Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

I figure I can't be the only who's got a toddler that is a fussy eater (used to be a good eater) and is constantly looking for new meal ideas [I hope]...so I thought we could all post 2 meals (can be lunch or dinner) that your toddler likes and actually eats. Maybe it will help another mom looking for ideas (like me!) besides Mac n' cheese and chicken nuggets! Bonus points if you sneak veggies in somehow!




1. Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup w/a slice of whole wheat bread (toasted with or without butter)

2. Perdue Turkey Meatballs with Goya yellow rice with some chopped broccoli snuck into the rice

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

Here's what works in our house:

1. Turkey Chili with shredded cheese
2. Spinach stuffed Ravioli w/Tomato sauce

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

My kids love Tortellini. No sauce, just a little parmesan cheese.

Rolled up BH turkey with slices of cheddar cheese on Ritz crackers

sliced apples with peanut butter

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

Great post. I'm dying for some new ideas.

I use Nature's Promise sauce from Stop and shop. They make one that is Garden vegetable, but the veggies are pretty much ground up. Great way to get veggies in and it tastes good too.

1. English muffin pizza's with NP Sauce

2. Turkey burgers - one egg, turkey meat and Knor's vegetable soup Mix or I buy the Garden Burger veggie burgers and they have tons of veggies & brown rice in it. They also taste very good.

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

My 2 yr old is a horriable eater however his favorites would be:
1. Grill Cheese
2. hot dogs

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

Emma has a lot of food allergies so a lot of stuff I have to make from scratch to subsitute ingredients, but I freeze stuff to last the week.

Stew - with carrots celery and potatoes.

Her pasta with chicken in chicken broth with carrots. I guess its like a bland chicken noodle.

Ham steak with mashed potatoes.

Chicken sauteed with tomato pears, garlic, olive oil, and parsley.

Meatloaf - I stuff it with carrots and celery.

Chicken cutlets - sliced super thin and fried.

Her pasta with meat sauce.

Message edited 9/19/2007 2:14:52 PM.

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

Meatloaf
Ravioli
Tomato Soap
Chicken Cutlets
Fish Sticks
Grilled Cheese
Sweet Potato Bisque Soap

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

Ravioli
Gnocchi
Mac n cheese
Grilled Cheese
Hotdogs

My DD is a PICKY eater,mealtime around here is so stressful

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

Meatless corndogs are big in our house. She especially likes the ones from Trader Joes.

Also:
Chicken Nuggets
Ravioli
PB sandwiches

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

Bolognese w/ elbow pasta
Salmon Croquettes (so easy to make)
minestrone (carrots, onion, peas, beans and pastina)

raisin bread french toast
pumpkin pancakes
banana-raisin muffins (great for on-the-go)

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

Hummus on anything (i.e. bread, pita, veggie burgers, etc). She basically likes anything she can "dip"

Pasta with veggie meatballs

Fish sticks

Any broiled fish like Tilapia or Salmon

Organic soup with rice or pasta mixed in

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

Julia loves spagetti with meatsauce

Homemade chicken soup

Hummus on any type of crackers, loves to dip.

Scrambled eggs with cheese

My homemade Mac and cheese w/ chopped hotdogs in it.

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

baked sweet potato fries (he can eat these every night)

scrambled eggs w/sausage links

Waffles/french toast sticks

Spaghetti w/meat sauce (I put diced tomatoes in the sauce)

Penne with sauce

Linguine w/butter and parmesan cheese

Ravioli

PB&J

Chicken drummettes and dip w/BBQ

Red beans and rice

Fish sticks

Salmon patties (croquettes)

turkey and cheese sandwich

grilled cheese

Message edited 9/19/2007 4:51:27 PM.

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

pasta & meatballs in homemade sauce

mac n cheese

broccoli in cheese sauce

quesadillas....chicken & cheese, beans & cheese

black beans & rice

chicken tenders w/ a variety of sides (flavored rice, pasta, veggies)

cheeseburgers

grilled cheese

very into cereal and oatmeal for breakfast

LOVES eating fruit, not big on yogurt though

she will eat steak, meatloaf and just about anything we put in front of her. She has NOT been that great with her veggies lately, but will eat them if she asks for them

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

Oatmeal (Quaker)- All kinds of varieties
Waffles/Pancakes
Raisin Toast

Turkey Frank
Pasta and Sauce, with Parm cheese
PB & J Sandwich
Mixed veggies from the can to pick from

Fruit cocktail cups, I drain the juice and let him feed himself
Yogurt

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

chicken quesadillas- I usually sneak peas inside and she doesn't notice.

Pasta with broccoli (I make the rachel ray recipe for pasta, cheese and trees)

I also make her tilapia- I fry it like chicken cutlets.

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

She loves the campbell's chicken rice soup.
Also
sweet potato fries
rice
ckn nuggets
fish sticks
vienna sausages
ckn sausage
ritz crackers w/turkey breast

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

Can I just tell you that one of my dreams is to come up with a really toddler-friendly cookbook. I would LOVE to do that. I cook for Ava and daydream about letting little toddlers taste test things I just think that would be awesome. Then, I'd start a business where I come to your home and help make a menu of meals that are geared toward your picky eater. I'm such a nerd. That would be my DREAM job. Not that I'm qualified to do it, but man, I think that would be such a great job.


Anyway, onto what I feed Ava, the human vacuum I know I don't have a picky eater, but I do know that she likes really strong flavors and so do most other toddlers.

