Do you create a weekly/monthly menu for your family? I find the months that I take the time to write a menu, I am not struggling at mealtime about what we are going to eat! Believe me, mealtimes have enough battles with my two year old! We have struggled over not eating to the point that I pulled out my dusty baby books and went online searching for some helpful ideas. I learned a lot about this age and that it is very normal for kids to go from being good eaters to not wanting to eat a thing! But I also got some great advice- like avoiding time outs for not eating (we were super guilty of that! and that led to such negative meal times!), setting limits like one bite per age of all the different foods at the table, and offering a variety of foods. I knew what I had to do- I had to create a breakfast/lunch/snack/dinner calendar. Our daily meals are entirely planned on my Google calendar (with a great deal of flexibility of course) to ensure that we are eating healthy and that I am providing my daughter with a variety during her meal times (I guess spaghetti every day COULD get old after awhile!)
Here are some recipes that I found that fit the kid-friendly standard- some I have tried, some are on the menu in the near future:
Mini Pizzas for Kids
Ingredients
- refrigerated biscuits…the cheapest you can find
- tomato sauce
- grated cheddar, mozzarella or other pizza cheese desired
- meat topping if desired such as pepperoni
Directions
Flatten raw biscuit slightly with hand.
Using a spoon, spread tomato sauce over top of biscuit.
Cover with grated cheese, meat, or other desired toppings. Bake in 350° oven for about 10 minutes, or until biscuits are baked through.
Easy Hummus Dip Recipe
- 15-oz can of chick peas
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp paprika (optional)
Place first 5 ingredients in blender or food processor.
Blend until smooth.
Serve in bowl, sprinkled with paprika.
Several Servings (about 1 1/2 cups)
Fruit Tart
Ingredients
• 1 pkg. refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 1 8-oz. block cream cheese
• 1 tsp. vanilla or lemon flavoring, or whatever liqueur I have that matches one of the fruits I’m using
• Zest of one lemon or lime
• 1 Tbs. lemon or lime juice
• 1 C. orange marmalade, apple or apricot jam
• 2 Tbs. water
• Sliced fruit (whatever is on hand):
• kiwi, strawberries grapes, blueberries,a Granny Smith or Gala apple, a tangerine, and/or a banana
Directions: Roll out sugar cookie dough and place on a cookie sheet or a pizza pan depending on desired shape. I use a tart pan. For a more rustic look, I just put the dough on the cookie sheet and turn up the edges of the dough slightly. Bake dough according to the directions on the package. Mix together cream cheese and flavoring/liqueur, and then spread the mixture onto the baked, cooled cookie dough. Arrange sliced fruit on top of cream cheese. Combine marmalade or jam, tart citrus juice and water in a small saucepan and heat until marmalade/jam is melted. Pour over tart and chill. Slice and serve.
Easy Enchiladas
Ingredients
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast meat – cut into strips
• 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 (5.5 ounce) package red beans & rice mix
• 10 (8 inch) flour tortillas
Directions:
In a large skillet, prepare rice and beans according to package directions. Meanwhile, in another large skillet, saute chicken until cooked through (meat is no longer pink), about 15 to 20 minutes over medium heat. Drain saute oil/grease from skillet. Add the potatoes and cook until just tender. Add seasoning according to package directions. Cook all together, stirring often, until potatoes are done. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Take a tortilla. Place some of the chicken/potato mixture and some of the beans and rice (about 1/2 to 3/4 cup total filling) onto the tortilla, add a little cheese to taste, and roll up. Place rolled tortilla in a lightly greased 9×13-inch baking dish. Repeat with other tortillas until dish is full. Top with the rest of the cheese and bake in the preheated oven 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
