Toddler Meals: simple, healthy and kid-friendly

These toddler meals are simple, healthy and you guessed it, kid-friendly. They include a variety of protein, fruit, vegetables, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats.

Currently, my twins are two years old. They’ve always been great eaters until recently, and now seem to have stronger opinions about what they will and won’t eat. To handle this, my husband and I are trying a few things…

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How we are handling our toddlers’ picky eating:

1. We make sure to put something on their plate we know they will eat. This might mean a favorite fruit or vegetable, or complex carbohydrate (potatoes, whole grains).
2. Only give a small portion of a brand new food, or food your little one isn’t always fond of. By offering a small amount (to start), it is less overwhelming to your toddler and wont be as big of a mess to clean up if it ends up on the floor… You can always offer more if they like it.
3. Serve a dip with food they may not eat. For the times my toddlers are being picky, I offer a healthy dip to to accommodate their food. Healthy dips might include hummus, guacamole, homemade salad dressing or a healthy store bough dressing. (Primal Kitchen makes great dressing options).
4. Offer choices– sometimes I ask my boys their opinion on what they would like to eat. I’ll offer them two choices. I might show them steamed broccoli or raw cucumbers and ask them to point to the food they want with their meal. I normally just do this for sides to their meals.
5. Serve fruit at breakfast and snacks only. I have found that if I offer fruit and vegetables together at the same meal, my boys gravitate to eating the fruit, leaving the veggies on their plate. By only giving them vegetables as sides for lunch and dinner, this limits their choices and they usually tend to eat their vegetables.
6. Save the leftovers for another time- If my toddlers don’t eat something on their plate, I always save it and offer it again later that day (or save it for the next day). This limits food waste, and many times, they will end up eating the food at another meal.

Components of our toddlers’ meals:

Protein-

• Protein is what slows digestion, makes us feel full and satisfied, boosts energy and is essential to function. Children NEED protein for their growth and development.
• Complete proteins contain all 9 essential amino acids that our bodies cannot make on their own, which is why they are called, “essential.” All animal proteins are complete proteins. These include; beef, fish/seafood, chicken/poultry, eggs, dairy, bone broth, etc. Examples of complete plant proteins include; quinoa, buckwheat and amaranth. Keep in mind, if you are using whole grains as your protein source it will drive your blood sugar fairly high, so be mindful what you are pairing with the whole grains.
• Other proteins include: nuts, seeds, beans and legumes.

Fat-

• Fat slows digestion, makes you feel full, elongates your blood sugar curve and breaks down into fatty acids, which will then enable hormone production and cell development and growth. It is super important and necessary for brain functioning!
• Examples of healthy fats: avocados, olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, seeds, fatty fish (salmon, sardines, herring), organic dairy, grass-fed beef, chicken, lamb, butter and ghee.

Complex Carbohydrates-

• Complex carbohydrates are nutrient packed, contain fiber, minerals, vitamins, and low amounts of natural sugar. They take longer to digest (as opposed to simple carbohydrates) and provide longer lasting energy.
• Examples of complex carbohydrates: green veggies, whole grains, fruit, seeds, nuts, starchy vegetables, legumes and beans
• If you are interested in learning more about complex carbohydrates for kids, read this post on Joyous Health, titled, “The Best Carbs for Kids.” It provides great information!

Other helpful resources:

As I’m continuing to learn about food, blood sugar and nutrition, below are some helpful resources I’ve found extremely beneficial.

Body Love by Kelly LeVeque. This book teaches blood sugar and the importance of including the “Fab Four” at every meal. These include fat, fiber, protein and vegetables.

After reading Body Love by Kelly LeVeque, I took her Fab Four Fundamentals course online. This was SUPER helpful to continue learning about blood sugar and nutrition. She is a wealth of knowledge and makes things very easy to understand. Definitely an investment worth every penny.

Feedinglittles.com– this website offers helpful information for feeding little ones. The website includes blog posts, online courses, free printables, and so much more. Definitely check it out if you’ve never been to their website!

Toddler Meal Ideas:

Now that I’ve shared the components I try to include in mealtimes (protein, fat, complex carbs and vegetables), below are some ideas to get you started with meal planning for your toddler.

For dinner, my boys eat the same thing as we do, but “toddler friendly.” For example, we might deconstruct the boys taco burrito bowl, or put the pasta sauce on the side with spaghetti. If we are eating soup for dinner, we usually offer a slice of nut butter or avocado butter toast.

