Toddler Favorite Recipes

[dmorgendorffer]

Who has recipes that your toddler loves?  

My child seems to be mostly subsisting on bananas, berries, goldfish, cheerios and yogurt.  Good recipes for getting more protein, veggies and more variety into her diet appreciated! 

[dmorgendorffer]

These have been big hits for us so far:

www.skinnytaste.com/cheeseburger-casserole/

www.skinnytaste.com/crock-pot-picadillo/

She generally likes ground beef, but some nights she just wants to carbo load.

[seamonster]

Cottage pie -- I use frozen mixed vegetables to make it easy and up the vegetable content
*Salmon and vegetable risotto with other vegetables on the side
*Spaghetti (I make sauce at home so I can limit the salt)
*Enchiladas (use plain yogurt or sour cream to cut the heat) with beans and calabacitas
*Grilled cheese sandwich served with cucumber or bell pepper strips
*Scramble or fritatta with vegetables


I'll admit that more often than not on weekends he gets a Ella's packet for lunch or dinner because we haven't gotten around to cooking or only have leftovers that don't constitute a blanched meal

[tortor4]

I second the grilled cheese! I usually add deli meat to it and Celia loves it.
ETA I also add veggies to Mac and cheese. Because....healthy

[dreemkin]

I get fresh shredded chicken from the grocery store (I think they are from the roasted chickens). That is our protein staple and then we just add whatever veggies/fruit we have. She loves everything right now though. An easy thing to get (and they travel well too) are the little plastic cups of veggies like the fruit cups. I also always make/have hard boiled eggs.

Now my 3 year old is another story. Lately she'll only eat lunchables, grape tomatoes, hard boiled eggs and of course...hotdogs.

[lilyelayne]

I love this chicken & veg risotto. I use chicken broth cause I never have beef, and I use all the vegetables in the fridge. It often takes longer than I think to make it, but it makes a lot & freezes well. Often our veggies are onion, bell pepper, broccoli, carrot, & celery but really anything would work. It does take a lot of stirring, though.

[lilyelayne]

Pasta & meat sauce. I run carrots through the food processor and load the sauce up with those. Could probably do the same with a dark green veg like broccoli or spinach.
I usually serve with a side of broccoli or green salad. Sometimes I add cheese.

---


Crockpot chicken curry-
Layer in crockpot:
Chicken
Chopped veggies (onion, bell pepper, green beans- probably whatever you want)
Sauce (jar of salsa, 3-4tbsp curry powder, minced garlic... Sometimes I'll add a can of tomato paste)
Repeat layers as needed.
Cook like any crockpot meal (instructions say high 3hr or high 1.5hr then low 3hr but I've cooked it on low for a whole work day & been fine).
Sometimes I'll add cubed potatoes for the last couple hours. Probably fine to do them in the beginning too.
If bone in chicken, remove chicken & stir in yogurt or sour cream. If boneless chicken, stir with tongs until chicken shreds, then stir in yogurt or sour cream. Also good if you skip this step.
Serve over rice. Put some turmeric in the rice while cooking if you want it to be pretty.

---

G loves taco meat, too. You can dice bell peppers in that if you want, and top with lettuce and cheese. Or kale and cheese. We've done baked chicken nachos with kale and the flavors go pretty well together.

[lilyelayne]

I've heard to look at toddler eating over a week's time. He may want just protein one day and just veggies the next and then all his carbs. Or he may be balanced. Or he may refuse a meal entirely and then make up for it later.

I know what you mean about running out of things to offer, though. And it's so frustrating when he refuses to eat what I've served.

[mishka29]

Sheppards Pie
Scrambled eggs with veggie, cheese and tofu mixed in
Chicken fingers and fries

[dmorgendorffer]

Apr 1, 2016 12:47:30 GMT -5 lilyelayne said:

I've heard to look at toddler eating over a week's time. He may want just protein one day and just veggies the next and then all his carbs. Or he may be balanced. Or he may refuse a meal entirely and then make up for it later.

I know what you mean about running out of things to offer, though. And it's so frustrating when he refuses to eat what I've served.

The thing that is most frustrating is DD seems to love/hate something one day and do a complete 180 the next time we try it.  We started doing weekly taco Tuesday because she loved them so much, until she hated them.  She could not throw strawberries off her tray fast enough the first time she tried them, and now they are one of the only things she will always eat.  Luckily our daycare seems to have a good variety and it seems like she eats a lot there during the day. 

[seamonster]

*Banana bread made with applesauce instead of sugar
*Cheesy chicken, rice, and broccoli. I do stove top with broth, but there are oven versions and some with cream of whatever (not a fan of cream soups hence the broth)
*Quesadillas -- I put salsa in with the cheese and DS loves it
* macaroni and cheese -- I saw a video for making a vegan one with vegetables for the sauce that I think could be good with cheese added (just to sneak in extra veggies)

[maryxc1]

DD will eat almost anything we let her, so I try to make dinners that are compatible with her allergies and she eats what we eat. DS was a different story. I always kept a stockpile in the freezer and thawed as needed. Some of my favorite freezer toddler food is (not that you asked for freezer specific):

- Zucchini muffins
- Falafel
- Burritos (pre make with meat, rice, veggies, beans, cheese, etc. and individually freeze)
- Any kind of fruit muffin
- Oatmeal raisin bars
- Shredded chicken with veggies, cheese, and whatever herb you are feeling
- Chili (so messy but DD loves it)

[agm04]

I haven't read the whole book yet, but I've heard great things about this book - the general message is that our job as a parents is to prepare and offer the food, and LO's job is to decide what and how much of it to eat. The end. No airplane, no bargaining or rewarding with food, etc. I've totally adopted this mindset and it helps me relax SO much. I've also gotten some fun ideas from following @vegetablesandvirtue on instagram. She's an RD and makes these impossibly cute lunch boxes for her toddler, and offers foods the kid loves, likes, and is "learning" for each meal, with the idea that repeated exposure often works even for foods they think they don't like at first. I've seen it work with DD.

I have a hard time being creative and not offering the same foods every day, and I know it's super important to expose them to a variety of flavors and textures at this age, so I keep a running list of snack ideas on my phone and add to it when ideas pop into my head. I then look at the list and leave a very simple snack schedule for our au pair each day (just to give you an idea: today's "list" says 1. edamame and yogurt gummies (see recipe below) 2. pineapple and string cheese). She usually eats leftovers for lunch.

Ugh I'm sorry I've written a novel. Here are a few recipes that DD seems to like most of the time:

Yogurt gummies - I love these too. I made them with just 2 packets of gelatin, and they're very easy for DD to eat. Also good frozen for teething. Bonus: gelatin is rich in protein.

Super easy cheesy spinach pasta - I'm too lazy to clean the food processor, so I just chop the spinach before cooking and it works fine.

Baked oatmeal - very adaptable.

Other really easy ideas: beans (DD will always eat baked beans), frozen peas, roasted sweet potatoes, those pea chips from trader joe's/whole foods (they're called inner peas at TJ's), freeze dried berries (another TJ's favorite), PBJ, olives.

[dreemkin]

Olives are a new favorite in the dreemkin household. I also will open a can of kidney beans or black eye peas and cut those up.

[agm04]

dreemkin my kid is obsessed with black olives. and i think they're vile.

[aggiebug]

agm04 we basically follow that philosophy. I decide what to cook she decides what to eat although I do admit I will sometimes push her to eat the first bite because I know she will like it. After that it's all her.

[dreemkin]

Apr 4, 2016 9:26:39 GMT -5 agm04 said:

dreemkin my kid is obsessed with black olives. and i think they're vile.

I love all olives!

[lilyelayne]

I'm with agm04 and aggiebug with offering a meal and allowing DS to decide what he eats and when. But yes sometimes I have to prompt him to take the first bite too. Our biggest struggle is if he doesn't want something he can leave it on his plate, it doesn't have to go on the floor. I don't stress, though, because I do NOT want mealtime to be a fight. If he's throwing things on the floor, the plate is moved out of reach. When he wants something he signs more or eat, I hold the plate out, he takes what he wants, the plate goes away again.

I have a friend who still fights with her four year old about eating every. single. meal. Take this bite. Chew that bite. You've been chewing for five minutes so swallow. Swallow all of it. I said all of it. Take this bite. Take a real bite. Chew it.

I feel so bad for her, and for the kid. It's got to be a "how did we end up here" kind of situation when you're in it, I guess.

[lilyelayne]

Someone posted this link in a thread on Parenting. I skimmed a section or two; it looked interesting.

ellynsatterinstitute.org/htf/howtofeed.php

[dreemkin]

Just wait til your kids are three, you guys.

[lilyelayne]

Apr 5, 2016 20:19:52 GMT -5 dreemkin said:

Just wait til your kids are three, you guys.

I feel like I'm wearing a ftm badge any time I talk about toddler antics.

[maryxc1]

Apr 5, 2016 20:19:52 GMT -5 dreemkin said:

Just wait til your kids are three, you guys.

Yes! My three year old was a good eater when he was one. Now he is soooo picky. It's exhausting.

[agm04]

lilyelayne that sounds miserable. also, the book i linked to was written by Ellyn Satter! I'm going to bookmark that page.

[WittyLittle]

Thanks guys for these great recipes! DS has been soooooo fussy lately but he can't use cutlery yet so we're kind of stuck on making finger foods as yummy as possible these recipes will make a great change

[lilyelayne]

Apr 7, 2016 7:21:22 GMT -5 badw0lf said:

F's new fav:

I use low sodium chicken rice a roni (go ahead and flame me) and I grate in carrots and zucchini, dice up green beans and broccoli, throw in some peas and let it all cook together.

I can't believe you admitted this. Depriving F of all that delicious sodium by using LOW sodium rice a roni. My cousin's sister's roommate's midwife's ex-girlfriend said the kidneys are fully developed by one year old. And she played a doctor on tv.