Tag Archives: toddler food ideas

The No-No stage of almost-three-year-old toddlers

Aug 24, 2021 Mom and Ideas Leave a comment

NO. NO. NO. NO. Is this the current favourite word of your toddler? Especially, when it comes to meals! My toddler is 2 years and 9 months old (at the time of this post) and she uses this two-letter power word the most from her decent vocabulary.

Ah, how happy I was when I got that booster seat to encourage baby led weaning when she started sitting and eating well. She started eating by herself for a while and if you have a one-and-half-year-old kid, you know the joy. Ah, the dreams that finally she and I will enjoy the mealtime joy of eating together instead of one big person spoon feeding a little one first! Welcome to reality… It’s not happening anymore yet.

So if all those beautiful Instagram posts by moms whose kids are eating by themselves are making you feel the pressure, relax. People tend to post more about achievements than otherwise. If your kid is being a picky or fussy eater, what is the probability that you will post that all over social media? See what I mean? Some kids, especially in the 2-3 years age group, are exploring the power of the word NO and using it effectively… Lol. So yes, all little toddlers who start self-feeding, might take a little/big break at this stage. Don’t stress it out too much. If you notice, they will mostly eat fries, chips, chocolates and cakes using their hands without any effort from us. So they are capable of eating without help. They are just not keen on having the daily routine healthy food 😜

I am not going to bore you with how you should keep trying different types of foods, different plating and presentation, creativity, new place to eat, gaps between meals, etc. If you have read until this point of this post, it means you might have already tried it all, right? So all I want to say is relax. It’s stressful, I know, I have anxiety issues and I have been really bothered by the recent fussiness. But I realised today that this will not be the case forever. She will eventually eat without me hovering around her head, reminding her constantly to eat / chew or feeding her those unending morsels. It is, in all probability, a phase… a boring, irritating but this-too-shall-pass kind of phase.

So, well, join me in relaxing a bit. It’s okay of we are still feeding our toddlers with our hands while other kids of same age are all eating independently. Let’s not compare for our own peace of mind. Few years from now, we will simply remember how our toddlers took a little while to reach this milestone. There’s no point losing sleep over this by worrying too much. This is the stage when kids explore power struggle (and maybe we too!). So keep trying at intervals and this too shall pass. Enjoy feeding your kids when necessary for now, as we all know that they grow up so fast! Savour the moment instead of giving into peer pressure and stress.

And if you managed to pass this stage, let us know after how long and how exactly did it happen! Let’s be honest, we all need some useful, tried and tested tips!

Happy parenting!

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Recipes

Beetroot Cutlets / Healthy Burger Patty Recipe for Kids

Jul 1, 2021 Mom and Ideas Leave a comment

I made these yummy beetroot cutlets / burger patties just now! I didn’t expect that I’ll be able to do it but I managed to completely eliminate the raw flavour of beetroot. Yay! Experimented with a unique combination of spices and achieved the best flavour ever.

Here’s the Beetroot Cutlet / Patty Recipe ❤️ Save for future reference! Do share if you like it.

Ingredients:
2 large grated and boiled beetroots
2 large boiled potatoes
2 bread slices broken into fine pieces / coarsely powdered based on the texture you like
Salt to taste
1 pinch turmeric powder
1/2 tsp jeera powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves (I forgot adding)
1/2 tsp chat masala
1/2 tsp oregano (that’s the twist, but you can skip)
1/2 tsp chilli powder / sliced green chillies (I don’t use as Mishika doesn’t eat spicy food

Method:
1. Remove excess water from boiled beetroots. Save it to add in anything else later or for food colouring / to colour any homemade play dough for kids.
2. Mix and mash beetroots and potatoes.
3. Mix well all the other ingredients.
4. Taste at this stage and adjust the flavours as per your liking.
5. Shape the cutlets / patties.
6. Coat them with semolina or bread crumbs.
7. Shallow fry on medium flame till the surface becomes a little brownish and crisp.
8. Remove on absorbent paper / kitchen roll to remove excess oil.
9. Alternatively, bake it!

PS Use any combination of spices available at your location but the bread and oregano does the trick!

Enjoy with ketchup / chutney / dips of your choice!

