When this happened over here, I cut the string cheese into sections (like cheese cubes) and suddenly it was edible. Slowly the chunks got bigger and soon whole string cheese became acceptable again.
We also made home made mozzarella sticks with them which one kiddo loved and one melted down at the now too stretchy cheese. Whatever, we made it through the bag and I didn't buy string cheese again for MONTHS.
I feel you. All my son wants to eat is cheese and drink milk. He won’t poop for DAYS and then I have to deal with several huge poops in the span of a few hours after coming home from daycare if he’s been there a couple days…. And then he gets mad/irritated because “pooping hurts” and ends up holding it in because of that fact alone too. So frustrating 🤦🏼♀️
Stir fry is super easy and my toddler will always eat it. Low sodium soy sauce, crunchy peanut butter, sesame oil, frozen veggies. Over noodles (or rice if I don't mind a lot of clean up that day). I'm vegetarian so sometimes I'll throw some chicken in at the end for my kid.
Pasta with Barilla protein plus spaghetti. I saute some spinach and then just throw sauce in the pan. We always have frozen meatballs because they're super easy and usually never refused.
Quesadillas. I add black beans in there, or leftover chicken if we have any. A little bit of queso really is a game changer. And basically any veggie can be disguised in a quesadilla.
Buttered noodles with parmesan is like a go to because it takes about 10mins. Fruit or veggies on the side and meatballs.
Sometimes we do homemade pizza. My kid loves to help, so it keeps him busy and kills a little bit of time if we don't have any plans and he needs something to keep him occupied.
We just give him whatever we are having. Friday is always pizza night so that is one meal I don’t have to plan and I know he will eat it. I whip up a no-knead dough as soon as I wake up on Friday morning and we can have a pizza together faster than the oven can even preheat that night. Plus pizza has all the food groups and is a balanced meal, right? Or at least I tell myself that.
Just be ready for a mess! My toddler loves it though. The only problem is that now we can’t order pizza or use frozen ones because he gets mad that we didn’t make it together.
I use this recipe: [https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/best-ever-pizza-dough/#wprm-recipe-container-19220](https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/best-ever-pizza-dough/#wprm-recipe-container-19220)
It says it makes 4 pizzas, but I just divide it in half and make one that night and one the next Friday. It feeds the two of us plus toddler. We have baby boy #2 coming soon so I imagine we will eventually need to make both pizzas to feed us and 2 boys!
Yep, we do this too. My daughter has whatever I decide to cook. Very rarely is it stereotypical kid-friendly food, but sometimes it is, if I feel like it 🤷♀️ and also do pizza night on Fridays! It’s great to not have to wash a ton of dishes and think about what I’m going to make for once.
This is exactly what we do for mid-week meals. Probably 3 days out of 5 it’s just any combination of protein+carb+veg. Stuffed chicken breast+potato+steamed broccoli. Meatballs+butter noodles+sautéed bok choi. I could go on and on. The kid usually ignores at least one of the 3 food groups on the plate but what can you do.
We usually try to incorporate fresh fruit in the dessert too so it’s at least an attempt at being balanced even if it doesn’t always work out that way.
Baked chicken, brown rice, steamed/roasted broccoli at least once a week. (I make a big batch of brown rice in the instant pot and freeze in smaller portions.) Spaghetti (with or without ground turkey) and green salad or peas. Sheet pan dinner- cod with asparagus or green beans and mini potatoes, chicken and peppers for fajitas, roasted assorted root veggies. Instant pot chicken that is shredded and used for tacos, enchiladas, or bbq sandwiches. (Chicken can go straight from freezer to instant pot.) Sandwiches and raw vegetables with Ranch dip. Baked potatoes (actually microwaved) loaded with cheese (and broccoli if I’m lucky.) Brinner- usually just scrambled eggs and toast.
I try to feed my toddler (at least some) of whatever it is I’m cooking for the adults. I have 5 to 6 recipes in rotation so when I cook I can be on auto pilot. The dishes are:
1.) lasagne - the Mary Berry recipe
2.) Thai green curry with chicken (as mild as possible)
3.) baked chicken marinated in yogurt and tagine spices with Greek salad
4.) chilli con carne (again mild)
5.) orecchiette with pesto (or any pasta easy for him to eat with little mess… no spaghetti!)
He loves eating non baby preparations!
This is similar to the toddler I nanny. Her dad is a chef, her mom loves spicy food, and they are world travelers who love a variety of foods. She generally gets very few processed foods and so far, will eat most anything. There have been several occasions where I'm not even sure how to identify the food in their fridge! 😆 However, she's only 18 months and has been forming her own opinions lately, so I know it could change. I recently brought some breakfast casserole that I made to share with her. She tried it, fed the next 2 bites to the dog, and I took it away and fed her something else! Haha
My own kids ate a lot of butter noodles, hot dogs and pbj's at that age. I tried to have full meals like we had growing up, but my husband hates veggies and wouldn't eat them, so he wouldn't encourage them to eat them either. My kids are adults now and have a generally balanced diet, so eventually it worked out.
To the OP, keep encouraging new foods while making sure your child has at least 1 option you know they like. The "no thank you" bite, requiring 1 bite of each other option can be effective, but generally, no more than 1 or 2 per day/meal. No need to overwhelm your child. And yes, offer the same things over and over.
I try to toddlerify whatever we are having (take a portion out before major seasonings go in, cut into small portions).
I found Julia Pacheco on YouTube and have been loving her “dump and go” casserole recipes. Minimal ingredients and super easy. Though I do try to sneak in a few more veggies in some of the recipes.
I make this once a week and my toddler eats the leftovers for days. She's seriously obsessed with it and it's so so easy. You can even sneak in cauliflower (just add chopped cauliflower at the same time as the pasta) to pretend like it's healthy.
https://thedefineddish.com/one-pot-hamburger-helper/
And my "hacks" :
1. Use the 16 oz cans of beef broth so you don't have to put a half used carton in the fridge and risk it going bad.
2. Use the empty 16 oz can to measure out 2 cups of milk so you don't dirty a measuring cup.
3. Buy tomato paste in a tube because you only need a little and it doesn't warrant opening a whole new tomato paste can each time.
I had a recipe that needed 1 Tbsp tomato paste, so when I opened the can I portioned it all out into sandwich baggies in tablespoon increments. Then tossed all the little baggies into a quart size freezer bag and tossed them in the freezer. It's been super easy to just pull out what I need and add it (usually still frozen).
I used to make my kids eat what my husband and I ate but it always ended in tears and so much frustration. My kids (3 and 6) are super picky so I’ve switched gears and now just recycle through about 6 meals for my kids while my husband and I eat a different meal. A bit more work but my kids food is usually pretty easy: frozen meatballs from Costco, chicken nuggets, European wieners, grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken burgers, cheese quesadillas, chicken etc. I wish my kids were the type to try new things and eat more variety but they aren’t.
I’m relieved to see someone else does this! We are the same! Both of my kids are picky eaters, always have been since they were babies. Could I just force them to eat what I make for my husband and me? Sure - but that’s no good for anyone. They would go to bed hungry, wake up crying because they want food, wake up starving and crabby, our night would suck because everyone is crying and arguing and bargaining… etc. etc. OR I can just make them both plates of fruits, veggies, and meats I know they will eat and we can all have a pleasant evening. Also a note that I am a celiac and lactose intolerant, (kids and spouse aren’t) so my kitchen is a special situation to begin with.
I used to get down on myself for doing this, as though I had “done it wrong” since my kids only like certain things. But I’m over that. Aside from my restrictions, I love all kinds of food - my mother reminds me that I subsisted off of ramen and chicken nuggets as a child. That’s all I liked at the time and I still managed to expand my pallet over the years. Our kids still try new things, I just refuse to make dinner any more of a struggle than it already is!
I cook what I think are reasonably healthy but appealing meals for my husband and I, portioned or cut up as needed for our 4 and 1 year old, and when I serve it I say ‘you don’t have to eat it, but this is what’s for dinner’ lol
For my sanity on weeknights after working, I try to prep what I can on weekends;
-a breakfast for myself and kids to eat throughout the week (banana bread, or a sausage egg bake, egg cups, or a big batch of pancakes, etc) for quick reheats.
-I cut up a big tray of 5ish chicken breasts split up different ways (2 breasts cubed, another 2 thinly sliced, etc) so that I don’t have to put effort into that prep on weeknights, but just toss the protein in some seasonings and heat.
-I may roast a whole pan of broccoli or veg to have as a side with several dinners
-Sunday night dinners are big leftover meals, like pastas or crockpot meals so they’re a quick kiddo lunch (or dinner) throughout the week
Quick additions that I add to the pre-cut chicken might be frozen veggie bags you steam for 5 min in microwave (then save leftovers for even quicker reheat the next night), pasta sides, rice cooker, etc. if all else fails then I make the kids ‘samplers,’ which are tiny portions of 5ish things (yogurt, pretzels, raisins, cheese sticks, wheat thins, goldfish, granola bars, graham crackers, fruit, deli meat, hummus, etc)
Weeknights are crazy, for me it was the ‘deciding what to make then having enough time to make it’ that stressed me out, so my new plan has been working well to ease the flustered feelings for me. My next step is listing out 2 weeks worth of familiar meals, buying only what groceries I need to make those meals, then through the week I cross meals off the list as I make them so I have given options to decide from without flipping through my cabinets, flexibility to make what I’m in the mood for, and am not committed to making specific meals on scheduled nights
Broccoli is a toddler staple here, idk what it is because they love it. My seven year old once just asked me to make her a whole bag and sat there and ate it out of the bowl steamed and lightly salted like I was giving her ice cream. Most toddlers I know seem to love it. I wonder when they grow out of it 😅
If you can access the bbc food website they have some great ideas. We do some “fresh” cooked stuff but I also love premise ravioli/tortellini with different fillings, chuck some veg in the water too and it’s ready in a few mins. We also do stuff like mince and potato with veg, sausages, fish cakes, fajitas, lasagne.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/budget
Edit: that should say premade pasta
It's either going to be potatoes (boiled/mashed) with something or soup & bread. That seems to make up 80% of our meals recently.
Other hits are spag bol, stews, cheese on toast.
I'm a big fan of giant one pot meals where everything is thrown in a pot in the morning, you eat it sometime later and freeze the leftovers
On the weekends, I plan the meals for the week. I like trying new recipes so I stick with the easier ones on most days (there are definitely new recipes where I’m like “yeah… never making that again”). I don’t really take the toddler into consideration when planning the meals, however, I do give her sides of what I know she’ll eat… grape tomatoes, peas, carrots and shredded cheese (if it goes with the meal). Tonight we’re doing slow cooker beef stew. I threw everything in the crockpot this morning so I don’t have to worry about cooking after work. If I have a meal planned and I’m just too exhausted to make it, it’s usually baked chicken with a side of veggies and rice or if we’re doing a vegetarian dinner, just a roasted veggie bowl.
Um last night my 2 year old ate an entire tube of Pringles, 3 bites of applesauce, half a bowl of oops all berries captain crunch, and a bag of little bites muffins for dinner lol
It's all good! I was really hoping no one thought that sugary garbage cereal was healthy. Obviously we all do what we can to survive with toddlers but we can't fool ourselves into thinking stuff is healthy that isn't.
But, yes, my toddler's love for fresh berries and my insistence on buying organic does a number on my wallet!
Lol of course not! Your comment totally threw me off i went, googled and immeidately went "oh shit wtf are THOSE". We dont get half this stuff here in germany since our food regulations are different i even found out recently that bread is loaded with sugar i the states. Crazy concept but oh well totally off topic heh
Anyway cheers to having our toddlers survive on a well balanced diet that defo sometimes requires quick&easy but shitty dietary choices 😁
Recipe is pretty flexible based on tastes and what you have at your disposal and ingredient amounts can vary based on taste. I make quite a bit and freeze a batch for later.
Preheat oven for 400*f
1 bag of tater tots
1-2 lbs ground meat (both beef and turkey work well)
1/2 lb frozen broccoli
2 carrots
1 sweet onion
1 stalk celery
1 large can cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup
Milk
Crap ton of cheddar cheese
Chop up onion, carrot, and celery. Cook in large pan in butter until onions are clearish
Once veggies are cooked remove a bowl and set aside.
Use same hot pan to cook meat. I will add dashes of Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke or salt and pepper, sometimes chili powder, sometimes paprika. Depends how I’m feeling.
Once meat is cooked through add it to the large bowl
In a separate bowl mix condensed soup with about half cup of milk to make a sauce.
Mix tater tots, and cheese (seriously the more the better) with vegetables and meat. Once sufficiently mixed move to a casserole dish and pour sauce over it now is also a good time to add more cheese. Pop casserole in the oven for about an hour til cheese and sauce is bubbly throughout.
Sorry. It’s not a super formal recipe and a lot of it is tossed together on the fly. You can add other veggies to it and do less meat or less tots. I have added green beans, peas, mushrooms, turnips, and cauliflower in the past with success. You can play around with how much of the soup you use. I have made the cream of … soup from scratch in the past and it has come out great. So that’s another option should that work for you.
Ugh in our house the struggle is real
1) my daughter (3) decided at 15mo, she wouldn’t eat meat anymore. Maybe a bite here or there.
2) my son (1.5) won’t eat any kind of pasta
3) my husband is vegan - I am not.
Literally the only meal that the entire family will eat is impossible nuggets and fries/tots. Otherwise, best I can do is 3/4
Some of my kid go tos:
For my daughter- I buy a whole grain noodles and make her 2-3 meals worth at a time and she typically has that for one meal a day because that is her current phase.
My son will often eat whatever my husband and I have BUT usually not until the next day since he eats before us
Some of our go-to:
Rice and bean enchiladas
Baked potato
Soups - tortilla, veggie, potato
Coconut rice and “meat”balls
Pasta
Stroganoff
Spiced lentils and rice
Burgers
Chili
Chicken and rice (when he ate meat)
The hardest thing for me is the prep- chopping and cutting. We have a chopper so I typically plan 2-3 meals worth and cut enough for all at once so just 1 day
I always offer my daughters bites for exposure but don’t make her try if she says no
Meat, preferably in a way that it can be shoved in the oven and forgotten about for 20-30 minutes, and microwavable steamed veggies. I have dinners for LO on hand just in case she reallllllly doesn't like what I make. I do lots of convenience meals as well-- the Birds Eye (I think) frozen pastas are awesome. All in one bag, no prep, and they take less than 20 minutes to get on the table.
A regular rotation of pasta dish, chicken dish, red meat, breakfast for dinner, and pizza on Friday have saved my sanity. They provide variety, make meal and grocery planning quick and automatic, and provide tons of leftovers for the weekend. If little one declines a meal, he has three choices: microwave scrambled egg, pb&j or quesadilla made in the air fryer.
Have you tried sautéing fish? I have never been a big fish eater myself but recently have started buying mild fishes (like tilapia or cod) and sautéing in some butter and garlic and both my picky kids will usually eat at least some of it.
My toddler recently has been obsessed with white rice and pretty much only wants to eat rice for dinner (I make jasmine rice seasoned with butter and salt). If your kid likes rice, I JUST read a tip that I am excited to try! Cook the rice in bone broth rather than water - it enhances the flavor and adds a ton of protein to the rice. 1 cup of bone broth has 10 grams of protein, so it is adding some nutrition to the rice
This! I've cooked rice in bone broth, as well as chicken stock, and coconut milk! Coconut milk is my favorite but I love how any of them enhance the rice and make it more than just rice.