Toddler Breakfast Ideas:

1. Scrambled eggs with shredded spinach, peanut butter or avocado toast on better quality bread, berries
2. Vegetable omelette, diced sweet potatoes, seasonal fruit
3. Oatmeal with cinnamon and almond butter, berries, scrambled or hard boiled egg
4. Birch Benders Paleo pancake mix, fruit, scrambled egg
5. Black beans, roasted vegetables, hummus
6. Spinach and oat pancakes, scrambled eggs (or bacon/sausage), and sliced avocado
7. 3 Ingredient Blender Waffles, berries, sliced avocado
8. Quinoa and Egg Breakfast Muffin Cups, berries, sliced avocado
9. French toast cooked with spinach, sliced avocado, yogurt with hemp hearts and 2 ingredient jam
10. Breakfast burrito or quesadilla with protein, cheese and veggies, guacamole

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Toddler Lunch Ideas:

Lunch is usually leftover dinner from the previous night. If I don’t have leftovers, I might serve one of the following:

1. Grilled cheese and broccoli sandwich (using organic cheese), bell peppers or quartered cherry tomatoes
2. Deconstructed tacos: Shredded chicken, salsa, guacamole, refried beans, shredded lettuce, tortilla shell (can be made into a quesadilla as well, cooked vegetables
3. Fish, steamed or roasted vegetables, hummus or guacamole, chickpea pasta with sauce on the side
4. Vegetable stir fry, diced chicken, avocado slices
5. Snack lunch: cheese cubes, deli meat or prepared protein, bell peppers or quartered cherry tomatoes, Simple Mills almond flour crackers
6. Mac and cheese, steamed/roasted broccoli or brussels sprouts, apple slices
7. Protein, diced sweet potatoes, roasted seasonal vegetables, avocado
8. Hard boiled egg, sweet potato fries, dip (hummus, guacamole or store-bought dip- I like Primal Kitchen brand dips), green beans
9. Mashed chickpea salad (I omit the sunflower seeds), sliced avocado, roasted sweet potato wedges
10. Pasta (using chickpea noodles or Tolerant lentil noodles) with sauce and mixed veggies. For sauces I use an olive oil/garlic/spinach mixture, marinara sauce or pesto.
11. English muffin pizzas with marinara and organic cheese, mixed vegetables, chopped salad.

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Toddler Snack Ideas

If my boys have leftovers from breakfast or lunch, I serve this food again at snack time. Here are some other healthy, easy snack options:

1. Smoothie- currently, the boys get one smoothie a day because it’s summertime and they are quick! Plus, it ensures they are getting in important nutrients. Their smoothies include greens, avocado/coconut oil/nut butter, almond milk/macadamia milk/water, chia/flax and fruit.
2. Banana sushi- a banana topped with peanut butter or almond butter and hemp hearts.
3. Simple Mills almond flour crackers, cheese slices, fruit
4. Homemade muffins, berries. Lately they have been loving these homemade peanut butter and carrot muffins or Oatmeal Green Smoothie Muffins.
5. Energy balls- try these Pumpkin Pie Energy Balls
6. Roasted sweet potato rounds with peanut butter and hemp hearts.
7. Roasted/steamed vegetables and hummus
8. Hard boiled eggs, quartered cherry tomatoes and hummus
9. Deli meat roll ups- spread a dip on top of the deli meat, and add cheese and/or spinach. Serve with crackers and/or a banana.
10. Apple slices and nut butter
11. Mashed tuna (skip jack or chunk light are lowest in mercury), mixed with avocado, Simple Mills crackers, quartered grapes.
12. Grass-fed beef stick (Chomps, Epic), oranges.

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Other toddler recipes:

Here are some other blogging mamas who have great recipes for little ones. They focus on real food, while still keeping things fairly simple.

1. The Natural Nurturer– I get a lot of the boys muffin recipes from her blog. She does a great job “hiding” veggies in her recipes. My kids have loved everything I’ve made of hers.
2. Live Simply- simple, real food recipes. She’s great about keeping things “real life,” and gives tons of tips for simplifying.
3. Joyous Health- a certified holistic nutritionist with tons of great recipes and a few cook books!

Toddler Feeding Gear

1. Plates are from Bumpkins Baby
2. Utensils are Kiddo Bloom

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