Easy Toddler Meals: 6 Recipe Ideas for Busy Mums & Growing Appetites

Now that your toddler is past his porridge days and has grown a set of pearly whites to chew his food with, mum has to get creative to please those growing appetites. But mum doesn’t always have time to prepare elaborate meals, many of you have gone back to work and many more have other children to take care of, so to make life a tad easier for those juggling household chores and a career, here are six quick-to-prepare recipes for all you busy moms.

First on the list is rice! Yes, rice ─ because in Malaysia, we are a rice-eating country. Rice is our staple diet and we rely on rice to provide our daily sustenance. Naturally, rice will have to come first on the list of easy meals for those little hungry tummies.

Rice is almost “compulsory” in every Malaysian meal because it is the base that accompanies all our dishes. Without rice ─ seriously, what will we eat? Plus, it’s so adaptable you can simply feed your three-year-old with rice and omelette or rice with fried egg sunny-side-up and he can have a wholesome meal.

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One Fried Rice Coming Up

But then we want to take rice a step further. We want to make it colourful (to attract those inquisitive eyes) and we want to make it easy to chew, healthy and delicious. Thus, the first dish on our list is fried rice. And who doesn’t know fried rice in Malaysia? It’s so common and so versatile, you can mix in your own ingredients and it will taste just as great.

Easy Fried Rice

This recipe has been slightly modified (by yours truly) from the one given by Jessica Gavin’s blog because she lives in the US where ingredients are different  and where fried rice is regarded as an exotic Asian thing. Over here, it’s every day food.

But her recipe is a good one because she grew up in a Chinese family in Oakland, California, where homemade fried rice is a “clean-out-the-fridge” type dish, no recipe needed. Her mum would use leftover rice from a previous meal and then add in meat from left overs. Comes out easy and delicious every time, she says.

Fresh Rice or Yesterday’s Leftover Rice?

Leftover cold rice is ideal to use because the grains have now separated which makes cooking easier in the wok.  That doesn’t mean that a fresh pot of rice can’t be used, but fresh rice should be allowed to cool slightly before using. Hot rice will tend to clump together making your end result less fluffy.

Ingredients

• White rice (you can substitute with brown rice for Boy-Boy or Girl-Girl if you want the meal to be healthier)
• Minced shallots and garlic
• Frozen carrots, green peas, and corn (you can buy this from any supermarket here at around RM4.50 or less for a 500g pack)
• Vegetable oil or/and toasted sesame oil
• Diced chicken (optional)
• 1 egg whisked (add more if you like)
• Diced French beans (optional)
• Soy sauce
• White pepper (spicy flavor and adds no color to the dish)

Method

• Brown the rice first if you like by frying it in the wok. Then remove rice.
• Stir-fry the onions and garlic in oil/sesame oil until aromatic
• If putting in diced chicken, cover in corn flour and put the pieces in now
• Otherwise put in the French beans and frozen carrots, corn and peas
• Add in the rice, whisk the rice and meat and vegetables around until well mixed
• Make a large well in the center of the wok with the rice.
• Pour in the whisked eggs and scramble until small curds form. Stirfry the rice into this
• Keep whisking
• Put in soy sauce, put in pepper
• Whisk everything around several times until you get an evenly-cooked colourful finished product.
• Serve. Your kids will love it!

Chicken Meatballs

This recipe comes from the ever-inspired Bee of Rasa Malaysia who makes up these meals for her son. Meatballs are always a winner with kids ─ they love finger food and these meatballs look so good, they will make a great party dish for kids and adults alike. This dish calls for chicken thigh meat because thigh meat will make the juiciest meatballs ever!

