Puff the magic grain - a healthy snack for toddlers

Our 20-month old boy is always hungry. Not a huge surprise what with all the growing he has to do I guess but we were sort of running out of healthy food options that don't need preparation (for snacks between meal times). There's of course always fruit ... but some fruit represent a choking hazzard, are too hard, too soft, messy to eat or take time to prepare (especially compared to say a biscuit). So I was looking around for other healthy options and came across puffed up grains.

We started with millet puffs, then rice puffs and are now exploring other grains (you can just about get any grain in puffed up form). It's a fantastic snack - for a number of reasons:

* healthy (it's just pure grain - no sugar, no fat, no additives, some of the grains are very low in gluten, etc)
* safe (because the grains are puffed up they instantly melt in the mouth and can easily be swallowed)
* keeps them busy (Noah started eating them one by one ... )
* no mess (generally no crumbs, easy to pick up or vacuum)
* cheap (I generally pick up a whole bag of puffs for a few dollars)
* not fruit (if your toddler is not keen on fruit, this might be a good alternative)

So an all round great experience! You can also add a bit of milk and you've almost got a small meal (although at that point this "snack" tends to get a bit more messy).

-Stef