Looking for meals that your toddler will eat that are also healthy enough for your whole family? Here are some that will make school-night dinners that much easier for you.
Family-Friendly Meals That Everyone Will Approve Of
Finding food that everyone in the family will eat can be tricky. Additionally, finding new recipes to add to our regular rotation of dishes can be exciting! It can be your chance to add some fun into your weekly menus! Toddlers can be a tough audience to get their approval! Let’s be honest, sometimes they can be picky! They also have the tendency to change their minds around what they like, which can add some extra barriers to your menu planning! But, have no fear! We’ve got you covered. Here are some of our toddler-pleasing favorites:
Tacos are fan-favorite on the menus of many parents. This is largely because tacos can be customized to meet everyone’s needs and they come together quite quickly. You can certainly have tacos made and ready to eat in under 1/2 an hour! To save even more time, you could cook the meat ahead of time, so all you need to do is heat it up for a quick afterwork dinner.
Crowd-Pleasing Breakfast for Dinner
One of the easiest household dinners to pull together in a jiffy is breakfast! We know that kids love their pancakes and waffles, but you can use this opportunity to add in some new recipes, as well. One way to be sure that your kiddos are getting enough vegetables certainly can be through baking. Check out these super sneaky Healthy Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins, for example! Packed with spinach, zucchini and avocado, toddlers will gobble these up and you can feel good knowing that they’re packed with healthy nutrients.
Another regular on the menu rotation is burgers! Much like tacos, these can be customized to your liking. Some may want tomato, lettuce and onion or to have a little fun with it, you can even top your burger with French fries! Burgers can be made with beef, chicken, salmon or turkey to allow for plenty of variety. Not to mention, they can also be ready on your dinner plates in less than 1/2 hour!
An easy and quick meal that is sure to please is stir fry! It’s also a great way to use up any vegetables that you have hanging around in the fridge. Whip this up and serve it over white or brown rice, or even riced cauliflower for a low carb option. One of the reasons why stir-fries are so popular amongst even our pickiest of eaters is how customizable the meals can be. Dinner time does not need to be boring! If you have a griddle, you can even turn your home into a Homemade Hibachi and bring a kid-favorite experience to your dinner table! Extra kudos to you if you can learn how to do the onion volcano!
Let’s be real, who doesn’t love chicken nuggets? Even better, these are healthier because they are made fresh and are not from a drive through! You even can shred some vegetables, such as riced cauliflower or shredded carrots, to add some extra nutrition. Serve with a nice, fresh salad or some roasted vegetables and you have a well-rounded, kid-approved meal on your table in about 40 minutes!
Tried-and-true Spaghetti and Meatballs
This one is picky-kid approved, for sure. A favorite picture of many parents is having their toddler in their highchair and a big red face of marinara sauce after digging into spaghetti! This meal can be customized to meet your families’ needs, as well. Meatballs can be made with beef, chicken or turkey. If you choose to make your own sauce, you can add in extra vegetables such as carrots, onions, spinach and tomatoes. If you want to be really clever, use an immersion blender after simmering the vegetables and your picky eaters will be gobbling up more veggies than they know.
Of course, making the food is one task and getting your toddler to eat it without making a huge mess all over your floor is another! A tip to help is to use bowls and plates that have suction cups on them, so that it can attach to your child’s highchair and stop gravity from taking over in a moment of excitement! These suction bowls from the doddl Shop will achieve all of that, plus they have a flatter base to help children to be able to feed themselves more easily and develop those fine motor skills.
We hope these recipes jumpstart your meal-prep for the week, add some more ideas to your repertoire and get you excited for meal times with your family! Bon appetit!