Ingredients

• About 500g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1/4 small onion, diced
• 3-4 small garlic, peeled
• 1 egg white
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 dashes black pepper
• 10 cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• Mashed green peas, (optional)
• Finely diced carrots, (optional)
• 3 dashes cayenne pepper (get it from the spice corner)
• oil, for shallow frying

Method

• Blend the chicken, onion, garlic, egg white, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a food processor until well combined. Transfer the ground chicken out in a bowl and stir in the chopped cilantro leaves.
• For kids and toddler-friendly meatballs, fold in the mashed peas and diced carrots. Add the cayenne pepper. Stir to combine well.
• Wet both hands with some water and shape the ground chicken into meatballs and lay on a plate lined with parchment paper. Heat up a pan or skillet with some oil, shallow fry the meatballs until lightly browned or cooked through. Serve immediately.

Baked Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

Again from Rasa Malaysia, this recipe was created by Bee to feed her cheese-loving growing toddler.  Baked Mozzarella Cheese Sticks are crispy cheese sticks coated with Japanese panko and baked to golden perfection. It’s a recipe good enough to be packed for her son for snacktime during pre-school or it could eaten by older kids for recess time or even by adults.

Coated with beaten egg, Japanese panko (or bread crumbs) and baked to golden perfection, these cheese sticks are amazingly tasty.

More importantly, they are so easy to make and the ingredients are easy-to-get. Just dip the cheese sticks (any you can buy from the supermarket diary shelves) into the beaten egg, roll the cheese sticks generously with Japanese panko or bread crumbs, bake them in the oven and they are done!

Ingredients

• 1 package reduced-fat mozzarella string cheese (12 oz)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 8 tablespoons Japanese panko or bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup prepared marinara sauce, warmed (optional)

Method

• Position rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 350°Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
• Remove the mozzarella cheese from the packaging and set aside.
• In small non-stick skillet, mix Italian seasoning with panko and place over medium heat. Cook and stir bread crumbs until lightly browned.
• Dip each string cheese in the egg until coated and then into the toasted panko, coat evenly.
• Redip the string cheese in egg and again into the panko. Place on baking sheet. Repeat until everything is used up.
• Bake 5-6 minutes or until heated through. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Note:

Cheese may melt slightly and loose shape. Simply press it back into place.

Creamy Avocado Pasta

This Creamy Avocado Recipe comes from Food4Tots, suitable for kids from 2 ½ years and older. It uses avocado, the health fruit. Apparently lots of Asians or Malaysians don’t know how to enjoy the fruit although it is sold widely and quite affordably in all supermarkets including Giant, AEON, Jaya Grocer, Tesco and so on.

Avocado is Brainfood

Avocado is an amazing superfood because it has a lot of nutrients such as protein, fiber, niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, folic acid, zinc, Omega 3 fatty acids, monounsaturated fat (aka “good” fat). It is a fatty fruit and is high in calories which makes it a suitable food for weaning too, particularly if your baby is under weight. It’s good for babies six months and above.

Coming back to the creamy avocado pasta, actually Food4Tots adapted it from Oh She Glows, a US recipe site. The sauce, says Food4Tots, takes only 5 minutes to whip up and no cooking is required.

Just nice for a busy mum eh?

The avocado creates a creamy and thick sauce for pasta and is a good substitute for cream for those who are allergic to diary.  The light garlic flavour and the tinge of lemon makes the sauce even more delightful to your little one. It’s also great for adults. So go ahead, why not make a meal for all the family!

As for the pasta, you can top up extra ingredients if you like. You can use chicken, shrimp, salmon, bacon, ham, sausages, broccoli, snap peas or grated parmesan cheese. Get creative and make it any way you want it.

One thing to note, this dish needs to be served and finished immediately as the avocado sauce doesn’t re-heat well.

