Coming up with healthy toddler meal ideas after a long day—whether you work, stay home, or do some mix or in between—is a challenge. It’s often the time of the day when they need our attention most, yet they also need to eat. (Did someone say hangry?) These quick toddler meal ideas are quick, easy, and nourishing so that you can get the food onto the table fast.
I hope that these ideas provide inspiration on those busy nights when you’re scrambling to serve up something healthy. And that they give you permission to take shortcuts in the kitchen whenever you need to. Because feeding our toddlers is hard work, and it’s 100% okay to make it easy on yourself when needed!
Rotisserie chicken + thawed frozen corn + tortilla + salsa Warm all ingredients except the salsa in the microwave for 15-30 seconds. Serve with salsa for dipping. (Trade in cocktail shrimp or beans for a vegetarian option.)
Healthy Toddler Lunch Ideas Recipes Your Child Will Love
Star or alphabet pasta + peas + butter + Parmesan Cook pasta according to package, adding frozen peas to the pot during the last 1-2 minutes of cooking. Serve with butter and cheese. You can also do couscous, quinoa, or rice instead of the pasta.
Whole-wheat pita bread (or tortillas or English muffins) + pizza sauce + shredded cheese Cut pita into wedges and top with pizza sauce and cheese. Heat in the oven at 325 F or in a pan on the stovetop just until cheese is melted.
Tortilla + hummus + thinly sliced cucumber Spread hummus and cucumber on tortilla and roll up or fold. Slice in half to serve. (Flour or multigrain tortillas tend to be softer than corn, which can be helpful for younger eaters.) You can also serve this deconstructed for younger eaters.
A Month Of Healthy Dinner Ideas For Kids
Top toast with shredded cheese, thawed frozen peas, broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, or corn, and microwave for 10 seconds to melt. You could also simply serve the veggies alongside cheesy toast too!
Plain yogurt + leftover roasted squash or sweet potato + granola Layer all ingredients in a small mason jar or bowl. Serve immediately. This also works with the yogurt and squash or sweet potato blended together—or with applesauce! (Use a favorite nondairy yogurt if needed.)
Pancake mix + ½ cup grated (drained) apple + nut butter Add the apple to your favorite pancake batter (add 1 teaspoon cinnamon if it doesn’t have any) and cook as directed. Serve smeared with nut butter or a little honey. Toddlers (and big kids) love breakfast for dinner!
Easy 2 Year Old Meal Ideas
Mini shell pasta + jarred marinara sauce + parmesan Use your favorite pasta (or try Banza garbanzo bean pasta for extra iron) and a jarred tomato sauce like Rao’s for a simple and satisfying meal.
Fully cooked rice + frozen peas + scrambled eggs + soy sauce Scramble an egg, stir in a ¼ cup peas and ¼ cup of rice and with a drizzle of reduced-sodium soy sauce. Add a fruit on the side like cut up cherries or melon.
Low sugar vanilla yogurt (like from Siggis) + almond butter + sliced fruit and veg + graham crackers Stir together nut butter and honey to make a dip. Serve with sliced apple or pear, squash or cucumbers, and graham crackers. We love this sort of breakfast-for-dinner as a super quick toddler dinner!
Toddler Meal Ideas That Make Meal Time Fun Again
Tortillas + cheese + beans Add cheese and beans to one side of a tortilla. Warm in a skillet over medium heat for about 2 minutes, fold the empty side of the tortilla over and press slightly. Flip and cook for an additional 2 minutes to finish. You can also warm this in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Add fruit on the side.
Whole grain bread + cheese + roasted mashed sweet potato Spread the sweet potato on on side of the bread. Add cheese to the other. Prepare normally for a comforting and veggie-packed sandwich. You can also try omitting the sweet potato and adding snipped spinach or kale instead. (Or even omitting the cheese and just using mashed sweet potato!)
Whole grain crackers or snap pea crisps + sliced cheese + assortment of sliced veggies and fruit + beans Assemble a toddler-friendly snack plate that’s a simple assortment of the food groups. You can serve it on a regular plate or in a fun silicone muffin tin!
Fast And Easy Toddler Dinner Ideas
Eggs + spinach + banana Blend the ingredients together and pour into small pancakes. They’re so moist and sweet—and easy to make! Full recipe here.