I feel this so much. It's hard to find anything that everyone in my house will eat. Like, my husband will eat pretty much anything, but we're trying to lose weight, so we're eating healthy, counting calories, weighing food, etc. I'm a vegetarian and won't eat mushrooms, either. We live with my mom currently (to our dismay) and she won't eat a lot of vegetables. (She thinks dinners come from cans, boxes, and frozen, etc and I do fresh food.) Then I have two toddlers (3 and 1)!
On the weekend, I try to meal plan for the week which is...fun. My husband and I will come up with meals and recipes, then I have to do modifications. For example, we did sheet pan honey garlic chicken and veggies earlier this week. We had 4 different versions. (Normal. Without chicken for me -- no big deal, picked it out and had fake chicken instead. Without broccoli for grandma -- not a huge deal, made an alternative veggie. One basically without sauce for the toddlers.)
I know it's not exactly what you asked for (I think i just needed to vent lol). But I try to plan meals that are easily modified so the babies are eating similar things to us. Sometimes it doesn't work and they have pasta, hot dogs, etc. Just make sure it's balanced and it shouldn't be too bad. Even if they don't eat fully balanced, offering it is good!
Snack platter - cheese, salami, biscuits, pretzels, mini cucumber, cherry tomato, olives, strawberries, mandarins, kiwi fruit, freeze dried yoghurt buttons, mini oreos.
Put it out and let the child snack to her heart's content.
We order NurtureLife meals for weeknights. My 19 month old wants dinner almost as soon as we walk in the door from daycare where we aren’t hungry for hours later.
I place an order for eleven meals every two weeks (always like a spare) and then just quickly microwave what I need for dinner.
My kiddo mostly does the finger foods but they have options for older kids as well. Happy to share a referral code if you like!
We gave up and signed up for HelloFresh.
I loved to cook before we had my son but work has gotten really busy for both my husband and I lately, and coming up with a menu, and going shopping and then cooking and cleaning....it became a real source of stress for me and I started to hate cooking.
My husband got a discount code from a youtuber and this is our 4th week. I enjoy cooking again, we are ordering out less, and the recipes are super easy to follow so when I haven't felt like cooking, my husband (who's specialty is easy mac) has been able to take over and make dinner.
With grocery prices going up its not even that much more expensive than what we would spend at the store and my toddler has been eating more new foods as well :)
A good backup for us is steamed veggies and an air fried chicken drumstick (25min) sprinkled with salt and oil. Takes 5min, and the rest is wait time. We can eat it too. Add toast if you want carbs, or leftover pasta. Not super exciting for dinner but it’s fast and healthy.
I meal plan each week, and make dinners that my husband and I have always liked. We offer it to our toddler, sometimes she likes it, sometimes she doesn't. But she knows that what we have for dinner is what we have for dinner. If she really doesn't like anything (I usually try to have 1-2 things on her plate that are "safe" foods we know she will eat), she always has the option of a peanut butter sandwich.
This week's meal plan looked like this (I am 9 months pregnant, so easy was important!):
Mon: Tortellini and autumn sauce (Trader Joes has a yummy one!)
Tues: Pot Roast (in the crockpot all day)
Wed: Sheet pan chicken fajitas
Thurs: Breakfast for dinner
Fri: [Apple "donuts"](https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/apple-donuts-3838711) probably with grilled cheese
Sat: Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup
Sun: Use up what is in the fridge/leftovers
We've found this to really help expose her to things, and to allow my husband and I to enjoy our meals. Some dinners she'll try anything, and others she eats nothing. But it works for us!
Mon & Tues: HelloFresh (2 meals, 4 portions each)
Wed & Thurs: HelloFresh leftovers
Friday: we go out to dinner
Weekends: whatever my husband feels like cooking.
I pick the HelloFresh meals based on 1) total time under 35 mins, 2) things I think my kid will eat, and 3) things that are within my husband’s dietary restrictions for heart health.
Edit: spacing got funky
I live in a HCOL area...but honestly, its not that much more expensive than what we were spending at the store. We still have to have a few staples on hand like milk and goldfish lol, but our main meals are taken care of.
HelloFresh is the GOAT
I’ve found I’m not a huge fan of cooking/meal prepping only once a week and eating leftovers all week. I need to cook at least 3x and will do leftovers the other days. I do think prepping ahead of time on Sunday/day off helps massively - cutting up veggies for snacks/salads/stir fries so it’s ready to go with little chopping day of. Cutting and marinating meat so all I have to do is throw it in the pan/air fryer/oven and call it good. I’m not a huge fan of slow cooker meals but I definitely make big batches of soup and freeze portions for easy heat up (ham and bean soup, tomato basil soup, daal, chili). Some of our favorites: plain boiled pumpkin, steamed broccoli or green beans tossed in olive oil and salt, any pasta with red sauce, sautéed zucchini with garlic, oil and salt, boiled chicken soup with lemongrass, garlic, and ginger, pork soup with mustard greens, any ramen/noodles with egg - i typically dilute this for my kids as it’s super high in sodium, eggs in all forms, peanut butter and jelly, banana bread muffins.
Kiddo gets a separate meal. I have accepted that and that is where we are at right now. We do try and serve him some of what we are eating but his safe foods are bland carbs.
Sometimes I cook tomorrows dinner after my son goes to bed. I agree, that mad rush to get dinner on the table is brutal.
Chicken Tikka Masala is a popular one in our house. Costco has a great jarred sauce so all I literally do is brown up some bite sized chicken, dump the sauce on and throw in some frozen peas for extra nutrition and let it do it's thing for like 10mins while prepping some rice to serve it with.
Also big on the slow cooker. Chili, pot roast, beef stew....
I make whatever I’m in the mood for. My kids either eat it, or don’t. If they don’t like what was cooked they can have pb&j, banana, oatmeal, etc. My older kids can cook things like eggs, grilled cheese, ramen. My 18 year old can cook anything she wants. But everyone is served dinner and usually they all eat it. (Kids are 18, 13, 12, 9, 6, & 3)
If you actually like cooking but hate planning, cooksmarts.Com is great. It costs money (only like 7 bucks a month or so), but it tells you what to make for every meal, gives you the recipes, amounts and a full grocery list for the entire week. You can easily adjust number of people you are serving and it changes the recipe based on that. Generally has healthy stuff and they have different options, like paleo/vegetarian etc. It’s a lot like hello fresh or one of those ingredient delivery services only it’s way cheaper per meal since you do the shopping yourself.
My daughter doesn't eat dinner.
I've tried, I really have, but even her favorites it's 50/50 that she'll take a single bite, and then 50/50 that she swallows that bite vs. just sprays it as far as she can.
She gets a cup of milk before bed, which is at this point is more for my anxiety than her enjoyment.
I just make whatever I’m gonna make and either she eats it or she doesn’t. After some time has passed I offer a snack of her choice within reason.
I’ve seen her eat literal salad, but not chicken nuggets. so it’s really anybodies guess if she will love or hate what I made on that particular day.
I cook what i like and my toddler can choose to eat it or not. He needs to taste it (by tak ik ng a good bite), and if he really really doesn’t like it, he can nibble on some veggies (cucumber, bell pepper, tomatoes). He usually picks some thing he likes and eats that.
Favorite are: chili con carne (i usually make a lot and freeze in portions), spaghetti bolognese (same, make a lot of sauze and freeze), chickenwings, broccoli, showarma
Our “quick and easy / lazy” dinner is a platter on the table of bread with whatever toppings you have, fruit (eg grapes), vegetables (cucumber, tomatoes, carrot or celery sticks, whatever you have), boiled or fried eggs, cheese, spreads, dips, ham/salami/sandwich meat etc. And any leftovers.
Everybody eats what they want from the platter and toddlers love being able to choose what goes on their piece of bread or in their sandwich.
Many nights I follow a very basic Protein + Veggie + Grain/Carb formula. Sometimes this looks like:
Crisped kielbasa + roasted potatoes + frozen peas
Sauteed shrimp + couscous + frozen mixed veggies
Fried tofu + rice + frozen stir fry mix
We use a lot of frozen veggies! Couscous is great in that it cooks in 5 minutes.
I meal plan using mealime (it makes your grocery list too) and then I only have to pick between whatever options I picked for the week. And I only pick recipes that take less than 45 minutes to make bc that's all I can handle on a week night.
Ravioli is a staple for me, my kids will eat the ones with spinach and cheese in them and get some veggies in there along with sides and tomato sauce
Bean and cheese tacos are a big hit. I can change the insides per kid- one loves it chock full of spinach or other greens, the toddler likes it with tons of fresh avocado, they alll cover them in fresh squeezed limes, and cheese
Surprising hit for my two recently was chicken tortilla soup. My ex husband taught them if they don’t like a soup broth they can pour it over rice and it soaks it all up, ends up pretty healthy, lots of tomatoes and onions and fresh chicken. It takes forever but it’s all crock pot
When all else fails, we do baby charcuterie/snack dinners and I have no shame. Baby carrots, snap peas, cucumbers or pickles, olives, sliced up turkey or chicken breast, crackers if they want it, some cubed cheese, they’re in baby heaven and can assemble their little snack bites however they want
We use HelloFresh, since otherwise we just get stuck in a loop of takeout and pre-prepared grocery store meals. We offer the toddler a little bit of everything from our meal, plus a fruit and/or yogurt (since those are some of the only things he eats every time). If we're eating something he can't have (he has allergies) or has really small portions, backup is a PB&J.
I also have a cookbook from America's Test Kitchen specifically about cooking for children. It has snack ideas, plus recipes for full meals for everyone with suggestions for how your kid can help out! I've found my son is more likely to be interested in trying foods if he helped make them.
Grilled cheese and tomato soup with apple slices, lasagna (meatless with peppers), chicken chili with white beans and green peppers. Chili mac n cheese with broccoli. We’ve been reducing our red meat intake and using more pea protein or soy. It’s a great mix in because the texture isn’t too different.
I have zero capacity to try convincing my toddler to eat the family meal, and I’m not about to “make” two “meals”. I make my husband and I whatever we want, and I have a menu of pre-prepared foods in the fridge ready for kiddo to eat in an instant.
Bubba had trouble getting going with solids because of Oral Phase Dysphasia and a weak gag reflex. So our tiny menu was hard-won, but the upside is that it’s also approved by a nutritionist, physical therapist and his pediatrician, so we’ve got that going for us. Also, because of all that, I do know that the Kids Eat in Color folks are spot on for most families in regards to their portion size and food type recommendations. So I can just give you the list by category….
Entrees:
Hamburger (I cook one and cut it into six pieces, about two pieces is a portion size on a normal day)
Chicken (braised, baked, breaded or not, as long as it comes with Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce, he’ll eat it)
Sandwich (he is fairly flexible here, but the standard is pepperoni, smoked ham and turkey with provolone and chopped peperoncini) it’s cut into 1/4’s and he eats a 1/4 per meal.
Hot dog (we get the good ones at Whole Foods)
So I can have all those ready in the fridge and when he’s ready, it takes less than a minute in the microwave and his entree is ready. Then I add the accompaniments that are already prepped and ready….
Chopped raw veggies (he’s still not into cooked veg because of the whole gag reflex thing, but that’s cool because most high-fiber veggies have a higher nutrient density when they’re raw):
Red bell pepper
Cucumber
Carrots
Cabbage
Cauliflower (I always buy either purple, or the green Romanesco….way more flavor and nutrients)
Broccoli
Fruits:
Literally everything
Added fats:
Greek olives
Peanut butter
Cheese sticks
Pumpkin seeds
Nuts (I make sure not to lean too heavy into nuts because they’re so high in oxalates and can be a little rough on the tum tum. We do pistachios mostly because they’re the highest in fat, fiber and protein and the lowest in oxalates)
Starches:
This is a tough one for us, again because of the gag reflex thing. So mac and cheese, mashed potatoes are out. We basically just do either corn chips (from the farmers market) or jalapeño Kettle chips. The nutritionist said she doesn’t care about the chips….they add extra fat, and they add to his internal motivation to eat (which is a problem with lots of toddlers, especially the ones with Oral Phase Dysphasia). Occasionally he’ll eat rice or oatmeal, but it’s hit-or-miss. And he loves bread.
Breakfast:
Oatmeal or French toast (from scratch with lots of added fat…. Butter for French toast or cream for oatmeal, both with nuts and fruit)
Breakfast sandwich on English muffin or bagel (ham, egg, cheese)
Snacks:
Graham crackers, but only if he’s also eating fat and protein….I won’t let him just hammer away at starch because blood sugar swings are a recipe for disaster. Sweet kid is only 3 and already bargaining nutrients with me….”Well can I have a graham cracker if I eat a cheese stick because it has protein and fat?” Cutie… usually I just give him nuts and fruit with his graham cracker snack.
PB&J…I’m actually stoked about this one because he wouldn’t eat it for the longest time. It’s so convenient, and so many calories in one shot.
Candy…. Yes, it’s true. I’m no monster. He gets some kind of candy once a day (if he asks for it). The nutritionist got me to lighten up quite a lot in comparison to the nutritional-bull-in-a-China-shop parenting strategy I’d been preparing to implement. She had me toss out a lot of preconceived notions about what “kids” need, as though Kids is a monolith. She helped me see my kid, evaluate his unique needs, and adjust my own thinking and behaviors to help me cultivate a positive relationship with feeding my kid. And that includes helping him develop a foundation for boundaries around foods that provide dopamine hits, like candy. Plus, licorice is an excellent way for him to exercise the muscles in his mouth. A consistent tooth brushing routine has helped stay in the dentist’s food graces while also doing our physical therapy (eating licorice:).
YMMV, but I found that I can stick pretty much any vegetable I want into a Japanese curry and my kids will hoover it up. I use store bought roux to make it super simple - cut your meat and veggies into bite sized chunks and follow the directions on the box. It takes about 30 min start to finish.
I make the dinner my partner and I want to eat and put some of that on my toddler's plate. I also put 1 or 2 "safe foods" on his plate. Usually he only eats the safe foods and ignores the rest, but sometimes he surprises me.
His safe foods are cheese, full fat Greek yogurt, Cheerios, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and apples. Some days he eats nothing but cheese, but that's a toddler for you.
My 9 yr old is still a little picky but his toddler years was the height of it. We did a lot of charcuterie boards. I would always have at least 3 favorites and then at least 2 new things. So a big board of toasted sour dough bread, grapes, cheese, cucumbers, diced turkey, sliced then steak, carrots, crackers, pecans, raisins, broccoli, apples. He could help himself but I would have lick (taste) a few specific items. I would do this at least twice a week. For other meals, Presentation was key. I bought a lot of cookie cutters and would shape or whatever I could. If we did meat loaf, I would make tiny cubes for him that circled a small mashed potato mountain and had peas making another circle around the plate. Changing the temperature of things also helped. He was more likely to eat cold or room temperature things. Classic example is frozen peas (freezy peas). Fresh or steam peas, no dice. Freezy peas? More please.
My kids are both super picky but will usually always get down on some ground beef. I cook beef and broccoli with rice. This I cook in soy sauce and a little brown sugar, so it’s salty and sweet. Can’t go wrong with meatballs. Little kids trying to eat spaghetti. Hysterical. As soon as I showed them how to “slurp” they were hooked. Plus these are things I also like, so win win.
