Ollie's favourite foods and snacks - 15 months
Who would have thought baby and toddler food would be SO contentious and on some days, downright hard!! (I can literally hear Mums of older toddlers laughing at me right now haha)
A popular topic of conversation and question that I get a lot over on my Instagram is ‘What food does Ollie like?’ because I do cook a lot of his snacks and meals from scratch. He has never taken to a bottle so when we weaned him off breastfeeding a few months ago I have been conscious to try and include as many veggies and nutrients as possible in his foods…although as he is getting older and becoming more picky, that is becoming increasingly tricky!
Here are some links and to our go-to recipes so that you can give them a go too, and some of my quick throw-together options:
Breakfasts
Healthy Bircher Muesli: Recipe here. A recipe that I have been loving for myself too, so it needed it’s own blog post! Full recipe is in the link with options for toddlers and adults (plus, it only takes 5 minutes to make!)
French toast: 1 egg - whisked, 1 banana - mashed, sprinkle of cinnamon, 1 piece of bread.
Mix egg, banana and cinnamon together in a bowl. Soak 1 side of the bread into the egg mixture for 20 seconds, flip and soak the other side. Cook in a frypan on medium heat for a few minutes on each side until browned and cooked through. Cut into strips and serve
Loaded oats: 3 tablespoons greek yoghurt, 1/4 cup oats, 1 teaspoon chia seeds, 1 teaspoon hemp seeds, 1/2 cup frozen or fresh mixed berries.
If using frozen berries, put them into a mug and into the microwave for 30-60 seconds until thawed. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes for chia seeds to expand. Serve
Eggs & smashed avo: 1 egg, 1/2 and avocado.
Scramble egg in a frypan on medium heat for a few minutes until cooked. Turn off heat. Scrape avocado out of skin with a fork and add to egg. Mix together. Being mindful of heat, serve.
(I normally serve this together with the loaded Weetbix below)
Loaded Weetbix: 1 weetbix, 1 teaspoon chia seeds, splash of desired milk (full cream, almond, coconut etc.) 1 banana - mashed.
Put Weetbix, chia seeds and milk into a bowl. Let sit for 5 minute for Weetbix to soften and soak in milk as well as chia seeds expanding. Mash banana with a fork. Add into Weetbix and chia seed mixture.
(I normally serve this along side the eggs and smashed avocado above)
Snacks / meals
Smoothies: Smoothies have been a great option for us, because they can pack in nutrients, greens and veggies. But also, Ollie wants to eat everything that I have, and I love easy yummy smoothies! We have a Subo Bottle (linked here) that has been a game changer because Ollie can’t squeeze it all everywhere!
Aldi has had some great frozen fruit ‘packets’ that I throw into the blender with almond or normal milk, some chia seeds and a tablespoon of yoghurt.
Smoothies are a great option because you can use literally whatever you have in the freezer - frozen banana, berries, spinach etc. your choice of milk, your choice of yoghurt, chia seeds, hemp seeds, peanut butter etc.
Zucchini and corn fritters: Recipe here. I double the recipe and add in extra veggies - whatever I have on hand eg. broccoli, sweet potato, pumpkin, capsicum, mushroom etc.
Chicken, potato and broccoli ‘fingers’: Recipe here. Again, These can have extra veg added in. A great website with some great options to choose from.
Tuna, spinach & rice cheesey patties: Recipe here. This is another website that has some really great options to choose from.
Spinach, corn and pasta muffins: Recipe here. Another recipe from One Handed Cooks. These ones are great for on-the-go
Easy zucchini slice: Recipe here. So simple and easy. Takes 5 minutes to throw together and put into the oven to cook!
Blender banana, spinach pancakes / piklets: Recipe here. These were one shared from a beautiful Mum in my Mothers group and always a hit with Ollie! Great hidden greens with the spinach and another really great on-the-go option.
Banana, date & chia muffins: Recipe here. Ollies absolute favourite sweet treat and my go-to when we have over ripe bananas to use.
Thermomix chicken, spinach, bacon and pumpkin risotto: Recipe here. This is a new one I tried last week and it was great for Ollie who is now learning to use his spoon by himself. Personally a great choice for us at the moment because other rice-based dishes seem to fall off the spoon before it gets to his mouth while he is still learning.
Meatball pasta bake: This one is a fave for the whole family and is SO easy! I used to do it all manually but one of my best friends taught me this hack in an ovenproof dish which means it’s literally 3 steps and it’s done! This makes enough for 2 adults and 1 toddler for at least 2 nights of dinner.
Ingredients - a packet of (or home made) meatballs, 1 large zucchini, 2 carrots, packet of penne pasta, 2 cans of pasta bake sauce (could also make your own sauce if you would like to), cheese to top.
Method - Preheat oven to 180 degrees, fan forced. Grate carrots & zucchini. Put meatballs & grated veg into ovenproof baking dish. Cover with 2 tins of pasta back sauce. Cook in the oven, lid on, for 20 minutes.
While your meatballs and veg are cooking, cook your packet of penne pasta in a large saucepan with boiling water for 8 minutes (pasta should be cooked, but still firm as it will continue cooking in the oven).
At 20 minutes, take the veg and meatballs out of the oven. Put the semi-cooked pasta into the dish, place back in the oven and cook, lid on, for a further 20 minutes.
Take the cooked pasta bake dish out of the oven, top with your desired amount of cheese and place back in the oven for 5 minutes, lid off, or until your cheese is browned and cooked to your liking.
Snack plate: A super easy option if there’s not much left in the fridge before grocery shopping day or if your toddler is feeling picky. I choose 3-4 things from the fridge & pantry and put small amounts of each onto a plate for him to snack on. Eg - rice cakes, hummus dip, baked sweet potato, baked carrot, steamed broccoli, steamed peas and corn, steamed corn cob, sliced cucumber, cheese etc.
Fruit plate and yoghurt: As above, another super easy option and quick to throw together. Eg. diced rockmelon, diced watermelon, sliced berries, sliced banana, sliced pear (if ripened and soft), sliced nectarine.