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This blog post is all about toddler meals and snack ideas and real food toddlers will eat.
Feeding a toddler can feel like a full-time job! What they loved last week, they hate this week. Sometimes it feels like you can't find any food your toddlers will eat, especially real food.
If you're a busy parent or daycare provider looking for easy and healthy toddler meals and snack ideas, you're in the right place!
I'm sharing some of our favorite go-to meals that are easy to prep, healthy, and hopefully, your toddlers will love them too! Including real food toddlers will eat!
TODDLER MEALS AND SNACK IDEAS
Prepping Meals And Saving Money
Prepping your meals or some staples will save you so much time in the long run! It also saves you from the last-minute scramble of what do I cook or your toddler needs to eat right now moments.
When you run a daycare, food prepping is a saving grace! There are so many irons in the fire, especially around meal times, you don't have time to think about what to cook or cook glamorous meals; however, you still want healthy food that toddlers will eat.
Food prep is good for many reasons, but the main one is time-saving. This saves so much time and money! It's a win-win; it cuts down on food costs, is healthy without the chemicals, and cuts down on cooking time.
What Should You Food Prep
Batch cook scrambled and boiled eggs. Sausage patties and crumbled sausage are another easy protein to have on hand. If you have a griddle, this goes so quickly because you can cook it all at once. Well, besides the boiled eggs, those will need to go on a traditional stovetop.
My daycare toddlers love string cheese, but I hate the cost of it! So, I buy blocks of cheese and cut them into rectangles. I can easily pull out a few for a snack or add them to their lunch.
Wash, cut, and store all of the veggies and fruit for the week!
Double your dinner recipe! This feeds your family at night and your daycare children the next day for lunch.
Once you make batch cooking a habit, it takes no time at all! You can easily mix the biscuits, pancakes, and muffins, then bake all at the same time. It's about finding your groove. Maybe cooking a few extra things at dinner time is what will work for you.
Food Toddlers Will Eat
- Turkey & cheese roll-ups paired with cucumbers and fruit
- Grilled cheese sandwich sliced into rectangles, carrot chips, and a fruit
- Macaroni, peas, and canned tuna
- Bite-sized bean and cheese quesadillas
- Chicken nuggets & sweet potato fries
- Mini sandwiches, hummus with carrot chips
- Pasta, pepperonis, and pizza sauce, we call it pizza pasta
- Mini meatballs paired with a veggie and fruit
- DIY lunchables (FAN FAVE!) turkey, cheese, crackers
- Pulled chicken with cheese on a tortilla, fold in half, and quickly grill on both sides
Toddler Snack Ideas
Below are some of our fan favorites. However, I'm loving what Yummy Toddler Food has listed for healthy snack options, too!
- Frozen yogurt mixed with berries
- Mini muffins and applesauce (pro tip: mix shredded veggies in the muffins)
- Cheese cubes and crackers
- Banana slices drizzled with peanut butter
- Hard-boiled egg topped with Everything But Bagel Seasoning
- Homemade trail mix
- Homemade granola bars (oatmeal, peanut butter, honey, and chocolate chips)
- Mini pancakes with fruit
- Smoothie loaded with fruit and veggies
- Tortilla shells, peanut butter, honey, rolled and sliced
I'd love to hear if you try any of these food prep or meal suggestions!
This blog post was all about toddler meals and snack ideas that are real food toddlers will eat. Managing multiple children and ages every day is hard enough, don't let cooking be one of them too.
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