Baby Cubby Wants All Toddlers to Enjoy Their Meals

My daughter Scarlett is a very easy eater.  She likes practically everything I serve her, and that makes life so much less challenging.  It can be very frustrating to figure out what to feed your child when they refuse things. Hopefully you have a child who likes to eat like I do.

Baby Cubby is an online children's shop that is made up of parents who understand what parenthood is like and are passionate about encouraging, inspiring, and reminding parents how important their role is.  You'll notice your favorite brands featured on Baby Cubby like Stokke, 4Moms, and even UppaBaby! Baby Cubby is truly a baby headquarters and you can find anything you need on the site from nursery and baby gear to feeding, clothes, and beyond.

The shop finds the highest quality and safest baby gear to provide to parents in a fun shopping experience.  The brand offers a price match guarantee even on Amazon, so you know you're getting a great deal.  You'll be happy to know that they carry only the highest quality and safest baby gear so that you can shop confidently.  Baby Cubby actively engages with parents via social media and their Cubby Community Blog to discuss some of the difficult topics of parenting.

As a parent, I'm always looking for new things to make Scarlett for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Since I don't have endless time to prepare meals with a 2.5 year old running around, my favorite things to make are quick and easy but still delicious.  Anything that I can make in volume is ideal, since it will create leftovers that work for a meal for another day.  Luckily since Scarlett has no food allergies or restrictions, everything is fair game. I always pair fruit or veggies with everything I make.  She's such a good eater that it makes cooking for her a pleasure.

To initially make mealtime fun for little ones, you have to start with the plates and utensils to engage them with.  We have plenty of brightly colored plates as well as ones that have animals and Scarlett's favorite Sesame Street characters.  Scarlett has an Elmo spoon and fork set that she requests for every meal so it has to constantly be washed.  We also have girly utensil sets that have flowers on them too that are a close favorite.  She seems to gravitate more towards "exciting" dinnerware rather than ordinary.   You can find fun and interesting feeding options here.

Scarlett is most interested to have fruit at breakfast.  If you served her a fruit salad, she'd be in heaven.  She's not a huge lover of pancakes or waffles but opts for bananas, blueberries, and apples with Greek yogurt.  I also make her cheese eggs with toast and applesauce on the side too.  I notice that she always eats her fruit first!

Wheat toast with strawberry jelly, blueberries, and cheese eggs.  Feel free to not put cheese in the eggs if you'd prefer your child to not have it.  Scarlett goes nuts for her blueberries and can go through a whole container in record time if she had the opportunity!

When lunchtime rolls around, I usually make her light fare such as peanut butter and jelly, grilled cheese, English muffin pizza bagels, or turkey and cheese sandwiches.  I pair all food with a side like mixed veggies or some cheese crackers.  If I'm feeling creative, I'll make her sandwich in the shape of an Elmo with an Elmo sandwich cutter.  She loves that and it gets her to eat.  

It's important to me to not have her consume anything too heavy where she won't be able to eat dinner.  Scarlett is a huge vegetable lover and really loves sliced carrots, peas, and tomatoes.  Since Scarlett is in camp all week, I'm packing her lunch so she eats there.  I make sure she has healthy but filling options to keep her sustained while she plays outside.

This was Scarlett's lunch from camp yesterday.  Turkey and cheese roll-ups, Pirate's Booty, sliced carrots, blueberries, and a fig cookie.  She enjoyed everything and there was nothing left in her lunchbox! 

For dinner, I usually give Scarlett a heavier option such as chicken and cheese quesadillas with pineapple salsa, pasta, chicken cutlets, mac and cheese, and so on.  I make sure she has enough to eat to get her through the rest of the day and night on a full belly.  She'd have pasta and pizza every night if given the chance! 

Homemade breaded chicken strips with mac and cheese and mixed veggies.  I take boneless skinless thin-sliced chicken breast and dip it in egg.  Then I take the egg mixture and toss it in Italian and garlic seasoned breadcrumbs and then cook it in a pan with a little oil.  It's crispy like a chicken nugget but without the deep-fried guilt.  My daughter loves them! The best part is that since the package of chicken is big, you'll have leftovers. 

Toddlers go through phases of eating and can become picky with no notice.  Scarlett is usually pretty good about trying new foods.  If she doesn't like what she's served, I try to reintroduce the foods a few days later to see how she responds then.  It's trial and error with those tiny cuties! Remember, don't get frustrated and they will eat when they're hungry.  Happy cooking!

*DISCLOSURE* I received compensation from Baby Cubby in exchange for this post.  All thoughts are strictly my own.