I need toddler meal ideas!

[scottishduffy]

So how do you make mini-meatloafs?? I have never made meatloaf, but I do like to eat it, LOL. Can someone give me a recipe for the small muffin pan ones?

Meat Loaf Minis
** Okay, so there is no nutritional info on this one. It is the ONLY recipe I am making an exception for because it is sooooo darn good.

Ingredients:
• 1 cup ketchup
• 3 to 4 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 3 cups Crispix cereal, crushed
• 3 teaspoons onion powder
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3 pounds lean ground beef

Method:
In a large bowl, combine ketchup, brown sugar and mustard. Remove 1/2 cup for topping; set aside. Add eggs, Worcestershire sauce, cereal and seasonings to remaining ketchup mixture; mix well. Let stand for 5 minutes. Crumble beef over cereal mixture and mix well.
Press meat mixture into 18 muffin cups (about 1/3 cup each). Bake at 375° for 18-20 minutes. Drizzle with reserved ketchup mixture; bake 10 minutes longer or until meat is no longer pink and a meat thermometer reads 160°. Serve desired number of meat loaves. Cool remaining loaves; freeze. Transfer to freezer bags; freeze for up to 3 months.
To use frozen meat loaves: Completely thaw in the refrigerator. Place loaves in a greased baking dish. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until heated through, or cover and microwave on high for 1 minute or until heated through. Yield: 1-1/2 dozen.

 

[DISNEYNV]

My DS is sixteen months and we give him what we are eating for dinner as long as its not seafood. Tonight was Corned Beef and mashed potatoes. He ate some and liked it, but he is not a fan of meats besides chicken and white fish He likes rice, pasta, mashed potato, fruit of ALL kinds, avacado (loves it), soups (skim out most of the broth and cool with an ice cube), cheese and Sesame Street crackers with diced turkey, hot dogs (yeah, I know), chicken nuggets and fries (sweet potato fries are yummy), Annies Bunny Cookies, different oatmeals and cold Cereal (Rice Krispies, Cheerios, in a bowl with milk and without, diced peaches (Delmonte has 100 percent juice only in a can), yogurt and cottage cheese, and on occassion cheese curls. I havent tried P and B yet, but he will probably like it when I do. He does not like the gerber graduates at all though and they are pretty gross...I tried it.

 

[sisaaliyah]

I've thought that to myself too I'm not a short order cook, but when you're dealing with my son who has a medical issue and needs to eat you'll feed him anything to get something in him.

A thought on the eggs for you...I buy DS frozen scrambled egg patties at Wal-Mart. You just nuke it for 1 minute and then I salt and pepper it and cut it up and he eats it. I don't like eggs either so this is what works for me. They also sell frozen scrambled egg patties with cheese.

Other stuff DS eats...crispy crowns, smiles, frozen sausage patties, chicken fries, string cheese, mac'ncheese, gogurt, yogurt smoothie drinks, mandarin oranges, applesauce, blueberry waffles, mini pancakes, spaghetti, fruit snacks, fruit roll-ups, popcorn, chips. Popcorn and chips may not be so good for him, but at least he's eating something. Of course, 19 mo. is probably to young for popcorn and chips too. He used to love green beans too, and peas and carrots, but at 3.5 he won't eat vegetables anymore. How about mashed potatoes? Maybe see if she likes ranch too. We've found that DS likes to dip potato wedges in ranch.

Thanks to the PP for the recipe. I would LOVE it, but not only would my DS not eat it...my DH wouldn't either.

 

[pjzkent]

Edamame that has been shelled was a big hit at my house, and still is (youngest is 5 now). Lots of Grilled Cheese sandwiches, cantelope, cut up strawberries, blueberries (already bite sized---bonus!), honeydew melon. My kids also like lunch meat (watch the sodium content though). Cubes of cheese can be finger friendly.

I definitely agree with OP that toddlers are weird and have some odd food aversions, and are finicky. Just keep offering the things you eat.

 

[holden]

Not sure if this was mentioned, but I always try to have something that the kids like at dinner. For example, last night we had pork. DD6 is not a fan, so she just ate the broccoli and rice. We were surprised to find out that the baby loves pork!

 

[brymolmom]

I've thought that to myself too I'm not a short order cook, but when you're dealing with my son who has a medical issue and needs to eat you'll feed him anything to get something in him.

Thanks to the PP for the recipe. I would LOVE it, but not only would my DS not eat it...my DH wouldn't either.

I completely agree and it is worth mentioning that if your child does have medical issues and your doctor is on board and telling you to follow the 'he/she needs to eat whatever he/she will' theory, then you should follow the doctor's advice no matter what (unless, of course, you don't agree with the advice -then get a 2nd opinion).

I have found though that many parents of kids worry about their kids not eating enough and will follow that rule even if the doctor really didn't specify it as part of the plan. My nephew has medical issues and my bro and sil were giving him whatever he would eat (not necessarily with doctor's advice) and now a couple years later he has huge eating issues. They were just doing it because they were worried, not because the doctor thought it was best. And it definitely wasn't for the best - my poor nephew has huge issues to overcome at this point. So definitely work with your child's doctor if you have concerns.