50+ Toddler Food Ideas

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Figuring out how to feed the demanding and picky little ones in our lives can be tricky, especially when they choose to start biting and growing teeth and stop sleeping about 17 months in…not that I’m speaking from experience or anything. Ahem.

Regardless, they still have to eat and we still have to feed them. Half the battle is remembering what your third child even likes/coming up with things for them to eat and the other half is preparing. I’ve compiled a nice long list of food items that I have consistently fed my little guy with much success. I’ve also included a few of his favorite dinners (with links to the recipes!) that I’ve made in the past. Most of the time though, I am giving him slices of this, or pieces of that and pulling a meal together based on food groups, which is why the first section of this article is just that. You’ll notice the picture above is one of those meals: crackers, hummus, fruits, veggies. Not rocket science and really simple to do.

Hopefully this will give you new ideas or a working list that you can use to create your grocery lists or the next little meal for your little monsters. Happy Saturday, friends!

Grains

• mini Premium Plus Crackers (just found these recently…I am in love)
• goldfish crackers
• small rice cakes
• Pasta + a little butter and parmesan cheese or some red sauce
• Brown rice (I usually never ever ever make rice because it ends up EVERYWHERE and is hard to clean. Proceed with caution.)
• silver dollar pancakes (just a fancy way for saying mini pancakes)
• Plain oatmeal
• cereal with very little sugar (I’m talkin’ about you, cheerios)
• whole wheat toast with a little butter or peanut butter
• pretzel sticks (good for dipping into things)
• healthy muffins (like this recipe or this recipe)

Dairy

• Whole Milk
• Unsweetened Almond milk (don’t be a hater–yes I know this isn’t technically dairy, but it has double that calcium that regular milk does sooooooo….)
• Yogurt Tubes (I like to freeze these, then cut them in half as needed and give my little one half)
• Greek yogurt cups
• Cheese cubes/sticks
• Cottage Cheese

Fruits and Veggies

• clementine segments
• halved grapes
• sliced strawberries
• slices of persian cucumbers
• cheese cubes
• carrots
• blueberries
• frozen (and cooked) peas
• Cubed and steamed veggies (or veggies and pasta drained from the broth in a soup)
• dried apricots
• sugar snap peas
• halved cherry tomatoes
• cooked sweet potato cubes
• baked french fries/tater tots

Protein

• scrambled eggs
• handboiled eggs, sliced into pieces
• diced BBQ chicken
• taco meat (Eddie snarfs this down)
• black beans
• chick peas (he eats this like candy!!)
• small pieces of cooked bacon
• plant-based protein powder added into a smoothie
• fish sticks
• baked fish
• hummus
• chicken sausage pieces

Easy Dinners for toddlers (and adults!)

• Garlic Chicken & Kale Spaghetti
• 15-Minute Chow Mein Noodles (yes, this is made with ramen…don’t leave a ridiculous comment about how bad ramen is for you. I KNOW. That’s why this recipe is half ramen half vegetables. Take a breath.)
• Italian Sausage & Peppers Pasta 
• Stovetop Tuna Noodle Casserole (minus the crunchy chips)
• Slow Cooker Pot Roast
• Swiss Chicken
• Easy 20 Minute Garlic & Herb Baked Cod
• Simple Chili
• Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup (I give Eddie most of the chunks minus the broth so the mess stays somewhat minimal)
• Crockpot Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti