I need recipes for my 3 year old - please help me!!

[tammybear]

I need new recipes for my daughter. She's a fussy eater although if I do something new or something she doesnt like, I do still stick it under her nose to see if she'll try it. so any ideas please. i need more healthier recipes if anyone has any please. thanks very much xxx

what have you tried?
my nearly 3 year old loves most food:
curry and rice
humous and pitta bread
chilli

she eats shepherds pie.
sometimes eats lasagne.
wont eat spaghetti/pasta/rice.
garlic bread.
mash potato
jacket potato
thats all i can think of off the top of my head

Have you tried letting her help you make dinner? A nice healthy pizza made by a 3 year old always go down well. Let her choose what she want on it and make a smiley face out of the topping (with a few added extras.

thats a good idea. we were going to make cakes this weekend but shes a bit ill, but she does like cooking. do you have a pizza recipe? or at least how to make the base?

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heehee okay

we likes chicken, usually in the form of a nugget, or those birds eyes one that are coated in something (not breadcrumbs, just chicken on its own) or sometimes chicken casserole

Much easier to buy these bases. It can be frozen as well. Tesco's do them with the fresh pizzas. You also get ste "kid size" ones with already some tomato and cheese on. My DS is allergic to diary so we get the italian bases next to the sauces section and just do a cheese free one. Happy cooking. We love making muffins with banana and carrots in. Yummy!! (Have the receipe for that)

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ooo could i have that recipe cloe? she likes muffins, but wont eat bananas or any kind of fruit tbh

awww aims. i try to call the chickens hens so she doesnt realise its the same thing haha. i have done roast dinners, but not too often as its only the 2 of us, but she doesnt like eating the chicken then, unless i disguise it in mash

and the only veg she will eat is sweetcorn or veg that i chop up in her shepherds pie/lasgne if im doing it myself

A scone base pizza is easy for kids to help make, and just as yummy. Just make as for plain scones then put the sauce etc. on and bake.

Had a few ideas for variations on what she already likes:

Try shepherds pie made with lentils instead of meat - fry onion, mushrooms etc then add stock, brown lentils, tom puree, seasonings and simmer till tender. Very healthy and tasty. You could also try the quorn mince instead of meat for a change.

If she likes mash, how about adding mashed carrot and swede to the potato? Again very tasty and more nutritious than plain potato. Another poster on here gave me a recipe for mashed sweet potato with fried onions and cheese. It was gorgeous, dh was particularly keen.

If she doesn't like plain rice she might go for risotto where it is more creamy and soft.

How about kebabs, as again she could help to make them? You can do vegetable ones (courgette, mushroom, pepper, baby sweetcorn or any veg that looks pretty) or maybe with chicken pieces (not sure about this as we are veggie). Thread it all on to skewers and grill.

Hope some of these ideas might be useful.

Party Muffins/Buns

125g (4oz) self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
50g (2oz) soft brown sugar
125g (4oz) carrot
half a banana
1 egg (optional)
75ml (1/8 pint) oil

Icing: 125g (4oz) butter
150g (5oz) icing sugar
a few drops of vanilla essence

Sift the flour into a bowl with the baking powder.
Stir in the brown sugar.
Peel the carrot, top and tail. Grate into a bowl. Add to the flour.
Mash the banana and add to the flour. Mix well.
Beat the egg in the oil then add to the flour, carrots and banana. Mix well.
Place 12 paper cases into a patty tin. Spoon the mixture into each case to make 12 cakes.
Bake at 180C, 350F, Gas Mark 4, for 15 minutes or until firm and golden.
Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Whilst cooling, beat together the butter and icing sugar with a little vanilla essence. Slice the top off each cake and fill with butter cream. Place the lid back on and dust with icing sugar.