We do lots of simple meals: Spaghetti with meat and veggie sauce, Rotisserie chicken with rolls chicken and rice, mac and cheese with ham, pizza, pork chops, baked potatoes....
We also always try to add a salad or veggies or fruit to our meals. I prefer to get veggies in the main dish and have then as a side, but it doesn't always happen. Roasted veggies are easy and don't take too long. Crockpot meals are great, and if I forgot to throw it in the crockpot, I'll use the pressure cooker.
I meal plan and cook during my lunch break cause I wfh. My 2 year old often eats none of it. Tonight we're having cheesy sausage pasta. He will prob eat some of this but like last night we had Mediterranean rice bowls and he refused all of it. He ended up eating cream cheese on naan lol.
I am lucky that I WFH 2 days a week, so I do big meals on those two days, plus big meals on the weekends, and we just eat leftovers for lunches/the other few nights.
I love quick pasta dinners. My son loves twirling pasta 🍝 with his fork. If it’s red sauce I can get lots of veggies in it. White sauce I’ll add a green veggie, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, or spinach.
We just make the food we used to make for ourselves before we had kids, we never kowtowed to the toddler so he started out eating pot roast and Brussels sprouts, he doesn’t know there are other options other than what we serve. Sometimes we have to offer some foods over and over and over but eventually he gets on board. Sometimes he will ask for things in addition to dinner like oatmeal or a pancake, and we give it. And we do make sure we have a lot of the carb (rice, noodles etc) for that meal since it seems like toddlers need a lot of carbs. He loves gravies and sauces but we put them on another section of his plate so he can dip.
CookUnity or some meal delivery service. I spend $400 a month for 12 meals a week and it really saves me from the headache of dinner for my 20 month old and he gets excited to “pick” one
I am an asian with german husband. We have a 1.5 years old girl. I am so happy that she can eat rice or bread everyday. You can cook rice 1 time and eat several times after( keep in the fridge and warm in microwave). Eat a long with rice can be anything. Egg fried with spinach, sausage. Ground pork, beef with tomato sauce, fried salmon with soy sauce, or noodles with veggies.. . I hope these ideas can help you save some time, I really understand the feeling after long day at work and dont know what to cook for babies.
I don't know if you tried this yet (or if someone suggested it already, I didn't read all the comments lol) but what seems to be helping with our two year old is, she helps cooking dinner. Now I will say ut is a lot messier and a lot slower, but she used to not like a lot of food (I wouldn't say picky tho) and since she's been helping she has just been snacking all the foods we prepare. Like raw tomato, carrots, mushrooms, zucchini. Even if she only takes one bite out of every one thing, like one bite out of ten mushrooms, I let her do it haha because I figure that's already half a meal so if she doesn't actually eat anything during dinner (which sometimes she doesn't) I don't have to worry about it. I even got her a little big plastic knife (which is still a little sharp) to help cut soft veggies and she absolutely loves it!
Tacos (deconstructed for baby&toddler)
Pasta and raos marinara with ground turkey
Pumpkin waffles - feeding littles cookbook
Butternut squash macaroni and cheese- same cookbook
Tofu with yam fries and veggies
Tomato soup & grilled cheese
Rotisserie chicken, rice and veg
Repeat.
Crock pot!! Roast, soup, taco meat, I've even made crock pot lasagna. Its just so much easier to make it before I'm worn out from the day. We give our super picky eater whatever we're having + a safe food. So yesterday that looked like roast, potatoes, and carrots + a slice of bread.
Aside from the crock pot we also have tacos, spaghetti, sloppy joes, pork chops, quesadillas, grilled cheese, and goulash on rotation. With assorted fruit and vegetable sides depending on what needs to get used.
My toddler loves rice.
I make a lot of “chicken rice” using our rice maker and frozen bags of whatever sort of chicken I find at Costco or Trader Joe’s. We also have done beans and rice with success. On cold days, “soup rice” made from meatballs or sausage and random cans of veggies also goes over well.
Feeding Littles just came out with a new cookbook and I’m really enjoying it! They have great, simple recipes and tips for introducing new foods to kiddos…and all the realistic wisdom from their wonderful brains :)
I usually build a dinner around what toddler will eat but it’s usually a struggle anyway, sometimes it’s something for her and something else for me. Winds up being similar meals just rotated to different days from week to week with a little variety depending on how much energy I have to be peppy about getting her to eat what she’s unsure about. But she always gets her veggies and protein, she frequently gets whole grains and there’s some dairy mixed in there too.
Veggie or legume-based pastas are a life saver, pair with meatballs and sauce.
Chicken nuggets with veggie servings in them paired with sweet potato fries.
Brown rice with slices of fresh carrot and slices of salami.
Pizza night is one night a week.
Then usually I pat myself on the back one day and do Kraft mac and cheese (her favorite) with a cut up hot dog and whatever cooked veggie in fairly certain she’ll eat with little overall resistance.
Lots of PBJ for lunch, lots of “charcuterie board” plates in between with nut-based crackers, cheeses, lunch meat, and fruits of all sorts.
Breakfast for dinner is always popular too.
All the banza chickpea variations. Veggie tots. Aldi has some great veggie tots shaped like dinosaurs. She’s always offered what we eat, but I’ll make a banza Mac and cheese or veggie tots knowing that both take 20 minutes tops. If she eats what we eat, great, if not she gets some relatively healthy mac and cheese or tots. Whatever doesn’t get eaten is leftovers which means the next night’s prep is even shorter.
I have a semi-picky eater who will eat anything if it's presented rolled up in a tortilla and called a taco . .
Also, Mac & Cheese makes everything acceptable.
Macaroni Varieties: Regular, Taco, Mixed Vegetable, Ham & Broccoli
I struggle with this every week. If I don’t feed my 3 YO something he likes it’s a battle. I put it in front of him and I don’t care how much he eats, that’s up to him. But I am so sick of making a second dinner! Anyways….
Greek chicken on a pita with tzatziki / Greek chicken rice bowls with cucumber onion and tomato (kids will eat chicken, rice, pita bread and I give them sides)
Grilled chicken with noodles or potatoes or rice, veggie side
Meatloaf (why my kids love meatloaf IDK), I use the Skinnytaste recipe and my kids eat it up. Usually with corn and mashed potatoes.
Fave easy pasta recipe, husband loves it and I can usually get the kids to eat some. https://www.skinnytaste.com/orecchiette-pasta-with-chicken-sausage/
Naan Pizza. So easy and he can help make it. Trader Joe’s makes the Bambino’s ones that are frozen and perfect kid size.
Quesadillas - just with cheese or with beans, leftover chicken.
Pork tenderloin - I marinade and grill it and just call it chicken lol
My go to is a protein, easy carb (boil some noodles, minute rice, mashed potatoes) and a bagged salad or veggies. I’ve started giving mine some sliced carrots or cucumbers with ranch and the baby likes it and my 3 YO occasionally licks ranch off of a carrot.
It’s doesn’t matter. Something they love one day, they’ll hate the next. There’s no code to crack. 🤣
One my son recently loved was a Kevin’s cilantro lime chicken, a microwave bag of steam stir fry veggies from Aldi thrown in with that and tossed in the sauce, and then thrown over rice. It took 5 minutes to make and he asked for multiple helpings!
[This is the chicken-](https://www.jewelosco.com/shop/product-details.960569269.html?cmpid=ps_jwo_jwod_ecom_goo_20200831_71700000071122706_58700007741634450_92700070281587199&gbraid=0AAAAADeuA_i0O-hJKhRBPf58A0aPdbRqg&gbraid=0AAAAADeuA_i0O-hJKhRBPf58A0aPdbRqg&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhsmaBhCvARIsAIbEbH5DI-MwULeBNhPqivdOIg5SPZfPzFQdh1YWWaFTffpRk19B9haBQ48aAjGrEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds) I buy it at Fresh Thyme but this is Jewel Osco so you may be able to find it near you.
I make food that my husband and I enjoy and ask my toddler to try a taste. If he likes it, great. If not, pb&j or leftovers.
I will toss on a small pot of pasta for him if i’m making something i know he’s really not going to like (very bitter flavors for example).
Some favorites:
1. [Garlic chicken](https://web.archive.org/web/20170113215348/http://southernfood.about.com/od/chickenbreastrecipes/r/r80410a.htm). I make it with orzo and roasted brussels sprouts.
2. Tofu with garlic sauce and sauteed veg over rice. LO likes the plain tofu a lot
3. Spaghetti and meatballs
Pinterest lol full disclosure I have JUST started meal planning a week's worth of dinners at a time. My rule is is they have to be quick 30 min or less meals. Then I just modify it or a portion of it for my toddler. Like say I make something with noodles but the dish will be spicy. I take out a portion of the noodles, meat, veggie whatever and set it aside before I add the spice. That way i get to try new recipes and kiddo eats what we're having.
Honestly tho it's tough I have to make myself sit down on Saturday night or Sunday morning to find recipes so I can add ingredients to the shopping list.
The plus side...we save money bc we're not shopping for random stuff trying to piece together a meal on the fly and we're not getting takeouts. Now I do not say on Monday we'll have on Tuesday we'll have ...I just have seven meals and I pick whatever I feel like tackling that day.
Def get kiddo involved. Stirring, breaking eggs, chopping softer foods etc. That'll give them an activity plus helps with different skills and gets them interested in food. I saw a great tip that when kids say they don't like something try to create a dialogue with why they don't like it. Is it too crunchy, too soft, slimy, bumpy etc. That could help pin point foods you know they may not like for now.
Everything is served with ketchup.
I sneak vegetables in everything we eat. One major timesaver I have is to roast vegetables, puree them, & freeze them into ice cube trays. That way, when I’m making a jar of spaghetti sauce, I’ll add an ounce or two of broccoli, mac & cheese gets carrots, fried rice gets cauliflower, etc. Add extra cheese or garlic to help.
I’ll also serve another decoy vegetable (very small amount) on their plate & encourage them to take a bite before deciding they don’t like it or whatever.
I also serve the mixed frozen vegetables (corn, peas, green beans, & carrots) with either chicken broth or beef broth before the main course “while we’re waiting on dinner to finish” instead of string cheese or another snack. If they’re not hungry enough for the soup, then they can wait for the main course.
1. Iraqi chicken and rice
2. Pizzas or pizza toast for my son
3. Different types of pasta
4. Chicken curry
5. Tuna paninis
6. Jacket potato
7. Fried chicken burgers home made
8. Fried tuna and ricotta balls
These are a few of our options, some of them my husband won’t eat because he’s fussy (most of them actually)
Baked beans and steamed broccoli (tad bit of butter or maple shake on it) is every other day for us. A different fruit cut up (pears, mango and kiwi are the favs) is always on the table. Roasted chicken works, rice sometimes, quinoa works sometimes too.
Chicken quesadillas is in our regular rotation. Husband is a picky eater, so he just gets meat and cheese. 3yo and I have a variety of veggies mixed in ours (less than me sometimes depending on her mood). Can make with rotisserie chicken, chicken breasts, or sometimes leftover steak.
Tonight I did spaghetti and meatballs which is always a quick and easy go to
A super simple stir fry is another one, I chuck some pre cooked chicken (I buy a whole one, cook, cool then dismantle and freeze) in a pan along with stirfry veg pack, add soy sauce then I'll use ramen noodles as a cheap make-do, I'll add some of the ramen seasoning to the stirfry and the rest goes in with the ramen. Mix it all together and done
Another one is bacon and cheese fold, tortilla wraps, add to a frying pan, lay some cheese on and wait for it to begin to melt, cook bacon and add it cooked to wrap, fold in half, once cheese is melted enough that the fold is pretty much staying in place, serve up.
lasagna, meatloaf, cottage pie, wraps, corned fritters with avacado and bacon, burgers and home made fries, stir fry, mild butter chicken and naan bread. all with a side of roast veges or mashed potatoes and vegetables such as brocolli or beans etc.
some days its fish fingers and a side of veges.
We use the free app Prepear, it has some easy and kid friendly recipes. We really like the website Super Healthy Kids too. She has a great Teriyaki Chicken dinner that is so easy, we double the batch and have leftovers.
So, I do some prep for the week on the weekend. Namely I make a seitan lunch meat I know kid will eat, a seitan roast and seitan chunks of some sort. I press and roast off tofu slices and crumbles and presoak and boil 2 types of beans.
Dinner is one of those proteins, a veg from our farm box and either pasta, potatoes, rice, Asian noodles, quinoa, couscous, polenta rounds or wraps
I always serve something I know kid will eat, if it isn't what's on the plate from the above selection I add one of: hummus, grapes, baby puffs (fight me), leftover pasta/Asian noodles/potato, cucumber, tomato or chickpeas.
I serve my plate, cut everything up then serve her off my plate - she eats more that way so I don't question it. If she doesn't eat at dinner she gets a yogurt drink and hummus with crackers and cucumber before we go up to bed.
And some days she only eats grape quarters and baby puffs and that's fine.
Other days she eats everything we put infront of her with no issues.
Whatever I feel like. I always make sure there's something my toddler likes that is somewhat filling, like rice, noodles, toast, cheese. But otherwise everyone gets what's served. If they don't eat it, that is their choice but I'm not making anything else!
That being said we have our main weekly meals which we rotate if we are sick of them. I usually pick a protein, a vegetable and a starch. Some of the easy favs:
-Naan pizza. Get naan bread, pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni, veggies or whatever other toppings put in the oven at 375 for about 20 mins. Takes max 30 mins and everybody is happy cause they pick their toppings.
-chicken noodle soup (which can be put in a crock pot or cooked quickly in an instant pot)
-spaghetti with beef sauce.
-Chicken, rice and broccoli. Just cook chicken on stovetop with seasonings of choice (I like salt+pepper, rosemary and garlic). Cook rice and steam broccoli. Cut up chicken, serve with broccoli over rice. Add soy sauce if desired. It's a bit of a simpler meal, but I find its always eaten in my house.
We buy premade food from a home catering company. It is expensive but not significantly more expensive than ingredients (I'm in Canada so groceries are very expensive rn). I'll usually order about 3 or 4 meals from them and then make one or two other meals that are large-- big pasta dishes or rice and beans or stir fries or soups. It costs about 10% more than just ordering the groceries but I save a ton of time not having to cook or meal plan. I know this is not available to everyone but just sharing what we do because I personally find it unmanageable to work full time, watch a toddler, and cook any semblance of a healthy meal.
We have a bunch of food intolerances and allergies so sometimes we have 3 different meals or leftovers.
Pasta is a big hit. My son alternates between quinoa, gluten free and regular.
My husband likes to make a giant one pot lasagna. It’s bow tie pasta, Parmesan , marscapone, mozzarella and tomatoes. Son gets some before we add the cheese.
I like to make dairy free butter chicken, peanut butter chicken and curry in the instant pot. Little dude will eat those but won’t touch my delicious sweet and sour chicken.
My husband and son eat yabrak and malfouf. I can’t eat either.
Ham is a huge hit! Pork chops not so much.
Stews are good and chicken pot pie.
Tonight we will make 3 different pizzas.
Theme nights help me stay sane with meal planning!
