Tried & True Toddler Recipes!

Last week my friend Natalie and her son Max hosted a fun and delicious recipe swap playdate! Each mom brought a tried and true recipe their toddler loves and enough food for each mom and child to sample it! I've found some good recipe ideas via Pinterest, but the great thing about this was that you know this is something at least one toddler in that room loves to eat, and it's a recipe someone you know has already tried and trusts!

I thought I'd write them all out here for you (and for me!) because I'm terrible at keeping up with paper recipes. Some of these Liam wouldn't eat (he doesn't like any kind of pizza - whaaaat?), but your child might like them and I'm hoping some of his tastes will change in time. So here ya go! 

*I wrote these out exactly as I got them. Some are recipes from the internet and some are made up so I do not have sources.* 

Peach Parfait

Mix 1 cup fresh sliced peaches, 1 1/2 cups of milk, and 1/8 teaspoon almond extract into a blender until smooth. Mash 1 cup raspberries with a fork. Layer milk mixture and raspberries. Two servings of fruit!

Butterfly Bites

Spread 8 pepperidge farm butterfly crackers with 4 teaspoons red-pepper (or any flavor) hummus. Arrange 2 teaspoons raisins or craisins on top. Great toddler activity too!

Pastina with Cheese

Barilla Pastina or any tiny pasta, boil and drain. Add butter to moisten and a slice or two of cheese.

Triple Hitter Muffins (Toddler Muffins) 
and Mommy Muffins - these things were delicious!

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup applesauce

1 cup grated carrot

1 cup grated zucchini

1 cup all purpose whole wheat flour

3/4 cup all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat over to 400*

In a large bowl, whisk together oil and sugar. Beat in egg, then applesauce. Stir in carrots and zucchini. 

In another large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

Fold dry ingredients into wet, until just mixed. Grease muffin tray and fill cups to the very top. Bake 18-20 minutes.

Pancake Bites

1. Use your favorite pancake mix

2. Pour batter into muffin tins

3. Add fruit, nuts, bacon, chocolate chips, etc ( just about anything!)

4. Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes

5. Enjoy plain or dip in syrup!

Fruit Muffin Pancakes

1 package muffin mix (any flavor - this recipe used banana nut)
1 cup pancake mix
1 egg
1 cup milk
3 old bananas

Mix ingredients and cook on griddle as regular pancakes. Don't be afraid to use pureed fruits and/or veggies. Or add one of those mixed fruit/veggies pouches into the mix! The sky is the limit and they think they are just eating pancakes.

Cauliflower Pizza Bites

1 cup grated cauliflower
1 egg
 3/4 cup mozzarella 1/2 cup for crust, 1/4 cup for topping
1 tbsp italian seasoning
1/4 cup pasta sauce
Pizza toppings of your choice

Preheat oven to 450* and spray muffin tin with non-stick spray. Heat grated cauliflower in microwave for 4 minutes. Let it cool then add egg, cheese, and italian seasoning. Divide evenly among muffin tins and bake for 10 minutes until crusts are puffy and slightly brown. Remove from over and turn on broiler. While the broiler is heating up, top the muffins with sauce, cheese, and toppings. Put under the broiler until cheese is bubbly.

And MINE!

Black Bean Burrito

1 whole wheat tortilla
3 tbsp refried black beans
2 tbsp cream cheese (softened to spread)
1/4 avocado sliced or smashed with a fork.

(I made up these measurements as I typed this up, so you can just spoon the filling in however you desire. Liam loves them so I fill these suckers up!)

Heat tortilla briefly in the microwave until just warm. Spread layer of cream cheese on tortilla. Then add a layer of warm black beans. (Sometimes I heat the tortilla and black beans separately and sometimes I just heat the entire thing at this point. Especially if I forgot to let the cream cheese sit out.) Finally, top with sliced avocado or a layer of smashed avocado. Roll up and enjoy! 

I didn't get any pictures from the playdate, but I did take these before we left. I was slicing the burritos into bite size pieces and giving Liam the ends, but it wasn't enough and he demanded his own full size burrito!

Liam loves tortillas and will eat just about anything in burrito or quesadilla form. I love this about him because I can put anything inside and he's guaranteed to at least take one bite!

Some of his other favorite fillings are...

Mexican burritos - taco meat, sour cream, and cheese
Cheese quesadillas - which could totally be filled with spinach or shredded chicken as well!
Hummus and provolone - I use a tortilla or flat pita bread for this, put hummus and cheese one side only, fold it over flat, and grill it on the panini maker. It ends up looking like a quesadilla once you cut it into triangles.
Cream cheese and salsa - just a fun snack and you can easily add meat or veggies in there too!

Bon appetite little ones!