Mealtime Tricks for Toddlers

We surveyed our team for their mealtime tricks  for toddlers, babies and preschoolers to make life easier.  Enjoy!

• Make applesauce or mashed butternut squash and freeze it in ice cube trays.  So easy to store and defrost when you need it if you are starting solids.
• Color coordinated cups are great for safeguarding against germs, especially during flu season!
• Create a basket of quiet toys/books for older child(ren) to play with while you are nursing.  Puzzle books, etch-a-sketches, playdoh, and small games all work. It’ great to have something to do with older children while feeding your baby.
• Put the “ears” up on juice boxes to avoid the grab-and-squirt.
• If you make instant oatmeal in the morning, microwave it, then toss in a handful of frozen berries and stir – it will be the perfect temperature for kiddos by the time you get it to the table.
• When eating a cupcake, break off the cake bottom, flip it over and put on the top.Then, you can eat it like a sandwich and it is much less messy and easier to eat.
• Picky eaters might enjoy “build-your-own” meals, including tacos, pasta, pizza, oatmeal, yogurt parfait, baked potato, smoothies, and more.
• Dips make everything better and more fun to eat for kids, and adults, too. Let your child dip his food in his favorite dip : ketchup, ranch, yogurt, almond butter, etc.
• When kids start school they are often too overwhelmed by all the socialization to sit and eat. If you are supposed to send a snack to school, try making a fruit and yogurt (protein packed!) smoothie in an insulated pop-up straw thermos cup. They can drink their nutrition quickly while still being able to be chatty social butterflies at lunch and stack times.
• Breakfast burritos, overnight oats, yogurt parfaits and egg muffins are all super-easy, protein-packed and healthy options you came pre-make in batches and store for the rest of the week.
• Try cooking with your kids so they get excited to eat what they made.