I had an interesting conversation with Simone from Play with Food at the Eat.Drink.Blog conference regarding ‘toddler friendly’ meals and how they were really ‘one family’ meals. What I mean is, that I am not specifically cooking a meal that is toddler friendly and then making something entirely different for my husband and I. I am cooking one meal each night that can be eaten and enjoyed by every family member. This means taking the time to think about everyone’s requirements and thinking about how each component might be served so that everyone gets the most out of meal time {it also *hopefully* goes a little way to ward off ‘fussy eaters’ as everyone is eating the same thing}.

Take my ‘Pork and Squid Larb‘ for example – now I can hear some Mums saying, ‘Are you crazy, my toddler, seventeen year old, large man child also know as my husband, won’t eat squid so I’m not going to be able to serve this as a family meal.’ I say, just serve all the individual components on the family table and let each person mix their own combination in their own bowl. Some people might not eat the red onion or the squid, but they can enjoy the rice noodles, pork mince and lots of fresh cucumber. And you never know, if your little one sees everyone else eating the tomato they just might be tempted to pop a piece in their own mouth.

Last night, I made my ‘Beef and Quinoa Bowl‘ and served all the fresh veggies separate. I picked up a piece of fresh red capscium and said to Mr Moo, ‘listen to the awesome sound this makes when I bite into it.’ He proceed to pick up a piece and bite into it {chew and then low and behold swollow}… He liked it so much that he probably ate half a whole capscium and I take that as a win. But even if he had of spat it out, I would have been okay with that as it’s all about trying new tastes and textures.

Another great thing about many of these dishes is that a lot of the preparation work can be completed and set aside for a later time – which means it’s great for Mummies. Carry out the majority of your preparation work whilst your little ones are napping in the afternoon – and then you will have a minimum of work to complete at dinner time (also known as witching hour in most households with children).

   

 

Basa Fishcakes

Vegetarian Stuffed Caps

Salmon with Potatoes ‘My Way’

Pork and Squid Larb

What are some of your go to meals for feeding fussy toddlers? What trick to you have to get your toddler to eat meat? If you whip up one of my recipes, I would love to see it – you can use the hashtag #goodfoodweek.