Recipes for Toddlers
As a follow-up from Tuesday's post, today's topic will highlight kid-friendly recipe ideas therapists (and parents!) can make with children. With all of these recipes, it is important to have the child participate in the process - let them crack the egg, stir the batter, pour the milk etc. It's ok if they get their hands dirty or spill some the floor! All of the recipes below are simple favorites that can be easily incorporated into your therapy sessions.
- Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. This is sooo simple and should not be overlooked! Having the child spread both on the bread (or crackers) and lick their fingers when they are done is perfect for kiddos who may have some tactile sensitivity. You can also expand on this and make all different types of sandwiches!
- Fruity Smoothie/Milk Shake. This is a perfect treat that you can make both healthy and tasty. Plus, kids will love watching all the ingredients get zoomed up in a blender! Use milk, yogurt, peanut butter and all different types of fruit etc. The possibilities are endless!
- Pizza. You can use real dough and roll it out or you can use foods like English muffins or pita bread as the dough. Add on whatever ingredients you want...cheese, sauce, pepperoni, etc....great for kids with fine motor weakness!
- Fruit Salad. Let the child help by using a plastic knife to cut up the fruit and a big spoon to mix it all together! You can always top it with something fun like whipped cream or cool whip!
- Box Muffin Mixes. Effortless baking with only 2-3 ingredients. Muffins are great because they usually only take about 15 minutes or so to bake and if you put on the oven light, the child can watch them puff up and harden until they are ready to eat. You can always add mashed fruit to make them more healthful!
- Pudding. All different types of flavors and you can always add fun things to it to change the texture, such as graham cracker crumbs, whipped cream, marshmallows, crushed cookies (put cookie/graham cracker/etc in a bag and have the child crush and squeeze them). Once again, the possibilities are endless!
- Dips. Kids love to dip foods into other foods! On the website below are suggestions for homemade dips with 3-4 ingredients that keep both the making and tasting simple and straightforward!
Here is another website I found that highlights a wide variety of recipes for toddlers: http://www.wholesometoddlerfood.com/toddlerrecipedownloads.htm. It breaks down the recipes into several simple categories: "fast" foods (foods that are quick and trouble-free), snack foods, and then breakfast, lunch and dinner foods. It also offers a Sample 5-Day Meal Plan in a chart form that you can print out and share with families who may be unsure of what foods to try with their child. Use it to help families who need guidance with nutrition but may not have the luxury of a nutritionist on their child's EI team!
Hope you found today's post helpful! Over the next month we will talk about Christmas/Holiday crafts as well as toys to buy and recommend this holiday season for young children, especially those with disabilities.
Please write in and share other topic requests you may have as well!