Feeding toddlers can be messy and time consuming. Let these simple shortcuts make your life easier and save you time!
As the weeks tick down, I’m spending a lot of time thinking about what life will look like with two kiddos and my conclusion is, I have no idea. But I do know that anything that makes life easier and saves time on those daily must-dos (like eating, bathing, clothing, etc), I’m all about!
Luckily Hailey’s (2 1/2) meals already come together pretty quickly- usually in less than 5 minutes. Having a hungry toddler around while trying to cook a meal is tantamount to trying to swim across a lake with a screaming 30 pound weight tied to your ankle. It ain’t happening. So, here are my favorite tips for making a healthy toddler meal come together more quickly…
1. Cook one extra the night before. Whether it’s bean burgers, enchiladas, sweet potatoes, spaghetti sauce, whatever, once it’s ready, tuck a little of it away in a container to use the next day for your child. Hailey’s dinners often are a reflection of what David and I ate the night before. When 6:00 rolls around, I’m always grateful to have a main dish ready to go for her, and simply fill in the gaps with simple sides.
Pictured below: leftover turkey burger, edamame, baked sweet potato sticks.
2. Freeze batches of homemade breakfasts. I’m usually an egg person, but whenever I make something like pancakes, French toast or waffles, I make a lot to ensure I have leftovers to freeze. To reheat, I pop them in the toaster and feel good knowing they were made at home with ingredients I trust and that breakfast is ready in 2 minutes.
Pictured below: reheated homemade French toast with maple syrup and banana.
Find our favorite colorful dipping cups here!
3. Boil eggs for quick protein. I love that boiling a bunch of eggs before the week begins gives me a quick protein option for any meal that needs it. We eat them for breakfast, mash them into a simple egg salad on bread for lunch or create makeshift deviled eggs to go with dinner (Hailey loves deviled eggs- have your kids tried them?).
Pictured below: Boiled egg with salt and pepper, red pepper strips, cheddar cheese, grape tomatoes with salt and pepper.
4. Mash instead of Bake. We love sweet potatoes. My favorite way to eat them is baked in stick form, but that can take 40 minutes, a luxury I don’t always have. Instead, I’ll save a baked potato from the previous night (or you can nuke one quickly in the microwave) and mash it with a little butter (I prefer Kerrygold) and real maple syrup (you only need a tiny drizzle). I guarantee it will be the first thing to disappear on your toddler’s plate.
Pictured below: Roasted chicken, steamed broccoli and mashed sweet potato with butter and maple syrup.
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5. Use all easy-to-grab foods with a fun dipping sauce. We use cherry tomatoes a lot. A lot. They are so simple and the organic version isn’t too pricey for the use I get out of them. However, sometimes I feel a little bad when Hailey crawls up in her chair and sees the same foods repeated again and again. I solve this by offering a different dipping sauce to liven things up. Our favorites are ketchup (duh), tzakiki, hummus, salad dressing, guacamole, marinara and sometimes a cheese sauce (if I find time to make it).
Pictured below: Leftover chicken, grape tomatoes, chickpeas, green beans and tzakiki sauce.
6. Use straight up leftovers. This one doesn’t take much explaining, does it? Eat and repeat!
Pictured below: Leftover spinach and ricotta stuffed shells and steamed broccoli.
7. Don’t forget about frozen vegetables. I won’t say Hailey eats all organic, but she largely eats organic food. Buying frozen options makes this more doable. I find some frozen veggies get mushy when I try to cook them up fast, so instead I stick to my favorites: frozen edamame, frozen corn, frozen butternut squash (for mashing) and frozen peas. These all reheat in about 30 seconds in the microwave for a healthy, quick side dish.
For more kid friendly recipes and tips for feeding kids healthy foods, visit Munchkin Meals!
You may also like:
10 Simple Meals for Toddlers and Preschoolers
and
Four Ways I’m Handling My Picky Eater
Do you have any favorite tips to share for making meals in a hurry?
char eats greens says
I need to start taking advantage of frozen veggies more. You make such a valid point, yet I haven’t used them all winter!! Leftovers, for sure, save me the next day for lunch with Nia. I’ve found that’s when I get in my slump because, for some reason, I haven’t mastered the whole art of preparing something for lunch before it gets to the ravenously hungry stage!
I love the little bowls for dipping. I totally need to get (a hundred) some of them! Great tips!
