14 Easy Mealtime Hacks for Parents of Toddlers

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Not sure how to introduce a new food, rotate in classics, and manage the meal prep madness with little kids underfoot?

Here are some mealtime hacks for parents like you to help ease the stress of feeding your little people (and yourself!).

You can live intentionally with passion and purpose as God’s beloved.

I hope these hacks inspire you to be more intentional with how you’re spending your time and energy!

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Ready? Let’s dive in!

Note: A few of these hacks are also on the post for 11 Mealtime Hacks for People Who Want Stress-Free Meals.

Mealtime Hack #1: Plan your meals in advance

When I was a kid, my mom had me pick out my clothes the night before so the morning hustle would be less stressful.

The same concept applies to meals and snacks. By taking some time to plan your them in advance, you can reduce:

• Feeling hangry because you want to eat RIGHT NOW but don’t know where to start
• Scrambling together dishes only to realize you don’t have the necessary ingredients
• Potentially more hangry people because you need to feed them, too.

Not sure how to start meal planning? Read How to Make Meal Planning and a Food Inventory that Actually Works.

(Note: If you don’t want to print off a food plan every week and/or don’t have beautiful handwriting, this approach is for you!)

Think meal planning is too much work? Here’s some interesting research about meal planning

• Meal Planning: The Science –  A cross-sectional study indicates that meal planning may increase home meal prep, which is associated with improved diet quality, food variety, compliance with dietary guidelines, and weight status.
• Go Further with Food with Meal Planning – Meal planning can improve your health, maximize your budget and reduce food waste. (More helpful tips for getting started is listed, too!)

Mealtime Hack #2: Rotate in easy hit dishes into your meal planning

It can be a little crazy-making trying to figure out the balance between introducing new foods, rotating in classics, and navigating grabby little hands during meal prep.

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We like to keep these factors in mind when planning meals:

• What do we currently have available (homemade freezer dishes are a big feature in our meals)
• What tend to be easy hits with our child
• What food needs to be used up sooner (like perishable vegetables, etc.)

For instance, currently, our son loves dishes with marinara-based sauce. We like that option, too, so that’s on the menu every other week.

When it’s just the hubs and I for dinner, we prioritize the dishes that either

1. Little Man isn’t digging or
2. Aren’t Little Man friendly (like nachos – because we’re super healthy all the time…)

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Mealtime Hack #3 Simplify your planning with themed meals

Now doesn’t that sound fancy? Like a fairy princess party for a five-year-old?

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But, no, we’re going far more simple than that. Basically, you give yourself a framework for what you’ll eat on certain days.

You could do it based on the type of dish, such as:

• Mexican food
• Italian food
• Asian food
• Pizza
• Breakfast
• Etc.

Or you could base it on how you’ll prepare your food, like:

• Crockpot
• Instant pot
• Oven baked
• Cold cuts (i.e. no cooking)
• Frozen entree nights (more on that later)

Really, it doesn’t matter how you decide to do themed nights.

What’s most important is that it serves you and your household.

And if it doesn’t? Pivot. Try a different approach. Give Yourself Grace to Pivot

I also apply this concept to breakfasts and lunches. Here’s what we do for breakfast:

• Mondays and Tuesdays: Egg + Muffin
• Wednesdays + Thursdays: Hot cereal
• Fridays: Peanut Butter something

Let’s take Mondays and Tuesdays: Egg + Muffin. I actually have a lot of variety within this. We could have:

• Eggs: Scrambled eggs, fried eggs, omelet, a breakfast burrito, hardboiled eggs, etc.
• Muffins: Applesauce, pumpkin, spinach, peanut butter banana, etc.

Honestly, this is a great option for people without toddlers, too. Just pick a combination that you would be okay with eating frequently and plug it in!

Mealtime Hack #4 Learn when is the best time to try new dishes with your toddler

Most likely, your toddlers are honest food critics. Either they chow down enthusiastically or toss it overboard.

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If that’s the case, you know how important it is to be judicious about introducing new dishes to your table. You don’t want anyone to go hungry, but gosh darn it you want something new!

