Easy toddler meals please!!! here's one:

[lilQuidditchKel]

Hi

I have a 2 yr old and 10mo old who both eat sort-of-normal food. We try to give them exactly ours once in a while but frankly it's easier to make them something quick (like pasta) and something complicated later when DH and I eat.

They might eat: bagels with pizza sauce and melted cheese. Fusilli pasta twists with creamy tomato sauce. Slices of baguette with sliced cheese, ham, and apple. Sandwiches.

I'm desperate to think of warm things other than pasta and pizza to feed them though! So please, please offer up your fave easy meals.

Annabel Karmel is too much effort by the way - I'm a lazy/busy mum who prefers to cheat with readymade sauces, microwave pasta, etc. horrible I know but there you go!

Beany stuff - chick peas/butter beans, tinned tomatoes, chopped veg if you want to. Takes a little while to cook but minimum prep time, you can hide veggies in it and it would freeze well

jacket potato and tuna mayonnaise.
sausage and mash (by microwaving a spud and scooping out the middle) with veg.

also beefburgers - minced beef, chopped onions, again finely chopped veg, shape into patties and grill/fry

We usually just keep a bit of what we have for dinner for our toddler the next day (or she gets it the same day if it is made earlier). So today she had beef stew. I also often make up a job-lot of bolognaise sauce and freeze it in batches; she then has it with either pasta or cous-cous. Other things she has regularly include: omelettes; fish fingers with beans or peas/sweetcorn and sometimes over chips; pasta, pesto and peas; tuna in a tomato sauce.

Not sure how many of these would be suitable for 10 month old though; I can't remember what they eat at that age!

thx for suggestions!

i tried jacket potato as DS has in the past been v keen on mash when it was part of our meal. alas wouldn't touch nice mash fresh from a jacket potato . how exactly are you making your jacket pot?

also difficult as DCs are just plain weird. devoured with lust spoonfuls of vongole sauce (clams!) but won't touch pieces fish in any form.

oh and my 10mo DD is just after whatever anyone else is eating. doesn't seem to realise she has only two half-teeth!

Eggs.

for micro-mash we microwave the potato, scoop out the middle and mash it with some marge.
bless ds he scoffs it, but he has a limited diet because of allergies so he doesnt know what 'good' food tastes like. lol. I have also found that I can mix in fish with the mash and he will eat that when he might otherwise leave the fish.

for jacket potato I always take off the skin and hide the potato under some beans or tuna mayo.

confession: i have no idea how long to microwave a potato. help...

I generally stick a small potato on high for 30 secs, check and repeat until it's a bit squishy but not hard. you can always check it by cutting it in 2 and seeing if the middle is soft yet. hth

thx ratbunny

malorytowers i'm a huge pasta fan. we actually eat too much of it probably!

i like the idea of philly cheese in it tho - even for myself as i'm a huge fan of pasta with creme fraiche in it.

anyway...ds can't have cow's milk so i'm afraid i can't give him that dish anyway!

might try a potato - again - and hope for the best. it would be a nice basic option to have!!

ooh I have a good list going now thanks all

frites of course are always loved. especially with ketchup. (that's too salty though isn't it?)

baked beans occasionally go down well. must try it with toast...

good tips i'm sure - will have to remember them when DS can speak more

TBH I think the quickest way is just to give them what you are having - so you are only cooking once.

Rainbow rice is great - cook rice in boiling water to which you have added any chopped veg you like - we normally have diced carrot, pepper, peas and sweetcorn but you can out what you want in. When it's ready, drain then stir through a beaten egg and some chopped ham if you want. The egg makes it sticky so it's much easier for youngsters to eat. Mine - 4 and 2 - love it.

Bozza you know what? I totally agree with you. I think I've been deluded for too long and put off giving the kids (well DS anyway) enough "adult" food.

Well in fairness DS has had a pretty bad cow's milk and gluten allergy since he was weaned, so it was necessary for me to make his meals different to ours 90% of the time. Still, there's no real reason to make him special "todder meals" I suppose. We do try to eat together at weekends and usually it goes reasonably well, with him eating whatever we eat (if he's hungry).

