Delicious Toddler Food — It’s Possible! Two Yummy Recipes

Feeding toddlers can be challenging, as you want the food to be delicious, healthy, easy to eat, and easy to prepare. To help you with that, we have two yummy recipes that you can try with your toddler today! The Parmesan cheese muffins are great for breakfast, and the chicken nuggets can be a great dinner for your older kids and your baby.

Parmesan Cheese Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 tablespoons cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, loosely packed
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 cup optional vegetables or pre-cooked protein (bell peppers, spinach, corn, shredded chicken)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F; line a muffin pan with 12 liners; set aside.
2. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Add the olive oil, cream, and eggs and whisk vigorously to combine. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir gently. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and (if using) vegetables/protein, and stir until just incorporated. Do not overmix, as this will result in tougher muffins. The batter will be thick and lumpy; this is fine. Divide batter evenly among the liners, filling each one to about three-quarters full.
3. Bake at 425 degrees F for 5 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F and bake for 12 minutes — or until tops are just golden and barely browned (total baking time, about 17 minutes). These muffins can be prone to drying out, so take care not to overbake; they will set up more as they cool.
4. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before removing. Serve immediately. Store leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.

Baked Chicken Nuggets

Enough servings for two meals or two children

Ingredients

• 2 good-sized chicken breasts, skin off and cut into smaller pieces
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup dry, fine bread crumbs (I made the breadcrumbs by slow-toasting 4 slices of whole-meal bread in the oven at 200 degrees F for 30 minutes. Then I whizzed them in the food processor.)
• A pinch of salt to taste
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degree F. Line a baking tray with wax paper and set aside.
2. Clean the chicken breasts, taking off the fat and other unnecessary bits. Cut the chicken into toddler-friendly pieces (about 2 inches by 2 inches).
3. Lay a piece of cling film over the chicken and pound flat with a meat mallet. Be gentle — you don't want to tear holes in the chicken.
4. When it's about an inch and a half thick, season the breasts with salt.
5. Dip the chicken breasts into the flour; make sure they are evenly coated, and shake off excess flour.
6. Dunk the floured breasts into the beaten egg.
7. Now that the breasts are a gooey mess, coat them with the bread crumbs generously. Make sure every bit of the chicken is coated.
8. Use a pastry brush to coat the chicken pieces with olive oil and put them slightly apart on the baking tray.
9. Pop the tray into the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces over and cook for another 5 minutes. They should be golden brown.
10. Remove from the oven; soak up excess oil with a paper towel. Just dab gently.
11. Serve with a yummy side salad!

Notes

• Allow food to cool before serving it to your child.
• These two recipes are meant for children who can self-feed very well. If they cannot, cut up the food into bite-sized pieces before feeding.
• Whenever they are eating, children should be sitting upright at all times and supervised.
• The Parmesan cheese muffins recipe is adapted from Averie Cooks.