight in my backpack and those options can be saved for the car or home/campsite if desired!  I also think carefully about what my kid can or can’t eat in the hiking pack versus seated on the side of the trail without making a mess on the trail itself.  We don’t want to leave behind anything more than the tiniest crumbs - no dropped goldfish, no apple cores, etc.  So it is only recently that I can give her a baggie of pinenuts or pumpkins seeds and know that 99% of them will end up in her mouth and not on the trail attracting critters.

Bonus Rule: Purposeful planning. While not a “rule” like the other three, I also make sure I have a roughly plan in my head on what sort of “purpose” each snack will serve.  This is most relevant to long hikes of 5-8 miles that take us most of the day to complete and span usual times for morning snack, lunch, and afternoon snack.  In advance of these hikes, I lay out our whole snack/lunch haul prior to packing them into our backpack to make sure I am being intentional about what I am packing. Every snack falls into one of four categories for me: Light snack, protein snack, “main item” (if covering a meal time), or treat.  I balance of all these categories so we don’t end up with all treats and no calories to fuel us, or all calorie-dense main items and no lighter snack options for when we just need a little break and motivation.  I also make sure we have a variety of crunchy vs chewy vs juicy (but not messy juicy) items.  I then make a plan in my head on what I will offer up for morning versus afternoon snacks and our main “meal” with what I know about my kid.  For example, the more tired she gets, the more she wants the comfort of easy small crunchy foods like goldfish versus something like a whole apple.  So I have the mental plan to offer the apple for morning snack instead of risking it being rejected in the afternoon.

So what snacks consistently fit all 3 of our rules?  Here are some of our favorites from toddler-hood and also now in preschool age.