Thankfully now DS can eat gluten, so at least half the time he can prob have what we would normally have.

So, my plan for the following week is to make a bit more of whatever DH and I are having at dinner, save it, and give it for dinner to DS and DD the following day. That way I don't have to cook twice each day (phew).

Risks are: DS is reluctant to eat new things (even though he enthusiastically ate a wide variety up till he was 1). Guess it's just the 2's making him more picky. It will be tough to insist that he eats either "this or nothing" but deep down I do know he does truly eat if he is hungry so I shouldn't worry. He's on 91st centile for height and weight so that's not a worry either.

As for DD, she is totally adventurous and at 10mo often astounds me with what she attempts to consume with her two wee teeth. I'll offer our dinner from the previous day to her too, but expect to back up with purees for now as she's just too slow with regular food for now.

Let's hope this works. I would love to do away with the three-meals-for-four-people deal I'm running at the moment!!!

(btw we used to do salads for dinner sometimes, with tuna & egg, or grilled chicken or steak - I guess salad doesn't really translate as leftovers tho )

is it too late to do baby led weaning at 2 yr old?

be careful. those readymade sauces and microwave meals contain too much salt for babies young kidney's to handle. they arent meant to eat that stuff.

my suggestion would be to try making food yourself. it really isnt that difficult if you make in batches and freeze. Use low sodium tomatos and low sodium soups/sauces etc as its not just things like ketchup that arent meant for babies.

Have you considered trying sweet potato instead of regular? It's much more nutritious, gets cooked just like a white potato and babies and toddlers tend to prefer it for its sweetness.

Another idea could be to mix some tuna, with potato (again, either kind) and some breadcrumbs, maybe a little seasoning (not salt!) and fry till brown in a little veg oil. May need an egg to bind.

Or make your own meat balls the same way. Mizing mince with a little breadcrumbs and dried parsley and some diced onion. Baking is the way to go with these. Bake on 375F till browned and cooked through.

Mini shepards pie. (use unsalted butter for mash, and low sodium gravy).

How about making a nice split pea soup? Throw some dried green peas, 1 small chopped potato, some diced carrot in a saucepan with water and and boil, then simmer covered on low until peas and veg are soft and mushy. mash with some butter.

Mash some cooked canned chickpeas/drained with canned tomatoes and veggies. Heat through.

stew type soup with veg and pasta shapes and flaked fish or mince. Vary flavors ( tomato/pesto/miso etc...)

stir fry noodles with veg and sweet soy sauce

any meat grilled on wooden sticks with sticky sweet soy sauce or barbecue sauce or lemon juice honey marinade.

"jewelled" rice that is with added dried fruit such as sultanas or apricots and a pinch of cinamon + watever inspires you (leftover roast chicken for example)

crispy fish or lentil cakes with some veg blended in the mashed potato

pasties (any meat and veg filling)

Quiche with whatever you fancy mixed in the eggs (spinash/salmon/cheese etc....)

I always give a bowl of fresh or steamed veg on the side and let DS experiment at his own pace. Eventually, when something is presented regularly, it becomes familiar and they'll have a go.

chicken drumsticks roasted in some herbs, lemon, a touch of tomato paste, served with sliced peppers and mushrooms. my 2 yr old and 1.5 yr old like this and i can eat it as well.

cheesy omlettes/ scrambled egg with beans and toast on the side. throw some fried mushroom on top!

some diced and fried chicken breast stewed in chopped tomatos, herbs, mixed lentils and barley with mini pasta shapes. another one i like to eat too.

mini meatballs made with salt, pepper, egg, breadcrumbs, fried and boiled, cooked for 20 min in tomato sauce with garic and herbs, served over some wholeweat penne, spaghetti or rice.

fish pie made with chunks of haddock or cod, top with mash and sheese, than bake till cooked through.

pasta shapes with philadelphia, pasta with tomato paste, salt and pepper, throw whatever bits of meat or veg you have, or even just some tinned sweetcorn.

sausage & homemade chips