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There are a couple reasons I do our dinners this way. First, as a toddler, Meghan’s likes are not set in stone. Her palate is still developing and will be for years. If I planned our dinners around her current likes, I could easily limit the expansion of what she’ll eventually like. If she is ever going to like something, she has to be exposed to it enough to have it be familiar to her. I would also really be limiting what Tim and I eat for dinner! No, thanks.
I don’t prepare her something different than what we are having for similar reasons. I want her to experience all of different tastes and textures that we often eat so she gets used to them. Besides, who has time to make separate dinners? When we (God willing) have more children, I can just see where that would lead.
While I don’t totally plan our dinners around Meghan, I do adapt her meals from what I am already cooking to up the chances of her eating it. This was one of those meals that I adapted for her. Chipotles in adobo add quite a bit of spice to a dish, plus Meghan will not currently eat things mixed together. So our main course looked like the picture you see above, and Meghan’s dinner looked like this:
I separated the main components of the dish, the black beans, quinoa, and corn, and served them to her separated and plain. It wasn’t difficult to do this, it only meant I had a few more dirty dishes to clean. Okay, Tim had a few more dirty dishes to clean. 😉 We had some roasted sweet potatoes as a side dish and that is the other thing you see on her plate. This was a much more Meghan-friendly version of our dinner, but didn’t involve much extra work and she was still getting the same foods we were eating.
There aren’t many dishes out there that can’t in some way be adapted for toddlers or made more kid-friendly. So don’t be afraid to try this dish with your family; simply adapt it to fit the needs of your little ones.
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Chipotle Quinoa with Corn and Black Beans {and how to adapt for your toddler}
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
A flavorsome main that kids and adults will all love!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1–3 canned chipotle chiles, minced, with some of their adobo suace
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
- salt and black pepper
- 1 cup cooked or canned black beans, drained and rinsed
- 3/4 cup corn kernels (I used frozen)
- 1 1/2 cup vegetable stock
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium. When it’s hot, add the onion and cook about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute. Add the chipotles (I used 3) and adobo (the more sauce you use the spicier it will be; use almost none or a lot, depending on how hot you would like your final dish to be) and oregano and continue stirring for about a minute.
- Turn up the heat to medium-high and add the quinoa. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for 3-5 minutes.
- Add the beans, corn, stock, and a little more salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
- Stir, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Cook, without opening the lid, for 15 minutes.
- Uncover and check the quinoa for doneness. If it is still a bit crunchy, add more liquid (only if necessary) and cover and cook for another 5 minutes or so. When the quinoa is tender, taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Serve warm or at room temperature with lime wedges.
Notes
Adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: main meal
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 212
- Sugar: 4.25g
- Sodium: 99.5mg
- Fat: 9.25g
- Carbohydrates: 27.7g
- Protein: 6.3g
Question: Do you adapt your meals for you toddler or children? Or will your children eat most meals as-is? Share your tips!
So good for mom and picky toddler 😍
Maryea,
My boyfriend took it upon himself to tackle the weekly grocery shopping, which requires finding the recipes of the week. We’re always trying something new to add excitement to our few staples. When the shopping and cooking were done, I was handed a bowl of this recipe—He took the liberty of adding all 3 chipotle peppers— and while my mouth is on fire while I eat this (right now!), I have to say, I still I LOVE it!!! I’m excited to make eat again and again and see this becoming a staple in our household. Somehow I’m not turned off by the taste of quinoa on it’s own, but the ingredients in this recipe transforms quinoa into special I gobble down with pleasure and ease.
Thanks for posting! 🙂
Opps! I meant somehow I AM turned off by the taste of quinoa on it’s own*
I love it–you guys are hardcore adding all 3 chipotle peppers! 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. I agree that quinoa on its own is nothing to write home about, but with the right ingredients added it can be spectacular.