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Do comment below if you like or try this recipe!

Recipes

Whole Wheat Apple Cinnamon Muffins Recipe

Jun 28, 2021 Mom and Ideas Leave a comment

Looking for the best apple cinnamon muffins / cupcakes recipe using wholewheat flour? You have come to the right place!

I have experimented with many recipes but this one turned out to be the best as the aroma of the freshly baked cupcakes filled the entire house and they were really very delicious. The texture was just perfect, neither too moist not too dry. And my two-and-a-half-year-old absolutely relished it. So did I 🙂

Now, before I proceed, please let me tell you that my oven overheats and I bake at a lower temperature. So If your oven works just perfect, just use the temperature setting for a regular muffin recipe. I baked at 170° C instead of 190° C and it turned out to be perfect!

Apple Cinnamon Whole Wheat Muffins Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup (minus two teaspoons) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup grated apples
1/4 cup butter (I used regular salted Amul butter)
1/2 cup sugar / powdered jaggery (1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup white sugar give best results)
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (lesser if you have a stronger extract)

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 190° C / 375° F.
2. Prepare muffin moulds / tins / cupcake liners by gently coating with butter or oil. Skip this step if you have non-stick / silicon moulds / tins.
3. Beat an egg. Add to it butter, sugar, milk, vanilla extract and grated apples. Mix well.
4. Preferably in a separate bowl, mix whole wheat flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.
5. Add the wet mix (point 3 above) to the dry mixture (point 4 above) and gently fold all the ingredients together. DO NOT OVERMIX at this stage at all. It is okay to have a few lumps.
6. Scoop the mixture into the muffin cups (filling about 2/3.)
7. Bake for 10 minutes and keep an eye for them to turn slightly golden brown. It might take a couple of minutes more depending on your oven. Remove from oven when a toothpick inserted in the muffin comes out clean.
8. Carefully remove the muffin moulds from the oven and let them cool a bit.

Enjoy warm or cold.

COATING: You can coat them with a Butter and 1:1 Cinnamon + Sugar mixture but I couldn’t wait to eat 🙂

Let me know if you try and like this Whole Wheat Apple Cinnamon Muffins Recipe.
Happy baking!

Recipes

Whole Wheat Churi / Leftover Roti Choori Recipe

Jun 23, 2021 Mom and Ideas Leave a comment

Have you tried making sweet Punjabi style churi from leftover rotis (i.e. basi roti) / chapatis? It is a sweet, a little healthy and yummy Indian dish enjoyed by kids and all! And you don’t want to waste the rotis you made with so much effort, right?

Here’s the Roti Churi recipe:

1. 4 leftover (baasi rotis) / freshly made rotis / chapatis / phulkas (keep refrigerated at night if leftover after dinner).
2. Break them in small pieces and then grind them to make smaller pieces as per your liking.
3. Heat 2/3 tablespoons of ghee / clarified butter (oil or butter, preferably unsalted, if you don’t have ghee).
4. Add a pinch of crushed cardamom.
5. Add the ground roti and roast for 3-5 mins on medium flame.
6. If making for toddlers, add dry fruits powder (cashews, almonds, walnuts). Add crushed or full roasted dry fruits if making for adults.
7. Throw in some raisins and pieces of soft dates if you like and if your kids can chew.
8. Reduce the flame and add 3 or more tbsp of jaggery / jaggery powder.
9. Mix in for a couple of minutes.

That’s it. Cool it and enjoy the yummy choori!!! This is the perfect idea if your kid refuses the rotis you make. It worked wonders for my picky 2-year-old toddler.

How to make Ladoos from leftover rotis: Grind the entire roti pieces mixture for a few pulses in a mixer grinder and everything will combine in fine / little coarse form. Make laddoos out of it ❤️ Mishika had 3 mini laddoos made from half the churi amount and I ate the entire thing 😀

NOTE:

1. You can skip any ingredient except the rotis, ghee and jaggery (use sugar or dates if you don’t have jaggery).
2. Add spices or your liking like cinnamon powder or nutmeg for different flavours.
3. Make a salted version instead for a savoury snack instead.

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Do drop in your comment if you find this recipe interesting or try it 🙂