Don't be fooled; my pantry and refrigerator are also full of peanut butter, hot dogs, and Goldfish crackers. And, oh, so much pasta. But here are four healthy, possibly-offbeat-for-parents-of-young-children ingredients I rely on to feed my toddler, plus one I'm almost too embarrassed to share.
Pantry "essentials" implies that you buy these things over and over again, and anyone with a toddler knows that what she loves one day she hates the next. It's hard to have stand-bys. But all of the following are things you eat, too, so you won't be left with something weird when your two-year-old stonewalls.
Also, ahem, coffee is the essential to end all essentials if you have a toddler. That goes without saying, right?
• 1. Rancho Gordo beans. I make the effort to order these beans from California because their flavor is out of this world (we pant about them enough around here, but really...so superior to canned beans). They are worth every penny, they serve us as a main dish for several meals, and when I pile them on top of ingredients 2 and 4, my child eats seconds and thirds almost every time.
• 2. Frozen collard greens (or broccoli or spinach). I prefer cooking fresh collard greens any day of the week, but frozen vegetables are so key in a pinch. Ones that are already chopped? Even better. I throw these into soups or mix them into rice.
• 3. Frozen salmon or tilapia filets. Not every toddler will gobble up fish, I know. Mine does (and yet shuns chicken!), but because it's not great left over and she's unpredictable, I don't want to spend a ton of money on it. I buy individually frozen filets from Whole Foods that are pretty reasonable, or I'll go for frozen fish "burgers," which are even cheaper. They thaw in no time on the counter, and then I simply sauté in a little butter.
• 4. Rice. Rice! So innovative! But seriously, I could write an entire post on how to quickly make rice into a full meal for a kid. I often add chopped greens to the pot while it's cooking, then top the mixture with beans. Or mix rice with finely chopped broccoli and a spoonful of ricotta. It's also a godsend for upset tummies.
• 5. Frozen bagels. Ok, I live in New York, with the best fresh bagels in the world a short walk away, so this is painful to admit. But I love finding a sleeve of commercial bagels in my freezer. Why? Toddler logic. A bagel is more exciting than bread. I toast it and slather it with cream cheese or peanut butter for breakfast (microwave for a few seconds first), make it into pizza for lunch or dinner, and toast it for dunking into soup. When I remember, I freeze the good ones from the store down the street.
Parents: What are your staples for feeding young children?
Related: Eating Light: Frozen Vegetables are Your Friends
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Wow, Elizabeth. I think The Kitchn should have you do a weekly-ish feature re: raising a healthy eater. I'm struggling and your recent posts have given me hope and food ideas. Keep it up!
i'm with you on the beans and the rice. my kid loooooves pasta as well and will usually eat anything with it - and she loves putting the parmesan cheese on herself. other things that we love: tofu hotdogs, frozen peas, precooked chicken sausage (usually kept in the freezer), cheese (lots of cheese!), bananas, yogurt and those squeezey pouches by plum organics (i order them online).
My 17 month old loves hummus, avocadoes, cheese, and any kind of pasta. Eggs are usually a hit, and sometimes fish or chicken.
I'm always looking for more ideas though so keep the toddler-food posts coming!
Yes on the beans! My daughter loves them too: refried, chickpeas, black-you name it.
OK, I keep hearing so many great things about Rancho Gordos ... you've convinced me to fork over the cash for shipping. I second the avocados -- we spend 12 bucks a week on them and they're worth every penny. My 3 and 1-year-olds eat them almost every day with buttered toast. We make lots of cornmeal-crusted fish tacos with mahi mahi or cod, and serve them "deconstructed." Our other staples: Babybel cheeses (kids love to unwrap!), Trader Joe's pomegranate seeds, homemade granola, Greek yogurt w/ a tiny drizzle of honey.
I second the hummus. My son eats more of it than I do. Frozen peas and pick-upable vegetables are staples, as well as frozen tortellini. He devours raisins and rice cakes, too.
Homemade blue cheese dressing for dipping veggies (and tart apples!) in. Hummus, frozen veggies or veggie burgers, cherry tomatoes, and dried fruit... esp. mango. Frozen berries and plain yogurt... we get a smoothie a day 'round here... which is a great way to throw some greens in when they aren't looking. Usually, I throw in some cocoa and vanilla if it is too "greeny" and they never notice... not even my more discerning big kids (10 and 14)... while the 2 and 5 yo chug a lug as long as it is cold and I call it a smoothie.
Beans are great - inexpensive, nutritious and easy for little ones to chew. My kids also love edamame. I always have a bag of it in my freezer.
Here's one more: Couscous! Pasta of course, gnocchi and rice. And eggs (boiled, fried or in pancakes). Soy sauce. Oatmeal or semolina for porridge, baked beans and bacon. Potatoes. Sausages. Tomatoes and cucumbers for a quick salad.
edamame, bulgur, snap peas to dip in hummus and any kind of ravioli! bean burritos are also an easy freezer to microwave lunch.
When my daughter was a baby/toddler she LIVED ON HUMMUS! So much so that she smelled like garlic when she slept!
