Meg's Meal Planning

Toddler food

No bake healthy Cheerio bars

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No-bake, healthy peanut butter and honey Cheerio bars is an easy breakfast or snack idea for kids and adults. Add in dried fruit, coconut, or mini chocolate chips for a fun treat! 

We are just finishing the 3rd week of quarantine due to COVID-19. With no end in sight, I’ve been looking for more ideas to do at home with my kids. So far, we’ve done yoga and music class on YouTube, teddy bear “hunts” in our neighborhood, tons of outside time, too many arts and crafts to count, and lots and lots of fort building. If you’re like me and are looking for a new idea to do with the kids, try making these no-bake, healthy, Cheerio bars!

Cheerio bars have only three ingredients – peanut butter, honey, and of course, Cheerios! Three staples in our house, we’ve been making a batch every week. Another bonus is this is a guilt free snack! Who else feels like they snack all day long?!

honey cheerio bars

You can add any kind of dried fruit, dried coconut, or even mini chocolate chips for fun. We added dried blueberries to this batch. If you are keeping it simple with just the three main ingredients, you can cut back on how much peanut butter you use.

No bake healthy Cheerio bars
 
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No-bake, healthy peanut butter and honey Cheerio bars is an easy breakfast or snack idea for kids and adults. Add in dried fruit, coconut, or mini chocolate chips for a fun treat!
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast
Ingredients
  • 1 cup peanut butter (if not using any additional ingredients, use only ¾ cup peanut better)
  • ½ cup honey
  • 3 cups Cheerios
  • 1 cup dried blueberries (optional)
Instructions
  1. In a medium pot, heat the peanut butter and honey over medium heat together until melted, about 5 mins.
  2. Remove from heat, add in the Cheerios and dried blueberries. Stir together.
  3. Line a square pan with aluminum foil and pour Cheerio mixture into the pan.
  4. Press down and refrigerate for at least one hour.

 

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3 ingredient no bake cheerio bars

Oven Baked Pork Schnitzel

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Super easy oven baked Pork Schnitzel is an easy week night recipe. Pair it with potatoes and a salad for an easy and satisfying dinner.  

Pork Schnitzel

Looking to get in the fun of celebrating Oktoberfest? Then try this easy oven baked Pork Schnitzel. It’s healthier than pan frying, but tastes just as delicious. It also is a great make ahead meal and stores well in the freezer.

Pork schnitzel is a popular German dish prepared by breading and frying thin pork cutlets. Although there are many varieties of schnitzel like chicken, veal, and turkey. Pork is one of my personal favorites. The key to a good schnitzel is a meat mallet. You need to pound the pork very thin.  Skip the gym and have this be your arm work out!

Baked port schnitzel

Oven Baked Pork Schnitzel
 
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Super easy oven baked Pork Schnitzel is an easy week night recipe. Pair it with potatoes and a salad for an easy and satisfying dinner.
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 4 boneless pork chops, pounded until ¼ inch thick
  • ½ cup flour
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp roasted garlic powder
  • 2 eggs whisked
  • 1 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425.
  2. Combine flour and spices in shallow bowl. Eggs in another, and breadcrumbs in another
  3. Dip each piece of pork into flour, shaking off excess. Then dip into egg, then bread crumbs. Place pork on a lightly oiled wire rack over baking sheet.
  4. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip and bake another 5 minutes.

 

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Healthy oven baked pork schnitzel

Healthy Toddler Quinoa Pea Mini Muffins

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Healthy finger food for your picky eater. These mini muffins have protein and veggies packed in. Your little one will love this fun finger food. They also store great in the freezer!

Quinoa pea mini muffins

Do you have a picky eater on your hands? Every mom will love these quinoa pea mini muffins. The pros are endless: they are baked, they store great in the fridge AND FREEZER, and they are packed with protein and veggies. Do I have your attention yet?

Every toddler out there will love this finger food. Trying baby-led weaning? This healthy meal is easy for little fingers to pick up. The quinoa and peas are combined with an egg and shredded cheese mixture, making everything stick together great! Ever give regular quinoa to your little guy or girl? You need to break out the vacuum after, but not with this almost mess-free meal!

My son loves these quinoa pea mini muffins. They can easily be packed and transported for lunch or dinner at Grandma’s. I love making a large batch, leaving some in the fridge for the week and storing the rest in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Healthy Toddler Quinoa Pea Mini Muffins
 
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Healthy finger food for your picky eater. These mini muffins have protein and veggies packed in. Your little one will love this fun finger food. They also store great in the freezer!
Author:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • ½ cup cooked quinoa
  • 1 cup cooked peas
  • ¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 egg
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Mix quinoa, peas, cheese, and egg in a bowl. Stir together.
  3. Spray mini-muffin tin with cooking spray.
  4. Using spoon, scoop up mixture and place into mini muffin tin.
  5. Bake for 20 minutes.

 

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Toddler food quinoa pea mini muffins

Raspberry Lemon Greek Yogurt Bites

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Raspberry lemon greek yogurt bites are a healthy, no bake snack. Sweet, delicious, and only four ingredients. 

