The Best Bedtime Snacks From Toddlers to Teens {and everything in between!}

From toddlers to teens, learn what makes the best bedtime snacks for the best sleep ever!

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{Disclaimer :: I am not a doctor and do not claim to be one. I am sharing some tips and ideas based on what has worked for my kids, that I have found also works for other families too. For the most part, we are talking about healthy, normal kids without medical complications or special diagnoses. Consult with your doctor if you are truly having sleep issues with the kids or need help with feeding a medically complicated child.}

A simple bedtime snacks concept, years in the making!

For over a decade, I’ve been sharing nourishing recipes, tips, and ideas that have worked for our little family of 5. You’ve seen my girls grow from first foods and toddler bites, into their first years of school lunchboxes and park playdates. And now, I practically have a house full of teenagers! With the youngest in her “tween” years and my other 2 at teenager ages, there’s a simple trend that I have noticed that I have never shared in this space before, and really think it might help someone…

Growing and growth spurting kids sleep better when they have a fatty rich bedtime snack.

It seems too simple right? But it’s those simple things that can often get overlooked!

Why is sleep so important?

We all know how important sleep is for rapidly growing kids of any age. We think of it particularly for babies and toddlers, as we can physically see the growth and brain development so crystal clear. But did you know that elementary school kids have ebbs and flows of rapid brain growth too? And then there’s the tweens and teens! The growth that happens for girls in pre-puberty/puberty (age 10-14 for girls, & 11-16 for boys) is the second largest growth spurt your child will have! (The first is birth to age 3). <—-Let that sink in a minute! If you think you are out of the woods once you are out of toddlerhood, you are in for a big surprise! These pre-teens grow…a lot!

So what gives? Why do they need these bedtime snacks???

Anyone that has watched a growing teenager eat for a full day will be very tempted to ask this question! And I totally get it! I’ve watched in awe as my tweens and teens devour piled high plates of food where I was *sure* their eyes were bigger than their stomachs! But just like babies, it’s all about what is going on inside of their bodies. If they are going through a growth spurt, hormone shift, and/or brain development, they just need more calories to support that. And just like babies who wake you up in the night crying because they need to eat to support that calorie need, you might find growth spurting children and teens wake up in the night if their calorie needs are higher at the moment!

So, what makes good bedtime snacks?

When my girls were toddlers and weaning, I noticed that when I gave them something similar in nutrient density to breastmilk, they would have a better time sleeping through the night. Breastmilk is very fatty, so I figured I’d just try to mimic that using butter or raw milk, and it really worked! I knew I was onto something by baby number 3, and throughout the years as the girls have grown and had little growth spurting seasons, I’ve found this sleep trick to be just the ticket to getting those calories in that growing kids need to sleep through the night.

Our number 1 bedtime snack fav…Butter!

It doesn’t get any simpler than this, does it? And I don’t know too many babies and toddlers that wouldn’t go for a spoon full of butter before bed. I have countless photos of my now teens as toddlers swiping at the butter plate! Those cravings are for good reason! The fatty compounds and nutrients in real butter are unmatched, and truly make for a very restful nigh of sleep. My 11 year old still has a spoonful of butter before bed every night. If your kids or teens aren’t into a plain butter, try making some butter based fat bombs. They can keep in the refrigerator in a little container for quick bites before bed. (There are fat bomb recipes ALL over Pinterest or with a quick Google search!)

But what if my kid won’t just eat a spoonful of butter?

That’s where the rest of my list comes in! Because, as delicious as butter is, not every kid is going to go for that! The key is fatty, nutrient dense food that won’t spike blood sugar.

Here are somse bedtime snacks that I’ve used throughout the years! I hope to hear from you in the comments which ones worked for your kids, too!

Avocados or Guacamole

Whether the kids want to scoop some crackers or veggie sticks into some guac, or have at the avocado right out of the shell, avocados pack a fantastic fatty and fiber punch that makes a satiating snack before bedtime. I found that my toddlers loved the independence of giving them their own shell to scoop from!

Full Fat Milk or Fatty Milk Tonics

I know it just sounds so simple, but truly a glass of milk (yes you can gently warm it too!) before bed is fantastic for good sleep. I typically went a step further and made my delicious fatty milk tonic. It is always inhaled and so loved and comforting. I wrote this recipe in my first cookbook, Nourished Beginnings.