PS: Try and replace the banana with something else. We also add some raisins in there sometimes and leave the egg out because of the allergy. It comes out lovely every time.
Use cup cake cases as the muffin are too big and will only do 6. Happy cooking
Let me know how it went.
Leana

the shepherds pie sounds good. i have been told about risotto before but ive never really known what to do with it

thanks cloe i will have a go of that with her

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lol, yeah she eats fish fingers, although she calls it chicken. which is probably better than calling it fish! lol

my mum once did that with the sweet potato as chips but as she was expecting it to be chips, she spat it back out. might try it again though, and again and again lol

I do shepherds pie with loads of veg - sweat onion, carrot, celery all cut up small until fairly soft, then add vegemince (frozen - it's brilliant! soya mince with a bit of added flavouring), tin of chopped toms, 5-10oz of low salt stock, bit of tom puree, teaspoon of cinnamon, simmer for 10 mins. Meanwhile, boil lots of potato for mash and sweat couple of leeks in lots of butter. Stir mash and buttery leeks together. Put mash on veg mix and bake for 30-40 mins at gas 6 until browned on top. Add peas and sweetcorn to veg mix if desired. Add cheese to potato if desired. Ds's (4 and 2) absolutley love it. Ds1 loves 'helping' me chop all the veg. Dh loves it too! Oh, and it freezes, so I make loads at a time.

Or moussaka - dice an aubergine, salt and leave for 30 mins in a colander for bitter juices to come out. Fry diced onion til soft, add 1 diced garlic clove, red pepper, courgette, 6-8oz mushrooms, aubergine and tsp oregano. Cover and cook for 10 min (stir, it will stick) Add 8oz vegemince, tin chopped toms and tblsp tom puree. Cook for 10 mins more. put in casserole and top with best part of a large carton of natural yogurt mixed with two large eggs. Top this with few ounces of grated cheese. Bake 25-30 min at Gas 6 . Mmmmmm.

Or veg hotpot - similar to moussaka, salt a diced aubergine. Fry diced onion, chopped garlic, diced courgette, mushroom and red pepper, aubergine and mixed herbs for 10-15 mins. Add tin toms, tbsp tom chutney, 400g tin mixed beans and cook for another 15 min. Put in casserole and top with parboiled potato slices, top these with few ounces of grated cheese, Bake for 20-25 min at gas 6.

Or veg omelette - fry or micro (depending on how long you've got) chopped onion, potato and red pepper. Stir into beaten eggs with grated cheese and few frozen peas. Fry for around 5 min then grill under med grill for another 5.

Well, those are our favourites!

ooo those sound good. i could do with getting more veggies down her so ill try those

DD's love nigella's sphagetti and meatballs, also shepherds/cottage pie made with more veg than meat, use carrots, corgettes, onions, tomatoes etc, chicken and sausage casserole with butternut squash.

I used to do a shorthand roast using iceland stuffed chicken thighs plus roast potatoes carrots and peas and gravy.

make a white sauce and mix with cooked pasta layer this with tinned tuna mixed with tinned toms in a small dish and bake.

Lamb casserole with dumplings.

Fish pie, am really lazy and buy this from M & S.

er, more casserole? My lot have pretty much been raised on various casseroles, it's my default setting - seems to be good for them though, DD3 is a 99.8 centile (height) amazon.

ooo could you tell me the spaghetti and meatball recipe please? thanks

any others?

voila meatball recipe serves 6

meatballs
250g minced pork
250g minced beef
1 egg
2 tbls fresh parmesan
1 garlic clove crushed
1 tsp dried oregano
3 tbls semolina
grind of black pepper
1 tsp salt

Mix the above in a large bowl and shape into small balls, each about a tsp of mixture.

tom sauce
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbls unsalted butter
700ml bottle of passata
1 tbls olive oil
pinch of sugar
salt and pepper
100ml full fat milk

stick the onion, garlic and oregano in a food processor and pulp. heat the butter and oil in a deep pan and cook the pulp on a low-medium heat till softened, about 10 min. Add the passata and half fill the empty bottle with water and add this also. Add the sugar, some salt and pepper and cook for another 10 min. Stir in the milk, and add the meatballs one by one. Don't stir until the meatballs are brown as they will break up. Cook everything for 20min with a lid partly over.

Pour over pasta and serve.

I take absolutely no credit for the above, it's all down to nigella lawson. It's not as much a fuss as the recipe looks btw.

Enjoy

ooo thank you hun

ill have to try that one out too