Food recipe ideas for toddlers?

[Kardelen]

Hi!
Im really struggling with feeding my little one. He’s 21 months, and still hasn’t got round to liking food.
any suggestions of easy recipes I could try? anyone else went through the same thing?

What does he like?

Pasta is usually popular with kids.

Sandwiches/pizza.

Mince is easy to eat so Bolognese/pie/chilli etc.

Fishfingers or chicken nuggets (homemade if you don't want processed food). Sometimes they like pieces of food rather than more involved recipes.

Maybe he'd like a picky plate?

He normally likes fish fingers but can’t always feed him this 🥲

he likes pasta one day and doesn’t the next day. It’s so difficult. Think he likes saucy type of pasta, but run out of ideas everyday. Doesn’t like chicken or meat so it’s so hard to get him to
eat

My 14 month old loves:

Hummus, she’d eat all the hummus forever!
Most Cereals
Porridge
Mac n cheeze
Thick vegetable/ lentil soup
Bread
Tofu scramble
Baked beans
Most Fruit
Soya Yoghurt
Corn on the cob
Couscous

she’ll also usually eat:

Veggie sausage
Peas
Sweet potato chips or mash
Chips or mashed potatoes
Spinach and tomato puff pastry pizza rolls
Courgette fritters
Risotto
Veggie burgers
Falafel
Vegan pizza
Pasta bake
Tomatoes
Chick peas
Nut butters

And Sometimes:

Most other veg
Tempeh

I usually just make meals for both of us from a mix of things she likes and try to also add something new or that she isn’t usually keen on just to keep exposing her to it. Some meals she scoffs the lot and some she just messes about with the food, I do worry but try to let her decide her own appetite and just make sure she doesn’t look like she’s losing weight. She still has about 2 bottles of soya or oat milk a day as well.

Do you make the burgers etc yourself?

i tried making patties, he loved it at first. And second time no chance. Not sure if it depends on his mood?

its really strange. Makes me so guilty as a mum when he doesn’t eat

Mine liked cheese and spinach omelette at this age. DC2 still does.

He literally likes it for one day, and then hates it 😞

My DD can be like that with food, I just keep giving her it on occasion but with other foods I know she likes. I use the Richmond meat free sausages and cut in quarters and for burgers I’ve used the paxo meat free burger mix to make mini burgers. I do watch salt but I’m ok with her having higher salt or more processed foods on occasion as long as other meals are low salt.

It’s normal for toddlers to like something one day and then not like it the next. Just keep offering a variety of different meals including things he hasn’t liked previously, include something that you know he does like at each meal and don’t make a fuss over food. Sit and eat with him too.

DS just ate whatever I was having or leftovers from previous meals that I froze in portions. Just no spice or salt in meals. I always ate with him and offered him a variety of foods every day whether he ate it or not. He went through various stages of not liking particular things. It can take 15-20 times of offering the same food before they like it, so don't start restricting his diet because you think he doesn't like something.

Mine always had leftovers of what we had (no sat until their portion removed). If they didn't eat it they didn't eat it they had fruit, yogurt and cucumber / tomato. They didn't go hungry.

The best way to get Dts eating was to put everything in the table and let them help themselves and to get them involved in cooking. From a young age they could break up mushrooms for a bolognese, try and grate cheese etc, made them
Much more interested.

Should add I also give DD a multi vitamin for reassurance.

I relied so heavily on the Annabel Karmel baby and weaning cookbook. I still make one or two things from it now and the DC are 9 and 11!! I think it was just great for ideas to try and it also had weekly meal plans.

When you have a toddler and life is just exhausting sometimes it's great to just have book you can flip open and it tells you what to do...and my DC ate 99% of what I made from it. Pro tip though, usually they wouldnt try new things with me but if DH, a grandparent, nanny or nursery introduced it they would eat it and then next time they'd eat it with me. Weird little humans!