Eggs

Do you sense the simplicity theme here?! Eggs aren’t just for breakfast. Packed with the best kind of fat as well as some protein, eggs are a common bedtime snack around our house during the week. Cook the eggs in butter and it’s a double whammy!

Fatty Fish/Meat

Honestly, some nights it just came down to getting dinner out again. Especially if your little one didn’t eat much at dinner, there is nothing wrong with having a few bites of beef roast. My oldest in particular loved having canned sardines or tuna fish before bed. As a 15 year old, it is still her bedtime snack of choice. She came home from track last week, and an hour after she had dinner she mixed a whole can of tuna and a sardine with olive oil and sea salt. That is an incredible amount of protein and healthy fats for such an active teenager, and she sleeps great!

More Bedtime Snacks for Older Kids!

I get it. You may be just joining this whole real food thing for your kids, and I literally do not expect a teenager (or even an 8 or 9 year old) who has never had tuna fish willingly pick that for a bedtime snack. So here are some more fun ideas that will break their carb heavy bedtime snack rituals for your crew. They taste amazing, but are loaded with fats and even some protein so that blood sugars can even out and sleep can be easy.

• Protein Bites: These little bites not only have protein from protein powder that your teens might like to use, but they are packed out with fatty peanut butter too.
• Coconut Butter Fat Bombs: Plain coconut butter is basically blended up meat from a coconut. It is slightly sweet and my babies and toddlers all ate it off the spoon. You may find your older kids will willingly do the same because it tastes so good! If not, make them into fat bombs (you can find fat bomb recipes ALL over Pinterest and Google)! Coconut meat is loaded with the best kind of healthy fat and also a ton of fiber! You can find loads of coconut butter fat bomb recipes in a simple Google or Pinterest search.
• Full Fat Cheese: I don’t know too many teens that don’t love cheese. Just pick a raw cheese or quality organic, and of course full fat. If they want something to go with it, skip the crackers, and go for a bowl of high fiber fruit instead.
• Olives: Buttery and smooth, olives have a great fat content and are a yummy salty snack if that is what your kids are craving to nourish adrenals. Add some berries to the side too!
• Full fat smoothies: You can literally load these up with as much fat as you want. From full fat milk, coconut milk, or yogurt, to avocado or egg yolks!
• Liver Pate: Sounds fancy, but if you have kids that love to dip, it doesn’t get any better than getting some nutrient dense liver into them right before they rest for the night. Like nature’s multi-vitamin, liver is packed with nutrients to help the restorative processes that happen at night. They could dip anything from veggie sticks to a cracker!

Can I put something else with the fatty rich bedtime snacks?

Of course you can. Every kid and their metabolism is different, so keep that in mind. For the most part, I found for my really little ones, just the fatty snack to be enough. Perhaps some berries in their yogurt or alongside their cheese. Toddler appetites (and attention spans!) can sometimes be a few bites before they are done, so I always tended to just offer the fat first and see if they wanted more. 9 times out of 10 they were done after the butter or avocado!

A little bedtime snacks caveat for super active sports kids!

If you have kids that are in very active sports in the evening (or who have just been playing really hard all evening after dinner!), I recommend adding a healthy carbohydrate to the fat to help them with their energy stores. Kids participating in endurance sports or very long practice times will benefit from replenishing muscle energy fast so the repair process can take place.

That is where carbs come in. Pair that cheese or egg with some fruit. Spread some peanut butter or coconut butter onto a banana. Go ahead and even add a little raw honey (or better yet, mineral rich molasses that helps with sleep!) into their yogurt. Just be sure there is more fat/protein on the plate than the carb so they aren’t spiking blood sugar before bed. They definitely need the fuel though.

I shared earlier that my distance runner (who is 15) often chooses sardines or tuna fish after practice, but she always almost has a bowl of fruit with that too! My gymnast that has 3-4 hour practices at a time will have her electrolyte smoothie *and* her butter. The smoothie has an entire banana and protein powder along with the butter – and this is after having a full dinner before practice. She is 11 years old and this works for her.