Easy Ideas for Small Toddler Meals

We love the book Toddler Cafe for some unique ideas for my little guy who is 17 months. He is a good eater but it's hard finding new and different things for him so he doesn't just get bored with the same old things. I try to give him what we are eating as often as possible. He loves pizza cut into bite size pieces. We make Salmon into patties and he loves that (canned salmon, crackers, egg, and we add sweet bell peppers) He loves the Green Giant boxed veggies that have a sauce on them. Favorites are the carrots in I think a honey glaze and the immunity blend that has broccoli, carrots and sweet peppers. Try cheese sauce on veggies. For bananas maybe try not cutting them up and just giving them a chunk to take bites off of. One of my son's favorites was baked apples. I took the core out and baked with the skin on. Then you can just take the skin off and cut up the apple. Adding cinnamon might help too. My son loves drinkable yogurt. I just poke a hole with the straw through the foil. If I can be of any more help please let me know. I was a nanny for 17 years before having one of my own so I know a lot of "tricks".

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My son did the same thing at all veggies till 12 months, now he's 15 months and totally over vegetables.
I have canned pumpkin as a staple (just pumpkin not the pumpkin pie mix) I add a bit of unsweetened applesauce and pumpkin pie spice to it...he almost always eat that.
I also do Hodgeson Mill's whole wheat buttermilk pancake mix. Make as directed then grate carrot and zuchinni to top when its in the pan. I put maybe a teaspoon of syrup on it. He LOVES this, it's finger food, and I make extra and freeze the rest you can toast them or microwave later in the week.
My son also likes plain beans ( I buy canned pink beans) Just rinse all the stuff off and they keep in the fridge for about a week. He loves to just eat them as finger food. This is great too b/c he won't really eat meat.
The only meat he'll eat is meatballs. (Ground chicken, grated carrot, apple, salt and pepper. Brown one side turn over other side and add 1 inch of chicken broth to tho the pan, cook on low heat for about 20 minutes depending on how big the meatballs are. The I let him dip in a small amount of ketchup. I have also frozen these and heated 2 at a time for meals.
I hope these are helpful ideas...

Do some experimenting...does she like things better cold or warm? Raw or cooked? Your first job is to QUIT struggling with her....because you are not going to win at this war!!! A lot of times toddlers prefer to "graze" and just eat a little bit here and there, instead of 3 set meals as adults have come to prefer. This also helps to keep their metabolism and blood sugar level and helps to prevent "meltdowns". Have things on hand that she can just eat as she wants to...crackers with peanut butter, grapes, bananas, baked pita chips and hummus ( My grandsons FAVORITE snack!!). Stir some fresh berries into her yogurt, how about a toasted cheese sandwich since she likes cheese? Don't worry, she willl NOT starve to death!!! Don't make yourself crazy over this, as long as she is healthy, active and happy...let her eat when she wants...she will come around!!! Make meal times pleasant and fun....let get involved in the "preparation" stirring things,measuring or dumping things into the bowls, make it a family time.

My youngest child was the same way. At 15 months she was still nursing so I didnt worry too much when she woulsdnt eat a balanced diet.(I think she lived on Raman noodles, and one kind of sandwhich(2 pices of bread,no crust, a slice of turkey and a piece of american cheese microwaved for 10 seconds) yes I know it was weird but.... She is now 14 and a wonderful healthy smart athletic child. She grew out of most of the pickyness. She did like green beans though and I think it was becasuse she planted them in the yard.(we started that with her at about a year old. It even earned her the nickname "the Bean"(to this day too) keep trying and as long as you can get 1 bite in her you are doing ok. (my friend calls it the "no thank you:" bite. also have you tried any foods she can make? peanut butter on apples or celery? add some rasins(they call that ants on a stick ) they also make vegie sticks if she likes things like pretzels etc. my niece liked to "dip " everything. try some "trees with snow"-broccoli with Ranch dressing? Hope it helps and I will try to remember other things we gave her! Good luck

I know I'm late to the dance on this one. Biggest advice is don't fight with her about it. Put food in front of her that you would eat. SMALL portions, like a bit or two. And I typically put at least one thing I know my kiddos will eat. (Something healthy though. Cookies or cake don't count! LOL!) If she doesn't eat, she doesn't eat. She will eventually. She won't starve herself. My boys do this but it's not really a "picky" thing. Sometimes they just aren't hungry. They may eat a bite or two then "I'm done". (They sit at the table until everyone is done, which usually means another bite or two is taken.) Meals and snacks happen around the same time every day so they just wait until that next meal.

The main issue is you setting this boundary with and for her. If you're okay giving her mac and cheese every day then do that but if not, then be prepared to follow through with that decision. Tell her she'll get mac and cheese every other day if she eats XYZ in between. Or maybe introduce something new along with it. Main thing is don't make her food choices a big deal. I'd be willing to bet that part of the appeal of the mac and cheese is the power of making that decision. And really a child is too young to make that decision.

For what it's worth, this is a cultural thing too. In countries where food is scarce, kids get NO choice in what they eat. Either they eat or not. Something to consider.

