The first you do when you have a toddler or any young child is to get them into the habit of eating healthy foods, which means you want to introduce them to fruits and vegetables at a young age.
When do infants start eating?
When infants begin eating solids, that starts around anywhere from four to six months of age, depending on the infant’s development. Next, you start feeding them rice cereal with formula or breastmilk, and eventually, you either buy store-bought baby food or puree vegetables, fruits and meats and give them your homemade baby food.
However, as infants grow into toddlers after each year of age, they can start eating solids that are not so pureed. That is because they have enough teeth to chew, and they have been eating solids for a while.
What should you give to infants?
So you want to cut their food up to the point that they will not risk choking it. However, your toddler is more than capable of eating small pieces of food if it is hard.
That is why you will want to know about some vegetable recipes for toddlers. That will give them an early start at eating healthy too!
Vegetable Recipes For Toddlers
Zucchini Carrot Muffins
Your toddler loves sweet pastries and candies. However, that is not good for them. So if you want to give them something sweet, you will want to provide them with something healthy.
That is why these zucchini carrot muffins will go over very well with your toddler (and you will love it too).
Ingredients
The following ingredients for this recipe are:
- One-half cup of grated carrots
- One-half cup of grated zucchini
- Two eggs
- One-half cups of chocolate chips
- One-half cup of mashed very ripe banana
- One and one-quarter cups of whole wheat flour
- One-quarter cup of melted butter
- One-quarter cup of maple syrup
- One teaspoon of baking powder
- One teaspoon of cinnamon
- One-half teaspoon of baking soda
- One-quarter teaspoon of salt
How to Make Zucchini Carrot Muffins?
Step 1: The first thing to do is to preheat the oven at 375 Fahrenheit or 190.5 Celcius and then begin beating the eggs.
Step 2: Next, please take out a muffin pan and spray it with non-stick spray.
Step 3: Then take a medium bowl and add the carrots, maple syrup, butter, eggs, zucchini, and banana.
Step 4: Next, begin adding the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and chocolate chips.
Step 5: Stir it well, and it will become a smooth batter which you will begin to spoon out into each of the muffin cups.
Step 6: Finally, place the muffin tin into the oven and allow it to bake for 15 minutes or until it is golden brown.
Step 7: Once the muffins complete the baking, take the tin out of the oven and place it somewhere to cool off for two minutes.
Then you will want to take a paring knife to remove the muffins, put them on a plate, and then give one to your child, and you go and enjoy one too!
Cauliflower Tots
If you are looking for a healthy snack that your toddler will love, then you will want to have the cauliflower tots recipe on hand. You may also enjoy a piece of one too!
Ingredients
The following ingredients are:
- One cup of chopped cauliflower florets
- One cup of cooked quinoa
- Two tablespoons of all-purple flour
- One egg
- One tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese
- One-third cup of grated mozzarella
- One-quarter cup of Panko breadcrumbs
- One-quarter teaspoon of salt
- One-quarter teaspoon of seasoning for pizza
How to Make Cauliflower Tots?
Step 1: The first thing to do is to preheat the oven to 375 Fahrenheit or 190.5 Celcius.
Step 2: Take a baking sheet and place parchment paper on it.
Step 3: Then take a kettle and put water into it to boil as you put the cauliflower florets into a bowl.
Step 4: Once the kettle whistles, grab it and pour the water over the florets in the bowl.
Step 5: Allow it to sit for five minutes, drain the florets, and pat dry them with a clean towel.
Step 6: Then take all of the ingredients except for the Panko breadcrumbs, where you will only take tablespoons of them and add them to the food processor.
Step 7: Blend them until the mixture turns into the batter.
Step 8: Next, grab the batter and roll them into balls, and dip them into the remaining Panko breadcrumbs to coat them.
Step 9: Then place the balls onto the baking sheet and then put it into the oven for about 24 minutes.
Step 10: That is enough time to cook them, and when they are golden brown on the outside, that is a sign that the cauliflower tots are ready to go.
You may want to serve them with ketchup!
Cheesy Kale Bites
You would think that the last vegetable that a toddler would want to eat is kale, but if you prepare it in a way that is so delicious, they will eat it up, so to speak! They will love the cheesy baked kale recipe, which can be a side dish for your toddler.
Ingredients
First, you will need to head to the grocery store and grab:
- Two kale bunches with the removal of the stems
- One-half cup of grated mozzetta cheese
- One-half cup of frozen peas
- One-quarter cup of cornmeal
- One-quarter cup of grated Parmesan
- One egg
- One-half teaspoon of pizza seasoning
How to Make Cheesy Kale Bites?
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 375 Fahrenheit or 190.5 Celcius, and then take a baking sheet and place parchment paper onto it.
Step 2: Put the kale into a skillet and add one cup of water, and heat it for five minutes covered to wilt the leaves.
Step 3: After that, drain the kale leaves and pat them dry.
Step 4: Then add the kale to the food processor along with the other ingredients and blend it well.
Step 5: Next, scoop the batter out and roll them into balls.
Step 6: Place them onto the baking sheet and put them into the oven for 20 minutes or until they become golden brown.
Then serve them to your toddler and other kids!
Take a look at more recipes like this HERE.
Conclusion
All parents worry that their fussy toddlers will not eat vegetables enthusiastically. That is because fruits are sweeter than vegetables, and even though fruits are good for the growth of toddlers, they contain a lot more sugar than vegetables.
Fortunately, there are methods to make vegetables exciting for kids of all ages‘. That is why there are recipes that involve vegetables for toddlers that they will love.
These recipes also work for older children, teens, and adults who are not keen on eating vegetables. They end up eating vegetables without them even realizing it because the recipes are there to mask a lot of the taste of vegetables.
If you like these recipes feel free to comment below.
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