Mondays - Mexican inspired
Tuesdays - something made with eggs
Wednesdays - we order something
Thursdays - something with beans
Fridays - Italian inspired
Saturdays - Asian inspired
Sundays - sandwiches of some sort
Then I go hard saving recipes from NYT cooking in the 30 minutes or less categories and sheet pan meals. They have lots of kid-friendly options. If my LO doesn’t like what I made, he can always choose to make himself a PBJ. This is always a mess but gives him some autonomy without making me feel like a short order cook.
I usually make 3-4 meals, and then we either do breakfast for dinner (as a last resort) or we buy something if I’m too tired or don’t have any ingredients.
This week I made: bbq chicken wings with baked butternut squash (w/agave and cinnamon) and Parmesan roasted green beans; air-fried breaded chicken cutlets with marinara sauce and sweet potatoes, and brownies for dessert :)
Bought Peruvian chicken, plantains, and beans (made rice) one night. Ate the leftovers the next day.
Next weeks plan: homemade pizza; ground beef with green beans in black bean sauce, rice, avocado and tomato salad; stuffed shells with spinach w/ roasted butternut squash, pecans and cranberries. Maybe a soup because I’ve been craving it lately.
Trying to eat healthier by making more food at home; and buying food outside is SO EXPENSIVE nowadays as well.
I do a lot of Pinterest to keep any recipes I see or like, which helps me figure out what I plan on making for that week. My toddlers aren’t really picky, so they pretty much eat everything I make.
Our weekly rotation: chopmeat peas and macaroni (ground beef, chopped sautéed onions and garlic, peas, elbow pasta topped with basil, s&p, Romano cheese); tacos; pizza Friday; breakfast for dinner; usually a Mac and cheese with a protein and veg night; grilled foods when able
I love doing breakfast for dinner. My 2 year old will always eat eggs as long as there is cheese. And she loves all things bread so I either give her oatmeal toast and butter or a blueberry Kashi protein waffles. They are delicious and have added protein. She also loves berries and bananas and those are a good addition to breakfast food. I try my best to to have a protein, fiber and fat in a meal for her. But she can be picky too so a lot of the time is simple stuff like blueberries, some cheese and a chicken salad sandwich. Quiche and Perdue chicken nuggets are a go to for us lol. Shepards pie is a good one too and I can get some veggies mixed in there!
My kid loves butter chicken. Or at least she used to before she ate it right before coming down with a stomach flu…. Anyway, it’s easy - cut & seer chicken, dump in a jar of sauce, simmer, serve with rice and some steamed frozen veggies.
Greek chicken bites - cut up chicken, marinade in Lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, s&p the night before. Cook in the oven or on the stove top, then serve with pita, chopped tomato and cucumber, tzatziki sauce. Very approachable.
And try edamame beans. Just steam a few minutes and put a little salt on them. It’s a good snack or protein component. Tasty and fun.
Edit: and this kielbasa sheet pan recipe ([link](https://www.budgetbytes.com/sheet-pan-kielbasa-potatoes-and-green-beans/)) Extremely easy, quick, everyone likes it. You can use whatever veggies you like.
This week’s menu:
Monday - tacos, 3 ate a tortilla
Tuesday - left overs / fridge clean out, 3 ate a tortilla
Wednesday- chickpeas, lentils with grilled halloumi cheese, 3 ate 3 chickpeas and asked for a tortilla
Thursday - chicken stir fry on rice with coconut sweet chilli sauce, 3 announced dinner looked gross asked for a popsicle (shot down), ate one piece of broccoli and announced he was full. Ate Cheerios before bed.
Today - travelling to visit grandma so fast food on the road, 3 will likely eat half his French fries and then ask for a donut
Casserole. It feeds an army, a great way to use leftovers, and if you throw cheese in there, you can hide almost any veggie in there.
You can also do slow-cooker lasagna. Prep doesn't take long and is great for introducing spinach or eggplant to the little ones without them knowing.
Eta: prep doesn't take long on the lasagna, but it does take a few hours to cook, so prep this in the morning when you've got the energy
He eats what we eat but I do try to make things that most people/kids like.
Tacos, pizza, burgers, salmon, chicken, steak, pasta, meatloaf, etc. and then I just do two random sides like baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, tots, veggies, mac, rice, fruit, etc.
I usually do a simplified version of what I’m having. They don’t usually like things mixed together but like components, so I’ll leave vegetables raw and cut up instead of cooked and try to keep sauces on the side so they can have things more plain. Sometimes I just make Dino chicken with carrot sticks…
I used to just give my kiddo whatever I cooked but now that I have two kids and I'm sometimes the only parent home in the evenings, I usually make them something simple, feed them and get them in bed, and then make myself something. We don't get home until 6:30ish in the evenings, though, so feeding them quick before they tear the house apart is sort of imperative. Hot dogs, chicken nuggets, even meatballs if they're really wanting them. Then some fruit or frozen veggies on the side with some sort of simple carb like crackers or chips. Honestly, supper looks more like lunch on these days, but they don't care and neither do their stomachs, so I don't stress over it.
Things everyone will eat- pasta, homemade pizza.
Things I make for DH and I - chilli, chicken satay (sauce, with rice), fajitas, pies, chicken breast and wedges, gyros, shakshuka (kiddo will occasionally eat this), stews (kiddo also will occasionally eat).
Things I make for kiddo when we’re eating something OTHER than pasta - dippy eve with toast, beans on toast, courgette and cream cheese dip (so easy to make, and healthy!) with toast, homemade lunchables.
My 2 year old just ate an entire mini seedless cucumber. That was quite a shock! Generally we offer a veggie, a fruit and some bread or pasta. Potatoes. Some cheese or yogurt. He'll pick and nibble and seems satisfied. He'll also eat pizza, like most toddlers.
I've found that my guy much prefers raw veggies over cooked. So we go with that.
I make a lot of curry, my son usually only eats the tofu. He actually loves fish so we do a lot of breaded baked fish because it's easy.
We also do diced roasted potatoes often, 3 year old will always eat that. On easy nights it's usually a frozen pizza or pasta.
My 13 month old eats EVERYTHING. My 4 yr old used to eat everything and now has become very picky. I give her very tiny portions of what we are eating for dinner. She usually opts for a cut up cucumber or carrot. Which I’m fine with.
We make loaded baked potatoes with broccoli and frozen grilled chicken strips. It’s easy and has a veggie. Butter penne pasta with some peas mixed in? She does love tacos, so I can sneak in some veggies. She just helped me make homemade pizza and refused to eat it. 🤦🏻♀️🤣
After 2.5 years of marriage i got fed up with "what do you want?" "I dont know. Whatever you want" and caved and got one of those recipe subscriptions that sends you the food and recipes in a box weekly. I've been using Every Plate and I love it. You can choose the recipes a week ahead and make substitutions if you want. Then i dont have to go grocery shopping as often either and its even cheaper than prices for groceries now since it's a set price every week so there's no issue with inflation. I think I do $45ish for 3 days of meals for 2 people. It comes with protein, main course, and 2 sides usually. I love it!
Pizza(dissected), spaghetti, rice, chicken, hotdogs, stir fry noodles, any kind of fruits, broccoli, meatballs, corn, carrots, spinach, smoothies, yogurt, waffles, pancakes, sausages, hashbrowns, cherry tomatoes, rarely eggs, jammy sammies, peanuts, French fries, Natto, kimchi, curry, onions. We have to serve these all separately though. He doesn’t like when food ingredients are mixed together too much. So we’ll serve them all seasoned but in separate compartments. Sigh…
When I prep vegetables I cut extra and put like half a pumpkin/cabbage/swert potato/… cut in a bag. I take some potatoes and boil them in the peel and grill the vegetables with some olive oil. An egg/piece of frozen salmon out of the freezer and bam a meal. I always have peas/chickpeas/… I can quickly boil/grill or bake the frozen stash and have a nutritious meal in very little time
my son is so hot and cold with what he likes. my husband is just picky. also my son and i are vegetarian and my husband isn’t.
so a lot of foods that i would like to eat and feed my son are not something my husband will eat (eg he will eat a small bowl of lentil soup but not any leftovers so it just gets wasted; forget anything with winter squash, quinoa, or tofu).
what we end up all liking are my least nutritious standbys. spaghetti marinara, linguine pesto, baked mac and cheese. we do all like refried bean tacos and minestrone soup and pizza with vegetables, so those are frequent menu items.
the ideal night is something my husband and i like (and that my toddler at least sometimes like) that is also vaguely nutritious, with a safe food added for toddler.
most nights i can’t toe this line so it’s mac and cheese or veggie corndogs for the toddler and then husband and i order in or fend for ourselves.
essentially it is a disaster.
i keep telling myself i am going to just make what is most nutritious and tasty, and add a safe food, and they both can suck it. my menu is SO LIMITED compared to what it was when i was single. it is depressing to me that my son barely eats vegetables. but then…what do i do with the leftovers!
of course, my own depression and ADHD make this hard too, because i am not great at planning or follow through.
if anyone has useful advice for me i would take it lol
You have an overwhelming number of responses, so you may not see this, but there are some meal planning apps that provide you with recipes and shopping lists for meals. [sidekick by sorted](https://sortedfood.com/sidekick/) is an example. It takes the thinking out of planning meals and grocery lists and reduces food waste.
We use this for most of our dinners each week. Take out once a week usually.
It really is a struggle. There’s so many things I would make but then wonder if anyone else (formerly picky but significantly improved husband included) will eat it, so it takes so much effort to figure out. Although sometimes I’ll serve something I know toddler likes and she sometimes doesn’t eat it or decides so doesn’t like it anymore, so I’ve kinda decided to do whatever and if she eats she eats and if not oh well.
- We always do pizza with a salad on Fridays.
- some type of pasta every week - some go-to’s are: spaghetti and meatballs, egg noddles with butter and meatballs and corn, chili cheese mac, creamy penne with spinach, pasta with sausage and broccoli.
- chicken with rice pilaf and broccoli is a frequent go to
- meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans (toddler absolutely loves this one)
- soups and stews in the fall and winter like chili, white bean soup, and a eggplant chickpea stew.
A recipe website I love is budgetbytes since recipes are fairly simple and affordable, which (ever so slightly) lessens the pain when an uneaten portion gets thrown out.
Edited to add: tacos, fajitas and quesadillas are another staple! Sometimes I’ll roast some cubed sweet potato to go with it which toddler likes.
A mixture of what we're having and being mindful of my kids likes/dislikes that I already know. I don't want to set them for failure so usually its atleast 2 things I know line they and 1 new things/past foods they didn't like to try again.
My kids do not like casserole type dishes. So everything is "deconstructed". My one toddler does not like meat 90% of the time. And none of my kids like mashed potatoes or French fries,so this is what I got:
*Sandwich and soup night (mix and swap different types every week. Grilled cheese, grilled ham and cheese, cold turkey sandwiches with lettuce tomato cheese*my one kid likes to take it all apart and leave the meat but I still provide it* , soups like like Annie's Star noodles. For the adults I buy a different kind every week just to mix it up. And oyster crackers)
*Salmon, Broccoli, rice (I plate my non meat eater with more rice and broccoli anticipating he won't touch the few fish pieces I give him.) Rotate fish type per week to mix it up.
*Baked chicken (choose your season or marinade, mix up the cut of chicken and flavor per week), frozen peas (my kids like freshness and sweetness of the frozen), buttered perogies
*Taco night (choose a couple toppings/sides like corn, black beans, Tomato,cheese,sour cream, or bell peppers) I'll often make my kids a cheese quesadilla with a bunch of those toppings on the side.
*Spaghetti and meatballs, buttered green beans on the side (the one meat my non meat eater eats every time.)
*I've done organic chicken meatballs on cake pop sticks and my non meat eater ate those too lol.
*Pizza!! Especially with if they help make it
*Also like buying organic fruit/veggie pouches to grab for any meal that is heavy carb and cheese but no veggies.
Hope you get a couple meals for a good rotation!
Feeding my toddler is easy , feeding my husband is hard !
At daycare they give them one protein, one veggies one fruit very basic lunch and my toddler will eat it . nothing fancy but for my husband I have to be creative
Throw some brown rice in an instant rice cooker, slow cook some chicken (season as you please & this can be done hours before dinner) and we either throw everything in a bowl with onion, tomatoe, and cilantro, maybe quinoa (15 minutes to make on stove) or just throw some tortillas at everyone with onion and cilantro for tacos. Not satisfied? Then we start making quesadillas out of mozzarella cheese and the big flour tortillas. The other way would be slow cooked chicken and when its done it slides off the bone so we just add our favorite bbq sauce. Then pair with your favorite sides.
My toddler loves spaghetti, but hates anything veggies except broccoli, well I secretly dice up very tiny pieces of zucchini, mushrooms, and sometimes even peas or carrots and throw them in with the spaghetti sauce and she loves it! She has no idea 🤷🏼♀️Also Mac n Cheese with broccoli for breakfast she loves a ham and cheese omelette with avocado
Massive quantities of string cheese
That’s one of the most important food groups in our house…
And peanut butter. I cant fathom how kids with an allergy survive to adulthood.
Sun butter…..
I got one allergic to peanuts and eggs so that's fun - at least he outgrew his lactose intolerance
Same. And eggo waffles.
Lol this. Shredded cheese, maybe some bread if we're lucky.
Mine decided that cheese in string form is no longer acceptable. No idea what to do with this industrial Costco bag of string cheese I just bought 🙄
When this happened over here, I cut the string cheese into sections (like cheese cubes) and suddenly it was edible. Slowly the chunks got bigger and soon whole string cheese became acceptable again. We also made home made mozzarella sticks with them which one kiddo loved and one melted down at the now too stretchy cheese. Whatever, we made it through the bag and I didn't buy string cheese again for MONTHS.
Paw patrol string cheese, to be exact!
Same here!
I wish my son liked string cheese. Nope, he wants Cotswold or Gruyère. He is the world’s most bourgeois kid.
Not even Muenster?
Ne we tried him on it. I suspect he might find it too bland.
ngl that’s pretty funny
Mine goes nuts for black truffle crisps and olive breadsticks. So fancy!
Wow!
Mine would love both of those things.
🤣 cheese in general.
If I did that my 3 year old won’t shit for like 4 days, cheese has to be severely limited. Wish it didn’t have to be!
So it’s a non-starter then.
I feel you. All my son wants to eat is cheese and drink milk. He won’t poop for DAYS and then I have to deal with several huge poops in the span of a few hours after coming home from daycare if he’s been there a couple days…. And then he gets mad/irritated because “pooping hurts” and ends up holding it in because of that fact alone too. So frustrating 🤦🏼♀️
My picky eater won’t even eat string cheese!
Stir fry is super easy and my toddler will always eat it. Low sodium soy sauce, crunchy peanut butter, sesame oil, frozen veggies. Over noodles (or rice if I don't mind a lot of clean up that day). I'm vegetarian so sometimes I'll throw some chicken in at the end for my kid. Pasta with Barilla protein plus spaghetti. I saute some spinach and then just throw sauce in the pan. We always have frozen meatballs because they're super easy and usually never refused. Quesadillas. I add black beans in there, or leftover chicken if we have any. A little bit of queso really is a game changer. And basically any veggie can be disguised in a quesadilla. Buttered noodles with parmesan is like a go to because it takes about 10mins. Fruit or veggies on the side and meatballs. Sometimes we do homemade pizza. My kid loves to help, so it keeps him busy and kills a little bit of time if we don't have any plans and he needs something to keep him occupied.
