Toddler lunches

I have discovered a new challenge in my kitchen. Oddly enough, it’s cooking for little one. Ever since little one started eating solid food I’ve been cooking for him. I’ve been doing my best to make sure he has been eating yummy yet nutritious food. I’ve tried so hard to make sure that he was not a picky eater and would be willing in to try anything I put in front of him. So far I have succeeded but we are entering the picky toddler phase.

The pickyness isn’t the challenge. The challenge is figuring out what to feed him for lunch! I know it sounds silly, but for over a year little one was eating lunch at daycare every weekday. He would share dinner with us each night (unless what we were eating was SUPER messy or spicy) and then husband and I took the leftovers with us for lunch the next day. My meal servings haven’t changed but the number of servings I need to stretch for the three of us has.

My solution was a pretty simple one. Little one has a few extra meals planned for him each shopping trip. I make sure these recipes are delicious for him, somewhat healthy, fun and easy. I don’t want to wind up making tons of extra meals just to feed one toddler. These two recipes have really fit in nicely. Please keep in mind that most of the time little one is eating leftovers for lunch but these are for the times when left overs just don’t work for him.

Enjoy!

English Muffin Pizzas

½ English muffin

2 tablespoons pizza sauce

2 tablespoons mozzarella

1 tsp. Parmesan

Sprinkle pizza seasoning

Toast the English muffin. Top with pizza sauce, mozzarella, Parmesan and pizza seasoning. Add any additional pizza toppings if desired. Place English muffin under a broiler until cheese has melted. Cool and serve.

Mini Meatloaves

1 lb. ground beef

6 oz. Stove Top stuffing

1 cup water

1 tsp. garlic powder

¾ cup barbeque sauce

¾ cup cheddar, shredded

Heat oven to 375°F. Mix meat, stuffing mix, water and garlic powder until well blended. Press into 12 muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray.

Make indentation in center of each with back of spoon and fill evenly with barbeque sauce.

Bake 30 minutes. Top evenly with ¾ cheese and bake for five minutes. Let stand 10 min.

*Freeze cooked mini meatloaves in a large Ziploc to have on hand for easy lunches. Defrost in the morning and microwave for one minute before serving.

Adapted from www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/marvelous-mini-meatloaves-75574.aspx