Healthy Meals For Toddlers
Since moving to Texas, we’ve lived something closer to the traditional American family lifestyle than we ever have.
Gabriel often works away from home during the day, and I’m home with the kids.
I suddenly find myself making lunches specifically for my children. Well, when you use only gluten-free recipes, lunch is a little more complicated than slapping some peanut butter on bread. Of course, we still made things like toddler cookies to snack on, but I admit that I succumbed to the temptation to quell those constant proclamations of starvation with cheap hotdogs for a little while.
I guess, for some reason, without the main dude at home to eat with us, I lost my motivation to spend time over the stove.
But then, my better sense kicked in, and I realized that healthy meals for toddlers needed to be prioritized.
I’m not talking about anything groundbreaking. No kale or hidden superfood.
Just honest-to-goodness, easy-to-make, wholesome meals.
Meals that fill the kids’ tanks and cover most of the nutritional bases. (any food groups left out of these recipes can be made up with a batch of healthy, no-bake cookies. 😉 J/K… sort of.)
You may notice that these toddler meals are not necessarily finger foods. Younger toddlers may need more help eating, but we’ve found that toddlers who are introduced mainly to real food, which is soft and squishy and a little harder to pick up, rather than Cheerios and dried yogurt bites, are willing and able to learn to use a fork and spoon. 🙂
Healthy Meals for Toddlers
Quesadillas
This is one thing that both my kids and I LOVE, although my almost one-and-a-half-year-old usually disassembles hers, eats the filling before the tortilla, and doesn’t use salsa.
These are great because you can load them up with chopped bits of vegetables for micronutrients and cheese + beans for protein and fats.
Ingredients:
- Corn tortillas (I usually make my own for superior taste, but for quesadillas, I’ve found prepackaged ones to be quite good!)
- Shredded cheese
- Refried beans
- Cooked, shredded chicken, cooked, crumbled ground beef, or other cooked meat (optional)
- Salsa (also optional)
Directions:
Heat an ungreased skillet over medium to high heat.
Spread beans on one tortilla, Place on skillet, top with cheese (and meat if using), and place a second tortilla on top.
Fry until golden brown on the first side, flip, and repeat on the second side.
Cut into wedges, cool, and serve with salsa.
Simple Goulash
I know this one seems pretty traditional, but with gluten-free pasta, we have the advantage of serving whole grain rather than empty refined carbs! Be sure to use macaroni, penne, or spiral pasta rather than spaghetti to maximize ease of eating and minimize messes.
Ingredients:
- Brown rice pasta (or your preferred pasta)
- Spaghetti sauce
- Ground beef
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions:
Cook pasta according to directions.
Brown and crumble ground beef.
Drain pasta, and place back into the pan.
Stir in spaghetti sauce and ground beef.
Serve in bowls and top with cheese.
Boiled Eggs With Ranch
This is one of my kid’s favorite lunches! It’s a heavy hitter on protein and fat, which means that, combined with a carb like oatmeal, brown rice, or sweet potato, it’s super filling!
Ingredients:
- Eggs
- Ranch Dressing
Directions:
Bring a pan of water to a boil.
Add room-temperature eggs.
Bring back to a boil and continue boiling for 9 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and place it in the sink.
Run cold water into the pan until the water is no longer warm.
Let eggs cool in cold water (you may have to replace the water a few times) for at least five minutes.
Crack eggs on the rim of a bowl and peel.
Cut eggs into “spears”.
Serve with ranch dressing.
Some kids dip French fries in ketchup. Others dip eggs in ranch; what can you say?
Loaded Baked Potatoes
This may be a bit more involved, but we love them! Using a microwave to “bake” the potatoes can cut the meal prep time tremendously in a pinch.
Ingredients:
- Small to medium potatoes
- Butter
- Sour cream
- Cheese
- Sausage, ham, bacon, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, etc.
- Salt and pepper
Instructions:
Bake potatoes until done.
Split in half and scoop out the flesh.
Place flesh into a bowl and mash, adding butter, sour cream (or yogurt), salt and pepper as desired.
Stir in cooked meat and/or vegetables.
Re-stuff potato skins.
Top with shredded cheese, and place back into the oven until cheese is melted.
Cool, and cut into bite-sized pieces before serving to small children.
