What is a Balanced Meal
A balanced meal is one of the ways to ensure that your child gets the required vitamins and minerals for holistic physical growth and neurological development. The following list contains the minimum potions a healthy kid’s meal should contain.
- There should be at least one serving of fruit. Be mindful of the natural sugar content of the fruit.
- There should be at least one serving of vegetables.
- One serving of protein at least one meal a day whether it comes from dairy, nuts, legumes, meat, or poultry.
- Whole Gains or complex carbs are crucial for proper child brain development and long-lasting energy.
- Toddlers must consume fats in order to develop normally, so choose dairy products that include fat
- Don’t be afraid of plant-based fats like avocado and nut or seed butter.
Tips to Keep in Mind
Don’t take them by surprise
Don’t send anything that your child has never received in their tiffin. A home is a safe place for parents to try new food groups and introduce them to toddlers. Test out various foods at home to see how your child responds to them and whether they have any chewing issues.
Make it a rainbow
It has to be first visually appealing even before they take the first bite, as it said “We eat with our eyes first”. Mix and match different fruits and vegetables to make into a colorful rainbow. You can also put different shapes by cutting out the vegetables or fruits with the help of a knife or cookie cutter.
Look out for any allergies
It is likely that when you are introducing any new foods to your toddler’s diet they may be allergic to certain foods. Examine any allergy policies at your facility or school to keep everyone safe. Keep in mind that sending nuts may or may not be possible.
Keep their preferences in mind
It may be initially important to keep the toddler’s likes and dislikes in mind. Knowing what your child likes (and dislikes), can help you decide whether to send more or less food. You may also ask for detailed input on how your youngster ate.
Be aware of the changes
As your child grows, their preferences will likely change. One day your child may like a certain food, just to abhor it the next day. Whether the child eats more, less, or otherwise differently at daycare than at home, is completely normal. Various surroundings provide various results.
Toddler Lunch Recipes Ideas
Lunch ideas with pasta
Pasta is the most simple way to go when it comes to meal prep. All you have to do is boil some fun-shaped pasta, prepare a delicious sauce, and combine the two together. The sauce is customizable to fit your kids’ needs or preferences. Always keep a few packs of spaghetti in the pantry for a quick and easy lunch. Serve these lunches at home or send them to daycare or school in an insulated lunchbox or thermos.
Spinach pesto pasta
Ingredients
- 4-5 cups of baby spinach
- 1 pound of pasta.
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice or one lemon
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- A handful of Roasted sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- Frozen peas (optional)
Instructions
- To prepare the pasta, bring a large pot of water to a boil, then cook the pasta as directed on the package.
- When the pasta is halfway done, add in the frozen peas.
- Drain the peas and the pasta in a colander. Separate the peas from the pasta
- Combine the spinach, seeds, Parmesan, olive oil, and lemon juice in a blender. Mix very thoroughly until extremely smooth, pausing sometimes to scrape down the bowl’s edges. If necessary, add salt to taste.
- In a pan with some oil, combine the spaghetti and the pesto sauce.
- serve warm with more Parmesan cheese.
Other tips
The pesto can be kept in the refrigerator for three days or in the freezer for up to three months in a zip-top storage bag. Replace the spinach in the pesto with baby kale or ordinary kale that has been stripped of its stems. To make it a dairy-free alternative, Leave out the Parmesan cheese. add a little nutritional yeast for flavor.
Spaghettios
Ingredients
- Manchego cheese, finely grated, in a cup, with one tablespoon of olive oil
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Tomato paste, 6 teaspoons
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 4 cups of any stock of your choice
- 2 cups of little pasta (alphabet, ditalini, etc.)
- fresh herbs as a garnish
Instructions
- Set the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Use parchment paper to cover a baking sheet.
- Place 1 to 2 tablespoons of the finely grated manchego on the baking sheet, spacing them out by 1 to 2 inches. Bake the manchego for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it has melted and is bubbling.
- Olive oil is added to a saucepan that is already at medium heat.
- Add the sliced garlic, and ensure it doesn’t get burned.
- Add tomato paste and keep siring. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook for a further one to two minutes after adding the tomato paste.
- Sherry and stock should be added
- Keep siring for another 5 mins.
- Once the stock has reduced a little, add the cooked spaghetti.
- With a wooden spoon, stir the soup for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pasta is thoroughly cooked and somewhat thicker.
- If required, taste and add additional salt and pepper.
- At this stage, the manchego should be cool and simple to break up
- Sprinkle on top of the spaghetti.
BLT pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb. of bacon
- black pepper freshly ground
- 1 lb. of pasta
- 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
- a third of a cup The Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons Apple cider vinegar,
- Salt to taste
- three medium tomatoes, divided into wedges
- 1 diced avocado
- 1 head of chopped romaine lettuce
Instructions
- Turn the oven on to 375°F.
- Lay the bacon out on the baking pan and liberally sprinkle it with black pepper.
- Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp.
- After taking the pan out of the oven, let it cool fully.
- Bring a pot filled with water to a boil over medium heat
- Add the pasta and simmer for 7 to 9 minutes, as directed on the package.
- Drain, then allow to cool at room temperature.
- Combine the mayonnaise, mustard, and vinegar in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper.
- Combine the pasta, tomato, avocado, and romaine in a big bowl.
- Add the crumbled bacon to the salad.
- If serving right away, add the dressing and thoroughly mix to combine.
