It’s easy to get stuck in a carrots and apple rut when feeding your kids healthy meals. I hope this list inspires you to shake things up with real (healthy!) meal ideas for toddlers and preschoolers from a real mom.
Was it just me or did everyone have an image of how they’d be when they became a mom? I knew I would have endless patience, spend hours planning elaborate arts and crafts, and of course I’d make sure to take the time to cut cheese into shapes to make adorable scenes on their plates. My kids would think I was the coolest as I placed their breakfast in front of them– tadaaa!
Fast forward to today and though I’d tell you I love being a mom more than I ever could have imagined, the perfection fantasy has long since flown out the window. I admire and aww at the incredible meal creations others make look so easy, but beyond a raisin stuck on some peanut butter’d celery and an occasional Mickey Mouse pancake, there isn’t much effort put into cutesy presentation around here.
However, I still believe in good food and in hopes of staying free from the dreaded meal rut, I wanted to compile a visual reference of real meals my 2 year old and 4 year old have been eating and enjoying lately.
Breakfast
Peanut butter waffle bites with syrup to dip. Blueberries and strawberries on the side.
Oatmeal with blueberries and nectarines. Half a cream cheese sandwich on the side.
Cheese grits with fried egg and tomato.
More tomato of the side since separation is sometimes key!
Scrambled eggs with spinach and cheese, buttered toast, banana slices.
Lunch
Ham and cheese tortilla rolls, cheery tomatoes, oranges, graham cracker squares, shelled pistachios and an Adora chocolate disk.
Cheese and cracker sandwiches, grapes, arugula salad with goat cheese crumbles (dip into a dressing).
Ham and cheese tortilla rolls, blueberries, carrot pieces, yogurt, and fruit gummies.
Greek quinoa, crackers with hummus, and applesauce.
[Tweet “Have you hit a food rut? Check out these real (healthy!) meal ideas from a real mom- @ahealthyslice. #munchkinmeals #toddlermeals #kidfood”]
Dinner
Hamburger bites, roasted Brussels sprouts, corn on the cob, and a pickle.
Mexican rice and beans, grilled chicken, avocado, and red pepper.
Leftover lasagna filling with garlic toast, roasted sweet potatoes, garlic and lemon green beans, and nectarine pieces.
Greek lamb burger with ranch, steamed broccoli, cherry tomatoes, avocado, and dill pickle sauerkraut.
Shrimp and linguine with a garlic and parsley butter sauce with roasted asparagus.
Bourbon and brown sugar salmon (a kid favorite!), with broccolini, and roasted Yukon and Sweet potatoes.
I believe that healthy food doesn’t have to be complicated. We eat a lot of simple meals and get the girls involved in the process. This helps my even more “selective” eater, Kaitlyn (2), get excited about enjoying healthy food.
Moms, weigh in!
What are some of your kids’ favorite meals lately?
I know I’m always looking to shake things up too!
For more healthy kid recipes and food talk, visit my Munchkin Meals page!
Megan S says
Wow! These are such great ideas! Thank you for sharing. I have a 1 year old and I am really trying to expose her to all kinds of foods from a young age.
What kind of healthy crackers and tortillas do you use?
Thanks!
Brittany Dixon says
Love that you are exposing her to such a variety of foods! It has worked really well for us.
My favorite tortillas right now are by Tortilla Land. They are only 5 ingredients. You find them in the refrigerated section and you cook them yourself, but it only takes about 4 minutes. They’re great!
Crackers are always being switched up- we love Bitsy’s Brainfood, Back to Nature, and Food Should Taste Good that I can think of off hand.
gena @ sober life victory says
These are such great ideas! My kids are difficult to please with the food, my oldest had a texture sensitivity so we had to stick to what we knew he would eat so that we didn’t create any major issues around food. Now, that he is grown out of it it’s hard to get them to eat more variety. I’m really making an effort because my youngest just joined the gymnastics team and I really want to make sure she has proper nutrition to support all the demands. This gives me some great ideas to try. Thanks!
Heather says
I am seriously impressed with the variety of foods your girls will eat! We still try to offer new foods to our kiddos, but they are very picky and tend to feed off of each other’s reactions to foods. What our daughter will normally eat, she suddenly won’t if her brother doesn’t like it. 😉 They are both big fans of anything that can be easily eaten “picnic” style. On the plus side, they are both getting more adventurous with fruit as well! I’ll take it!
Brittany Dixon says
Oh Heather, I totally understand the feed off each other’s reactions deal! I’m super lucky that it works in a positive way here. Hailey is a very adventurous eater and little sister wants to be just like her, so will follow her lead.
Picnic style sounds like a fun idea and yay for them being more adventurous with fruit- great job mama! 🙂
Rachel says
When did your kids start to use dippers? I love the idea of them, but my 13-month-old doesn’t get it just yet (I know he’d have that maple syrup dumped out and rubbed around on his tray/face/hair in about 5 seconds.)
Brittany Dixon says
I don’t remember exactly, but maybe around 16 months? Before that I would sometimes put a small dab of a dip on the highchair and let them swipe a piece of food through it. We’ve certainly had our fair share of dip-in-the-hair experiences though 😉
Brynn says
Mitch is a self-proclaimed vegetarian, so we have to use our creative juices with meal time. We try and offer meats all the same, but it is difficult to create meals that are well rounded and not repeat the same one. Right now he loves roasted sweet potatoes with coconut oil and cinnamon, most veggies and cheese in any way he can get it. My goal is to get him to warm up to more grains and beans.
