Toddlers get bored easily with the same food all the time. So do adults. Imagine if you had to eat chicken nuggets and fries for dinner every day. You’d get tired of it pretty fast, too.
Help your toddler’s day start off with a hearty breakfast. One way to do this is to create fun ways to prepare eggs like these:
- Scramble an egg and sprinkle grated cheese on top
- Bake in a quiche
- Make an Egg-in-the-Hole – See the perfect recipe at pepperbowl.com.
- Make a scrambled egg and cheese sandwich, mayo on bread, sandwich cut into triangles
- Cook an omelet and add vegetables that your child will eat.
Food that looks attractive on a plate is inviting to all of us. If it looks unattractive, don’t be surprised if it’s snubbed. The nice thing about preparing meals for toddlers is that you can find cute plates with three sections. Serve two foods that your little one currently likes. Introduce a new food (or one not tried in awhile) in the third section.
My 3-year-old granddaughter used to love eggs. Then she went through a stage of never eating them. I tried eggs in a variety of ways. She didn’t like scrambled anymore. I tried a fried egg and cut it in small pieces. She ate a couple of egg white pieces but decided she didn’t like them after all. One way she liked above all other things with eggs, without a doubt, was French toast (Hey, it counts! It’s got egg in it.) She LOVES it. At first, she called it her “French fried toasties”.
Twice, I asked my grand-toddler if she would like an egg sandwich for breakfast. “Yes,” she said. The last time I made one for her I cut it in triangles for her and cut mine in half and placed some blueberries on our plates (she went through a small carton of blueberries almost by herself in less than 24 hours). It was a breakfast filled with great nutrients: protein, Vitamin A, calcium, iron, antioxidants, and according to research, helped my grand-toddler’s vision, acuity, and brain development.
I saved two little triangles for that egg and blueberry breakfast and put them on my plate, thinking that perhaps she would want mine. It worked! She wanted one from my plate. The outcome was that she ate, at least, one-half to three-fourths of a sandwich.
Trying to get a toddler to eat nutritional food is a challenge. My daughter remembers liking salad because I always ate salad and she wanted what was on my plate. That was years ago, and I only recall that she loved salads.
Fruit is an excellent choice, and it can be served with any meal or as a snack. It’s good to keep fruit on hand and to try a new one periodically. Keep fruit on the kitchen counter within view.
Try varieties of egg recipes. Make the plate of food look like art when you place it in front of your toddler – and fill up a section with scrumptious-looking fruit.
Now, go stock up on eggs and fruit – two foods edible any time of the day.
We used to make hole in ones with our little ones. Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday. Hope you have a great week and come back to see us real soon!
Miz Helen
My favorite as a young chil was toast soldiers. I loved dipping the toast into the runny yolk.