Any tips on how to cook simple nutritional meals for a picky 2 year old?

Question

My daughter is very picky when it comes to food. She tends to take a liking to fast food (I hardly give it to her though) but I refuse to give it to her regularly....I tend to cook meals that the entire family can eat but she only seems interested in chicken..sometimes potatoes,but unfortunately no veggies...any suggestions?

Answer 1

Does she like french fries? I make these awasome (as says my 2 1/2 year old) (i call them french fries) but they are actually vegetable fries. Cut potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes into thin strips. Rise them and dry them. Then dip them in an egg white and paramasian cheese mix. Place them on greased (we use cooking spray) sheet. and bake at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes or until they are sort of brownish. Be sure to turn them once about halfway through. My kids love them as do my daycare kids.


We also make mini Pizzas. I add a bit of soft cooked carrots to the sauce and blen it together (my kids don't know the diffrence) I also add a bit of very finley chopped broccoli to pizza sauce as well. Cover it with cheese and what ever else your daughter likes and she probably won't know the diffrence.

How about making mini muffins. We make apple, banana, chocolate chip muffins all the time. I have even had my 4 year olds preschool teacher ask me if I could send them in for snack next week. with the recipie.

i can't find my exact recipie online but here is the basic recipie with the few changes I have made.

Ingredients:
2 Bananas (Extra-ripe)
2 Eggs
1 cup Brown sugar,packed
1/2 cup Butter or marg., melted
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons Baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Chocolate chips (I only use maybe 1/4 cup)
I also add 1 or 2 apples cut into tiny bite sized pieces.

smash bananas
In med. bowl, beat smushed bananas, eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla until well blended. In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Make well in center of dry ingredients. Pour in banana mixture. Mix until just blended. Mix in Stir in chocolate chips and apple bites. Spoon into well-greased or paper lined muffin cups. Bake in 350 deg. oven 25 to 30 minutes. or until light brown. Remove from pan. Let cool. then watch out because they will be gone in no time.

I personally can never keep these in my house. They are typically gone in less than an hour.

Smoothies really saved me as well when my daughter was in a picky stage. I'd add carrots, some brocoli, and then I'd add in other fruits with some ice. the fruit flavor out did the vegetable flavor. Sometimes I'd even be "nice" (as my kids put it) and give them chocolate banana milk shakes (actually smoothies). YUMMY. Expirement with diffrent fruits, milk, and ice. We have come up with a few diffrent flavors the kids Love.

My daughter also loves the v-8 splash juice.