Nutritious Snacks for Picky Eaters | Speech Therapist in NYC

A Highly Sensitive Speech Therapist in NYC Shares Clean, Nutritious Snacks for Picky Eaters

As a speech therapist in NYC, feeding specialist, neurodivergent person, and picky eater myself, I have a long list of nutritious snacks to choose from that I am excited to share with you today.

In fact, my family, friends, and clients alike know my affinity for squirreling and consuming clean and healthy snacks. When I start to feel my blood sugar drop and a slight pang of hunger, watch out!

In this blog, I will share snacks that I recommend in speech therapy sessions at my holistic practice, Chatty Child.

Snack Recommendations by a Speech Therapist in NYC

These snack recommendations provide energy, nutrition, and even chewing practice to improve all those important oral motor skills.

As a highly sensitive speech therapist, here are a few of my mealtime favorites organized by developmental age, oral motor difficulty, and textural composition.

Once Upon a Farm Organics

One of my favorite and trusted baby food brands to practice spoon feeding and tasting pureed fruits and vegetables with is Once Upon a Farm Organics.

Once Upon a Farm was co-founded by actor Jennifer Garner and is the first baby food brand to be given a Clean Label Project Purity Award.

The brand has also partnered with Recyclops to recycle and reuse the food pouches.

I love that they are working towards a cleaner environment. Double win!

I love these nutritious Once Upon a Farm food pouches for many reasons:

These pouches are easy to travel with and are filled with organic and sustainably grown fruits and vegetables.
They use a clean, cold-pressed process to preserve nutrients, taste and texture.
Each snack pouch contains no added sugar, additives or preservatives.
Luckily, there is a huge variety of delicious flavors and recipes to choose from – for all your little picky eaters.

Stonefield Yo Baby Yogurt Cups

Stonyfield’s Yo Baby yogurt cups are adorable and nutritious!

These little packable cups of yogurt are made with organic ingredients and come in no-sugar varieties.

It is important to practice spoon-feeding with your child. Please don’t just rely on those popular food pouches alone!

Building Healthy Feeding Habits One Spoonful at a Time

Yes, food pouches are super convenient, but your child needs to practice stripping food from the spoon with their lips to build up their lip strength, mobility and control.

Primarily using a food pouch will encourage an anterior sucking pattern with their tongue.

This oral motor pattern should change into a more mature chewing pattern and lateral tongue movement as they grow and move towards spoon feedings and chewing solids.

Moving away from food pouches and using an actual bowl and spoon is extremely beneficial for the growth and development of your child’s feeding skills and ability to tolerate a variety of textures.

Stonyfield yogurt cups are a great way to start practicing those spoon-feeding skills with your little ones!

Happy Baby Organic Teethers

As your child transitions to trying some soft chewable snacks, I love to introduce them to Happy Baby organic teethers.

I adore these teethers as a first step to introducing early chewing skills for many reasons:

Happy Family Organics was founded by moms on a mission.
Their products are free from the use of toxic persistent pesticides and are packaged without BPA, BPS, or phthalates.
Their teething wafers are a perfect choice. They are made with jasmine rice flour and a touch of organic fruits and veggies.
These teething wafers dissolve easily. This makes them a great, safe choice for introducing soft, chewable snacks.

When first introducing these teething wafers, I love to dip them into yogurt and use them like a dipping spoon with the baby or child. This feeding technique is called food chaining.

Food chaining combines a texture a child is familiar with with a novel texture.

This technique of food chaining allows the baby or child to experience new foods and tastes in a safe and neuro-affirming manner. While slowly expanding their taste and texture palate at their own pace.

When introducing new foods, it is important to follow the child’s lead and read their facial cues. If they are grimacing, puckering their lips, or gaggling, it may be time to take a step back and just allow them to look at or touch the food instead. This works by slowing down the overall introduction of the new food.

Last up, I will review some of my most trusted recommendations for super crunchy snacks – as your child learns the oral motor control to manage harder solids and more chewable snacks.

Here are some of my tested and tried favorites for improving chewing skills and providing oral sensory input for all those sensory seekers.

