Depending on who you ask, feeding toddlers can be even harder than feeding a group of five-star chefs. Picky eating usually spikes in the toddler and preschool years, as many children are sensitive to new tastes and textures. But to avoid being a short order cook in your own home, it’s important to have some tasty but healthy recipes to serve your toddler on the regular.
To make lunch times with your tiny tot easier, here are five easy lunch ideas to add to your menu.
This kid-approved chicken salad recipe combines chopped chicken, mayo, dijon mustard, celery, dill and pickle relish. You can serve it with crackers or a bread roll depending on what your toddler likes. It’s quick, easy and healthy, and you can use last night’s chicken leftovers to make the dish.
Most toddlers will happily eat a quesadilla - it’s just carbs and cheese after all! Sprinkle some cheddar cheese onto a tortilla, fold the tortilla over and cook it for 4-5 minutes. You can serve the quesadilla with guacamole, which has plenty of vitamins and minerals.
The nice thing about quesadillas is that you can add whatever fillings your child will like. Olives, tomatoes, green onion and grilled chicken from the night before will make your quesadillas healthier and heartier.
This popular appetizer makes a great lunch for busy toddlers. Plus, it falls under the finger food category, meaning your little one can devour their lunch without utensils.
To make ham and cheese rollups, fill a tortilla with cream cheese, cheddar cheese, chopped ham, ranch and green onion. Roll it up, chill for 1-2 hours and cut it into bite-size pieces. You can even make lunch for a week!
Forget chicken nuggets from the bag - they’re loaded with sodium and preservatives. Instead, make your own chicken nuggets using fresh chicken breasts, breadcrumbs and an egg.
There’s not much to it - place the chicken in a bag with seasoning and flour. Next, dip the chicken into the egg mixture and then into the breadcrumbs. Cook the chicken nuggets in the oven or frying pan. This recipe takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish.
For a quick, on-the-go lunch, try a muffin tin lunch. This idea fills a muffin tin with all sorts of items such as nuts, hummus, cold cut veggies, pieces of fruit, shredded chicken, hard boiled eggs and so forth. Toddlers love having a variety of foods to experiment with, and they can even make their own creations!
Hopefully these ideas will make lunchtime at your house stress free! And when it comes time to dine out with the family, we hope you choose La Rosa Chicken and Grill! We have kids’ meals that even the pickiest eaters are sure to love!