"They” say that a young one’s small stomach means that large meals are an impossibility – that’s not exactly true in our household.  While the Little Prince is now one year old, with a mouth full of teeth – with more coming in each day, it seems – the impact of such development on his appetite is negligible. Now, though, we’re noticing that he’s becoming more of a snacker. Meals are getting a little smaller and his daily snacks are getting a little bigger – I guess he just needs to fuel himself throughout the day now that he is EVERYWHERE! There are all kinds of pre-packaged foods out there that claim to be perfect for the snacking toddler – I’m a little more skeptical.  As a result, I’ve resumed my habit of being a big label reader.  The general rule is that if there’s an ingredient I can’t pronounce with relative ease – or if I can’t buy the ingredients individually, I don’t buy the product. Some of His Highness’ favourite snacks are not (thank heavens) nutritionally empty foods. We work to make sure that he gets a quality snack that is healthy for him.  And he’s good with that – in fact, we’ve even tried some of the pre-packaged foods – and he’s not a big fan. Our greatest successes come with finger foods that go into a suction-cup-based bowl that I place on the coffee table while he’s running around, along with a sippy cup of water or heavily diluted juice.  I use things like some cheese I’ve cut up into small pieces, or a handful of chopped chicken, or even some chopped up blueberries (he’s crazy about blueberries). Then a few weeks ago, something happened to add more to his snacking experience.  We all went to a Lebanese restaurant – one I know well, where they make all their own food, sauces and breads.  Imagine my son’s surprise when he snatched my spoon and immediately dipped it into a creamy white sauce (that I can only assume he thought was yogurt), only to find out that it was garlic sauce!  His face was priceless!  I then introduced him to the hummus – which he enjoyed much more. It did get me to thinking, though – what about dips and sauces?  So, since then, he’s been trying new dips, like tzatziki (a great recipe is here), or hummus, or even a homemade ranch dressing.  I use softer things, like chicken strips or cooked veggies as the dish alongside them, and I have to admit, he likes them – very much.  He’s not big on the dipping thing yet, so sometimes, I just drizzle the sauces onto the foods.  He’ll get it soon, though! The thing is, I’m hoping that he learns to love a wider variety of healthy foods than, say, his finicky father (love you, honey) for both meals and snacks. By constantly switching things up and trying new things, we’re getting there!