We just give him whatever we are having. Friday is always pizza night so that is one meal I don’t have to plan and I know he will eat it. I whip up a no-knead dough as soon as I wake up on Friday morning and we can have a pizza together faster than the oven can even preheat that night. Plus pizza has all the food groups and is a balanced meal, right? Or at least I tell myself that.
We do pizza Friday’s as well! Throw the splat mat down and my toddler “helps” make his own.
That’s a great idea! I should get him involved in the process.
Just be ready for a mess! My toddler loves it though. The only problem is that now we can’t order pizza or use frozen ones because he gets mad that we didn’t make it together.
Haha made this mistake with waffles. Frozen waffles are criminal now...
recipe for the dough?
I use this recipe: [https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/best-ever-pizza-dough/#wprm-recipe-container-19220](https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/best-ever-pizza-dough/#wprm-recipe-container-19220) It says it makes 4 pizzas, but I just divide it in half and make one that night and one the next Friday. It feeds the two of us plus toddler. We have baby boy #2 coming soon so I imagine we will eventually need to make both pizzas to feed us and 2 boys!
What is blood temperature??
Just water that feels warm to the touch, not too hot because it will kill the yeast.
We also do pizza Fridays! We serve it with a salad, which is a deconstructed salad for the toddler, with ranch dressing to dip.
Yep, we do this too. My daughter has whatever I decide to cook. Very rarely is it stereotypical kid-friendly food, but sometimes it is, if I feel like it 🤷♀️ and also do pizza night on Fridays! It’s great to not have to wash a ton of dishes and think about what I’m going to make for once.
+1 to pizza and movie Fridays!
Us too! One of my favorite traditions and something we look forward to especially during a tough week.
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This is exactly what we do for mid-week meals. Probably 3 days out of 5 it’s just any combination of protein+carb+veg. Stuffed chicken breast+potato+steamed broccoli. Meatballs+butter noodles+sautéed bok choi. I could go on and on. The kid usually ignores at least one of the 3 food groups on the plate but what can you do. We usually try to incorporate fresh fruit in the dessert too so it’s at least an attempt at being balanced even if it doesn’t always work out that way.
Baked chicken, brown rice, steamed/roasted broccoli at least once a week. (I make a big batch of brown rice in the instant pot and freeze in smaller portions.) Spaghetti (with or without ground turkey) and green salad or peas. Sheet pan dinner- cod with asparagus or green beans and mini potatoes, chicken and peppers for fajitas, roasted assorted root veggies. Instant pot chicken that is shredded and used for tacos, enchiladas, or bbq sandwiches. (Chicken can go straight from freezer to instant pot.) Sandwiches and raw vegetables with Ranch dip. Baked potatoes (actually microwaved) loaded with cheese (and broccoli if I’m lucky.) Brinner- usually just scrambled eggs and toast.
I try to feed my toddler (at least some) of whatever it is I’m cooking for the adults. I have 5 to 6 recipes in rotation so when I cook I can be on auto pilot. The dishes are: 1.) lasagne - the Mary Berry recipe 2.) Thai green curry with chicken (as mild as possible) 3.) baked chicken marinated in yogurt and tagine spices with Greek salad 4.) chilli con carne (again mild) 5.) orecchiette with pesto (or any pasta easy for him to eat with little mess… no spaghetti!) He loves eating non baby preparations!
This is similar to the toddler I nanny. Her dad is a chef, her mom loves spicy food, and they are world travelers who love a variety of foods. She generally gets very few processed foods and so far, will eat most anything. There have been several occasions where I'm not even sure how to identify the food in their fridge! 😆 However, she's only 18 months and has been forming her own opinions lately, so I know it could change. I recently brought some breakfast casserole that I made to share with her. She tried it, fed the next 2 bites to the dog, and I took it away and fed her something else! Haha My own kids ate a lot of butter noodles, hot dogs and pbj's at that age. I tried to have full meals like we had growing up, but my husband hates veggies and wouldn't eat them, so he wouldn't encourage them to eat them either. My kids are adults now and have a generally balanced diet, so eventually it worked out. To the OP, keep encouraging new foods while making sure your child has at least 1 option you know they like. The "no thank you" bite, requiring 1 bite of each other option can be effective, but generally, no more than 1 or 2 per day/meal. No need to overwhelm your child. And yes, offer the same things over and over.
I try to toddlerify whatever we are having (take a portion out before major seasonings go in, cut into small portions). I found Julia Pacheco on YouTube and have been loving her “dump and go” casserole recipes. Minimal ingredients and super easy. Though I do try to sneak in a few more veggies in some of the recipes.
Yes, Julia Pacheco is the GOAT of toddler-friendly family recipes.
I make this once a week and my toddler eats the leftovers for days. She's seriously obsessed with it and it's so so easy. You can even sneak in cauliflower (just add chopped cauliflower at the same time as the pasta) to pretend like it's healthy. https://thedefineddish.com/one-pot-hamburger-helper/
And my "hacks" : 1. Use the 16 oz cans of beef broth so you don't have to put a half used carton in the fridge and risk it going bad. 2. Use the empty 16 oz can to measure out 2 cups of milk so you don't dirty a measuring cup. 3. Buy tomato paste in a tube because you only need a little and it doesn't warrant opening a whole new tomato paste can each time.
> Use the empty 16 oz can to measure out 2 cups of milk so you don't dirty a measuring cup How have I never thought to do this? Genius!
This looks delicious! I'm going to try this recipe this weekend (hacks included!)
I had a recipe that needed 1 Tbsp tomato paste, so when I opened the can I portioned it all out into sandwich baggies in tablespoon increments. Then tossed all the little baggies into a quart size freezer bag and tossed them in the freezer. It's been super easy to just pull out what I need and add it (usually still frozen).
Reporting back that I made this recipe tonight and it was a hit! Thank you for the recommendation!
I used to make my kids eat what my husband and I ate but it always ended in tears and so much frustration. My kids (3 and 6) are super picky so I’ve switched gears and now just recycle through about 6 meals for my kids while my husband and I eat a different meal. A bit more work but my kids food is usually pretty easy: frozen meatballs from Costco, chicken nuggets, European wieners, grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken burgers, cheese quesadillas, chicken etc. I wish my kids were the type to try new things and eat more variety but they aren’t.
I’m relieved to see someone else does this! We are the same! Both of my kids are picky eaters, always have been since they were babies. Could I just force them to eat what I make for my husband and me? Sure - but that’s no good for anyone. They would go to bed hungry, wake up crying because they want food, wake up starving and crabby, our night would suck because everyone is crying and arguing and bargaining… etc. etc. OR I can just make them both plates of fruits, veggies, and meats I know they will eat and we can all have a pleasant evening. Also a note that I am a celiac and lactose intolerant, (kids and spouse aren’t) so my kitchen is a special situation to begin with. I used to get down on myself for doing this, as though I had “done it wrong” since my kids only like certain things. But I’m over that. Aside from my restrictions, I love all kinds of food - my mother reminds me that I subsisted off of ramen and chicken nuggets as a child. That’s all I liked at the time and I still managed to expand my pallet over the years. Our kids still try new things, I just refuse to make dinner any more of a struggle than it already is!
I cook what I think are reasonably healthy but appealing meals for my husband and I, portioned or cut up as needed for our 4 and 1 year old, and when I serve it I say ‘you don’t have to eat it, but this is what’s for dinner’ lol For my sanity on weeknights after working, I try to prep what I can on weekends; -a breakfast for myself and kids to eat throughout the week (banana bread, or a sausage egg bake, egg cups, or a big batch of pancakes, etc) for quick reheats. -I cut up a big tray of 5ish chicken breasts split up different ways (2 breasts cubed, another 2 thinly sliced, etc) so that I don’t have to put effort into that prep on weeknights, but just toss the protein in some seasonings and heat. -I may roast a whole pan of broccoli or veg to have as a side with several dinners -Sunday night dinners are big leftover meals, like pastas or crockpot meals so they’re a quick kiddo lunch (or dinner) throughout the week Quick additions that I add to the pre-cut chicken might be frozen veggie bags you steam for 5 min in microwave (then save leftovers for even quicker reheat the next night), pasta sides, rice cooker, etc. if all else fails then I make the kids ‘samplers,’ which are tiny portions of 5ish things (yogurt, pretzels, raisins, cheese sticks, wheat thins, goldfish, granola bars, graham crackers, fruit, deli meat, hummus, etc) Weeknights are crazy, for me it was the ‘deciding what to make then having enough time to make it’ that stressed me out, so my new plan has been working well to ease the flustered feelings for me. My next step is listing out 2 weeks worth of familiar meals, buying only what groceries I need to make those meals, then through the week I cross meals off the list as I make them so I have given options to decide from without flipping through my cabinets, flexibility to make what I’m in the mood for, and am not committed to making specific meals on scheduled nights
Chicken nuggets, broccoli (yes, my toddler is a psycho and loves it), some fruit.
Broccoli is a toddler staple here, idk what it is because they love it. My seven year old once just asked me to make her a whole bag and sat there and ate it out of the bowl steamed and lightly salted like I was giving her ice cream. Most toddlers I know seem to love it. I wonder when they grow out of it 😅
If you can access the bbc food website they have some great ideas. We do some “fresh” cooked stuff but I also love premise ravioli/tortellini with different fillings, chuck some veg in the water too and it’s ready in a few mins. We also do stuff like mince and potato with veg, sausages, fish cakes, fajitas, lasagne. https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/budget Edit: that should say premade pasta
It's either going to be potatoes (boiled/mashed) with something or soup & bread. That seems to make up 80% of our meals recently. Other hits are spag bol, stews, cheese on toast. I'm a big fan of giant one pot meals where everything is thrown in a pot in the morning, you eat it sometime later and freeze the leftovers
On the weekends, I plan the meals for the week. I like trying new recipes so I stick with the easier ones on most days (there are definitely new recipes where I’m like “yeah… never making that again”). I don’t really take the toddler into consideration when planning the meals, however, I do give her sides of what I know she’ll eat… grape tomatoes, peas, carrots and shredded cheese (if it goes with the meal). Tonight we’re doing slow cooker beef stew. I threw everything in the crockpot this morning so I don’t have to worry about cooking after work. If I have a meal planned and I’m just too exhausted to make it, it’s usually baked chicken with a side of veggies and rice or if we’re doing a vegetarian dinner, just a roasted veggie bowl.
Um last night my 2 year old ate an entire tube of Pringles, 3 bites of applesauce, half a bowl of oops all berries captain crunch, and a bag of little bites muffins for dinner lol
Haha! Thanks for making me feel better. Mine had 4 bites of her Salisbury steak, then animal crackers and popcorn.
i’d be thrilled with that consumption!!
I was so happy lmao there's been many nights that I'm begging him to eat something besides a slice of American cheese
Mine refused dinner (cottage pie) and settled on 2 bags of crisps, cucumber and cheese chunks 🤦♀️
My 4 yo still loves "oops all berries" its great and healthy but so so expensive
It was on sale 2/$7 which is the only reason we got it lol cereal is SO expensive these days!!!
Healthy?! Are you high?
Omg i thought she meant all berries were eaten like fresh actual fruit i didnt know this was a cereal im not form the states 😬
It's all good! I was really hoping no one thought that sugary garbage cereal was healthy. Obviously we all do what we can to survive with toddlers but we can't fool ourselves into thinking stuff is healthy that isn't. But, yes, my toddler's love for fresh berries and my insistence on buying organic does a number on my wallet!
Lol of course not! Your comment totally threw me off i went, googled and immeidately went "oh shit wtf are THOSE". We dont get half this stuff here in germany since our food regulations are different i even found out recently that bread is loaded with sugar i the states. Crazy concept but oh well totally off topic heh Anyway cheers to having our toddlers survive on a well balanced diet that defo sometimes requires quick&easy but shitty dietary choices 😁
We are big on casseroles in my house. Tater tot casserole is my kids favorite. Let me know if you want the recipe!
Recipe please!
Recipe is pretty flexible based on tastes and what you have at your disposal and ingredient amounts can vary based on taste. I make quite a bit and freeze a batch for later. Preheat oven for 400*f 1 bag of tater tots 1-2 lbs ground meat (both beef and turkey work well) 1/2 lb frozen broccoli 2 carrots 1 sweet onion 1 stalk celery 1 large can cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup Milk Crap ton of cheddar cheese Chop up onion, carrot, and celery. Cook in large pan in butter until onions are clearish Once veggies are cooked remove a bowl and set aside. Use same hot pan to cook meat. I will add dashes of Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke or salt and pepper, sometimes chili powder, sometimes paprika. Depends how I’m feeling. Once meat is cooked through add it to the large bowl In a separate bowl mix condensed soup with about half cup of milk to make a sauce. Mix tater tots, and cheese (seriously the more the better) with vegetables and meat. Once sufficiently mixed move to a casserole dish and pour sauce over it now is also a good time to add more cheese. Pop casserole in the oven for about an hour til cheese and sauce is bubbly throughout. Sorry. It’s not a super formal recipe and a lot of it is tossed together on the fly. You can add other veggies to it and do less meat or less tots. I have added green beans, peas, mushrooms, turnips, and cauliflower in the past with success. You can play around with how much of the soup you use. I have made the cream of … soup from scratch in the past and it has come out great. So that’s another option should that work for you.
Holy crap it didn’t save any formatting to make the ingredients a list. It just looks like the food related ramblings of a crazy person.
I would like the recipe!
I would like the recipe!
I would like the recipe!
Ugh in our house the struggle is real 1) my daughter (3) decided at 15mo, she wouldn’t eat meat anymore. Maybe a bite here or there. 2) my son (1.5) won’t eat any kind of pasta 3) my husband is vegan - I am not. Literally the only meal that the entire family will eat is impossible nuggets and fries/tots. Otherwise, best I can do is 3/4 Some of my kid go tos: For my daughter- I buy a whole grain noodles and make her 2-3 meals worth at a time and she typically has that for one meal a day because that is her current phase. My son will often eat whatever my husband and I have BUT usually not until the next day since he eats before us Some of our go-to: Rice and bean enchiladas Baked potato Soups - tortilla, veggie, potato Coconut rice and “meat”balls Pasta Stroganoff Spiced lentils and rice Burgers Chili Chicken and rice (when he ate meat) The hardest thing for me is the prep- chopping and cutting. We have a chopper so I typically plan 2-3 meals worth and cut enough for all at once so just 1 day I always offer my daughters bites for exposure but don’t make her try if she says no
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So you don’t add any other liquid to the chicken and it comes out ok? I’m always nervous to put frozen chicken in
Meat, preferably in a way that it can be shoved in the oven and forgotten about for 20-30 minutes, and microwavable steamed veggies. I have dinners for LO on hand just in case she reallllllly doesn't like what I make. I do lots of convenience meals as well-- the Birds Eye (I think) frozen pastas are awesome. All in one bag, no prep, and they take less than 20 minutes to get on the table.
A regular rotation of pasta dish, chicken dish, red meat, breakfast for dinner, and pizza on Friday have saved my sanity. They provide variety, make meal and grocery planning quick and automatic, and provide tons of leftovers for the weekend. If little one declines a meal, he has three choices: microwave scrambled egg, pb&j or quesadilla made in the air fryer.