It took me a while to feel okay about serving cereal for dinner but now we do it regularly and the kids love it! And it’s nice for me too since it’s so easy. (Find my favorite kids cereals here.) P.S. We also love doing smoothies for dinner!
Boxed mac and cheese + broccoli or peas + side of fruit Stir in a little frozen broccoli florets or peas to the pasta for the last minute or two of cooking of a favorite boxed mac and cheese. The kids are usually so excited about the mac and cheese that they’ll go ahead and eat the veggies too!
Healthy, Quick Kid Friendly Meals
If you have other quick toddler meals ideas that is a favorite in your house, please add it below! I’d love to hear what your kids are loving these days!
Use this list to help you make quick work of offering nutritious toddler meals. (Nutrition will vary based on specific ingredients you use.)
Calories: 163 kcal , Carbohydrates: 21 g , Protein: 12 g , Fat: 3 g , Saturated Fat: 1 g , Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g , Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g , Cholesterol: 24 mg , Sodium: 251 mg , Potassium: 274 mg , Fiber: 3 g , Sugar: 3 g , Vitamin A: 289 IU , Vitamin C: 15 mg , Calcium: 43 mg , Iron: 2 mgThis Master List of 75 Toddler Meals is full of healthy and easy breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner recipes for your little one! Most of these recipes can be made in 5-30 minutes, are freezer-friendly and have allergy modifications. Great for toddlers 1-3 years old!
Top Healthy Dinner Meals For Toddler Ideas In 2024
Feeling stressed about what to serve your toddler? Are you short on time and not sure what your toddler might actually eat? Do you need some fresh ideas for new recipes?
That’s right – I’ve tested them for you, so you won’t have to! Over the years, I’ve tested out hundreds of recipes on my daughters when they were toddlers and preschoolers, and these 75 recipes were clearly the winners 🥇 because they still love eating them to this day!
I’m not sure it’s okay to call your kids 👭 your test subjects… but we are just going to go with it! 👍
Healthy Toddler Meals
Feeding toddlers can be tricky! But, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered! Here you will find real-life toddler meal ideas, over 100 toddler snack ideas, great hidden-veggie recipes, 50 cooking with toddler recipes, and so much more! For even more toddler-friendly recipes, be sure to check out my best-selling cookbook: Little Foodies: Recipes for Babies and Toddlers with Taste.
According to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, nutrients of concern for underconsumption in a child’s second year are vitamin D, calcium, fiber, and potassium, so make sure your toddler gets a variety of foods with these nutrients daily.
Below are recommended daily intakes for toddlers of different ages. Still, it’s important to look at what your child eats throughout the whole week instead of focusing on each day since toddlers’ eating habits can be erratic and unpredictable. As long as you keep offering a variety of foods from all of the food groups, your child’s nutrition should balance out each week.
Simple Meals For Your 1 Year Old That Will Make You Supermom
A good method for building a well-balanced meal for 1-3-year-old toddlers is to include foods from a variety of food groups each day. You don’t have to have all food groups represented at every meal but make sure you offer a protein at all meals and snacks to help keep little bellies full.
When serving dairy products, give whole milk products until age 2. Focus on whole fruits instead of fruit juice and aim to make half of grains whole grains for more fiber and other nutrients.
Offer foods multiple times, even if your toddler acts like he does not like it, because it can take up to 15 times of being presented with a food for a child to develop a taste for it. Try offering foods cooked in a variety of ways so your toddler can explore different tastes and textures. Even better, serve your child what you are eating (in age-appropriate sizes, of course) and eat meals together so you can model healthy eating behaviors for them.
Fun & Healthy Dinner Ideas For Kids
Below is a sample 5-day meal plan for toddlers. Feel free to use leftovers if you have them to add to the next meal.You can also add in sides of cut veggies and fruit that you have on-hand.
Made with only 3 simple ingredients – banana, egg and flour, yet these pancakes are fluffy, soft and perfect for baby, baby-led weaning and toddlers!
Don’t forget about baby’s dinner on your favorite meal night of the week – Taco
Posting Komentar untuk "Healthy Dinner Ideas For Two Year Olds"