If you have suddenly found yourself at home due to the current pandemic or if this is your daily life, knowing what to feed your toddler can be a struggle. I know for a fact it was for me with my second born. I know, it may sound strange to not know what to feed your child, especially since I already had an older daughter, but hear me out!
After my maternity leave ended with my first daughter, I went back to working 5 days a week in an office and she went to the sitter. She’s 4 years old now and it has been that way ever since. The only meal I had to worry about with any regularity was dinner. On weekends we usually visited family or ate out at restaurants so there wasn’t much pressure to figure out a meal plan for her daily life. But now I have a new setup.Currently, I’m home full time with my daughters. My 1 year old recently weaned from breast milk so learning to feed her 3 meals a day, plus my 4 year old, who is now out of preschool, was a bit of a challenge. Now that I’ve been working at this for two months I’ve gained a good list of foods I can whip together quickly and are generally eaten completely!
I will warn you that I am by no means a dietician or even the healthiest eater myself. When I’m preparing their food, I try to think of the food groups and keep things balanced with grains, proteins, veggies and fruit. But let’s be real, these kids are crazy and do what they want! So your perfectly balanced plate might still end up on the floor! Real life, especially for those of us who aren’t privileged ($$$), is not full of farm fresh, gluten free, organic food.
Sometimes us moms just need to be able to whip up a meal in 7 minutes and get back to work or to the laundry! If you’re that kind of mom this post is for you! I want to show you what I feed my kids and maybe this will give you some ideas for yours. On the off chance that they somehow become sick of chicken nuggets for breakfast lunch and dinner, here are some alternatives…
Breakfast Meal Ideas for Toddlers
My 1 year old is becoming increasingly picky, despite her previous love for all things food. I’ve tried a few different combinations of breakfast food but over time that list has pretty much narrowed down to 1 of 2 things. She wants either scrambled eggs or apple cinnamon oatmeal. I tried adding in some pancake or raisin bread to fill things out but those two would only get eaten sometimes. I usually try to add at least one fruit to her plate and some chopped up sausage links. My toddler gets turkey bacon.
So my go-to, easy breakfast is Oatmeal, fruit and sausage. Occasionally I will add a hash brown to the air fryer as well. This meal takes about 7 minutes to make in total!
More Breakfast options for Toddlers:
Lunch/Dinner Meal Ideas for Toddlers
Most of the time lunch and dinner are leftovers so there isn’t too much variation. What I serve for lunch typically depends on what’s available and what time of day it is. If they wake up early from their nap they’ll get a heartier lunch, but if we have lunch late, it’s more like a big snack.
To make things quick, as well as tasty, I like to use my air fryer and my microwave to prepare things like rice-a-roni cups and chicken strips.
My go to meal for lunch or dinner is grilled chicken, and macaroni with a side of fruit.
I serve my kids this meal, or something similar, on a few occasions. Namely, when I’m too tired to cook for myself and I plan on eating a bowl of cereal for dinner or if I’m cooking some’ncthing that the hubby and I want but I know they will not even attempt to eat. More Lunch/Dinner options for toddlers:
Snack time Ideas for Toddlers
I quickly learned that kids, even the ones who can’t speak yet, will “can I have a snack” you to death. At the beginning of my journey I used to think this was a sign that I wasn’t feeding them properly or often enough, I now know that this is usually a sign of greed and boredom. Because of this, I have pre-planned snack options and time when I allow them to snack. If they ask for a snack too soon after having a meal or too close to an upcoming meal I can confidently tell them NO!
Protip: Create a snack space in your pantry or fridge and teach your kids to get their own snacks. My 4 year old has been peeling her own Cutie oranges for like 8 months. My one year old knows how to go grab a puree fruit pouch and bring it to me to open. It makes life just a tiny bit easier!
I think the most important thing to remember is NOT to stress yourself out about what and when they are eating. Up until very recently my 4 year old would try to eat velveeta macaroni and cheese cups and apple sauce for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Kids will be kids. As long as they are fed, happy and loved, everything will be just fine.
Want to Share or Save for later? Save these to your Pinterest!
I needed this! I've got a two year old who is all of a sudden picky. He use to eat anything we did…