Toddler meals, part one

// April 4th, 2010 // Children and Babies, Cooking

Sunday nights are the worst for me.  After Bear goes to bed, I rush around trying to finish everything that I didn’t get to earlier in the weekend, or that I procrastinated until the last minute.  There are clothes to be ironed, lunches to be made, showers to be taken, legs to be shaved . . .

One thing I do on Sundays is make food for Bear’s lunches all week.  When he first stopped eating baby food and started eating finger food, I was stumped.  I had a hard time finding toddler recipes that made sense for my child.  We try to feed Bear healthy foods, so a steady diet of mac ‘n’ cheese and fish sticks doesn’t really fit the bill.  Neither do fruits and vegetables loaded with butter and sugar. Most toddler recipes I looked at were for two- and three-year-olds, not one-year-olds without molars.

Through trial and error, I’ve found a few things that work pretty well.  One of those is diced apples.  He liked the Gerber’s apples, but I found them to be ridiculously expensive.  My own recipe for diced apples is much easier, and it has no added sugar or chemicals or preservatives or whatever else might be in store-bought jarred fruit.

  1. Peel and dice one large apple.
  2. Put apple in a microwave dish.
  3. Sprinkle with apple pie spice.
  4. Cover with water.
  5. Cover the dish and microwave on high for 4-5 mins.

This makes about 1 cup of apples.  I put them in two 1/2 cup Ziploc containers, put one in his lunch box to take to Auntastic’s, and keep one at home for dinner.

Coming soon:  Sweet Potato Fries and Baked Butternut Squash

I am getting into a bit of a rut, though.  Any toddler food suggestions are welcome.

4 Responses to “Toddler meals, part one”

  1. Charla says:
    April 5, 2010 at 11:13 pm

    I made butternut squash bites alot. We still use tons of frozen peas and mixed veggies. We also started on bell pepper slices pretty early. They are great cold from the fridge for teething, but they may not be able to eat the skin. KJ basically just sucked on them. I also did pears the same way you are doing apples, and as they because available, you’ll be able to dice melons. KJ also loved kiwi sliced, then each slice cut into quarters. I’m sure I have more ideas if you need them.

  2. Nicci says:
    April 6, 2010 at 6:27 am

    That sounds like my list, except I hadn’t thought about bell peppers, and I had forgotten about kiwi. Time to add that one back in! We have a hard time with melon, because I HATE cantaloupe. Bear loves it, and I’ll buy it for him, but then a lot of it goes to waste. Freezing it makes it mushy, but Bear just may have to have mushy melons (hey, I shouldn’t be the only one).

  3. Mandy says:
    April 7, 2010 at 9:29 pm

    Diced strawberries and fresh blueberries are a big hit with my little guys. I’m sure the blueberries are a choking hazard, but I’m 18 months into my second child, and still no need for the heimlich. I guess mushiness helps.

    I’ve also found some “snap peas” in the salad section at the grocery store – I think they’re called Snappea Crisps. They’re the consistency of a cheeto, but the main ingredient is peas, so I sub those for chips when we’re having picnic-style lunches.

    Oh, and raspberries are fun. You can put them on the ends of Bear’s fingers and let him play a little as he eats. Messy, yes, but also fun. (And can be a good photo op.)

    Spinach balls and squash casserole work too.

    Enough genius mothering for now. I’m off to bed! (;

  4. Nicci says:
    April 7, 2010 at 10:03 pm

    Bear LOVES blueberries. I think I’m going to buy this and see if I can save a little money. We haven’t tried strawberries or raspberries, but I’m adding those to the list.

    Of course, I’m going to need recipes for spinach balls and squash casserole. Pony up. :)

Leave a Reply