Recipes Your Toddler Will Love
Erin Burt
The appetite of a toddler can vary a lot and it’s easy to become concerned when it takes a dip. Sometimes, they just don’t eat very much but with them constantly being on the go it’s important to make sure that the food that they are being given is both nutritious and something that they want to eat. Here are a few recipes that may make your toddler sit down to eat (for 5-minutes at least!).
- Macaroni & Cheese Muffins: This recipe takes about 20-minutes prep time, 20-minutes cook time and requires 2 to 24 hours of cooling down time. The downside is that it is not the dish to make if you want it for dinner that night but what is great is that makes about 12 muffins that you can keep in the fridge and rewarm in the oven for 5 minutes as snacks throughout the week.
- Mini Burgers: This recipe makes 20 little burgers which makes it great for a birthday party or you can make a half batch of the mini’s and use the rest to make grown-up size portions. Because you are using sliced bread, using a cookie cutters to make fun shapes can make it more appealing for picky eaters.
- Peanut-Butter Banana Swirls: These are made in two steps and are healthy, yummy treats. This recipe will give you 6 servings packed with protein and potassium.
- Little Lasagna: Full of lots of yummy ingredients to help your toddler experience new flavors, these bite-sized lasagnas are perfect for little hands. The recipe makes 24 so they can go into the freezer and be saved for later.
- Carrot Pancakes: A more healthy version of pancakes. The recipe makes 6 servings and with ingredients like carrots, walnuts, and honey you know that you will be starting your toddler’s day with something filling and delicious.
It can be stressful when your toddler starts eating less, refusing to eat, or never seems to want the food that you have made. Apart from trying out new recipes, some advice that Dr. Sears offers is to never insist that they finish their meal, don’t make them eat the food that you have prepared, be patient, and let them graze throughout the day as it may help to increase their calorie intake. It’s a phase and it will pass, but in the meantime it can be an opportunity to try new foods the whole family might love.
Lisa is a babywearing, breastfeeding, cloth diapering mama that will need to keep a few new food tricks up her sleeve for her picky eater.