In honor of Easter coming up, I made my son a fun and simple snack as a special treat to enjoy: Bunny Trail Mix!  This particular version is not only toddler friendly and full of goodies, but is G-Free for any of you other moms who have kids that also eat G-Free. Kids can also help throw this easy snack mix together. Mine had a good time helping out 🙂 .

No matter what your child’s dietary needs are, you can customize the mix to be only the things your kids love! Most of the things I used are in the G-Free versions, but original versions are also available of each. Cheerios, Teensy Fruits, and Mini M&M’s do not contain gluten so they are safe ingredients. I chose things that he enjoys and that are tiny in size – safe for toddlers to have … lots of ‘mini’  bite size versions of things!

Easy Toddler Snack: Bunny Trail Mix 

This is super easy to throw together and toddler trail mix can be given while kiddos are placed in a highchair for snacking, placed in a snack cup for independent snacking, as well as for an on the go snack while out and about. This also works well for Easter get-togethers, just add a scoop for all to enjoy!

Before having my son, I taught Kindergarten for years. It’s important to mention that an added benefit of choosing this snack is that trail mix (and other finger foods) can be given to help to further develop fine motor skills as toddlers eat. Continuing to develop fine motor skills and promoting proper grip in small children is important because strong fine motor skills are needed for writing, cutting, shoe-tying, buttoning, zipping and so much more. This snack is bright, colorful, has interesting shapes, and small pieces that require a little more work to pick up, especially when mixed together – perfect for those developing little muscles :).

The possibilities are endless with what mix your want to create! Depending on what you include, this snack can be used as an occasional special treat (as in this case) or it can be a healthy snack any time of the year.

Aside from the Bunny cookies (a.k.a the star of the show), all you’ll need is 4- 5 more small scale ingredients that your child likes, a measuring cup, a spoon/spatula, a large bowl, and an air- tight container; some way to store individual servings.

Have fun mixing sweet and salty- this is adorable and delicious! Any dry cereal, puffs, nuts, raisins, dried fruit, yogurt melts, mini marshmallows, pretzel sticks, small candies, and more can be used as long as all ingredients are age appropriate.

Here’s What We Included in this Batch of Bunny Trail Mix:

• Annie’s Cocoa & Vanilla Bunny Cookies (original and G-Free versions available)
• Cheerios
• Teensy Fruits (Toddler-safe flat fruit snacks in lieu of bigger chunks of dried fruit until he’s older)
• Mini M & M’s
• Mini Vanilla Yogurt Covered Pretzel Crisps (flat and G-Free)
• Lance Bite Size Peanut Butter Cracker Sandwiches (original & G-Free versions available)

Directions:

To make a large batch, add 1 cup of each snack used to a large bowl. For a smaller batch, use a ½ cup of each. Since the Teensy Fruits come in individual pouches, I sprinkled only 1 pouch in the mix so it wasn’t too sweet. If you are using chunks of dried fruit, go ahead and use 1 cup or a 1/2 cup, why not?  🙂

Give it a good stir and that’s it! Pour in an air – tight container to keep it fresh. Just grab a serving out during snack times or fill a snack cup, and even a snack size zip-lock baggie if you are heading out or packing a lunch.

My little one enjoyed this treat, hope yours does too!

Wishing you all a Happy Easter!