Since our child can be a bit fickle about new dishes, we tend to introduce them at lunchtime on the weekends. If he doesn’t eat much, we always have supper to lean on.

Note: We tend to apply this concept mostly to the main dish. Sides, snacks, etc. are fair game at any time!

Mealtime Hack #5 Have some easy go-to options when your child is not digging the meal

Each of us can be persnickety about food. Sometimes you’re totally on board with eating chicken soup and at other times it sounds like the most boring thing ever.

Honestly, should it be surprising that our toddlers and kids can feel the same way, too?

With that in mind, it’s helpful to have some “easy nourishing wins” in mind when your child isn’t on board with the meal for the night.

Note: I’m not advocating giving your child whatever they want whenever they want it. I also don’t think we need to morph into a short-order cook to meet the demands of a little person.

We have a running mental list of alternative food options that are:

1. Easy to prepare within minutes
2. Nourishing
3. Satisfying to Little Man.

A few of our “easy nourishing wins” for Little Man include:

• Yogurt
• Squeeze pouches (typically a veggie + fruit blend)
• Granola bars
• Peanut butter bread
• Hummus
• Smoothies

Ultimately, you know your child best, so note what works for your household.

You get to decide what satisfies your “nourishing test” and your child’s “taste test.”

Mealtime Hack #6 Have secret sauces on hand

One of the best tips I picked up from But First Coffee was super simple: add ketchup.

Sometimes dishes need a little lovin’ to take them up to the next level. Or simply to get your child to eat it.

Okay, so her whole video isn’t about ketchup for toddlers (though it’s SO helpful!). See the video below.

What My Toddler Eats in a Week | 1-YEAR-OLD MEAL IDEAS

Previously we’d offer Little Man eggs and he’d alternate between eating 1-3 bites and scraping it off of his tongue and onto the splat mat.

Then we added ketchup and it was an instant hit. (Huzzah!)

While we don’t drown his food in condiments, it’s been helpful to discover how little modifications/additions might encourage him to eat more of his main dish.

Here are some of our toddler-approved add-ins (some healthier than others…):

• Ketchup
• BBQ sauce
• Ranch dressing
• Maple syrup
• Cream cheese
• Sour cream
• Marinara sauce
• Tahini
• Peanut butter

Try using the secret sauce trick for your kids, your sweetheart or yourself.

Bonus tip: Freeze your secret sauces if you’ve got the space

Since Little Man likes marinara sauce so much, I freeze leftover marinara sauce into cubes. Every other week for lunchtime, I’ll defrost a few blocks so he and I can have them as the launching point for lunch.

I’m a huge fan of these

Mealtime Hack #7 Get acquainted with your child’s eating quirks

You know all those charming photos of toddlers with little dishes displaying a vibrant, well-balanced meal?

That’s not my child. We’ve learned that Little Man tends to be more overwhelmed if his plate has his whole meal on it. Either he ignores the food or tosses it overboard.

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In this season, it’s been better for us to give Little Man a few bites at a time on his plate, so he’ll actually eat it. Typically, we start with the food he tends to be less excited about and then add the easy hits. (For him, that’s veggies and fruits.)

Mealtime Hack #8 Invite your kids into the action

As a fairly newbie parent (2 years in, baby!), here are some things that have helped us when our toddler wants to be part of the food action.

Here’s a bunch of micro-hacks to invite your kids into the action!

#9 Ask your child to help out!

I feel like we’re just on the cusp of this, but basically, when you can, invite your child into the mealtime prep. Can they peel the fruit? Crinkle cut something? Spread butter? Spin the spinach?

As parents, we shouldn’t expect perfection, but inclusion. Personally, if my kid wants to help out with food times, rock on! Let’s do it.

Will it be messy? Probably.

Will it take longer? Most likely

According to North Dakota State University, inviting your kids into the kitchen can help them develop:

• Basic cooking skills, including cleanup
• Reading and math skills as they read recipes and measure ingredients
• Eating healthfully
• Self-confidence
• Self-care and personal responsibility
• Following directions and cooperation

Isn’t that exciting?!

