Need some good lunch ideas for my two toddlers, they are both picky eaters.?!
Something easy to prepare.
Answers: Ages 2 & 3
Something easy to prepare.
I've done menu's for our state nutrition programs for day cares and kids just love finger foods.
A good way to get them to eat sandwiches, is to cut the crusts off and use pretty cookie cutters to cut the sandwiches out in their favorite shapes or characters.
Do the same with cheese and put on whole grain crackers, cut out with cookie cutter on a slice of cheese. Save the bits of cheese to melt on veggies, or put in soups or mac and cheese
I used to encourage them to buy bread sticks to make mini subs for the kiddo's on. Little fella's love getting a sub just like daddy's but their size.
Fresh fruit smoothies are great.
Try adding fruits to their sandwiches, like dried cranberries to peanut butter, raisins or dried cherries to chicken salad or ham salad.
Chicken nuggest in animal shapes are very popular along with some bbq sauce to dip them in.
Little guys love to dip.
Cut fresh veggies very tiny (carrot shreds) are great on a plate with some very thin celery sticks and give them some ranch dressing to dip them in. Try their fav veggies cut very thin to dip, fruits the same. Give them some poppyseed dressing to dip fresh fruit in.
Mini bagels halves are great topped with a little sauce, cheese and turkey pepperoni or other veggies they like cooked and broiled till bubbly for a quick, mini pizza. Teaches them to eat pizza a little healthier
Hope this helps. it's just a few.
obviously think of things that can be eated with their fingers. Try making a sandwich with a slice of meat and a slice of cheese and then cut it into 4 equal pieces (probably after cutting off the crust.) Also, take a can of biscuits and wrap coctail weiners in them and then bake....pigs in a blanket!
foodnetwork.com
marthstewart.com
bettycrocker.com
Mac and cheese
Cheese and crackers and meat cut into shapes
Cut up fruits and veggies and give them a veggie spread or dip
PB&J Sushi rolls
Turkey rollups
Don't cater to their whims and the will not become picky eaters. Give them a plate of food, tell them that's it. Unless they are allergic to a particular food, they shouold be trying everything.
Chicken nuggets and french fries are always great for kids,pizza is good and fruits,with milk or juice as a drink.good Luck
Picky eating needs to STOP RIGHT NOW! Be a good parent and make your kids eat the food that they are given. My boyfriend made his daughters food tonight and they refused to eat it because it wasn't as good as what i make. That is REDICULOUS.
Give them food. If they don't eat it, save it for them and serve it to them on their next snack or meal until it is eaten. picky eating is no excuse to cater to your children. don't forget who the parent is.
Do they like Easy mac? That's almost always a hit.
PB and J on a tortilla rolled up and cut into pinwheels (makes it fun)
Ravioli's--buy the frozen ones and add your own spaghetti sauce to make it healthier than the canned.
Make a plate of various finger foods. Sliced bananas, sliced boiled eggs (remove the yolks if they're picky about that--my kids were), cubes of cheese (slice up a cheese stick, even), cut up sandwich with the crust removed.
Hope that helps!
Have you tried this one? Get a slice of bread and flatten it out as much as possible. I usually use a large drinking glass but whatever works. Spread cream cheese and add a few raisins on it. Roll it up and your done. This way makes it easier for little hands to hold. Try different things like honey or peanut butter.
My 21/2 loves pasta, spaguetti, mac & cheese etc. and I add steam brocolli, carrots or apple and bananas and also you can try mashed potatoes wraped in ham it is soo good and easy, just make like a taco using a slice of ham filled with mashed potatoes they will love it good luck.
Have them help you make them. Every kid loves to get there hands into things. Let them make it. And they might enjoy it. Bring something new for them to try. I did that to my son and he loves vegetable. Kraft foods.com is a good place to start. Have fun with it. Good Luck.
I wouldn't give them mac and cheese or pizza. You need to keep it healthy. If they grow up liking that too much, they'll become overweight. Maybe try sandwiches, cut in triangles. Make something colorful such as a fruit salad. You could also make them a fruit smoothe, with low fat milk and whatever fruit you decide. Any vegetable is good. Try some baked chicken, pulled apart so they are stringy and fun to eat.
My toddler loves Quadillas. This is just tortillia with cheese sprinkled in and then heated like a grilled cheese sandwich. I also give him cereal for lunch like Raisin Bran, or Bran chex. He thinks its really funny to have breakfast for lunch. I make him veggie burgers too. You can just pop those in the toaster, put it on a whole wheat bun with lots of catsup and they will never know its not a real burger.