Toddler Meal Ideas to Prevent the Question “When Do We Eat?!”

Making food your toddler will actually eat isn’t always the easiest task. Toddlers are notoriously finicky and hard to please. When shopping it is best to buy ingredients where you can easily rotate meals during the week. Sometimes making a slight variation to the meal for your toddler without having to change your meal plan for the rest of the family is just the trick to get them used to eating what’s on their plate with everyone else at mealtime. Below are some meal ideas for the workweek to get you started:

Breakfast

1.      Blueberry pancakes with maple syrup is an old staple in every happy home. Try making the pancakes into fun shapes or make small silver dollar pancakes. Slice bananas on top then drizzle with syrup. Or spread with jam and butter in place of syrup. If you have more time to spare, add some hash browns and bacon on the side.
2.      Scramble eggs with ham chunks or chopped tomato and sprinkle with Swiss or cheddar or jack cheese on top. Add apple and orange slices on the side of the plate.
3.      Greek or vanilla yogurt parfaits are pretty to look at and also delicious. Put a layer of Greek yogurt down in a glass, bowl or cup, then sliced strawberries, then another layer of yogurt, then blueberries, add more yogurt then raspberries and finally drizzle with honey and sprinkle granola on top.
4.      Frozen fruit smoothie with frozen berries, orange juice, yogurt, honey and banana and a little water. Blend all together and go!
5.      Mini quiche. Make in muffin pans without crust or make a whole quiche with store bought crust and slice thin. Use spinach and ham or asparagus and mushrooms. Bacon and onions. Whatever ingredients your child likes.

Lunch

1.      Honey almond butter or honey peanut butter on toast with banana slices on top.  Avocado toast with or without tomato is another delicious soft choice. Or for a sweeter taste, try an English muffin spread with goat cheese or cream cheese, some jam or honey and strawberry slices on top.
2.      Apple, ham or turkey and cheddar slices, grapes, peanut butter and celery logs and a granola bar. It’s simple and a good source of fiber and protein.
3.      Veggie pasta salad. Use multi-color pasta or whole grain with farfalle, rotini or penne. Chop cherry tomatoes, cut up string cheese, chopped raw broccoli, chopped carrots, chopped black olives. If you want to add meat, chop in some salami. Mix it all with an Italian dressing and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
4.      Chicken salad, tuna salad, turkey or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches cut into shapes with a cookie cutter is always fun. Add some veggies on the side for snacking.
5.      Hummus wraps in pita or whole wheat tortilla with soft seasoned veggies like zucchini and yellow squash or lean deli meat and feta cheese and olives is a healthy choice. Cut into wheels to make it easier to eat.

Dinner

1.      Fruity chicken, rice and/or beans. Cut up the chicken meal or breasts you are making for the family and mix in with some rice and beans or chunks of fruit like pineapple and orange or a mild salsa instead of fruit with the beans added. Apples and cut up pork chop will work too.
2.      English muffin pizzas. Tomato sauce with melted cheese and a topping with a green salad is a simple and easy meal to make.
3.      Fish bites if you are making fish for your family. You can cut up and bread a filet for your toddler with bread crumbs, flour and egg wash a little garlic salt and lemon juice to season. Sauté the chunks and add a simple dipping sauce on the side while the rest of the family enjoys their filet with a fork.
4.      Spaghetti and Mac n cheese is always a winner with toddlers and adults alike but make sure to have some veggies or a green salad rich in fiber and lower in carbohydrates when eating all those complex carbohydrates from the pasta.
5.      Taco night is great for the entire family! Get small soft flour tortillas and make sure everything is chopped well for your little one or turn their ingredients into a taco salad. Make a quick quesadilla on the side and slice for your little one instead.