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This post is sponsored by Fred Meyer, however all opinions made are my own.
Feeding toddlers can seem impossible at times. I think we all know that.
Between the fits and simple “not wanting to eat”, my twin toddlers make it hard to get anything on the table, let alone something they will eat!
That is why I started making make ahead meals for toddlers.
So far, I am loving the cook one day and feed them for nearly the entire week thing!
And I used my favorite new recipe resource to fill in the blanks.
I usually use Pinterest to find new recipe inspiration, but I just recently found out I can find all of mine (and my toddlers!) favorite recipes on fredmeyer.com.
I am already on the site at least once a week anyways to put together my grocery pick up Clicklist order, but now making up the meal plan and grocery list is even easier.
On both the Fred Meyer website and app I can easily find recipes my whole family can enjoy, and then easily add the ingredients to my list or straight to my online cart.
That has been a huge game changer for me. One of my biggest struggles when making up recipes is remembering to buy all of the ingredients. But Fred Meyer has made it easier than ever to go straight from recipe to cart, which is awesome!
When it comes to using their recipe feature for finding recipes my toddlers will love, I simply search an ingredient they already love and the search function brings back loads of options for me to try out.
This week, I opted for a sheet pan breakfast, noodle lunch, and chicken dinner. All things I knew my twin toddlers would devour!
They are also things I knew would be good candidates for make ahead meals for toddlers by staying fresh in the fridge, so I could heat them up before serving during the week.
Something I also kept in mind was serving size. I opted for larger recipes because I knew they would feed my twins longer throughout the week. If you have one child, you might need to adjust these recipes.
But let’s dive into what I ended up feeding my twins in a day, so that I could make ahead meals for them for the week!
I opted for a breakfast sheet pan meal because one, it was super simple to make, and two, it made 6 servings, or 12 toddler servings. That means I have six days of breakfasts for my twins!
The recipe from fredmeyer.com was perfect, though I did alter it a bit.
Here is the recipe from the website:
Ingredients
- 8 slices Simple Truth™ Uncured Hickory Smoked Bacon
- 12 Simple Truth Organic™ Cage Free Large Brown Eggs
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 4 tablespoons butter, divided
- 6 Simple Truth Organic™ Wheat Flour Tortillas 6 Count
- 3 bags (6 oz.) Simple Truth Organic™ Mexican Style Blend Finely Shredded Cheese
- 2 handfuls baby spinach
- 1/2 cup Simple Truth Organic™ Mild Salsa
- 1 avocado, sliced
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Step 2 Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and cook 4–5 minutes on each side, flipping halfway. Remove from pan and pat off excess grease with paper towels. Roughly chop bacon and set aside.
- Step 3 In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Heat a tablespoon of butter in a large nonstick skillet. Once melted, pour in the egg mixture and gently scramble with a silicone spatula until mostly cooked. Set aside. (Eggs will continue to cook in oven.)
- Step 4 Line a half baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Cut 3 of the tortillas in half. Lay down the halves, overlapping, so that they cover the entire tray. Cut pieces out of another tortilla to fill in the corner gaps.
- Step 5 Spread out a layer of shredded cheese on the tortillas. Layer on the scrambled eggs and chopped bacon. Spread out the spinach, then top with another layer of shredded cheese.
- Step 6 Place remaining tortillas on top in the same arrangement as the bottom. Melt remaining three tablespoons of butter and brush over tortillas.
Instead of making fresh bacon, I bought pre-made bacon to make the prep go faster. Prep ended up being 15 minutes and cook time was 15 minutes. Making this a 30 minute meal covering 6 days of breakfast!
Talk about a WIN!
See, make ahead meals for toddlers don’t have to be daunting at all.
This was a super easy recipe that covers multiple days of breakfasts. Not to mention Kendall and Caeden ate every last bite!
Another WIN!
Then for lunch, I wanted a noodle recipe. They always seem to go over well with the twins.
So I opted for the Sausage and Tomato Pasta recipe from fredmeyer.com.
It is packed with veggies and yummy goodness. Perfect for trying to get your littles to eat more veggies in bite size pieces.
Here is the recipe straight from the site:
Ingredients
- 16 ounces pasta of your choice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound italian sausage, cut into 1/2″ slices
- 1 cup frozen petite peas
- 1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced
- 4 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese, shredded
Directions
- Step 1 In a large pot with boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente. Drain.
- Step 2 Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat melt butter, add onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add sausage and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes, until sausage is no longer pink.
- Step 3 Reduce heat to medium-low. Add peas, green pepper, chopped tomato, Parmesan cheese, fresh parsley, lemon juice and drained pasta to the large skillet. Cook until heated through, about 2 to 3 minutes.
I altered the recipe by changing up the kind of pasta used, and opted for ground sausage over sliced sausage.
It still turned out to be a win and will easily feed the twins and I for a good 4 days, which is how long the sausage lasts.
Then for dinner, the goal was to have the recipe work as one of my make ahead meals for toddlers, but I ended up having a dinner party!
But the twins, and other littles at the dinner party, gobbled up the meal so it will absolutely be something I make again soon!
The last of the make ahead meals for toddlers? Skillet Chicken Parmesan.
A classic favorite, but the fredmeyer.com recipe was phenomenal.
Everyone was asking for seconds, so I made a double batch!
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients
- 8 chicken breast cutlets (4 oz. each), pounded to ¼”–⅛” thickness
- 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp. kosher salt
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 2 cups jarred marinara sauce
- 8 slices mozzarella cheese
Directions
- Step 1 Season the chicken with Italian seasoning, pepper, and salt. In a shallow dish, mix together the Parmesan cheese and flour. Then, in a second separate dish, place the beaten eggs. In a third dish, place the bread crumbs.
- Step 2 Working with 1 piece of chicken at a time, dredge the cutlet into the flour mixture, then the beaten eggs, and finally the bread crumbs. Use fingers to gently adhere the bread crumbs to the cutlet and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining cutlets.
- Step 3 Heat wok over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot, cook 2 cutlets at a time for 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate and tent with aluminum foil. Repeat with the remaining cutlets.
- Step 4 Preheat the oven broiler. Place the cutlets in a baking dish. Cover the tops with the marinara sauce and place 1 piece of cheese on top of each cutlet. Broil until the cheese has bubbled and browned. Serve immediately.
I stuck straight to the recipe for this one and didn’t alter a thing.
And if I didn’t have a dinner party, this could have easily left enough left overs to feed our family of four for 2-3 nights.
Now I challenge YOU!
Head to fredmeyer.com and search for a few make ahead meals for toddlers your littles will love. You don’t have to be as ambitious as me and make them all in one day, because if I’m being honest it left my kitchen a mess and made for a crazy busy day.
But you can make them throughout the week and make life a little easier on yourself!
You got this mama.
Related Posts on Toddler Recipes:
Quick Breakfasts for One Year Olds
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