Baby and Toddler Meal Ideas

If you have a baby and a toddler, you might be finding it difficult to find meal ideas that suit everyone.

Today's post is by Sheena from Laptops and Naptimes who has been recording some of the meals that they've been eating.

Family Meals Are Best

I have a toddler and a baby and I like them to eat the same as everyone else in the family - as far as possible.

This means that I have a few rules such as no salt in cooking to make sure the food is appropriate for small children.

My baby daughter is now eight months old and loves her food. Everything goes in (and around) her mouth and it’s a lovely time to be feeding her.

My toddler son used to be just the same but now he’s nearly three and has learnt the word “no!”

Sometimes he eats his dinner and sometimes he doesn’t. There doesn’t seem to be a pattern.

The same meal he loved last week could go uneaten today.

Dr Orlena's Tip. It can be difficult to watch a child not eating their food but I totally recommend it if they don't want to eat. Have a healthy eating routine and always present something that is acceptable (not the revolting yucky fish that they hate.

I recommend allowing your child to decide what and if they eat. Which can mean not eating at all.

It is more difficult for parents than kids but try not to make an issue out of it. (There will be another healthy eating invitation soon!)

Here are a few meals they both enjoyed and how they were adapted to each child’s needs.

Pork Risotto with Side Vegetables

Both my little ones like rice but find it difficult to eat as it’s hard to eat with fingers and falls off a fork easily.

I give it to them anyway but adapt their meals so they will definitely get enough to eat even if a lot of the rice ends up on the floor.

I often use leftovers to supplement today’s dinner and find that works well.

Dr Orlena's Tip: Learning to eat is much more complicated than we think. And messy!

It's great to allow your kids to explore foods with their fingers even if it's not exactly "restaurant manners"!

You can see that the baby’s plate is more vegetables than risotto and that’s deliberate because I know she can pick them up and eat them.

My toddler’s plate has more risotto but also vegetables and a leftover roast potato to top him up if he doesn’t manage much rice.

Onion and Courgette Pasta with Cheese and Salad Vegetables

I was aiming to give them both half salad and half pasta.

The pasta was made by stirring cooked penne into sauteed onions and courgettes.

They both ate this really well - possibly because pasta is easy to pick up or stab with a fork.

I only really changed it for my baby by serving a smaller portion and cutting the vegetables into chip shapes for her.

Dr Orlena's Tip. As Sheena has done, presenting your child's food so that it easy for them to manage will help them not to get frustrated.

Chop difficult things up for them.

If they are keen to do learn chopping, let them start with something soft!

Cheese and Onion Omelette and Salad

The omelette was just whisked eggs poured over lightly fried onions with a handful of cheddar on the top.

The baby had avocado which she loves and can easily bite through with her two teeth.

The toddler can cope with the skin of red peppers so he got more of that.

Related: Orlena's Spanish Omelette recipe.

Cauliflower Chicken with Rice and Cucumber

The rest of the family had cauliflower and chicken thai curry but I left the spices out for the little ones.

Dr Orlena's Tip. If you want your children to learn to like spices, you can add small quantities and increase them when they're happy.

Natural yoghurt is also useful to make something hot and spicy milder.

This dish was made by frying the chicken and onion and then adding raw cauliflower and chicken stock and allowing it to simmer for half an hour or so.

They ate the resulting dinner quite well.

Related: How to Stop Your Kids Preferring Snacks to Regular Meals

Toddler Dessert

This is my favourite "toddler dessert" that my kids love.

Dr Orlena's Tip. You don't always have to present dessert.

You can also present it with the main meal if you like. Just make sure you present a reasonable sized portion and not a giant one!

Sheena's Blog

Sheena blogs at laptopsandnaptimes.com where she encourages other mamas through the trials of motherhood from fussy eating to breastfeeding and everything in between.