Healthy Meal Ideas for Picky Eaters

My fifteen month old twins have always been great eaters. My husband and I really try to limit our consumption of processed foods and I’m a vegetarian, so they’d become accustomed to a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins. They’d never been particularly picky about what they ate…that is until about a month and half ago.

All of a sudden, the foods they loved were met with rejection. Nothing (well, nothing healthy anyway) made it passed their lips. My husband’s tactic: just feed them something! Anything! If they would only eat crackers for dinner, then crackers is what they would get. While that was fine with me for a night or two, but I knew we needed to come up with some tasty and healthy meals that these kids would actually eat.

Here are a few toddler approved meals that we’ve discovered. Our boys will not only eat these healthy meals, they love them! Hope you enjoy!

While it may sound counterintuitive to think that kids can love a meal involving spinach, these frittatas are some of my boys’ favorite. Even better? They are a snap to prepare.

Simply sauté ¼” cubed potatoes (you can use oreida potato o’brien mix if you want) in a large pan and then add spinach and cook until wilted. Add eggs and shredded cheese and cook until done around the edges. Finish under the broiler.

Homemade garden burgers are a lot less intimating than they sound, and besides being loaded with healthy vegetables, they also keep well in the freezer. They’re easy to pop into the microwave for a quick meal. I found a great black bean burger recipe that I simply top with a slice of cheddar cheese.

My twins are not big meat eaters, but they love these homemade chicken nuggets. I use this recipe, courtesy of 100daysofrealfood.com, which includes homemade whole wheat bread crumbs.

They boys like to help make their own “pizzas” using whole wheat pitas. This meal is usually built from left-overs: left over spaghetti sauce as pizza sauce, and left over chicken shredded up as a topping. We pop these in the oven until the cheese is melted and it’s a tasty dish!

Not much explanation is needed here: we use whole wheat tortillas and stuff them with black beans and of course cheese. Homemade guacamole is the perfect topping. If I have the time, I love to make homemade tortillas.

What healthy meals do you prepare for your toddlers? I’m always looking for more ideas; leave your suggestions in the comments section! Thanks!