Making a nutritious and 
appealing meal for your growing toddler and preschooler can be a challenge. Some of the things that they used to love, may now cause them to turn their cute little noses up at the very sight of their old time favorites. If you aren’t careful, you can find yourself turning into a short order cook as you work tirelessly to satisfy the appetites of everyone in your family.
Don’t burn yourself out! With a little planning and strategy, you can create nutritious, diverse and exciting meals that will surprise both you and your family, and expand your child’s palate.
I’ve put together several very easy recipe ideas that can relieve mealtime anxiety for the busy parent, and add a little variety to what already works.
- Build on what your child(ren) already like to eat by introducing different foods from the same family. For instance, if your little one likes broccoli, introduce cauliflower. If they like peaches, try nectarines and apricots, or dates (pitted) in place of the all too reliable raisin.
- Incorporate your child(ren) in food preparation when feasible. They can count out pieces of fruits and veggies, or add ingredients to a bowl with your supervision.
- Using your imagination with leftovers is a great way of cutting down on food waste. Use leftover pancake batter to make miniature muffins filled with diced meats, shredded cheese, and vegetables or fruits. To make these muffins, fill a mini muffin tin halfway with pancake batter, add your choice of ingredients, then a final spoonful of pancake mix to cover. Cook for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees. Their size makes them an ideal fit for a kiddie thermos, and can be easily packed for a quick lunch on the go. Just cook them right before you leave the house, and preheat a stainless steel thermos by pouring boiling water in it, and letting it sit for 5 minutes before pouring out the water, wiping it dry, and adding the food. This will help to keep the food warm longer.
- Pre-slice fruits and veggies and store them in containers in the fridge for quick snacks. A squirt of lemon juice will help to keep fruits from browning.
![]( "Zucchini Turkey Bacon Parmesan Muffins")
Zucchini Turkey Bacon Parmesan Muffins, Source: Restore the Village, Inc.
- Use homemade or jar spaghetti sauce, and shredded cheese for a quick personal pizza using pita bread, naan, an English muffin or bagel.
- Purchase miniature pie tins to make preschooler-sized pies filled with savory or sweet ingredients. Make a pot pie with diced leftover chicken, mixed veggies and a little condensed creamy soup. Use a pre-made pie crust or just make your own.
- Make sandwich wraps using whole grain tortillas to make innovative lunches with hazelnut spread, seed butter, made from sunflower seeds, fruit preserves and raisins. Or try turkey breast, light mayo, and cheese. Roll it tight like a burrito, and slice on the diagonal.
- Smoothies are a great way to get a big nutritional bang all at once. Use rice, almond, coconut milk, or organic yogurt, fresh or frozen fruits, maple syrup, honey or agave as a sweetener, leafy greens like kale or Swiss chard, and fruit juice. Add a handful of oatmeal and blend to create a fiber-filled delicious breakfast smoothie.
- Noodles are always a hit! Try egg noodles or fun pasta shapes, and gourmet ravioli filled with spinach, other veggies and cheese. Cover with your child’s favorite pasta sauce made of cheese, tomatoes or olive oil and butter.
Feeding your little ones will get easier over time as their tastes expand to include a variety of new and exciting complex flavors that they’ll enjoy for a lifetime, and no doubt share with their little ones. The key is to continue to prepare nutritious meals that encourage your family to try new tastes, and plan your meals in advance to help make a hectic and busy lifestyle a little easier.
Your toddler may only want chicken nuggets and mac n’ cheese today, but that could very well change to broiled fish, brown rice and asparagus tomorrow. Just remain consistently diverse in the foods you put in front of your family and you won’t have to drag them along for the culinary ride kicking and screaming.
Happy Cooking!
As with all recipe suggestions, I encourage the use of high quality, organic, local, and Non-GMO ingredients.
Stay Healthy and Wise!
Ericka L. Abrams, Public Health Practitioner