Avoid toddler friendly foods like the plague. :D They're bland, boring, unimaginative, and mean you have to keep with the bb&u until the poison / gag response wears off at around age 5-6. (at around age 2 until age 5 this neural response kicks in that causes a physical "spit it out YUCK" reflex to any chemical signature not already tagged by the brain as "food". Useful evolutionarily speaking, a bit of a pain since baby food came on the market and most toddlers in the country only know about 12 flavors). Instead... stick with whatever YOU eat (from home cooking to takeout), just cut up smaller & wet, or ground, or mushed. When you order out/in just make sure to tell the people you're ordering for a baby, so it needs to be mild enough for a 1 year old. You'll make friends in the ethnic foods restaurants... since everyone believes what they feed their own children is "best".

I am in the same boat with my 14-month-old. I have found that she loves all kinds of fruit - from kiwi to cantaloupe to strawberries. That is an easy fix. But I know she needs more protein and high fat foods (she is on the low end of the weight range for her age/height), so we've been experimenting. She does well with most types of cereal. We pour whole milk (or even cream since she needs to gain weight!) on it, then spoon it out right away so it doesn't get soggy. This helps soften it a bit. Cinnamon Life is her favorite, but Cheerios are good, too. Canned chicken noodle soup (drained) is good, too, because everything is soft.
I'm interested in reading the other responses. :)

Our daughter is now 19 months old, and we have a few staples for her. Thomas' 100 percent whole wheat bagel thins are great. I give her one half of a bagel w/a small amount of cream cheese or peanut butter and fold it in half and she eats it every time. It is a good source of fiber and it has a small amount of natural sugar. You can pinch the folded half into small pieces your child can eat by herself. Don't toast the bagel thin and it will stay very soft. I also skin a peach and cut it up into small pieces or put it in her yogurt. We eat the Barilla multigrain spaghetti in the yellow box along with Barilla tomato sauce since it has the lowest calorie count and sugar content. She will always eat that as well as the Ronzoni Garden Delight pasta, which is made with vegetables. I have a new cookbook called "The Moms' Guide to Meal Makeovers" which has a lot of traditional recipes that have been made healthier, and a lot of the recipes are things our daughter will eat, though I occasionally leave out an ingredient we don't like. Also, I cook a lot of stuff in a digital pressure cooker, which makes it nice and soft and our daughter can eat what we're eating. My latest find is low-salt ham cut into thick slices at the deli counter. I cut it into small pieces and she loves it. Experiment with recipes online and in cookbooks to introduce new foods. Good luck and keep plugging away at it!

That drained chicken noodle soup is an excellent idea...and you can keep the broth and freeze it for later! i'll be trying that...thanks!

Santa Fe Chicken was (and still is) one of my son's favorites. Basically you make rice with half the normal amount of water and half salsa, and serve it with chicken. Or you can make the rice in a skillet on the stove and lay the raw chicken on top and cook both at the same time to give the chicken a good flavor. I would use a very mild salsa and cut up my son's chicken into small bite sized pieces and he loved it. Not a traditional thing for toddlers, but he loved it, especially if I would put sour cream on his!
Good luck!

One option you may consider is scrambled egg, cut into fingerfood pieces. My toddler loved this, plain or made into an omlette with other stuff.

Just another thought...you may want to take a look at your snacks. I hear parents all the time saying their kid 'won't eat a thing', but they don't consider the grazing they do all day or that they are still full from the last snack they had. Sounds like you are a pretty consciensous feeder, but you may want to look again. The stomach is about the size of her fist.

Good luck!!!

good luck. my only advise is to keep pushing her. my daughter is 10 and is still so pickie. she won't even eat breakfast food. won't even drink milk. her ped. had me start giving her pre-natal vitamins a year ago because she doesn't eat the thinks she needs. don't get me wrong she is not a skinny minny. as a ten year old she is 5' 1 1/2 " tall. she wears a size 8 jr. and an 8 1/2 wide womans shoes. she weighs 132. i no the orthodontist say's she hasn't started her growth spirt yet. hope you find a way to get her to eat right. i haven't yet and have tried so hard. haven't found the awnser yet. i think for her it was a texture thing when we changed from baby for to real food. try mashing things up a little. good luck. mom of 7. R. p.s. she is our only pickie one. go figure
p.s.s. she use to only eat mac and cheese too. not she can't stand it. at least you baby gets some nutriants from it. it will be healthier if you make it from scratch. that way you avoid all the presevitives and salt.

Don't give up on feeding her healthy unprocessed foods (whole food). Remember when a child is going through those stages you have to reintroduce a food 20 - 50 times. Letting your child pick out produce items can be helpful and fun as well. Careful with all the dairy & mac/cheese, it can easily cause constipation if one is not eating enough healthy fiber filled foods and drinking enough water (plus dairy's not especially healthy for us). My philosophy is: a child may become a picky eater if the adults allow it. Also stay away from foods w/ artificial preservatives & coloring. We also avoid high fructose corn syrup.

One last thing I did w/ my child when she was that age was to make her feel a part of the preparation. I'd hold her while cooking. Maybe let her stir a little, or shake in a seasoning. Then at dinner I'd say, "mmm, you sure made the food taste good." 5 yrs later, I still do this (letting her participate even more). It helps your child feel happy, confident, and empowered. More a part of the family unit.