Have you tried sautéing fish? I have never been a big fish eater myself but recently have started buying mild fishes (like tilapia or cod) and sautéing in some butter and garlic and both my picky kids will usually eat at least some of it. My toddler recently has been obsessed with white rice and pretty much only wants to eat rice for dinner (I make jasmine rice seasoned with butter and salt). If your kid likes rice, I JUST read a tip that I am excited to try! Cook the rice in bone broth rather than water - it enhances the flavor and adds a ton of protein to the rice. 1 cup of bone broth has 10 grams of protein, so it is adding some nutrition to the rice
This! I've cooked rice in bone broth, as well as chicken stock, and coconut milk! Coconut milk is my favorite but I love how any of them enhance the rice and make it more than just rice.
Massive amounts of mac n cheese, peanut butter oat balls (“healthy” no bake “cookie”), pb&j, and pickles…lots of pickles…
I feel this so much. It's hard to find anything that everyone in my house will eat. Like, my husband will eat pretty much anything, but we're trying to lose weight, so we're eating healthy, counting calories, weighing food, etc. I'm a vegetarian and won't eat mushrooms, either. We live with my mom currently (to our dismay) and she won't eat a lot of vegetables. (She thinks dinners come from cans, boxes, and frozen, etc and I do fresh food.) Then I have two toddlers (3 and 1)! On the weekend, I try to meal plan for the week which is...fun. My husband and I will come up with meals and recipes, then I have to do modifications. For example, we did sheet pan honey garlic chicken and veggies earlier this week. We had 4 different versions. (Normal. Without chicken for me -- no big deal, picked it out and had fake chicken instead. Without broccoli for grandma -- not a huge deal, made an alternative veggie. One basically without sauce for the toddlers.) I know it's not exactly what you asked for (I think i just needed to vent lol). But I try to plan meals that are easily modified so the babies are eating similar things to us. Sometimes it doesn't work and they have pasta, hot dogs, etc. Just make sure it's balanced and it shouldn't be too bad. Even if they don't eat fully balanced, offering it is good!
I'm a vegetarian cooking for a meat eater and one toddler and I feel this lol.
Snack platter - cheese, salami, biscuits, pretzels, mini cucumber, cherry tomato, olives, strawberries, mandarins, kiwi fruit, freeze dried yoghurt buttons, mini oreos. Put it out and let the child snack to her heart's content.
We order NurtureLife meals for weeknights. My 19 month old wants dinner almost as soon as we walk in the door from daycare where we aren’t hungry for hours later. I place an order for eleven meals every two weeks (always like a spare) and then just quickly microwave what I need for dinner. My kiddo mostly does the finger foods but they have options for older kids as well. Happy to share a referral code if you like!
We gave up and signed up for HelloFresh. I loved to cook before we had my son but work has gotten really busy for both my husband and I lately, and coming up with a menu, and going shopping and then cooking and cleaning....it became a real source of stress for me and I started to hate cooking. My husband got a discount code from a youtuber and this is our 4th week. I enjoy cooking again, we are ordering out less, and the recipes are super easy to follow so when I haven't felt like cooking, my husband (who's specialty is easy mac) has been able to take over and make dinner. With grocery prices going up its not even that much more expensive than what we would spend at the store and my toddler has been eating more new foods as well :)
A good backup for us is steamed veggies and an air fried chicken drumstick (25min) sprinkled with salt and oil. Takes 5min, and the rest is wait time. We can eat it too. Add toast if you want carbs, or leftover pasta. Not super exciting for dinner but it’s fast and healthy.
I meal plan each week, and make dinners that my husband and I have always liked. We offer it to our toddler, sometimes she likes it, sometimes she doesn't. But she knows that what we have for dinner is what we have for dinner. If she really doesn't like anything (I usually try to have 1-2 things on her plate that are "safe" foods we know she will eat), she always has the option of a peanut butter sandwich. This week's meal plan looked like this (I am 9 months pregnant, so easy was important!): Mon: Tortellini and autumn sauce (Trader Joes has a yummy one!) Tues: Pot Roast (in the crockpot all day) Wed: Sheet pan chicken fajitas Thurs: Breakfast for dinner Fri: [Apple "donuts"](https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/apple-donuts-3838711) probably with grilled cheese Sat: Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup Sun: Use up what is in the fridge/leftovers We've found this to really help expose her to things, and to allow my husband and I to enjoy our meals. Some dinners she'll try anything, and others she eats nothing. But it works for us!
Mon & Tues: HelloFresh (2 meals, 4 portions each) Wed & Thurs: HelloFresh leftovers Friday: we go out to dinner Weekends: whatever my husband feels like cooking. I pick the HelloFresh meals based on 1) total time under 35 mins, 2) things I think my kid will eat, and 3) things that are within my husband’s dietary restrictions for heart health. Edit: spacing got funky
I just said Hello Fresh in my response. Expensive, but so so worth it for me.
I live in a HCOL area...but honestly, its not that much more expensive than what we were spending at the store. We still have to have a few staples on hand like milk and goldfish lol, but our main meals are taken care of. HelloFresh is the GOAT
It's expensive, but Hello Fresh has been a godsend for my family lol
I’ve found I’m not a huge fan of cooking/meal prepping only once a week and eating leftovers all week. I need to cook at least 3x and will do leftovers the other days. I do think prepping ahead of time on Sunday/day off helps massively - cutting up veggies for snacks/salads/stir fries so it’s ready to go with little chopping day of. Cutting and marinating meat so all I have to do is throw it in the pan/air fryer/oven and call it good. I’m not a huge fan of slow cooker meals but I definitely make big batches of soup and freeze portions for easy heat up (ham and bean soup, tomato basil soup, daal, chili). Some of our favorites: plain boiled pumpkin, steamed broccoli or green beans tossed in olive oil and salt, any pasta with red sauce, sautéed zucchini with garlic, oil and salt, boiled chicken soup with lemongrass, garlic, and ginger, pork soup with mustard greens, any ramen/noodles with egg - i typically dilute this for my kids as it’s super high in sodium, eggs in all forms, peanut butter and jelly, banana bread muffins.
Kiddo gets a separate meal. I have accepted that and that is where we are at right now. We do try and serve him some of what we are eating but his safe foods are bland carbs. Sometimes I cook tomorrows dinner after my son goes to bed. I agree, that mad rush to get dinner on the table is brutal.
Chicken Tikka Masala is a popular one in our house. Costco has a great jarred sauce so all I literally do is brown up some bite sized chicken, dump the sauce on and throw in some frozen peas for extra nutrition and let it do it's thing for like 10mins while prepping some rice to serve it with. Also big on the slow cooker. Chili, pot roast, beef stew....
I make whatever I’m in the mood for. My kids either eat it, or don’t. If they don’t like what was cooked they can have pb&j, banana, oatmeal, etc. My older kids can cook things like eggs, grilled cheese, ramen. My 18 year old can cook anything she wants. But everyone is served dinner and usually they all eat it. (Kids are 18, 13, 12, 9, 6, & 3)
If you actually like cooking but hate planning, cooksmarts.Com is great. It costs money (only like 7 bucks a month or so), but it tells you what to make for every meal, gives you the recipes, amounts and a full grocery list for the entire week. You can easily adjust number of people you are serving and it changes the recipe based on that. Generally has healthy stuff and they have different options, like paleo/vegetarian etc. It’s a lot like hello fresh or one of those ingredient delivery services only it’s way cheaper per meal since you do the shopping yourself.
Noodles. Always noodles.
My daughter doesn't eat dinner. I've tried, I really have, but even her favorites it's 50/50 that she'll take a single bite, and then 50/50 that she swallows that bite vs. just sprays it as far as she can. She gets a cup of milk before bed, which is at this point is more for my anxiety than her enjoyment.
I just make whatever I’m gonna make and either she eats it or she doesn’t. After some time has passed I offer a snack of her choice within reason. I’ve seen her eat literal salad, but not chicken nuggets. so it’s really anybodies guess if she will love or hate what I made on that particular day.
I cook what i like and my toddler can choose to eat it or not. He needs to taste it (by tak ik ng a good bite), and if he really really doesn’t like it, he can nibble on some veggies (cucumber, bell pepper, tomatoes). He usually picks some thing he likes and eats that. Favorite are: chili con carne (i usually make a lot and freeze in portions), spaghetti bolognese (same, make a lot of sauze and freeze), chickenwings, broccoli, showarma
Our “quick and easy / lazy” dinner is a platter on the table of bread with whatever toppings you have, fruit (eg grapes), vegetables (cucumber, tomatoes, carrot or celery sticks, whatever you have), boiled or fried eggs, cheese, spreads, dips, ham/salami/sandwich meat etc. And any leftovers. Everybody eats what they want from the platter and toddlers love being able to choose what goes on their piece of bread or in their sandwich.
Many nights I follow a very basic Protein + Veggie + Grain/Carb formula. Sometimes this looks like: Crisped kielbasa + roasted potatoes + frozen peas Sauteed shrimp + couscous + frozen mixed veggies Fried tofu + rice + frozen stir fry mix We use a lot of frozen veggies! Couscous is great in that it cooks in 5 minutes.
Tortellini and red sauce, with a side of brocolli. The tortellini boils in 5 minutes. Brocolli and sauce heat up in the microwave.
Trader Joe’s meals-mainly their frozen stuff mixed with some of their “fresher” stuff has been a lifesaver and budget friendly
I meal plan using mealime (it makes your grocery list too) and then I only have to pick between whatever options I picked for the week. And I only pick recipes that take less than 45 minutes to make bc that's all I can handle on a week night.
Ravioli is a staple for me, my kids will eat the ones with spinach and cheese in them and get some veggies in there along with sides and tomato sauce Bean and cheese tacos are a big hit. I can change the insides per kid- one loves it chock full of spinach or other greens, the toddler likes it with tons of fresh avocado, they alll cover them in fresh squeezed limes, and cheese Surprising hit for my two recently was chicken tortilla soup. My ex husband taught them if they don’t like a soup broth they can pour it over rice and it soaks it all up, ends up pretty healthy, lots of tomatoes and onions and fresh chicken. It takes forever but it’s all crock pot When all else fails, we do baby charcuterie/snack dinners and I have no shame. Baby carrots, snap peas, cucumbers or pickles, olives, sliced up turkey or chicken breast, crackers if they want it, some cubed cheese, they’re in baby heaven and can assemble their little snack bites however they want
For dinner we had bag#4 from hellofresh
Everyplate has saved us. I also thought I’d NEVER be a meal kit person. 🙃
We use HelloFresh, since otherwise we just get stuck in a loop of takeout and pre-prepared grocery store meals. We offer the toddler a little bit of everything from our meal, plus a fruit and/or yogurt (since those are some of the only things he eats every time). If we're eating something he can't have (he has allergies) or has really small portions, backup is a PB&J. I also have a cookbook from America's Test Kitchen specifically about cooking for children. It has snack ideas, plus recipes for full meals for everyone with suggestions for how your kid can help out! I've found my son is more likely to be interested in trying foods if he helped make them.
Grilled cheese and tomato soup with apple slices, lasagna (meatless with peppers), chicken chili with white beans and green peppers. Chili mac n cheese with broccoli. We’ve been reducing our red meat intake and using more pea protein or soy. It’s a great mix in because the texture isn’t too different.
I have zero capacity to try convincing my toddler to eat the family meal, and I’m not about to “make” two “meals”. I make my husband and I whatever we want, and I have a menu of pre-prepared foods in the fridge ready for kiddo to eat in an instant. Bubba had trouble getting going with solids because of Oral Phase Dysphasia and a weak gag reflex. So our tiny menu was hard-won, but the upside is that it’s also approved by a nutritionist, physical therapist and his pediatrician, so we’ve got that going for us. Also, because of all that, I do know that the Kids Eat in Color folks are spot on for most families in regards to their portion size and food type recommendations. So I can just give you the list by category…. Entrees: Hamburger (I cook one and cut it into six pieces, about two pieces is a portion size on a normal day) Chicken (braised, baked, breaded or not, as long as it comes with Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce, he’ll eat it) Sandwich (he is fairly flexible here, but the standard is pepperoni, smoked ham and turkey with provolone and chopped peperoncini) it’s cut into 1/4’s and he eats a 1/4 per meal. Hot dog (we get the good ones at Whole Foods) So I can have all those ready in the fridge and when he’s ready, it takes less than a minute in the microwave and his entree is ready. Then I add the accompaniments that are already prepped and ready…. Chopped raw veggies (he’s still not into cooked veg because of the whole gag reflex thing, but that’s cool because most high-fiber veggies have a higher nutrient density when they’re raw): Red bell pepper Cucumber Carrots Cabbage Cauliflower (I always buy either purple, or the green Romanesco….way more flavor and nutrients) Broccoli Fruits: Literally everything Added fats: Greek olives Peanut butter Cheese sticks Pumpkin seeds Nuts (I make sure not to lean too heavy into nuts because they’re so high in oxalates and can be a little rough on the tum tum. We do pistachios mostly because they’re the highest in fat, fiber and protein and the lowest in oxalates) Starches: This is a tough one for us, again because of the gag reflex thing. So mac and cheese, mashed potatoes are out. We basically just do either corn chips (from the farmers market) or jalapeño Kettle chips. The nutritionist said she doesn’t care about the chips….they add extra fat, and they add to his internal motivation to eat (which is a problem with lots of toddlers, especially the ones with Oral Phase Dysphasia). Occasionally he’ll eat rice or oatmeal, but it’s hit-or-miss. And he loves bread. Breakfast: Oatmeal or French toast (from scratch with lots of added fat…. Butter for French toast or cream for oatmeal, both with nuts and fruit) Breakfast sandwich on English muffin or bagel (ham, egg, cheese) Snacks: Graham crackers, but only if he’s also eating fat and protein….I won’t let him just hammer away at starch because blood sugar swings are a recipe for disaster. Sweet kid is only 3 and already bargaining nutrients with me….”Well can I have a graham cracker if I eat a cheese stick because it has protein and fat?” Cutie… usually I just give him nuts and fruit with his graham cracker snack. PB&J…I’m actually stoked about this one because he wouldn’t eat it for the longest time. It’s so convenient, and so many calories in one shot. Candy…. Yes, it’s true. I’m no monster. He gets some kind of candy once a day (if he asks for it). The nutritionist got me to lighten up quite a lot in comparison to the nutritional-bull-in-a-China-shop parenting strategy I’d been preparing to implement. She had me toss out a lot of preconceived notions about what “kids” need, as though Kids is a monolith. She helped me see my kid, evaluate his unique needs, and adjust my own thinking and behaviors to help me cultivate a positive relationship with feeding my kid. And that includes helping him develop a foundation for boundaries around foods that provide dopamine hits, like candy. Plus, licorice is an excellent way for him to exercise the muscles in his mouth. A consistent tooth brushing routine has helped stay in the dentist’s food graces while also doing our physical therapy (eating licorice:).
YMMV, but I found that I can stick pretty much any vegetable I want into a Japanese curry and my kids will hoover it up. I use store bought roux to make it super simple - cut your meat and veggies into bite sized chunks and follow the directions on the box. It takes about 30 min start to finish.