1. The infamous chicken "fingers" and sweet potato "fries", an oldy, but goody.

2. Rigatoni with a mock bolognese sauce. I brown some 99% fat free ground turkey with garlic and olive oil, make a tomato sauce in that same pot with tomato puree, tomato paste, white wine and a little water, let it cook for an entire day, then take my hand blender and blend it so that hte meat is really smooth. It's SO FREAKING YUMMY! This way, she's actually getting the protein while thinking she's eating just pasta.

3. Omlette with sauteed onions and peppers.

4. Homemade french toast made with whole grain cinnamon swirl bread with sauteed bananas and cinnamon ontop.

5. One-pot chicken cacciatore (sp?). Sautee one onion, two garlic cloves, two stalks of celery in olive oil. Brown chicken pieces. Add two cans of crushed tomatoes and salt to taste. Let it sit all day. Serve over rice. She loves this, too. Oh, add bay leaf, too.

6. Rice and beans. I make yellow Spanish rice, add cilantro and black beans and she goes to town on it.

7. Pumpkin spice pancakes or muffins. I just add some pumpkin puree to a pancake mix and some cinnamon. Or, I use a basic muffin recipe and add the pumpkin and spices.

8. Turkey chili made from scratch and pretty darn spicy!

9. Wild rice with some chicken broth, olive oil and dried cranberries (they soften up while cooking).

10. Turkey grilled cheese (soy cheese in our case). I add a slice or two of turkey into the grilled cheese sandwich before I cook it and she loves it.

11. Zucchini "fries". Cut zucchini into fry length, dip in egg then bread crumbs and bake. They're yummy!

12. I make her "pizza" on Boboli pizza crust. I use soy mozzarella


Anyway, that's the jist of what I feed her. I could go on. I don't know if she's a good eater or if she really just likes the food I make her. She refuses to eat bland foods, that much I know.

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

Posted by prncss

Can I just tell you that one of my dreams is to come up with a really toddler-friendly cookbook. I would LOVE to do that. I cook for Ava and daydream about letting little toddlers taste test things I just think that would be awesome. Then, I'd start a business where I come to your home and help make a menu of meals that are geared toward your picky eater. I'm such a nerd. That would be my DREAM job. Not that I'm qualified to do it, but man, I think that would be such a great job.


Anyway, onto what I feed Ava, the human vacuum I know I don't have a picky eater, but I do know that she likes really strong flavors and so do most other toddlers.

1. The infamous chicken "fingers" and sweet potato "fries", an oldy, but goody.

2. Rigatoni with a mock bolognese sauce. I brown some 99% fat free ground turkey with garlic and olive oil, make a tomato sauce in that same pot with tomato puree, tomato paste, white wine and a little water, let it cook for an entire day, then take my hand blender and blend it so that hte meat is really smooth. It's SO FREAKING YUMMY! This way, she's actually getting the protein while thinking she's eating just pasta.

3. Omlette with sauteed onions and peppers.

4. Homemade french toast made with whole grain cinnamon swirl bread with sauteed bananas and cinnamon ontop.

5. One-pot chicken cacciatore (sp?). Sautee one onion, two garlic cloves, two stalks of celery in olive oil. Brown chicken pieces. Add two cans of crushed tomatoes and salt to taste. Let it sit all day. Serve over rice. She loves this, too. Oh, add bay leaf, too.

6. Rice and beans. I make yellow Spanish rice, add cilantro and black beans and she goes to town on it.

7. Pumpkin spice pancakes or muffins. I just add some pumpkin puree to a pancake mix and some cinnamon. Or, I use a basic muffin recipe and add the pumpkin and spices.

8. Turkey chili made from scratch and pretty darn spicy!

9. Wild rice with some chicken broth, olive oil and dried cranberries (they soften up while cooking).

10. Turkey grilled cheese (soy cheese in our case). I add a slice or two of turkey into the grilled cheese sandwich before I cook it and she loves it.

11. Zucchini "fries". Cut zucchini into fry length, dip in egg then bread crumbs and bake. They're yummy!

12. I make her "pizza" on Boboli pizza crust. I use soy mozzarella


Anyway, that's the jist of what I feed her. I could go on. I don't know if she's a good eater or if she really just likes the food I make her. She refuses to eat bland foods, that much I know.

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

I dont have a picky toddler- RJ will pretty much eat anything- HOWEVER he dosent always feel like eating


His favs are:

Penne alla vodka
or any kinda pasta in tom. sauce

chicken nuggets and fries are always a hit

grilled cheese

chicken noodle soup

mac-n-cheese with peas and carrots

banana pancakes

roasted chicken and stuffing

cheese omlettes

fruit salad

pizza

Message edited 9/19/2007 9:54:28 PM.

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

Wish I had something to contribute but my child wouldn't even eat 1/8 of the ideas that have been posted.

no eggs
no peanut butter
no lunchmeat
no veggies
no oatmeal
and the list goes on

Message edited 9/19/2007 11:03:41 PM.

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

Posted by monkeybride

Wish I had something to contribute but my child wouldn't even eat 1/8 of the ideas that have been posted.

no eggs
no peanut butter
no lunchmeat
no veggies
no oatmeal
and the list goes on

Re: Toddler Meal Ideas - Add yours!

I make a ton of things.

Baked tortellini
Hummus, avocado slices, pita bread
Baked chicken w/rice and steamed veggies
Mini meatballs with spaghetti
Chicken noodle soup w/grilled cheese
Red kidney beans w/rice
Chicken casserole
Baked eggplant

One way I sneak in veggies is to puree them and add them to the sauce I make. I usually add celery and carrots. Sometimes I will add pumpkin too.