Also, speaking of rice, I used to make her Cheesy Rice Balls, which she loved: take a bit of Laughing Cow soft cheese, and roll it in some warmed up fried rice. That's it! She LOOOOOVED those things....I have to say, they are strangely tasty!
Ummm, I'ma need you to share the recipe for the beans featured at the top of this post. Those look DELICIOUS!!!!!
Sadly, my kids only gobble up ungodly expensive fish. Cheap fish they just stare out.
A good tip: Whole Foods private label whole wheat elbow macarroni goes into a ton of different dishes. Much more kid friendly in texture and taste than other WW options.
Beans and rice are also a staple for my toddler... if I wrap it in a tortilla... he'll eat it! And I'll third the hummus option. :)
Naan, haven't met a kid yet who didn't love hot naan slathered with some butter. I would also recommend frozen peas because they make great finger food snacks as is and you can also blitz them to make a quick soup (with hot broth, a little onion and some mozzarella), call it green slime soup, and watch kids giggle as they slurp it up.
Mine loves what we call "fruit bars," the berry-filled cereal bars. I think she would live off of them. She also loves peanut butter and honey mixed together in a bowl. ??!! Lasagna is also a huge hit and probably the only "real" food she'll ask for seconds of.
Since my kids can't have beans or grains 1, 4, and 5 are out, but avocados are a must and worth the money.
Another thing I keep around that I picked up from my sister in law is, 100% pumpkin in the can. It is just mashed cooked pumpkin. You can find it organic and stuff. If you use the large square silicone ice trays you can freeze individual sized portions. They are great mixed with some full fat yogurt or just straight. I love it to as an alternative to oatmeal or other cereals for breakfast. Great with a little Penzey's apple pie spice.mmm.
My son is 14 years old and still quite an adventurous eater, but these were the staples when he was a toddler:
1) kidney beans
2) cubed beets
3) cubed tofu
4) apples
5) spinach
6) chicken (not nuggets)
7) pasta (of course)
8) whitefish salad, which he thought was tuna for most of his life.
My 18 month old eats a lot of stuff even my husband won't eat- I think it's the colour- he loves sweet and sour red cabbage (he had that for morning snack the other day), peas, black beans, sweet potato.
Although he is not too picky once he gets going, getting him to eat the first bite or two is a challenge sometimes. I have found that if I give him a few bites of food somewhere other than his high chair i.e. on the floor, sitting (supervised!) on the counter, he will eat the rest in his chair.
I love the term "deconstructed" when referring to toddler food - SO TRUE! I am jealous of all of you whose kiddos are knocking back the beans. We make a lot of them in our home and my son ate them with gusto until a month ago. That is the toddler rule though - one day yay, one day nay. At 20 months he has recently returned to devouring every veggie we put in front of him so it is a trade off with the beans for now. At least he loves eggs for the moment.
I forgot to add squash to the list of current favourites. Sliced squash (acorn, butternut, etc), brushed with oil and sprinkled with cinnamon. She loves it and so do I : )
my daughter will currently eat almost anything if it's dipped in something else. So ranch dressing and sour cream and staples around here!
My daughter is just over a year and a half and loves to eat!
Beans are a staple at our house, as well as patties of any sort - meat, veggie, quinoa toddler food recipes here
Kate
My #1 go-to food item when my son was a toddler -- sweet potatoes. I'd just microwave one up fast, spoon greek yogurt on top, and/or sprinkle it with a little cinnamon. Easy-peasy, feed the kid quick, healthy food.
We share a lot of those staples listed above, except my son won't eat beans just plain- they have to be well mixed into a dish. Whole wheat tortillas are an absolute essential around our place!
Quesadillas are a favourite food with fillings of beans, leftover chicken, leftover shredded port, apple and cheddar, or anything we have kicking around that needs to be eaten.Tortiallas can also be cut and baked and used as chips for quacamole. Or smeared with cream cheese and cut in strips to eat as a quick snack, or used to make roll-up sandwiches. I posted my son's current favorite roll-up here: http://munchkinfood.blogspot.com/2012/02/turkey-harvarti-pinwheels-with-basil.html
I buy a pakage of tortillas literally EVERY week.
Just happened to browse your post...if you're looking for some recipe ideas for you toddler I have a bunch on my blog, bitesforbabies.com
I would definitely add homemade vegetable broth as you can add it into any meal when preheating after defrosting!
http://www.bitesforbabies.com/recipes/basic-vegetable-broth/
These aren't all pantry items, but I'll add to it:
-no salt added cottage cheese - my 19 mo. old destroys cottage cheese... can also be added into pasta for protein and calcium. However regular cottage cheese is pretty salty for their little bodies so I recommend the no salt added, if you can find it.
-frozen blueberries. I generally run low on fresh fruit first and then make it to the grocery store a day or two later. The girl loves defrosted blueberries almost as much as fresh, and they defrost in 10-15 min. just at room temp.
-polenta - she loves the stuff as much as rice.
-tofu - not exactly a pantry item but it keeps for a long time unopened in the fridge. She loves it raw, straight from the package.
-olives - a little salty but at least it's developing her palate?
My toddler lives off frozen peas!