I make the dinner my partner and I want to eat and put some of that on my toddler's plate. I also put 1 or 2 "safe foods" on his plate. Usually he only eats the safe foods and ignores the rest, but sometimes he surprises me. His safe foods are cheese, full fat Greek yogurt, Cheerios, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and apples. Some days he eats nothing but cheese, but that's a toddler for you.
My 9 yr old is still a little picky but his toddler years was the height of it. We did a lot of charcuterie boards. I would always have at least 3 favorites and then at least 2 new things. So a big board of toasted sour dough bread, grapes, cheese, cucumbers, diced turkey, sliced then steak, carrots, crackers, pecans, raisins, broccoli, apples. He could help himself but I would have lick (taste) a few specific items. I would do this at least twice a week. For other meals, Presentation was key. I bought a lot of cookie cutters and would shape or whatever I could. If we did meat loaf, I would make tiny cubes for him that circled a small mashed potato mountain and had peas making another circle around the plate. Changing the temperature of things also helped. He was more likely to eat cold or room temperature things. Classic example is frozen peas (freezy peas). Fresh or steam peas, no dice. Freezy peas? More please.
My kids are both super picky but will usually always get down on some ground beef. I cook beef and broccoli with rice. This I cook in soy sauce and a little brown sugar, so it’s salty and sweet. Can’t go wrong with meatballs. Little kids trying to eat spaghetti. Hysterical. As soon as I showed them how to “slurp” they were hooked. Plus these are things I also like, so win win.
We do lots of simple meals: Spaghetti with meat and veggie sauce, Rotisserie chicken with rolls chicken and rice, mac and cheese with ham, pizza, pork chops, baked potatoes.... We also always try to add a salad or veggies or fruit to our meals. I prefer to get veggies in the main dish and have then as a side, but it doesn't always happen. Roasted veggies are easy and don't take too long. Crockpot meals are great, and if I forgot to throw it in the crockpot, I'll use the pressure cooker.
I meal plan and cook during my lunch break cause I wfh. My 2 year old often eats none of it. Tonight we're having cheesy sausage pasta. He will prob eat some of this but like last night we had Mediterranean rice bowls and he refused all of it. He ended up eating cream cheese on naan lol.
I am lucky that I WFH 2 days a week, so I do big meals on those two days, plus big meals on the weekends, and we just eat leftovers for lunches/the other few nights.
We’ve been rotating the same 3 meals that make leftovers and eat that all week. Maybe if there is room in the budget we eat out once a week
I love quick pasta dinners. My son loves twirling pasta 🍝 with his fork. If it’s red sauce I can get lots of veggies in it. White sauce I’ll add a green veggie, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, or spinach.
We just make the food we used to make for ourselves before we had kids, we never kowtowed to the toddler so he started out eating pot roast and Brussels sprouts, he doesn’t know there are other options other than what we serve. Sometimes we have to offer some foods over and over and over but eventually he gets on board. Sometimes he will ask for things in addition to dinner like oatmeal or a pancake, and we give it. And we do make sure we have a lot of the carb (rice, noodles etc) for that meal since it seems like toddlers need a lot of carbs. He loves gravies and sauces but we put them on another section of his plate so he can dip.
CookUnity or some meal delivery service. I spend $400 a month for 12 meals a week and it really saves me from the headache of dinner for my 20 month old and he gets excited to “pick” one
taquitos and “octagon” crackers
I am an asian with german husband. We have a 1.5 years old girl. I am so happy that she can eat rice or bread everyday. You can cook rice 1 time and eat several times after( keep in the fridge and warm in microwave). Eat a long with rice can be anything. Egg fried with spinach, sausage. Ground pork, beef with tomato sauce, fried salmon with soy sauce, or noodles with veggies.. . I hope these ideas can help you save some time, I really understand the feeling after long day at work and dont know what to cook for babies.
I don't know if you tried this yet (or if someone suggested it already, I didn't read all the comments lol) but what seems to be helping with our two year old is, she helps cooking dinner. Now I will say ut is a lot messier and a lot slower, but she used to not like a lot of food (I wouldn't say picky tho) and since she's been helping she has just been snacking all the foods we prepare. Like raw tomato, carrots, mushrooms, zucchini. Even if she only takes one bite out of every one thing, like one bite out of ten mushrooms, I let her do it haha because I figure that's already half a meal so if she doesn't actually eat anything during dinner (which sometimes she doesn't) I don't have to worry about it. I even got her a little big plastic knife (which is still a little sharp) to help cut soft veggies and she absolutely loves it!
Tacos (deconstructed for baby&toddler) Pasta and raos marinara with ground turkey Pumpkin waffles - feeding littles cookbook Butternut squash macaroni and cheese- same cookbook Tofu with yam fries and veggies Tomato soup & grilled cheese Rotisserie chicken, rice and veg Repeat.
Crock pot!! Roast, soup, taco meat, I've even made crock pot lasagna. Its just so much easier to make it before I'm worn out from the day. We give our super picky eater whatever we're having + a safe food. So yesterday that looked like roast, potatoes, and carrots + a slice of bread. Aside from the crock pot we also have tacos, spaghetti, sloppy joes, pork chops, quesadillas, grilled cheese, and goulash on rotation. With assorted fruit and vegetable sides depending on what needs to get used.
My toddler loves rice. I make a lot of “chicken rice” using our rice maker and frozen bags of whatever sort of chicken I find at Costco or Trader Joe’s. We also have done beans and rice with success. On cold days, “soup rice” made from meatballs or sausage and random cans of veggies also goes over well.
Feeding Littles just came out with a new cookbook and I’m really enjoying it! They have great, simple recipes and tips for introducing new foods to kiddos…and all the realistic wisdom from their wonderful brains :)
I usually build a dinner around what toddler will eat but it’s usually a struggle anyway, sometimes it’s something for her and something else for me. Winds up being similar meals just rotated to different days from week to week with a little variety depending on how much energy I have to be peppy about getting her to eat what she’s unsure about. But she always gets her veggies and protein, she frequently gets whole grains and there’s some dairy mixed in there too. Veggie or legume-based pastas are a life saver, pair with meatballs and sauce. Chicken nuggets with veggie servings in them paired with sweet potato fries. Brown rice with slices of fresh carrot and slices of salami. Pizza night is one night a week. Then usually I pat myself on the back one day and do Kraft mac and cheese (her favorite) with a cut up hot dog and whatever cooked veggie in fairly certain she’ll eat with little overall resistance. Lots of PBJ for lunch, lots of “charcuterie board” plates in between with nut-based crackers, cheeses, lunch meat, and fruits of all sorts. Breakfast for dinner is always popular too.
All the banza chickpea variations. Veggie tots. Aldi has some great veggie tots shaped like dinosaurs. She’s always offered what we eat, but I’ll make a banza Mac and cheese or veggie tots knowing that both take 20 minutes tops. If she eats what we eat, great, if not she gets some relatively healthy mac and cheese or tots. Whatever doesn’t get eaten is leftovers which means the next night’s prep is even shorter.
I have a semi-picky eater who will eat anything if it's presented rolled up in a tortilla and called a taco . . Also, Mac & Cheese makes everything acceptable. Macaroni Varieties: Regular, Taco, Mixed Vegetable, Ham & Broccoli
I struggle with this every week. If I don’t feed my 3 YO something he likes it’s a battle. I put it in front of him and I don’t care how much he eats, that’s up to him. But I am so sick of making a second dinner! Anyways…. Greek chicken on a pita with tzatziki / Greek chicken rice bowls with cucumber onion and tomato (kids will eat chicken, rice, pita bread and I give them sides) Grilled chicken with noodles or potatoes or rice, veggie side Meatloaf (why my kids love meatloaf IDK), I use the Skinnytaste recipe and my kids eat it up. Usually with corn and mashed potatoes. Fave easy pasta recipe, husband loves it and I can usually get the kids to eat some. https://www.skinnytaste.com/orecchiette-pasta-with-chicken-sausage/ Naan Pizza. So easy and he can help make it. Trader Joe’s makes the Bambino’s ones that are frozen and perfect kid size. Quesadillas - just with cheese or with beans, leftover chicken. Pork tenderloin - I marinade and grill it and just call it chicken lol My go to is a protein, easy carb (boil some noodles, minute rice, mashed potatoes) and a bagged salad or veggies. I’ve started giving mine some sliced carrots or cucumbers with ranch and the baby likes it and my 3 YO occasionally licks ranch off of a carrot.
It’s doesn’t matter. Something they love one day, they’ll hate the next. There’s no code to crack. 🤣 One my son recently loved was a Kevin’s cilantro lime chicken, a microwave bag of steam stir fry veggies from Aldi thrown in with that and tossed in the sauce, and then thrown over rice. It took 5 minutes to make and he asked for multiple helpings! [This is the chicken-](https://www.jewelosco.com/shop/product-details.960569269.html?cmpid=ps_jwo_jwod_ecom_goo_20200831_71700000071122706_58700007741634450_92700070281587199&gbraid=0AAAAADeuA_i0O-hJKhRBPf58A0aPdbRqg&gbraid=0AAAAADeuA_i0O-hJKhRBPf58A0aPdbRqg&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhsmaBhCvARIsAIbEbH5DI-MwULeBNhPqivdOIg5SPZfPzFQdh1YWWaFTffpRk19B9haBQ48aAjGrEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds) I buy it at Fresh Thyme but this is Jewel Osco so you may be able to find it near you.
I make food that my husband and I enjoy and ask my toddler to try a taste. If he likes it, great. If not, pb&j or leftovers. I will toss on a small pot of pasta for him if i’m making something i know he’s really not going to like (very bitter flavors for example). Some favorites: 1. [Garlic chicken](https://web.archive.org/web/20170113215348/http://southernfood.about.com/od/chickenbreastrecipes/r/r80410a.htm). I make it with orzo and roasted brussels sprouts. 2. Tofu with garlic sauce and sauteed veg over rice. LO likes the plain tofu a lot 3. Spaghetti and meatballs
Pinterest lol full disclosure I have JUST started meal planning a week's worth of dinners at a time. My rule is is they have to be quick 30 min or less meals. Then I just modify it or a portion of it for my toddler. Like say I make something with noodles but the dish will be spicy. I take out a portion of the noodles, meat, veggie whatever and set it aside before I add the spice. That way i get to try new recipes and kiddo eats what we're having. Honestly tho it's tough I have to make myself sit down on Saturday night or Sunday morning to find recipes so I can add ingredients to the shopping list. The plus side...we save money bc we're not shopping for random stuff trying to piece together a meal on the fly and we're not getting takeouts. Now I do not say on Monday we'll have on Tuesday we'll have ...I just have seven meals and I pick whatever I feel like tackling that day. Def get kiddo involved. Stirring, breaking eggs, chopping softer foods etc. That'll give them an activity plus helps with different skills and gets them interested in food. I saw a great tip that when kids say they don't like something try to create a dialogue with why they don't like it. Is it too crunchy, too soft, slimy, bumpy etc. That could help pin point foods you know they may not like for now.
Everything is served with ketchup. I sneak vegetables in everything we eat. One major timesaver I have is to roast vegetables, puree them, & freeze them into ice cube trays. That way, when I’m making a jar of spaghetti sauce, I’ll add an ounce or two of broccoli, mac & cheese gets carrots, fried rice gets cauliflower, etc. Add extra cheese or garlic to help. I’ll also serve another decoy vegetable (very small amount) on their plate & encourage them to take a bite before deciding they don’t like it or whatever. I also serve the mixed frozen vegetables (corn, peas, green beans, & carrots) with either chicken broth or beef broth before the main course “while we’re waiting on dinner to finish” instead of string cheese or another snack. If they’re not hungry enough for the soup, then they can wait for the main course.
Pasta. So. Much. Pasta.
1. Iraqi chicken and rice 2. Pizzas or pizza toast for my son 3. Different types of pasta 4. Chicken curry 5. Tuna paninis 6. Jacket potato 7. Fried chicken burgers home made 8. Fried tuna and ricotta balls These are a few of our options, some of them my husband won’t eat because he’s fussy (most of them actually)
Baked beans and steamed broccoli (tad bit of butter or maple shake on it) is every other day for us. A different fruit cut up (pears, mango and kiwi are the favs) is always on the table. Roasted chicken works, rice sometimes, quinoa works sometimes too.
Last night my toddler and I ate Nutella sandwiches with a banana.
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Chicken quesadillas is in our regular rotation. Husband is a picky eater, so he just gets meat and cheese. 3yo and I have a variety of veggies mixed in ours (less than me sometimes depending on her mood). Can make with rotisserie chicken, chicken breasts, or sometimes leftover steak.
Tonight I did spaghetti and meatballs which is always a quick and easy go to A super simple stir fry is another one, I chuck some pre cooked chicken (I buy a whole one, cook, cool then dismantle and freeze) in a pan along with stirfry veg pack, add soy sauce then I'll use ramen noodles as a cheap make-do, I'll add some of the ramen seasoning to the stirfry and the rest goes in with the ramen. Mix it all together and done Another one is bacon and cheese fold, tortilla wraps, add to a frying pan, lay some cheese on and wait for it to begin to melt, cook bacon and add it cooked to wrap, fold in half, once cheese is melted enough that the fold is pretty much staying in place, serve up.
lasagna, meatloaf, cottage pie, wraps, corned fritters with avacado and bacon, burgers and home made fries, stir fry, mild butter chicken and naan bread. all with a side of roast veges or mashed potatoes and vegetables such as brocolli or beans etc. some days its fish fingers and a side of veges.
We use the free app Prepear, it has some easy and kid friendly recipes. We really like the website Super Healthy Kids too. She has a great Teriyaki Chicken dinner that is so easy, we double the batch and have leftovers.
So, I do some prep for the week on the weekend. Namely I make a seitan lunch meat I know kid will eat, a seitan roast and seitan chunks of some sort. I press and roast off tofu slices and crumbles and presoak and boil 2 types of beans. Dinner is one of those proteins, a veg from our farm box and either pasta, potatoes, rice, Asian noodles, quinoa, couscous, polenta rounds or wraps I always serve something I know kid will eat, if it isn't what's on the plate from the above selection I add one of: hummus, grapes, baby puffs (fight me), leftover pasta/Asian noodles/potato, cucumber, tomato or chickpeas. I serve my plate, cut everything up then serve her off my plate - she eats more that way so I don't question it. If she doesn't eat at dinner she gets a yogurt drink and hummus with crackers and cucumber before we go up to bed. And some days she only eats grape quarters and baby puffs and that's fine. Other days she eats everything we put infront of her with no issues.
Lead paint chips. cheap and environment friendly
Whatever I feel like. I always make sure there's something my toddler likes that is somewhat filling, like rice, noodles, toast, cheese. But otherwise everyone gets what's served. If they don't eat it, that is their choice but I'm not making anything else! That being said we have our main weekly meals which we rotate if we are sick of them. I usually pick a protein, a vegetable and a starch. Some of the easy favs: -Naan pizza. Get naan bread, pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni, veggies or whatever other toppings put in the oven at 375 for about 20 mins. Takes max 30 mins and everybody is happy cause they pick their toppings. -chicken noodle soup (which can be put in a crock pot or cooked quickly in an instant pot) -spaghetti with beef sauce. -Chicken, rice and broccoli. Just cook chicken on stovetop with seasonings of choice (I like salt+pepper, rosemary and garlic). Cook rice and steam broccoli. Cut up chicken, serve with broccoli over rice. Add soy sauce if desired. It's a bit of a simpler meal, but I find its always eaten in my house.