Enchilada cups
Ingredients
- 10 small flour tortillas
- Red Enchilada Sauce, 10-ounce (store-bought or you can use homemade enchilada sauce)
- 14-ounce of black beans or kidney beans
- 4-ounce of chopped green chiles
- 2 cups cooked chicken that has been shredded or another filling of choice
- Whole-kernel corn in a half-cup
- 1 cup of shredded cheese in a Mexican blend
- freshly chopped cilantro to garnish
- Green onions to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven temperature to 350 Fahrenheit
- take a standard-size cupcake baking tray and tuck each tortilla into the cups, gently pleating the tortilla edges so that they fit snugly inside each cup.
- Bake the tortilla cups for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they have slightly firm on all sides. Take out and place aside.
- Enchilada sauce, black beans, green chiles, chicken, and corn should all be combined in a sizable mixing bowl while the tortillas are baking.
- When the tortilla cups are prepared, delicately pour the contents into each one until it is almost full.
- Each tortilla cup should have some cheese sprinkled on top.
- Put the pan back in the oven for an additional 15 minutes of baking.
- You will see the cheese bubbling and slightly golden to know when it is done.
- Remove from the oven, then evenly distribute cilantro and green onions over the top of each cup. Serve hot.
Meatloaf cups
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup uncooked quinoa
- 3/4 cup of water
- Garlic cloves, four
- coarsely diced red or orange pepper and 1/2 cup of yellow onion
- 1/9 cup olive oil
- a teaspoon each of cumin and dried oregano
- one tablespoon of chili powder
- a couple of drops of your preferred hot sauce
- a few dashes of red pepper flakes
- salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- half a cup of chopped cilantro
- Red enchilada sauce, divided into 3/4 cups
- 1 pound of lean ground turkey breast or chicken
- two egg whites (or 1 egg)
- 1/3 cup shredded Mexican cheese with less fat
Instructions
- Bring water and quinoa to a boil in a small saucepan to cook the quinoa.
- Cover with a lid, lower the heat to a simmer, and allow the quinoa cook for 15 minutes, or until it has soaked up all the liquid.
- Quinoa should be taken off of the pan and fluffed with a fork before cooling for about five minutes. The following step can be done while the quinoa cooks.
- Set oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray liberally.
- In a medium skillet set over medium heat, warm the olive oil.
- Add the bell pepper, onion, and garlic.
- Sauté until the onions have softened and become translucent.
- Pour into a sizable bowl and allow it cool for a while.
- Add half of the enchilada sauce, the cooked quinoa, cumin, oregano, chilli powder, hot sauce, red pepper flakes, cilantro, salt, and pepper. The remaining sauce will be used to top the muffins later.
- Add 1/4 cup of the cheese, egg whites, and ground chicken (or turkey) after that.
- To evenly fill muffin cups with the meatloaf mixture, use an ice cream scoop or a 1/4 cup measuring cup.
- For 25 to 30 minutes, bake the cups.
- Remove from oven, then top muffins with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.
Toddler Empanadas
Ingredients
For the dough
- 3 cups of all-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- one teaspoon of kosher salt
- Cold butter
- 3/4 cup of water
- One big egg
For the filling
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Tomato paste
- 1 chopped yellow onion
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 1 pound of ground beef
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- Paprika to taste
- Salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup of tomatoes, chopped
- Chopped pickled jalapenos, half a cup
- 1 1/4 cups, Shredded Cheddar,
- 1 1/4 cups Monterey Jack
- For brushing, use egg wash.
Instructions
- Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in a sizable bowl. Using your hands or a pastry cutter, mash the butter into the flour until it is pea-sized.
- A dough will develop once you add the water and egg.
- On a lightly dusted surface, knead the dough for about 5 minutes, until it is smooth.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. Don’t let it get in contact with air as the dough will dry out.
- Bake at 400 degrees for two big baking pans that have been lined with parchment paper.
- Heat oil in a big skillet over medium heat.
- After 5 minutes after adding the onion, add the garlic and continue cooking for another minute until the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the ground meat and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes, or until it is no longer pink.
- Stir tomato paste and reheat the pan to medium heat.
- Add salt and pepper and season with oregano, cumin, and paprika.
- Remove from heat. Set it aside to cool.
- Divide the dough in half and spread it out on a lightly dusted surface.
- One half is rolled out to 14″ thickness.
- Cut out rounds with a 4.5″ round cookie cutter.
- Use the leftover dough to repeat.
- Place about 2 teaspoons of filling in the center of a dough round and top with cheddar and Monterey.
- Gently moisten the outer border of the dough round with water.
- The pastry is folded in half over the filling. To crimp the edges together, use a fork.
- Arrange the empanadas on the baking sheets you’ve prepared and brush them with egg wash.
- Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the filling is heated throughout.
- Add cilantro as a garnish and serve with sour cream.
Chicken quesadilla
Ingredients
- Extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon
- finely sliced one bell pepper
- thinly sliced half an onion
- Salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1 lb. of sliced, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Chili powder, 1/2 tsp.
- 1/8 teaspoon cumin powder
- Oregano, dried, 12 tsp.
- four large flour tortillas
- 2 cups of cheese of choice
- 1 ripe avocado, thinly sliced
- 2 finely sliced scallions
Instructions
- Olive oil should be heated in a sizable skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the peppers, and onion, and cook for 5 minutes or until soft.
- A tablespoon of vegetable oil is heated at a medium-high temperature.
- Add chicken, Spice, salt, and pepper and fry it for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is golden and thoroughly done.
- Put 1 flour tortilla on the griddle and sprinkle both kinds of cheese liberally over the top.
- Add cooked chicken mixture, pepper-onion mixture, a few slices of avocado, and green onions to the other half of the tortilla.
- The remaining half of the tortilla should be folded over and cooked for 3 minutes on each side, flipping once, until golden.
- Serve with sour cream and cut into wedges.
