| Healthy meals for a toddler
Posted: 4/27/2008 7:33:44 AM | I am looking for some recipes or quick easy nutritous foods that I can serve my almost 2 year old son. He refuses to eat anything unless he can pick it up himself and eat it. Lately the only thing he will touch is chicken nuggets and gerber fruit snacks. I know these are not healthy for him every day so I am just looking for something that will interest him enough to eat. Its just me and him in the household so Im looking for something that will help meet nutritional guidelines for his growing body and be quick and easy to make and clean up.
Any recipes or suggestions are GREATLY appreciated!~   | |
|
| Healthy meals for a toddler
Posted: 4/27/2008 8:14:59 AM | I have a very strange son. Other than a total disike bordering on hate for asparagus, his only other food criteria was "crunch". Spiciness aside, if it was crunchy, it got eaten. Like I said- weird kid.
Anyway... I used to make chicken nuggets for him all the time- A couple of packages of skinless boneless thighs, a little flour dredge, some seasoning and bake on a rack in a cookie tin. Almost NO added salt, you control the seasoning and how much breading (if any) is on them. Make the same with skinless-boneless chicken breasts too. The flour dredge is a carrier for the seasoning and helps keep the chicken moist while baking. If you don't mind a little oil, pre-fry them in a skillet to just brown or caramelize them, then bake. I used to make 2 or 3 - 5 pound trays worth of boneless thighs at a time when they were on sale. Some for dinner, freeze the rest. Easy and fast healthy frozen dinners.
OK- besides the nuggets, which are great for the toddler- doesn't MOM get to eat also? Use the same nuggets as above. Layer in a small casserole, cover with marinara sauce, provolone and mozzarella and bake until the cheese is nice and toasty. Instant chicken parm. Or layer in the casserole, pour in a can of mushroom soup, cut up a few zucchinis into rounds, bake until it's all bubbly. Serve over rice. about a year or so ago someone took the dinosaur nuggets added them to black beans mixed with refried black beans and invented the LaBrea tar pits dinner. Sounds terrible, tastes good, and works with non-dino-shaped chicken parts too. You can do the nugget thing with pork loin or lamb or veal also.
Add some baked sweet potato "fries"... Julienne to about 1/4" strips a sweet potato, toss in a little lemon juice and an optional pinch of kosher salt- lay out on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
Other finger foods: My son's nemesis- asparagus. easy to hold in little hands and lots of vitamins and fiber. Try barely-cooked veggies also- cut into strips and lightly steamed or roasted. I'd avoid carrots unless cooked- they tend to "splinter" and can be a choke hazard in very little throats, but that's just MY observation. | |
|
| Healthy meals for a toddler
Posted: 4/27/2008 8:30:44 AM | 1. You can never go wrong with letting the little ones munch on Cheerios.
2.Warm up mixed vegetables,let them cool,and put them on a plate or in a bowl and let them at it.
3.My daughter was and still is a yogurt fanatic.
Just a few tips from my experiences...... | |
|
| Healthy meals for a toddler
Posted: 4/27/2008 8:49:30 AM | thin apple slices with a dip make from plain yogurt, honey and cinnamon
chunk up ham and steam or pan fry in just a hint of oil
broccoli florettes finger food size steamed and carrots can be cut to coins before cooking.
cheese chunks, pears sliced or chunked.
I remember back when my 2 were that age and they were finger food kids too. | |
|
| Healthy meals for a toddler
Posted: 4/27/2008 9:01:33 AM | Mom of 3 here...and all eating different stuff as toddlers.
not too pricey?... try chicken and chips.
buy chicken breast - bone and skin on...remove the bones and skin yourself..the price difference is big.
Flatten and then slice the chicken breast into strips.
Dredge in flour, dip in milk/egg mixture, coat with Panko bread crumbs (Japanese bread crumbs)
Chips: Sweet Potatoes
Peel and then cut up into french fry cut.
Put on baking sheet, coat in olive oil and bake. | |
|
| Healthy meals for a toddler
Posted: 4/27/2008 9:30:18 AM | Try the book Super Baby Foods. Some of it's a bit intense but there's lots of good stuff in it.
When my daughter was a toddler I prepared almost all her food. I tended to stay away from friend stuff of things with a lot of sugar (she had excellent teeth!). I cut most things into cubes and had those little japanese lunch containers to separate the food. Go with any veggies, carrot slices, broccoli were favorties of my daughter. Also extra firm tofu cut into cubes was a favorite before she had lots of teeth. Anything with a dip, hummus with crackers, carrot stics, celery if he has teeth and you feel like pulling out the strings! Cheese cut into cubes as well. We didn't do very much if any meat at the time but later I served fish sticks and tater tots or roast chicken in small slices. Also sushi if the rice is on the outside. If you son is read for a spoon, take a really chuncky soup and drain most of the liquid and let him have a go at that - I use to make a bean and veggie soup that my daughter really like served over rice. Oh for rice if you can get a short grain variety it sticks together when cooked and is easy to eat with fingers. Once last thing, sandwhiches or pieces of bread cut into small pieces with some kind of spread on them. | |
|
| Healthy meals for a toddler
Posted: 4/27/2008 3:17:11 PM |
unless he can pick it up himself and eat it.
I'm all for making little toddler sized homemade pizzas. They don't have to be unheathy, you don't have to have cheese on them even, the dough is super easy to make and keep made up, or you can use tortilla, pitas or whatever else your little one's teeth and mouth will accomodate. Even some crackers or a slice of bread with "things" on it that he can pick off to eat. And he can help make them just before time to eat.
Pretty early on the kids learn to enjoy what they make.
Slightly cook carrot sticks to make them easier for him to bite and chew, and give him a little herbed up yogurt to dip into (you'll have to experiment to see which flavors he likes). Go with home sweetened plain yogurt for him to dip peices of fruit into, with a quick cutting up of a banana or apple, pear, or even a peice of canned fruit cut into small peices served on a small plate with some yougurt on the plate for dipping. He might not like all of them but if he's got a dip and can use his hands, he'll probably give it a whirl just once. You probably need to get used to the one bite or 2 bite rule too. If a kid grows up with that rule, even when he turns into that inevitable teenager who suddenly doesn't eat _____ (fill in the blank), they'll fight you (that's their job) but will pretty easily try the required bite or 2. It helps if you lay food out kind of cute sometimes. You know the pear half with raisin eyes and something for whiskers? A peice of toast cut out with a special cookie cutter (you can keep the outer peices to use for a stuffing later) that he thinks is all his...tiny little pancakes just his size in which you scoop a smiley face as they are setting up.
How old is your son? His age would make a difference in some of the ideas.
If you want a recipe for the dough, send me a message.
 | |
|
| Healthy meals for a toddler
Posted: 4/27/2008 7:09:33 PM | Thank you all! these are some really good suggestions, I have also googled up a ton of ideas too
 | |
|
Home
login 