Brittany Dixon says
Oh isn’t that interesting! He just doesn’t like the texture you think? Yes, I should probably do more grains too, but they’re so messy and I hate cleaning up tiny rice or quinoa pieces that stick all over the table and floor #truth 😉
Alex says
My 21 month-old kiddo also refuses meat – we’ve tried ground, pulled, grilled, roasted, in soup…you name it, we’ve tried it. Our new approach is to offer meat when we eat it, but to also offer other high-protein foods throughout the day so that we’re not worried about protein come dinnertime. Our go-to proteins are raw tofu cubes (huge hit), greek yogurt, eggs, beans (especially refried beans. They are fun to squish) and hummus . He has also taken a liking to smoked salmon, but it’s so salty that we try to limit it. Given the huge numbers of healthy and thriving veggie and vegan kids around the globe, we figure that as long as it’s balanced, it’s ok.
Liz T says
I always love these posts of yours.
I just don’t know how to get my daughter to eat stuff like this. I guess it would help if I just made it and put it in front of her. Lately, when she tries things, I’m so excited, but then she’ll screw up her face and spit out the chewed up offensive piece of whatever into the uneaten/untouched/still good food and say “I don’t LIKE .” It’s so frustrating.
I’m glad for you that your girls are willing to eat different things.
Perhaps pacify me and tell me that half the time they also spit out your beautiful offerings??
Brittany Dixon says
How old is your daughter? I promise you even Hailey, my dream eater, has gone through pickier phases. Though Kaitlyn will tell me the exact same thing about some food items (I don’t LIKE that), I find that if I stick to the following, she really eats most things most of the time:
1. Division of responsibility: I chose what and when they eat, they chose if and how much. Hunger makes such a difference to my girls!
2. I always have something on the plate (usually 2 somethings) I know they really like.
3. I remain pretty neutral if she doesn’t like something. She’ll say her “Don’t Like It” phrase and I’ll say ok, you don’t have to eat it just as casually as can be. I avoid power struggles like the plague.
Kaitlyn is more selective and has an obvious sweet tooth, but for the most part, she will eat most of what I give her. I think imitating Hailey and me helps too. If she sees us eating it happily, she usually wants in on the action! It sounds like you are doing a great job staying consistent in your offerings, so hang in there! Those phases can be so frustrating.
Jennifer says
Love, love, love these posts!
Tanya Kummerow says
And see I thought peanut butter and raisins on celery was food art! Seriously though, I just pulled that one out for E last week and she gobbled it up! I was very proud of myself for putting forth the effort! Haha! Our meals are similar to many of yours…just deconstructed versions of whatever Alex and I are eating. Thanks for sharing!
Brittany Dixon says
As far as I’m concerned, it is food art too! Sometimes I get wild and alternate raisins and craisins. Woah baby. 😉
sherry says
Your “toddler” meals look like great “grown up” meals to me!
Nadia North says
Children eat with their eyes first, just like adults. All of your dishes look delish! My kids love almond butter on waffles (your peanut butter waffle bites reminded me). We also do a lot of “make your own… (salad, pizza, taco)” where I line up the (mostly healthy) ingredients and let them make their own meal (and a mess). Yes, it is more clean-up, but this has encouraged my very picky eater to try new things and take pride in her own creation!
Brittany Dixon says
Oh I love your idea about make-you-own! We don’t do that often enough and you’re so right- the girls would love that and be so proud of their creations. Thank you!
Sharon stanley (@Shandy2008) says
what great ideas. I have three girls and have always tried to keep ‘unhealthy processed options’ as treats only and it works if you do it from a young age. There are some awesome ideas in this blog and I will definitley be trying a few out to expand their pallete even further. Thank you 🙂
jennifer says
I love these posts (always have). I have a 4 year old that just started preschool and I pack his lunch every day – just started yesterday! I love it already because I never knew what he was eating at his baby sitters. He has come along way with eating in such a short period of time. Any moms out there who are frustrated with there kids eating habits and want them to change, stay strong and firm and they will slowly show results. My keys things I did were only allow fruit for snacks (or else he would snack too much and not be hungry for meals) and I also just started giving him his plate with everything on it before he got to the table. If he wants more of something he has to at least tried everything on his plate – it seems to be working. We also went on vacation out of the country and he was forced to try new foods or go hungry – that worked the best! 😉 Also, eating dinner as a family has helped INCREDIBLY. I know its not possible for everyone – it wasn’t for us until my son was 1.5 years old. Now my youngest baby is about to turn 1 and is fearless and will eat anything! This also helps my older son to try more food since his baby sister is eating it! Keep up the great posts! Thanks!
Brittany Dixon says
Love your input Jennifer! I completely agree with you on family dinners, though I have not done a great job at being consistent with that. We do when possible, but am going to try to shift towards eating earlier with the girls myself even if David isn’t home by then. And I LOVE that you traveled out of the country with them- what a cool culinary experience. I look forward to the day that we get to do that with the girls. Great tips- thank you!
Kim says
My 2 year old refuses all vegetables. Any suggestions? I’ve tried putting spinach in her omelets and she spits it out.
Brittany Dixon says
Hi Kim- oh, it’s so frustrating when they spit food out! My best tip is to stay consistent with offering vegetables, but experiment with different techniques. Roasting vegetables is one of my favorite preparation methods. I’ll toss diced sweet potatoes with olive oil and spread on a baking sheet. I sprinkle them with salt and garlic powder then roast at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes. The girls will gobble these up! It’s a great gateway into other vegetables, as you can use the same method for Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and other vegetables.
You’re doing a fabulous job at offering, so don’t get discouraged or turn it into a power struggle. Stay consistent and she will come around. Good luck!
Kim says
Thank you!!! I’m going to try this!
Rebecca says
How do you make your ham and cheese tortilla roll ups? Are they grilled?
Brittany Dixon says
Sure simple-I layer cheese and ham on a tortilla, then stick it in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Take it out, roll it tightly, press flat, then slice. The kids love them!