We’ve all been there. That stage of childhood where your toddler will not seem to eat anything. To say it is frustrating is an understatement. To prepare a healthy dinner for a toddler, be proud of how you have all the food groups covered, and then……you get THE face of defiance. They are no way eating whatever you are serving up, they clamp their little mouths shut, and they assume the position of battle. You, the tired and frustrated parent, accept defeat. It can be exhausting we know!
But don’t give up! Teaching your kids to enjoy and eat healthy foods is a skill they need to learn just like anything else. It takes lots of patience AND acceptance you will have nights when it is just not going to happen. You also need to have some good toddler friendly recipes in your arsenal that work for the whole family. Notice I said “whole family”. If you have not already, the toddler years are a good time to transition to one dinner for everyone. Don’t let yourself fall into the short order cook rut where you cook one meal for the kids, and then one for mom and dad. One Family. One Dinner. (repeat this often!)
To get you started, here is one of our all time favorite healthy dinner for a toddler: our Chicken Schnitzel recipe. It is a great replacement for store bought chicken nuggets. It is easy, has some extra nutrition because of the milk and eggs, and most importantly the kids (and adults) love it! The chicken is thin-sliced (you can buy it that way) so it cooks quickly and is then easy for little ones to eat, or for a parent to slice up. It works just as well with chicken tenders. Just add some thin-sliced veggies or fruit for a simple and complete dinner to please even the pickiest of toddlers! 
A Healthy Dinner for a Toddler: Chicken Schnitzel Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
- 3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup low fat milk
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 lbs boneless chicken breast, thin sliced
- 1 tbs olive oil
Instructions
Combine bread crumbs & cheese in bowl. Place milk & eggs in another bowl, beat with fork. Place flour in 3rd bowl. Dip pieces of chicken first in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Continue until all are coated. Heat oil in large skillet on med heat. Add chicken & cook for about 5 mins each side. You may need to do this in batches. Cook each piece until no longer pink inside and internal temperature is 165 F.
Cooking For Kids – Simplified
Finding healthy dinner for your children that they actually like to eat can be a challenge. To help, we created a kid-friendly weeknight dinner plan that you can download here.
Give it a try or sign up for a free trial of The Dinner Daily here. We offer complete weeknight meal plans, including a shopping list. And the best part is the flexibility. Choose meals we created just for picky eaters, that are still healthy and delicious and build a meal plan in just seconds that everyone will enjoy. Just select our new “Stick with the Basics” menu option on our easy sign up page.
