I have never been more lost than when Connor moved past baby foods and into the world of adult foods. I am not an amazing cook and my experience with feeding toddlers is limited. Usually if I am dining with little people present it seems all the ever eat is mac and cheese. Not that I have anything against mac and cheese its tasty and easy to make but seriously a child cannot survive just on mac and cheese right?
My first few weeks attempting to feed Connor an real meal three times a day was awkward to say the least. I can easily get his portions right and make sure he gets enough of his basic food groups but growing up as a picky eater myself my challenge has always been introducing enough into his diet that he does not end up stuck eating just a handful of things like his father and I both were guilty of... my first attempts were sad to say the least. I'm not sure exactly how many variations you can make with pasta with random vegetables but I am fairly sure I have made them all.
I came across the The Toddler Cafe while looking for a cookbook that would offer me some simple and more "exotic" menu options to offer Connor that consisted of something other than just frozen veggies and ready made dishes. The recipe that really caught my attention was the Pumpkin Pockets. They are basically large pumpkin and cream cheese raviolis, but what excited me is Connor was obsessed with pumpkin in baby food form and I have been desperately looking for something healthy to add to his diet that would include his beloved pumpkin other than the typical pumpkin deserts.
The other recipes that we have tried so far and loved were the Pucker-up Psghetti and the Waffle Grilled Cheese. Pucker-up Psghetti is the PERFECT recipe for the younger set who may not be good yet at eating by themselves. Connor LOVES spaghetti but I hate the clean up. Pucker-up Psghetti does not include any pasta sauce so there is nothing to stain and it has a slight zing to it that keeps Connor interested. Of all the recipes though the Waffle Grilled Cheese we use on a regular basis. Grilled Cheese has always been a big family favorite around here but I hate the cleanup. We had an old waffle iron that has not seen the light of day in years and now it has a regular job as a grilled cheese maker. Connor loves the texture on the sandwiches too!
The Toddler Cafe is a great resource for experienced and new moms who are looking for a new way to mix up their families dinnertime habits. The recipes are fun and simple and so far nothing has taken us more than 20 minutes to prepare start to finish. All of the recipes are simple enough that a preschooler could help with most if not all of the prep work as well! I'm not expert chef and so far its been super simple and there are tons of great pictures to keep you motivated. For those of us with picky eaters, there are tips with each recipe as well that will help you convince your kids to eat them as well!
Our next recipe we are looking to tackle will be the Squashed Potato Pancakes... they look delicious and I just bought the squash today!
The Toddler Cafe is available through Chronicle Books as well as on Amazon!
Check out Jennifer's blog about The Toddler Cafe too and The Toddler Cafe website!
1 Comment:
You are not alone!!! We've been reduced to hotdogs and PB&J... *SIGH*
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