We’ve settled on 1 pepper now 😉
I absolutely love your philosophy on raising Meghan! My parents have always raised us the same way, it was either we eat what was for dinner (which was often gourmet, sophisticated things that most kids had never even heard of), or we could make a peanut butter and jelly (which none of my siblings and I even liked all that much!) Needless to say, as teenagers, we love eating the crazy foods my parents raised us on, and are possibly the least picky eaters of all the people my age that I know! I’m sure your daughter will have a similar affect, as she is fortunate enough to have such loving parents like you two that have her try the different foods you enjoy, regardless of whether she wants them necessarily or not. Anyway, LOVE love love your blog and so glad I found you, you have such great recipes that I absolutely can’t wait to try out; and, I LOVE your philosophy on raising children. What a great role model you are. 🙂
Thank you for your sweet words. It sounds like you have some awesome parents! 🙂
I couldn’t agree with you more on not catering to toddler taste buds. It’s always so disheartening for me to hear things like “Oh…”Little Tommy” won’t eat that so we don’t make it.” Kids’ taste buds adapt over time and there’s so much more of a chance that a child will not like something if you don’t keep trying in different forms. Of COURSE there’s certain foods that each individual child will truthfully just not care for but thinking a child’s dietary needs are met with pb& jelly and mac and cheese only is sad. You’re such a great mom!
1. Recipe = 2thumbs up! Chipotle & quinoa, Yum 🙂
2. I love reading your blog for ideas in how to cook for our 17 month old. She still nurses but eats 3 big meals + snacks too and I DON’T want to serve her packaged processed foods but I also have never had to actually cook for other people before, let alone a tiny rapidly growing human!
3. I still make things specifically for our little one :$ It’s a lack of know-how on my part I guess because after she goes to bed we often eat a frozen pizza or something not toddler friendly… Ooops.
4. However the little one is quite willing if I’m eating it too & will eat spicy green coconut curry and garlicky pesto (anything on pasta is a for sure but I hate feeding her pasta more than 2x week). My recipe reportoire is too limited at this point.
5. My latest new struggle is weight gain 🙁 from snacking with her : lots of things she won’t try unless I eat them first
Anyway I’m no help but you are a huge help! Thanks 🙂
I don’t want to make it sound like I don’t make things specifically for Meghan–I totally do. I just try to serve her the same dinner as us. But breakfast, lunch, and snacks are often made just for her! 🙂
This looks delicious, but I would have to plan a separate meal for my FIANCE!!! He is not into onions or spices, especially chipotles in adobe. It would be a very tasty lunch though!!! Thanks Maryea!!!
Fiances and husbands can be a lot like kids! 🙂
Ever since our daughter had campylobacter and Ecoli in 11/09–we have no idea how she got the bacterial infections–she has been a very finicky eater. Before she had the bacterial infections, she ate anything I put in front of her. Now she will only eat some stuff–i.e., she loves fruits–but refuses vegetables no matter how I make them. She is now almost three years-old and although I give her a great multivitamin, I still worry about her overall health. It is hard for a child her age to understand how important it is to eat healthy.
With that said, yes, I do not have to adapt our meals sometimes for our daughter. However, we are hoping that soon she starts to eating more and more foods. The past few weeks have gotten better and better with regard to her eating, so we are thankful for that!
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
Have you tried smoothies at all? That is the only way I can get greens in Meghan at this point. Her favorite combo is milk+yogurt+banana+orange+spinach+peanut butter. She loves it! It’s worth a shot if you haven’t tried it yet.
I sometimes cook separate meals at lunch often, since that is usually my time to make ‘my’ dishes like sauteed greens or raw salads or whatever other blog recipe strikes my fancy that day. My kids are pretty good eaters (one more than the other), but they will not eat a lunch of sauteed collard greens with namu shoyu and pumpkin seeds like I had today. 🙂
Both kids are expected to taste whatever dish I put in front of them, but if they don’t like it, they are free to fill up on sides and/or go to the pantry for nuts or cheerios. It saves me from cooking two main dishes, but also allows them to have some control over what they are eating. I do not believe in forcing children to eat, nor do I think we as moms should cater to their many food whims.
