Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Pre-made Meals for Little Ones



I've been in the kitchen all morning. I've decided to start pre-making all of Kaiden's food. There are days when I don't want Kaiden eating the same thing we are.  Surprisingly enough, I had a hard time finding unique meal ideas for little ones. At this point, most parents feed their kids pizza and mac and cheese but I don't want his taste buds to start hating healthy foods just yet. So I've compiled a list of different foods you can pre-make for your child.

Breakfast

Pretty much any pureed fruit will do:
  • apples
  • bananas
  • berries
  • pears
  • plums

add extra topping:
  • baby yogurt
  • peanut butter
  • toast strips
  • oatmeal
  • puffs/cheerios

Lunch/Dinner

Your base is some sort of mashed vegetable:
  • sweet potatoes
  • red potatoes
  • squash
  • spaghetti squash
  • zucchini
  • avocado

add a soft vegetable/bean:
  • corn
  • carrots
  • peas
  • tomato
  • green beans
  • black beans
  • tofu

add meat:
  • ground turkey
  • ground chicken
  • sliced chicken
  • turkey hot-dog slices

add grains:
  • little pieces of toast
  • brown rice
  • white rice
  • orzo pasta
  • rice cereal

add sauce/seasoning/topping:
  • spaghetti sauce
  • garlic powder
  • cheese slices
Combo Ideas:
Taco - avacado, chicken, cheese, tomatoes
Spaghetti - spaghetti sauce, pasta, ground chicken, tofu
Mac + Cheese - pasta, cheese, chicken
Asian Combo - white rice, peas, chicken
Thanksgiving - sweet potatoes, diced turkey, carrots, peas
Apple-Cinammon Oatmeal - applesauce, cinnanmon, oatmeal

Some tips...
  1. A food processor will speed up the mixing and mashing.
  2. The dollar store and Ikea both sell tiny containers that are perfect for storing food.
  3. You will have a TON of leftovers so I suggest freezing your extras in the tiny containers and then you can just pop them in the microwave when you are ready.
  4. Try purchasing frozen vegetables as they give the most bang for your buck.
  5. Don't be afraid to mix and match veggies with different bases, etc. Your kid really won't know the difference if he ends up eating similar things anyways.



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