Lundberg Rice Cakes

Lundberg rice cakes are my most beloved rice cakes!

I adore these rice cakes for multiple reasons:

These rice cakes are made with organic whole grains.
These rice cakes come in adorable mini snack packs, which are perfect for packing into your child’s lunch box.
Their new sweet flavors include: birthday cake, salted caramel, and apple pie. Can you say yummy?

Harvest Snaps

Next up is another one of my trusted and favorite brands for snacking – Harvest Snaps.

I love these harvest snap baked organic green pea snacks. This is a powerhouse snack for many reasons!

They provide ‘a powerful flavor punch’ with added sea salt in each bite.
They give that awesome crunchy feedback your little ones are looking for.
They are made from organic vegetables, adding to this snack’s nutritious profile.

It is important to remember that many neurodivergent children need added sensory stimulation throughout the day.

By giving your child these crunchy snack options, you are providing them with that added sensory kick and feedback that they are craving – throughout the day naturally. How cool is that?

I hope you have found my tasty and nutritious snack recommendations helpful for all your little picky eaters.

I would love to hear what some of your child’s favorite clean snacks are.

Drop them in the comments below…

Until next time…

Sincerely,

Heather Lynn Boerner, MA CCC/SLP

Is your child highly sensitive? Is your child a picky eater?

Chatty Child’s feeding, occupational therapy, and speech therapy in NYC can help!

We offer personalized neurodivergent affirming, speech, language, feeding, and occupational therapy, as well as creative mindfulness classes for all ages and abilities.

In-person and online options are available for all therapeutic sessions and classes.

Our occupational and speech therapists are here to support all your child’s therapeutic needs.

I invite you to schedule a tour to discover the support waiting for your child at Chatty Child.

We are here to help and support your child – grow and learn!

Let’s create excellent communicators, super eaters, confident voices, calm minds, and limitless possibilities – together!

Work With a Feeding and Speech Therapist in NYC

If your child is a picky eater or struggles with sensory or oral motor challenges during mealtimes, Chatty Child is here to help. Our individualized approach supports children as they expand their food choices, build confidence, and develop the skills needed for more positive eating experiences.

Getting started is simple:

Contact us or call 347.491.4451 to schedule a free 15-minute conversation.
Complete a comprehensive evaluation to better understand your child’s feeding and communication needs.
Begin a personalized speech therapy plan tailored to your child’s goals.
Learn practical strategies to support progress at home and during everyday meals.

As a trusted speech therapist in NYC, Chatty Child helps children develop healthier feeding habits and greater confidence at mealtime.

Speech, Feeding & Occupational Therapy Services at Chatty Child

At Chatty Child, we provide child-centered services that support communication, feeding, sensory, and emotional development. Our holistic approach helps children build the skills they need to thrive at home, at school, and in everyday life.

Our services include:

Speech Therapy – Support for speech, language, social communication, executive functioning, and feeding.
InterAct – Play- and story-based sessions that strengthen language and connection.
Occupational Therapy – Support for sensory processing, motor skills, and daily living.
hum studios – Mindfulness-based classes that foster emotional well-being.
Teletherapy – Virtual speech and occupational therapy across New York State.
Tutoring – Individualized support for reading, writing, and learning.
Functional Nutrition – Nutrition-informed strategies that support healthy development.
Consulting – Guidance for parents, caregivers, and educators.
Group Programs – Small-group sessions that build communication and social skills.

Meet Heather: Compassionate Speech Therapist in NYC

Heather Boerner, MA, CCC-SLP, is a licensed speech-language pathologist with more than 20 years of experience supporting children’s communication and feeding development. She blends evidence-based care with mindfulness, trauma-informed practices, and a neurodiversity-affirming approach.

As the founder of Chatty Child, Heather provides personalized therapy in Tribeca and virtually throughout New York State, helping children build confidence and everyday communication skills. She is also the author of Carrie the Colorful Chameleon, a children’s book that celebrates self-expression and individuality.

Heather offers in-person services in Tribeca and virtual therapy throughout New York State.