I like that you are open to working with Meghan’s palate and acknowledge that your approach may change if you are blessed with more kids. I have found my second to have a much different palate than my first, even though they were both raised with the same exposure to foods. I sometimes have to bite my tongue when moms of one boast about how they have mastered feeding their children – while I applaud that they are working to install good food habits, they also just lucked into having a good eater for their first child. My second has humbled me a bit from thinking that I have it all figured out. If there is ever a third, I have a feeling I’ll be humbled even more. 🙂
Yes, lunch is my time to cook separate meals, too! Lunch is an easier meal usually so it’s not as difficult.
At what age did you enforce the “you must taste what I put in front of you”. I’m working on that, but she doesn’t seem to understand that I’m not going to force her to eat it if she doesn’t like it and I don’t want to turn meal time into a battle. I’m hoping she starts to “get it” soon, because I know there are certain things that she’d like if she’d just try it.
I definitely have NOT mastered feeding Meghan, not even close. It’s something that I work on daily, but often fail. I’m often happy that she eats the amount of healthy food that she does, but of course there are days that I stress about her pickiness. She can look like a totally different eater depending on the day!
By about age 4 my daughter got the ‘you must taste it’ rule down. We are still working on with with my newly-3 little guy. They go through SO MANY different phases between 2 and 4, that I think occasional food battle are inevitable. Just like bedtime battles, discipline battles, behavior battles, etc. It’s never dull, huh?
that looks delish! I never cook separate for skylar. I keep scott’s flavor preferences in mind, i.e. not a fan of say mushrooms for instance, but if I make it, the family is eating it 🙂 Skylar is a super great little eater and has a great palate. I love your message and agree 100%
First picture is awesome, too!
The past post…love the recipe and red ribbon bowl. I have that one in black, blue, and a smaller one in hot pink!
That is great that Skylar is such a good eater. Has she always been that way or is it something you’ve had to work towards? I’m always interested in hearing other moms’ prospectives.
always 🙂 i serve what i serve and by default, she’s a great eater 🙂
Yum! I never cook separate meals for M. She’s always serve a version of what we eat 🙂
Looks yummy!
I don’t make different food for my kids either, although separating things can sometimes give me a better chance. I have to say my son is really good with trying new things. But if it’s really different or too veggie heavy, lunch is a WAY better option than dinner. He’s a morning person for sure and just can’t handle having a weird dinner, as opposed to lunch. Also, dip makes everything better. Whether it’s ketchup or hummus or some kind of gravy or sauce that he can dip food into – suddenly he loves it. Also calling things cool names has a big impact, and being excited about something yourself. Also I found saying things like “you might not like it” or “it’s spicy” can be really bad. Now I try to let him form his own opinions and I’m always surprised at what he likes. The thing is only you know your child the best. Some things work and some things don’t, you never know till you try right 🙂
That’s interesting–my husband just mentioned to me that I should try new things more at lunch rather than dinner. I’m going to have to keep that in mind.
You had me at Chipotle….yum! I may try this tonight for dinner! I often end up making back up meals for Carter. I just never know if he will eat something or not. I’ll give him a plate with the same food (or a version of it) that we’re having. If he doesn’t eat anything, I’ll offer it again an hour later OR make him something that I know he will eat. Probably not the best habit to start, but I don’t want him to go to bed hungry! <—– Mommy guilt
I hear you on the mommy guilt. I always make sure to offer at least one thing that Meghan loves so I know she’s not going to go hungry. And fruit for dessert is always an option for her, too. There are some days that she asks for other things, but I try to stand firm so she knows that what I serve her is her meal. It’s definitely not easy.
I just think this is the coolest thing! That deconstructing meals can have such a huge impact on a toddler’s willingness to eat different foods! =)