#10 Get a learning tower

Basically, a learning tower is a safe step stool for small children to be part of family activities at countertop levels. I’ve raved about this before, but seriously, it’s a game-changer.

Rather than Little Man clinging to our legs to see what’s happening, he just climbs up to observe (or try to grab).

Note: Unfortunately, our current learning tower wasn’t available on Amazon, last I checked. I’ve listed some options that may work for you and your family.

#11 Set safe zones for your child in the kitchen

Since our child literally moves his tower around the kitchen, we’ve set up our kitchen to be more roaming toddler friendly. For us, that means:

• Covering open outlets (duh)
• Having drawers that he can dig into at his heart’s content
• Blocking off oven access (a good rubber rug sufficiently prevents his learning tower from going there)
• Letting him play in the sink
• Relocating things that I’m tired of stepping on (ice cream scoop, I’m talkin’ to you!)

#12 Offer them a small snack while you work

When I batch prep our sandwiches, our son tries to steal the bread.

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To cut down on the thievery, I’ve learned to give him some bread with a little peanut butter on it.

(I also ask him to help me lick the peanut butter knife. He’s great at that!)

You can apply this idea to other meals you’re making. Can they nibble on some of the veggies? Have a little fruit?

Ideally, you’re offering enough of a snack to take the edge off but not so much that your child fills up before your meal!

#13 Just add water

One of the best sources of entertainment for our child is water – ice chips, ice cubes, plain water – he loves it.

It’s another easy win for him to enjoy playing with it while we work on supper.

Note: It’s also been helpful to have a big stack of towels on hand to wipe up slippery floors.

#14 Try introducing a special meal prep-only activity

Here’s another friend’s idea:

I bought a placemat for [my son] for when he’s older that I’m hoping will be a distraction/teaching tool for him to focus on or learn to sit at the table, practice patience, memorize scripture etc. He can read the puzzles while mama is prepping his food… hopefully some spiritual disciplines develop here 🙂 For just $4 at Mardel, why not give it a try, right?

Lindsey

Articles related to mealtime hacks for parents of toddlers

• 11 Mealtime Hacks for People Who Want Stress-Free Meals
• 5 Best Mealtime Products for Babies through Toddlers
• How to Make Meal Planning and a Food Inventory that Actually Works
• 6 Strategies to Be More Than a Hot Mess Mom
• 7 Ways that My Toddler Has Improved My Self-Care

Wrapping up these mealtime hacks for parents of toddlers

I hope this post discussing mealtime hacks for parents of toddlers has given you some realistic ideas for your household. Here are the hacks in a nutshell:

1. Mealtime Hack #1: Plan your meals in advance
2. Mealtime Hack #2: Rotate in easy hit dishes into your meal planning
3. Mealtime Hack #3 Simplify your planning with themed meals
4. Mealtime Hack #4 Learn when is the best time to try new dishes with your toddler
5. Mealtime Hack #5 Have some easy go-to options when your child is not digging the meal
6. Mealtime Hack #6 Have secret sauces on hand
   • Bonus tip: Freeze your secret sauces if you’ve got the space
7. Mealtime Hack #7 Get acquainted with your child’s eating quirks
8. Mealtime Hack #8 Invite your kids into the action
   • #9 Ask your child to help out!
   • #10 Get a learning tower
   • #11 Set safe zones for your child in the kitchen
   • #12 Offer them a small snack while you work
   • #13 Just add water
   • #14 Try introducing a special meal prep-only activity

You can live intentionally with passion and purpose as God’s beloved.

I hope these hacks have inspired you to be more intentional with how you’re spending your time and energy!

Which hack will you try first? Got some additional hacks to share? Let’s talk in the comments!

P.S. Want some crazy simple steps to start living intentionally? Grab the Embrace Your Potential Playbook. It’ll help you zoom in on your God-gifted personality and give you practical tips to be more intentional, passionate, and purposeful as God’s beloved so you can become the best version of yourself.