5 Quick Toddler Lunches for Home

What are Good Meals for Toddlers?

I am a firm believer in offering a variety of food options right out the gate with kids. Don’t buy into the whole “kid foods” idea and you are less likely to end up with a picky eater who only eats chicken nuggets and crackers.

Start them early! Give them all sorts of food once they begin solids, at one my little fella would eat sardine sandwiches without even making a funny face. If you don’t give them prepacked or what many consider “typical” kid food then they won’t know any different.

They’ll eat whatever mom and dad eats, so lead by example and eat heaps of fruits and veggies in front of them. Kids like to do what mom and dad do, this applies to food as well.

Pasta & Steamed Veggies

I like to keep it simple with lunch noodles, pasta with some butter & salt or sprinkle of olive oil & parmesan. Not super messy, and toddlers gobble it up!

1. In small pot make 1 cup pasta (shells, spirals, whatever you have)
   
2. Get pots for steaming and Add 1 cup veggies
   1. Veggie Ideas
      1. Carrot sticks
      2. Broccoli
      3. Zucchini sticks
         
3. Drain Pasta
   
4. Add Topping of Choice
   1. Dab of Butter & Pinch of Salt
   2. Lite drizzle of olive oil & pinch of parmesean
      
5. Add Steamed Veggies to the Side
   
6. Make sure it’s cool enough to eat before Serving.

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Peanut Butter Sandwich & Fruit/Veg

Simple, and takes 5 minutes to make!

1. Make a peanut butter Sandwich (or any nut butter, or creamed honey if nut allergy present)
   
2. Cut into triangles or squares – This is just to make it easier for their small hands to hold.
   
3. Add fruit/veggies on the side, here are some ideas
   1. Melon
   2. Apple Slices
   3. Orange Slices
   4. Kiwi Slices
   5. Cucumber sticks
   6. Carrot Sticks

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Mashed Root Veggies & Broccoli

This is great for practicing spoon skills without spilling as easily as other foods!

1. Cut Carrots and Parsnips into 1cm slices
   
2. Add to bottom of Steamer and begin boiling
   
3. Cut broccoli into small florets
   
4. Add broccoli into steamer section
   1. Place on top of boiling veggies if that’s how your pots work or steam separately.
      
5. Use fork after 8 minutes to to see if root veggies are soft
   
6. Once soft strain carrots & parsnips and use stick blender to mash
   
7. Add a dab of butter to mash for flavor
   
8. Add steamed broccoli to side
   
9. Serve once cool enough to eat

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Banana Piklet Brunch

Sooo easy, I use this as a go-to often when I have no inspiration to cook lunch.

1. Add 2 eggs and 1 Banana to Medium measuring jug
   
2. Mash and stir up until full combined and looking like a mildly clumpy liquid
   
3. Spray non-stick oil on small fry pan and heat it to medium
   
4. Pour liquid in in small circles like you would pancakes, and cook them like pancakes
   
5. Flip them over after they seem firm enough to flip (like a pancake)
   
6. Add fruit to the side such as
   1. Strawberries
   2. Blueberries
   3. Yogurt too if you’d like

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Cheese Quesadilla w/ Avo

For those super short on time, you can’t get any faster than this for a toddler lunch.

1. Place Shredded Cheese on Tortilla
   
2. Microwave for 30 – 45 sec
   
3. Fold in half like taco, Cut into 3 or 4 slices – easier for them to hold when younger toddler.
   
4. With 1/2 an Avocado, Cut into Slices add to the side
   
5. Optional: Add Mild Salsa for kids to dip in to.

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How to Serve Toddler Lunches?

For all of the lunches below I use a plain small white plate and dish up everything on that plate. I then give my one year old a small shot glass to drink milk or water from to practice using a cup. He’s used this cup since he was 6 months old.

Use what you have, just focus on making sure you have things that are child sized so that it makes it more accessible for them to use. This can make learning to drink from a cup much easier, and using silverware much easier. Munchkin has a great full toddler dining set that comes in 4 colors that is great to use.

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Toddler Lunch Tips

Remember to KISS, Keep It Simple Silly! The easier it is, the more likely you are able to do it without getting mom overwhelm.

Some days you will feel willing to cook and actually use the stove, and other days you will want something you can just whip together straight from the fridge/pantry.

So keep it simple, Dinner is hard enough some days to have to put together so don’t make lunch a big ordeal. Toddlers can be pretty easy, you give them two to three options on their plate to munch on and they will usually eat enough.

Interested in a weekly meal plan for toddler lunches? Ciara from my fussy eater has a great week of lunches put together if you need some more inspiration!

Pin it for later!

Healthy Toddler Lunches for Home