Raspberry lemon greek yogurt bites

Raspberry was a fruit I used to dislike strongly. When given the choice of blueberry picking or raspberry picking, I would ALWAYS pick blueberries. And it’s still a fruit I rarely buy in the store, but while recently food shopping, the rich color grabbed my attention. I gave in, picked up a container and added it to my cart. And I’m so happy I did!

Raspberries have huge health benefits; they are full of antioxidants, which can decrease the risk of heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. No wonder they are one of the most consumed fruits in America!  These raspberry lemon greek yogurt bites are healthy and have only four ingredients! You will feel guilt-free snacking on them!

Greek yogurt bites

Raspberry Lemon Greek Yogurt Bites
 
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Raspberry lemon greek yogurt bites are a healthy, no bake snack. Sweet, delicious, and only four ingredients.
Author:
Recipe type: Snack
Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • 1 cup fresh raspberries, washed
  • ½ cup plain greek yogurt
  • 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • ¼ tsp raw and unfiltered honey
Instructions
  1. Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth.
  2. Insert muffin liners into a mini-muffin tin.
  3. Add raspberry blend to muffin liners and freeze for two hours.

 

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Raspberry Greek yogurt bites

Vegetarian, Cheesy Quesadilla

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A protein-powered lunch, dinner, or snack with spinach and quinoa that both adults and kids will enjoy eating. 

Vegetarian, cheesy Quesadilla

 

I love to make a large batch of quinoa at the start of a week. It’s so versatile. You can throw it on top of a salad, add to a soup, or mix with other ingredients for a quinoa salad. Today, I made my first vegetarian, cheesy quesadilla with spinach and quinoa.  Since my toddler loves carbs (rolls, muffins, bread, and wraps, especially quesadillas), I knew this recipe would be perfect for him!

Quinoa for a toddler can be messy! But when it has melted cheese and is packed into a tortilla, you won’t even need to break out the vacuum after the meal!  The following recipe is for one quesadilla; it only calls for a little quinoa, so make sure you have other quinoa meals planned like spicy shrimp with garlicky parmesan quinoa, southwest fiesta quinoa salad, or chicken sausage quinoa stuffed peppers.

 

Vegetarian, Cheesy Quesadilla
 
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A protein-powered lunch or snack with spinach and quinoa that both adults and kids will enjoy eating.
Author:
Cuisine: Mexican
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • 1 whole wheat tortilla
  • 2 tbsp cooked quinoa
  • 1 tbsp frozen chopped spinach, thawed
  • ¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
  1. Cook frozen spinach according to package directions.
  2. Heat skillet over medium-low heat.
  3. On half of the tortilla, add the quinoa, spinach, and cheese. Fold in half.
  4. Place quesadilla in skillet and cook over medium low heat until browned. Flip and repeat.
  5. Remove from pan, cut into wedges, and serve.

 

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Vegetarian Cheesy Quesadilla

 

 

Healthy “Red Velvet” Mini Muffins

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A flourless, healthy mini muffin made with beets is the perfect Valentine’s Day snack for you and your little ones!

Who else struggles to introduce new foods to their toddlers?! This mama sure does. My son ate everything I gave him until around 13 months; I didn’t believe when people said his tastes would change. Now, he promptly tells me “NO” if given a new food he’s not interested in.

I bought a large, BJ’s-sized box of precooked beets. I thought to myself, “How perfect, they are already cooked and soft; all I have to do is open the package and slice them!” WRONG.

My crazy toddler tells me no every single time. I keep trying to give them to him with the hope that one day he’ll eat it. In the meantime, I don’t have room for a package of frozen beets in my freezer. One of the recipes I made are these mini beet muffins! The recipe makes 24 cute little muffins. They store great in the freezer and make a perfect on the go snack! For more toddler/kid friendly food ideas click here.

Healthy "Red Velvet" Mini Muffins
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Healthy Toddler Food
Serves: 24
Ingredients
  • 3-4 precooked beets
  • ½ cup peanut butter
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • ⅛ cup pure maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Place the precooked beets, peanut better, cocoa powder, maple syrup, baking powder, and vanilla extract in a food processor and blend until smooth.
  3. Add the eggs and blend for a few more seconds.
  4. Fill up a greased mini muffin tray.
  5. Bake for 20 minutes.

Cheesy Spinach Pasta

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This simple, toddler-friendly dinner idea takes less than 15 minutes to put together and packs in some hidden spinach. Your little one is sure to love it!

Noah is funny when it comes to pasta. He loves spaghetti, I think mostly because he likes to slurp it between his lips. But penne or elbows he won’t eat! Even with the same sauce he won’t touch it. But he loves this recipe; I’m not sure if it’s the sauce or the shape of the pasta. Either way, he eats a big bowl every time! Since it has spinach mixed in the sauce, I’m not complaining.

5.0 from 2 reviews
Cheesy Spinach Pasta
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 2-3 big handfuls of fresh spinach
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 2 tablespoons cream cheese
  • 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
  • 2 cups uncooked mini pasta
Instructions
  1. Cook pasta according to package directions (I used ditalini)
  2. Combine the spinach, milk, and cheeses in a food processor. Blend until smooth
  3. Stir the sauce over the cooked pasta

 

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