John J. says
Getting close! Good thinking and planning. Can’t wait to meet baby girl Dixon whose name is? 🙂
Rachel W says
These are all great tips!! I need to do better at remembering to let M try different sauces for dipping. This is such an easy way to jazz up a meal!
Kim R. says
I love your blog and have been reading for a while. (I think I found you a year or so ago while searching for toddler meals!) Your practical and simple approach to good eating and healthy living is wonderful. You make it so attainable and manage to keep it real. I appreciate that so much! I love using different dips to spice up meal times for my toddler…and he loves it too. Where do you find your tzakiki dip? Do you make it yourself? My son loves tzakiki, but aside from our local Greek restuarant, it is hard to find and all the recipies online seem intimidating to me! Can’t wait to “meet” your baby girl. My two boys are 22 months apart (2 years old and 4 months now), so I know where you’re headed. It is crazy and busy and wonderful all at the same time. Wishing you all the best!
Giselle@myhealthyhappyhome says
Great tips! Especially using different dipping sauces. One my son would love but I always forget about!
Katie @ Pick Any Two says
These are all wonderful tips! I especially love the one about mashing instead of baking. I think my 19-month-old would really enjoy more foods if I mashed them.
Jen says
Great tips! We’ve been relying on leftovers and frozen veggies more than I care to admit lately. The weather is just finally so nice that we don’t come in til 6pm and then he’s ready to eat so I don’t have much time to cook beforehand.
Ashley @ My Food N Fitness Diaries says
I need to try hard boiled eggs with Hunter! Great idea for a quick and easy meal or snack – and so nutritious too!
Staci says
Love all these ideas and am bookmarking them for the future when my little one is here and old enough! Thank you!!!
Yuliya says
Great tips! I love using frozen veggies for lunch. I tend to buy extra at the market and freeze it myself because our store bought options are pretty limited, and most aren’t organic. I love, love, love how easy it is.
Thanks for hosting!
Tia says
This post has inspired me to adapt some of these meals as snacks for myself!
Katie Harding says
Love all of these ideas so much! We are expecting #3 later this summer and these tips will really come in handy with the other two, thanks for sharing!
Laura @ FitMamaLove says
Frozen veggies are so great! When my baby was a newbie solids eater, I would just pack some to take with us to restaurants. Super simple.
Other than that, my kids always eat what I eat, so I don’t bother with any sort of special toddler meals. Our lunch is frequently leftovers from the night before!
Heather @FitMamaRealFood says
I love all these tips! It’s a serious must having things semi-ready to go with a toddler and an infant. Makes life so much easier!
christine wood says
Will you please please do a freezer meal post? I’m due on the same date as you and it’s my first! I’m a little nervous about dealing with dinner after the little bebe arrives
Kristen @ notsodomesticated says
Love this! I think I actually do a lot of these things already, but I liked seeing the specific foods you prepared … I’m always on the lookout for new ideas! Did Hailey ever have any reaction (like an allergy) to eggs? I gave Addie an egg yolk at 7 months and she got a slight rash that went away within the hour. The past couple of months, I gave her a tiny bit of scrambled egg and didn’t notice a reaction. But last night, I gave her a decent amount of scrambed egg and she ended up with red all around her mouth. It went away quickly and it wasn’t anywhere else on her body … so I’m hoping maybe it’s just a slight reaction that will eventually go away?? I hate that I can’t give her eggs! They’re such an easy protein source! Just curious if you guys had any issues with reactions that eventually seemed to go away!
Susan says
Such great ideas! We do a lot of eggs in our house, but I have to remember your other ideas, to get out of the PB&J rut I’ve been in lately. I blame it on pregnancy brain/laziness… 😉 Thanks for sharing!
Lauren says
I love these munchkin meal posts! I always get some great ideas for feeding my 17 month old.
I really took advantage of organic frozen veggies this winter, but can’t wait to start buying everything fresh at our local farm stand this summer.
Jillian @ Baby Doodah! says
I love reading your Munchkin Meals bc it gives me some fresh new ideas for Emmett. We sometimes get stuck in a rut, and getting fresh new ideas makes our lives easier and Emmett’s more exciting.
I think I’m going to make him some mashed sweet potato this coming week.
Brittany @ Delights and Delectables says
I’m so saving this for the future! You are such a wise momma!!
Chantal says
She eats so well! Penny is in a refusing everything phase it seems…
Carrie says
Great tips! I’ve been wanting to offer my toddler more variety, so this post came just in time 🙂