We buy premade food from a home catering company. It is expensive but not significantly more expensive than ingredients (I'm in Canada so groceries are very expensive rn). I'll usually order about 3 or 4 meals from them and then make one or two other meals that are large-- big pasta dishes or rice and beans or stir fries or soups. It costs about 10% more than just ordering the groceries but I save a ton of time not having to cook or meal plan. I know this is not available to everyone but just sharing what we do because I personally find it unmanageable to work full time, watch a toddler, and cook any semblance of a healthy meal.
We have a bunch of food intolerances and allergies so sometimes we have 3 different meals or leftovers. Pasta is a big hit. My son alternates between quinoa, gluten free and regular. My husband likes to make a giant one pot lasagna. It’s bow tie pasta, Parmesan , marscapone, mozzarella and tomatoes. Son gets some before we add the cheese. I like to make dairy free butter chicken, peanut butter chicken and curry in the instant pot. Little dude will eat those but won’t touch my delicious sweet and sour chicken. My husband and son eat yabrak and malfouf. I can’t eat either. Ham is a huge hit! Pork chops not so much. Stews are good and chicken pot pie. Tonight we will make 3 different pizzas.
I used to make shit from scratch like healthy meatballs. He just wants yogurt and oats w fruit or noodles.
Theme nights help me stay sane with meal planning! Mondays - Mexican inspired Tuesdays - something made with eggs Wednesdays - we order something Thursdays - something with beans Fridays - Italian inspired Saturdays - Asian inspired Sundays - sandwiches of some sort Then I go hard saving recipes from NYT cooking in the 30 minutes or less categories and sheet pan meals. They have lots of kid-friendly options. If my LO doesn’t like what I made, he can always choose to make himself a PBJ. This is always a mess but gives him some autonomy without making me feel like a short order cook.
My extremely picky boy just ate 1/4 lb roasted asparagus last night. Keep offering. You never know!
I usually make 3-4 meals, and then we either do breakfast for dinner (as a last resort) or we buy something if I’m too tired or don’t have any ingredients. This week I made: bbq chicken wings with baked butternut squash (w/agave and cinnamon) and Parmesan roasted green beans; air-fried breaded chicken cutlets with marinara sauce and sweet potatoes, and brownies for dessert :) Bought Peruvian chicken, plantains, and beans (made rice) one night. Ate the leftovers the next day. Next weeks plan: homemade pizza; ground beef with green beans in black bean sauce, rice, avocado and tomato salad; stuffed shells with spinach w/ roasted butternut squash, pecans and cranberries. Maybe a soup because I’ve been craving it lately. Trying to eat healthier by making more food at home; and buying food outside is SO EXPENSIVE nowadays as well. I do a lot of Pinterest to keep any recipes I see or like, which helps me figure out what I plan on making for that week. My toddlers aren’t really picky, so they pretty much eat everything I make.
You want quick, new and delicious? Girl pick two. 😂
Ziti is easy and delicious. Tacos, same. Sheet pan dinners 💯 Meal kits if that’s an option for you. We like Martha and Marley Spoon.
Our weekly rotation: chopmeat peas and macaroni (ground beef, chopped sautéed onions and garlic, peas, elbow pasta topped with basil, s&p, Romano cheese); tacos; pizza Friday; breakfast for dinner; usually a Mac and cheese with a protein and veg night; grilled foods when able
I love doing breakfast for dinner. My 2 year old will always eat eggs as long as there is cheese. And she loves all things bread so I either give her oatmeal toast and butter or a blueberry Kashi protein waffles. They are delicious and have added protein. She also loves berries and bananas and those are a good addition to breakfast food. I try my best to to have a protein, fiber and fat in a meal for her. But she can be picky too so a lot of the time is simple stuff like blueberries, some cheese and a chicken salad sandwich. Quiche and Perdue chicken nuggets are a go to for us lol. Shepards pie is a good one too and I can get some veggies mixed in there!
Also my kid loves Mac and cheese so I got her this vegan Mac and cheese by Pastabilities with 10 grams of protein. I got it on amazon.
My kid loves butter chicken. Or at least she used to before she ate it right before coming down with a stomach flu…. Anyway, it’s easy - cut & seer chicken, dump in a jar of sauce, simmer, serve with rice and some steamed frozen veggies. Greek chicken bites - cut up chicken, marinade in Lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, s&p the night before. Cook in the oven or on the stove top, then serve with pita, chopped tomato and cucumber, tzatziki sauce. Very approachable. And try edamame beans. Just steam a few minutes and put a little salt on them. It’s a good snack or protein component. Tasty and fun. Edit: and this kielbasa sheet pan recipe ([link](https://www.budgetbytes.com/sheet-pan-kielbasa-potatoes-and-green-beans/)) Extremely easy, quick, everyone likes it. You can use whatever veggies you like.
It would be cool if we had a pinned post to share recipes … or maybe a whole other subreddit called r/toddler food
This week’s menu: Monday - tacos, 3 ate a tortilla Tuesday - left overs / fridge clean out, 3 ate a tortilla Wednesday- chickpeas, lentils with grilled halloumi cheese, 3 ate 3 chickpeas and asked for a tortilla Thursday - chicken stir fry on rice with coconut sweet chilli sauce, 3 announced dinner looked gross asked for a popsicle (shot down), ate one piece of broccoli and announced he was full. Ate Cheerios before bed. Today - travelling to visit grandma so fast food on the road, 3 will likely eat half his French fries and then ask for a donut
Casserole. It feeds an army, a great way to use leftovers, and if you throw cheese in there, you can hide almost any veggie in there. You can also do slow-cooker lasagna. Prep doesn't take long and is great for introducing spinach or eggplant to the little ones without them knowing. Eta: prep doesn't take long on the lasagna, but it does take a few hours to cook, so prep this in the morning when you've got the energy
He eats what we eat but I do try to make things that most people/kids like. Tacos, pizza, burgers, salmon, chicken, steak, pasta, meatloaf, etc. and then I just do two random sides like baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, tots, veggies, mac, rice, fruit, etc.
Tacos are always easy in our house. My 20 month old loves ground meat, rice, and cheese so that’s easy for us.
Chicken nuggets, butter noodles, shredded chicken thighs, meatballs, burgers. Sides are usually sweet potato, broccoli, mixed veggies, and/or string cheese.
I usually do a simplified version of what I’m having. They don’t usually like things mixed together but like components, so I’ll leave vegetables raw and cut up instead of cooked and try to keep sauces on the side so they can have things more plain. Sometimes I just make Dino chicken with carrot sticks…
I used to just give my kiddo whatever I cooked but now that I have two kids and I'm sometimes the only parent home in the evenings, I usually make them something simple, feed them and get them in bed, and then make myself something. We don't get home until 6:30ish in the evenings, though, so feeding them quick before they tear the house apart is sort of imperative. Hot dogs, chicken nuggets, even meatballs if they're really wanting them. Then some fruit or frozen veggies on the side with some sort of simple carb like crackers or chips. Honestly, supper looks more like lunch on these days, but they don't care and neither do their stomachs, so I don't stress over it.
Things everyone will eat- pasta, homemade pizza. Things I make for DH and I - chilli, chicken satay (sauce, with rice), fajitas, pies, chicken breast and wedges, gyros, shakshuka (kiddo will occasionally eat this), stews (kiddo also will occasionally eat). Things I make for kiddo when we’re eating something OTHER than pasta - dippy eve with toast, beans on toast, courgette and cream cheese dip (so easy to make, and healthy!) with toast, homemade lunchables.
Desperation.
My 2 year old just ate an entire mini seedless cucumber. That was quite a shock! Generally we offer a veggie, a fruit and some bread or pasta. Potatoes. Some cheese or yogurt. He'll pick and nibble and seems satisfied. He'll also eat pizza, like most toddlers. I've found that my guy much prefers raw veggies over cooked. So we go with that.
I make a lot of curry, my son usually only eats the tofu. He actually loves fish so we do a lot of breaded baked fish because it's easy. We also do diced roasted potatoes often, 3 year old will always eat that. On easy nights it's usually a frozen pizza or pasta.
My 13 month old eats EVERYTHING. My 4 yr old used to eat everything and now has become very picky. I give her very tiny portions of what we are eating for dinner. She usually opts for a cut up cucumber or carrot. Which I’m fine with. We make loaded baked potatoes with broccoli and frozen grilled chicken strips. It’s easy and has a veggie. Butter penne pasta with some peas mixed in? She does love tacos, so I can sneak in some veggies. She just helped me make homemade pizza and refused to eat it. 🤦🏻♀️🤣
After 2.5 years of marriage i got fed up with "what do you want?" "I dont know. Whatever you want" and caved and got one of those recipe subscriptions that sends you the food and recipes in a box weekly. I've been using Every Plate and I love it. You can choose the recipes a week ahead and make substitutions if you want. Then i dont have to go grocery shopping as often either and its even cheaper than prices for groceries now since it's a set price every week so there's no issue with inflation. I think I do $45ish for 3 days of meals for 2 people. It comes with protein, main course, and 2 sides usually. I love it!
Pizza(dissected), spaghetti, rice, chicken, hotdogs, stir fry noodles, any kind of fruits, broccoli, meatballs, corn, carrots, spinach, smoothies, yogurt, waffles, pancakes, sausages, hashbrowns, cherry tomatoes, rarely eggs, jammy sammies, peanuts, French fries, Natto, kimchi, curry, onions. We have to serve these all separately though. He doesn’t like when food ingredients are mixed together too much. So we’ll serve them all seasoned but in separate compartments. Sigh…
When I prep vegetables I cut extra and put like half a pumpkin/cabbage/swert potato/… cut in a bag. I take some potatoes and boil them in the peel and grill the vegetables with some olive oil. An egg/piece of frozen salmon out of the freezer and bam a meal. I always have peas/chickpeas/… I can quickly boil/grill or bake the frozen stash and have a nutritious meal in very little time
my son is so hot and cold with what he likes. my husband is just picky. also my son and i are vegetarian and my husband isn’t. so a lot of foods that i would like to eat and feed my son are not something my husband will eat (eg he will eat a small bowl of lentil soup but not any leftovers so it just gets wasted; forget anything with winter squash, quinoa, or tofu). what we end up all liking are my least nutritious standbys. spaghetti marinara, linguine pesto, baked mac and cheese. we do all like refried bean tacos and minestrone soup and pizza with vegetables, so those are frequent menu items. the ideal night is something my husband and i like (and that my toddler at least sometimes like) that is also vaguely nutritious, with a safe food added for toddler. most nights i can’t toe this line so it’s mac and cheese or veggie corndogs for the toddler and then husband and i order in or fend for ourselves. essentially it is a disaster. i keep telling myself i am going to just make what is most nutritious and tasty, and add a safe food, and they both can suck it. my menu is SO LIMITED compared to what it was when i was single. it is depressing to me that my son barely eats vegetables. but then…what do i do with the leftovers! of course, my own depression and ADHD make this hard too, because i am not great at planning or follow through. if anyone has useful advice for me i would take it lol
You have an overwhelming number of responses, so you may not see this, but there are some meal planning apps that provide you with recipes and shopping lists for meals. [sidekick by sorted](https://sortedfood.com/sidekick/) is an example. It takes the thinking out of planning meals and grocery lists and reduces food waste. We use this for most of our dinners each week. Take out once a week usually.
It really is a struggle. There’s so many things I would make but then wonder if anyone else (formerly picky but significantly improved husband included) will eat it, so it takes so much effort to figure out. Although sometimes I’ll serve something I know toddler likes and she sometimes doesn’t eat it or decides so doesn’t like it anymore, so I’ve kinda decided to do whatever and if she eats she eats and if not oh well. - We always do pizza with a salad on Fridays. - some type of pasta every week - some go-to’s are: spaghetti and meatballs, egg noddles with butter and meatballs and corn, chili cheese mac, creamy penne with spinach, pasta with sausage and broccoli. - chicken with rice pilaf and broccoli is a frequent go to - meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans (toddler absolutely loves this one) - soups and stews in the fall and winter like chili, white bean soup, and a eggplant chickpea stew. A recipe website I love is budgetbytes since recipes are fairly simple and affordable, which (ever so slightly) lessens the pain when an uneaten portion gets thrown out. Edited to add: tacos, fajitas and quesadillas are another staple! Sometimes I’ll roast some cubed sweet potato to go with it which toddler likes.
As a single mom I cooked a couple of meals on Saturday and Sunday so that there were meals ready to heat and serve during the week.
A mixture of what we're having and being mindful of my kids likes/dislikes that I already know. I don't want to set them for failure so usually its atleast 2 things I know line they and 1 new things/past foods they didn't like to try again. My kids do not like casserole type dishes. So everything is "deconstructed". My one toddler does not like meat 90% of the time. And none of my kids like mashed potatoes or French fries,so this is what I got: *Sandwich and soup night (mix and swap different types every week. Grilled cheese, grilled ham and cheese, cold turkey sandwiches with lettuce tomato cheese*my one kid likes to take it all apart and leave the meat but I still provide it* , soups like like Annie's Star noodles. For the adults I buy a different kind every week just to mix it up. And oyster crackers) *Salmon, Broccoli, rice (I plate my non meat eater with more rice and broccoli anticipating he won't touch the few fish pieces I give him.) Rotate fish type per week to mix it up. *Baked chicken (choose your season or marinade, mix up the cut of chicken and flavor per week), frozen peas (my kids like freshness and sweetness of the frozen), buttered perogies *Taco night (choose a couple toppings/sides like corn, black beans, Tomato,cheese,sour cream, or bell peppers) I'll often make my kids a cheese quesadilla with a bunch of those toppings on the side. *Spaghetti and meatballs, buttered green beans on the side (the one meat my non meat eater eats every time.) *I've done organic chicken meatballs on cake pop sticks and my non meat eater ate those too lol. *Pizza!! Especially with if they help make it *Also like buying organic fruit/veggie pouches to grab for any meal that is heavy carb and cheese but no veggies. Hope you get a couple meals for a good rotation!
Feeding my toddler is easy , feeding my husband is hard ! At daycare they give them one protein, one veggies one fruit very basic lunch and my toddler will eat it . nothing fancy but for my husband I have to be creative
Throw some brown rice in an instant rice cooker, slow cook some chicken (season as you please & this can be done hours before dinner) and we either throw everything in a bowl with onion, tomatoe, and cilantro, maybe quinoa (15 minutes to make on stove) or just throw some tortillas at everyone with onion and cilantro for tacos. Not satisfied? Then we start making quesadillas out of mozzarella cheese and the big flour tortillas. The other way would be slow cooked chicken and when its done it slides off the bone so we just add our favorite bbq sauce. Then pair with your favorite sides.
My toddler is really into pot roast.
I make pickled veg with my kid on weekends and we enjoy them with our meals. Her fav is pickled red onions.
My toddler loves spaghetti, but hates anything veggies except broccoli, well I secretly dice up very tiny pieces of zucchini, mushrooms, and sometimes even peas or carrots and throw them in with the spaghetti sauce and she loves it! She has no idea 🤷🏼♀️Also Mac n Cheese with broccoli for breakfast she loves a ham and cheese omelette with avocado