Hi everyone! I'm Jazz, the Content & Community Manager at Team Tots, and mama to my 20-month-old daughter, Bluebelle. Do you find that what you serve up for meal and snack times can become a little repetitive? I certainly do. And whilst I think it's SO helpful to have fail-safe options to make mealtimes easy, I love seeing what other parents feed their little ones, as if more often than not gives me some fresh foodie inspiration.
So, I thought I'd share my list of go-to meals and snacks with you, so scroll on and (hopefully) be inspired!
Easy lunch and snacks I serve to my toddler...
My daughter's lunch and snack plates tend to be quite similar - this is inspired by Lucy, our Children's Dietitian, who suggests that treating snacks as mini-meals with plenty of variety and balance can be beneficial.
So typically for lunch, I'd usually serve up a 'picky plate' with 3-6 small portions of the below (or simply leftovers from a previous dinner!), and for a snack It would be a much smaller plate with 2-3 options available:
- Greek yoghurt sprinkled with milled flaxseeds and peanut butter
- A boiled egg (can't beat a classic!) or scrambled egg
- Wholemeal toast with peanut butter or cream cheese
- Fresh fruit - blueberries, banana, grapes, raspberries, mango, and/or kiwi
- Homemade mini banana pancakes
- Avocado slices with a squeeze of lemon
- Leftover cooked chicken or tuna mayo
- Baby plum tomatoes
- Grated or sliced cheddar cheese
- Ham sandwich with mayo or cream cheese
- Cheese crackers or pepper slices with hummus
- Our Pots for Tots Mini Apple Pancakes
- A small amount of crisps - my daughter seems to love the sweet chilli variety!
Let's talk dinner!
Usually, Bluebelle eats the same dinners as us as a family, but she certainly has her favourites which I usually try to batch cook! Plus, there are days when I prioritise cooking her meal and I'll eat a small portion with her at the table, and then have my main portion once she has gone to bed - this usually happens on days when my partner is working late so our main meal will be later, or simply because we want to have a takeaway that evening instead!
My go-to dinners for my toddler...
- Pasta and meatballs in my homemade sauce (finely diced red peppers, onion, mushrooms, garlic, with pasatta, mixed herbs, and sweet chilli sauce)
- Chickpea and sweet potato curry with rice
- Creamy salmon pasta with green peas
- Jacket potato / sweet potato with cream cheese, baked beans and grated cheddar
- Caribbean chicken curry with rice and plantain
- Roast chicken, homemade wedges, tender stem broccoli and corn on the cob (basically my version of Nando's!)
- Bangers and mash with baked beans
- Mac and cheese with my homemade butternut squash sauce
- Spaghetti bolognese, garlic bread and grated cheddar
With every meal, I try to serve up additional vegetables such as green peas (my go-to as they are so easy to cook from frozen), sweetcorn (whether canned or corn on the cob), broccoli, chopped tomatoes, or avocado.
Sometimes I'll serve her something sweet alongside her main meal, such greek yoghurt with fruit, or she will have this after her meal - she loves frozen yoghurt lollies at the moment! One rule I follow is to still offer her the 'dessert' even if she hasn't finished her main meal, as 9 times out of 10 she will then go on to eat more of her main meal once it's presented to her again!
My daughter's favourite Pots for Tots meals...
And of course, this list wouldn't be complete without sharing some of my favourite Pots for Tots meals - after all, I always have a stash in the freezer for the times I don't have time to cook a meal from scratch. Here are the meals I order time and time again:
- Pasta Bolognese
- Cottage Pie
- Chicken and Leek Pie
- Simple Chicken Korma
- Chilli con Carne
And if you're wondering about breakfast!
It tends to be quite similar for Bluebelle in our household - she always starts the say with a bowl of porridge, with additional milled flaxseeds mixed in, and whole milk. I then mix up the flavours and toppings, so some days it might be packed with blueberries and raspberries, and on other days I add some cinnamon to the porridge, and top with banana and peanut butter.
Well there you have it, I hope you find this list of toddler meal and snack inspiration helpful. Make sure to follow me on Instagram as I often share what I've feeding Bluebelle on my Instagram Stories - see you there!
Love, Jazz x