Favorite Quick Toddler Meals??

*Bloom2be* · March 2011

What are your "go to" meals for toddlers/1 year olds. DS is on table foods and I would like him to eat what we do, but most of the time I haven't cooked our dinner yet when it's time for him to eat and he gets CRANKY when he's hungry so I have to just throw whatever I can find together for him real quick. I need some ideas for quick/easy/healthy meals I can have on hand. Lately he seems to only want mandarin oranges .. and obviously that's not a balanced diet!!

blueLu25 · March 2011

When ds was that age we did a lot of steamed veggies/ fruit (peas, carrots, green beans, banana, apple, mango, pear, etc). Another good thing is grilled cheese, or small pieces of cheese, cheerios, pasta with sauce, beans, eggs. I would pretty much just try and get something from each food group and call it a meal

If there were things in the "main" meal that he could eat then he would have that too.

*Bloom2be* · March 2011

blueLu25:
When ds was that age we did a lot of steamed veggies/ fruit (peas, carrots, green beans, banana, apple, mango, pear, etc). Another good thing is grilled cheese, or small pieces of cheese, cheerios, pasta with sauce, beans, eggs. I would pretty much just try and get something from each food group and call it a meal If there were things in the "main" meal that he could eat then he would have that too.

Glad I'm not alone..this is what we've pretty much been doing. I give fruit, a grilled cheese and try to get some veggies in there and call it good!

TwinMommy09 · March 2011

Stuff we still do today (started after 1 year and had tried each of the foods already):

Potato bar - give them a baked potato (I microwave to save time) and some toppings.
Taco plate - same as above, usually with leftover chicken, cheese, soft tortilla and tomato/corn/avacado "salsa".
Oatmeal, applesauce, cinnamon and raisins. Again microwave oatmeal, add the rest cold.
Grilled cheese or mac&cheese.
beanie-weenies or mac&cheese w/ weenies. we like weenies in our house cut really small (I use my egg slicer to cut the hot dogs).
pasta with olive oil and steamed veggies or pasta with meat/red sauce.
"Tapa" plate - basically lots of odds and ends - serve it in a fun muffin tin or egg crate and make it fun with things that wouldn't be meals in themselves like cheerios, cheese, pasta, raisins, fruit, veggie - we do this with leftovers a lot. I want to find small muffin tins (like only 6 instead of 12).

I was also given good advice that you don't need to stress about getting all of the food groups in each day - but look at their intake over the course of the week and adjust what you feed them. I find it impossible to get daily recommendations but weekly it all comes together.

cmcmillan · March 2011

I picked up some morning star veggie patties for quick dinners. Frozen veggies, mangos are a favorite right now, oatmeal is always quick and healthy (i stir in a little applesauce for flavor).

StellaZ · March 2011

For super easy (but "healthy") we do these a lot!

* Carrot maccaroni
* Danonino mini-yogurt with chia seeds (super high in protein - forms like a tapioca)
* Wacky Pasta (made from veggies, easy finger food)
* Fiber One pancake mix (add water) + add blueberries (great unconstipator!)
* And, he eats everything in the Birdseye Garlic chicken. I make this a few times per month - just one pot heat and done - and keep batches in the fridge.

And these are not super-easy - but I make a ton and freeze and thaw them in batches so we always have them available - go down easy with a little ketchup.
Meant-n-Veggie nuggets (see: Veggie only version)

StellaZ · March 2011

Also, I scanned a bunch of Daycare menus HERE - which because they have to follow strict dietary guidelines gives a nice range of all the food groups for a 1-2 year old.

IkesHawaiian06 · March 2011

StellaZ:
Also, I scanned a bunch of Daycare menus HERE - which because they have to follow strict dietary guidelines gives a nice range of all the food groups for a 1-2 year old.

Awesome! I love this! I'm totally going to print these and use some ideas. I'm always looking for something new for Emma to eat.

iHeartHimMore · March 2011

I cheat and use a lot of frozen stuff - mostly from Trader Joe's. Their Italian meatballs are a big hit. A few other things I've found that have become staples (besides simple frozen veggies, of course) are this quinoa, butternut squash & zucchini mix, and a polenta, pea, spinach & tomato sauce thing.

Another super quick & easy (cheat) thing that she loves... I take a can of soup (better for them if it's a low sodium one, better tasting if it's not) and strain most of the liquid out.

Wow - I sound like I'm one step away from giving her TV dinners. I swear she eats "real" food all the time too! Stick out tongue

ETA: I just thought of something else she's been digging lately - sandwiches. But not really, because she just takes them all apart anyway. I'll serve her a sandwich (1/2 sandwich, really - 1 slice of bread total) with deli thin ham, cheese, tomato, olives, lettuce and pickles. She'll promptly take it all apart and eat everything separately. But I guess it's interesting to her because I give her what looks like something mommy and daddy eat too.

stacylu · March 2011

Tonight she had turkey lunchmeat with shredded cheese, edamame, pears, yogurt and a glass of milk. She ended up wrapping the cheese and edamame in the turkey slices and loved it.

Last night she had scrambled eggs, a piece of toast and strawberries.

She loves spaghetti and tacos/quesadillas. Sometimes it's black bean and cheese, other times I'll add chicken and cheese and let her dip in some sour cream or plain yogurt.

And I only give her fruit and yogurt after she's eaten her protein and veggies. Otherwise that's all she'll eat.

*Bloom2be* · March 2011

IkesHawaiian06:

StellaZ:
Also, I scanned a bunch of Daycare menus HERE - which because they have to follow strict dietary guidelines gives a nice range of all the food groups for a 1-2 year old.

Awesome! I love this! I'm totally going to print these and use some ideas. I'm always looking for something new for Emma to eat.

Thanks ..I am totally going to copy this too!

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