Ingredients

• 1 medium size ripe avocado (pitted, roughly cut)
• 1 clove of garlic (roughly chopped)
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro or herbs such as basil or parsley (optional)
• 160g pasta of your choice

For Garnishing

• A handful of roasted chopped walnuts (If roasting raw walnuts yourself, preheat oven at 160°C, place walnuts in single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until fragrant and toasted).
• A handful of frozen green peas (to add 2 minutes before the end of the cooking time)
• Lemon zest (from 1 lemon) – (this is grated lemon rind. Use a grater or zester for this)

Method

• Put water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add salt and pasta, reduce heat to medium, and cook until soft for about 8-10 minutes (depending on the brand).
• Drain the pasta but reserve 4 tbsps of pasta water. Return pasta to the pot with the water.
• Make the avocado sauce. Place chopped avocado, chopped garlic cloves, lemon juice, olive oil and cilantro or herbs (if used) into a food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and black pepper.
• Pour sauce onto the cooked pasta and toss until the pasta is fully coated with the sauce. Sprinkle green peas, walnuts and garnish with lemon zest. Serve immediately.

How to Open an Avocado

1. Cut the avocado in half, lengthwise around the seed. Cut deep until the knife touches the seed.
2. Twist and pull the two halves apart.
3. To remove the seed, stick the lower end of the knife into the seed. Twist the knife and the seed will pop out.

Simple Nutritious Avocado Drink

Here is another recipe from Food4Tots using the avocado.  This time, you get a goodness-packed beverage your kid will surely love. It’s also very filling.

Ingredients

• 1 fully ripened avocado
• 400ml fresh milk
• Honey to taste

Method

• Wash avocado. Slice it lengthwise.  Slip a large spoon in between the skin and the meat and scoop out the tender flesh.
• Mash with a fork.
• Mix half of the milk with the avocado puree and press it through a sieve.
• Add the remaining milk to the drink.
• Whisk the drink lightly until well combined.

Or (This is Yours Truly’s One-Step version)

• Dunk the avocado meat and milk into a blender
• Press ON and two whirrs later, you have your creamy avocado drink perfectly whipped and combined like a shake
• Add honey to taste.

Note

You can replace honey with condensed milk, brown sugar or Gula Melaka, just to have a Malaysian feel to the drink. Better yet ─ it can be totally kurang manis and be served sugar-free.

Sesame Honey Chicken Noodles

In Malaysia, noodles or mee, is another regular staple. We have so many varieties here ─ flat, round, thin, non-fried, made with or without egg, fresh or dried…you name it. All the varieties are available in the supermarket and by now, your child should be used to seeing it cooked and eaten in a variety of ways. Perhaps he has already tried some of the fare sold in coffeeshops.

So how about a twist to the usual Kon Lo Wan Ton Mee or Fish Ball Soup Mee (yawn) and try this instead? What’s eye catching about this recipe is that it has glorious colours ─ so appropriate for kids ─ and a combination of new flavours that could excite bored tastebuds.

The recipe comes from Ciara, of the My Fussy Eater blog who creates these recipes for her picky-eating children aged three and six to add fun into their mealtimes. My Fussy Eater is the top kids’ recipe site in the UK and Ireland.

So here’s Sesame Honey Chicken Noodles in all its flavours. It can be made in 15 minutes.

Ingredients

• 0.5 tbsp sesame oil
• 300g / 10 oz diced chicken breast
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• 1 carrot, shaved with a vegetable peeler
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 100ml chicken stock
• 1.5 tbsp cornflour
• 2 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 100g / 1 cup frozen peas and sweetcorn
• 150g / 5oz dried egg noodles
• 0.5 tbsp sesame seeds

Method:

• Heat the oil in a wok and add the diced chicken breast. Fry for 6-7 minutes until the chicken has just about cooked through.
• Add the red pepper, spring onions, carrot shavings and crushed garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly.
• Meanwhile cook the egg noodles in another pot according to the package instructions.
• In a small jug or cup mix the chicken stock and cornflour together well and add it to the wok along with the honey and soy sauce.
• Add in the frozen peas and sweetcorn and cook for another couple of minutes until the sauce has thickened.
• Drain the noodles and add them to the wok mixing well with the chicken, vegetables and sauce.
• Serve immediately with a sprinkling of sesame seeds on top.

For more mummy ideas and clever child care tips, visit Motherhood.com.my