Heinz - Tinytums

Home Cooking

Meal Planning
It’s not easy catering for everyone, especially when the needs of a smaller family member have to be taken into account. There may be times when the family meal just isn’t suitable for your baby.

So here are a few ideas on how to plan your meals.

Breakfast
Breakfast cereals are a nourishing and easy start to the day. They’re usually fortified with important vitamins and minerals too, plus with a good drenching in milk, your toddler will be getting vital milky goodness too.

Try to avoid too many of the sweetened varieties and never add any extra sugar. If you find that your toddler will only eat the sweetened or frosted cereals, you can mix them up with some of the unsweetened cereals and gradually increase the ratio of unsweetened to sweetened. This way breakfast can still be enjoyable and nourishing while cutting down on the sweeter preference.

Toasted soldiers are good finger foods to have at breakfast too, with sticks of cheese or a well-boiled egg. You could also give apple slices and banana pieces at breakfast time, or try giving a bag of Toddler’s Own Oaty Mini Rusks for a nutritious breakfast on the go.

Meals
Now’s the time to get your toddler to start sharing meal times with the family. Most of the time you can adapt your own meal and chop it up to feed your toddler. For instance, if you are having Chilli con Carne you can make your usual meat or vegetarian recipe, but without added salt or chilli. Your toddler can have some of that with boiled rice, and then you can add the chilli and seasoning to suit your taste. Your toddler can have pasta with a simple tomato sauce (onion, carrot, celery and courgette cooked with a little garlic and a can of tomatoes), while you can liven your food up by adding more garlic, pesto, black olives seasoning and Parmesan cheese. Alternatively, if your meal is too spicy or you want to feed your toddler separately, a Heinz Toddler’s Own meal is a nutritious and convenient alternative. (link to product page)

Tea 
Sandwiches are another useful food and you can use wholemeal or white bread, or a combination. Choose fillings such as cheese or cheese spread, chopped ham, tuna or chicken, hard boiled egg, or a little jam or honey. Serve with sticks of cucumber, carrots or fruit.

As for desserts, there’s probably very little your toddler would refuse! Just try and keep it as the smallest part of the meal and not an alternative to the savoury option. Good standbys are pots of yogurt, fromage frais and mousse, as well as good old fruit pieces.

Drinks at mealtimes can be fruit juices or milk. It might be best to provide the drink halfway through the meal to make sure more food than liquid takes up that tiny tum.

Food Hygiene and Safety
It’s really important to be careful with cleanliness and safety when preparing food and drinks for your toddler. Here are a few tips:

Hygiene

• Wash your hands before preparing food
• Wash your toddlers hands before meals
• Wash all utensils, bowls, cups and spoons for feeding in hot soapy water
• Sterilise all bottles and teats for milk as long as you are using them

Food Hygiene

• Always throw away any uneaten food left in your toddler’s bowl or plate
• Check and follow the ‘best before’ dates on cans, jars and packets of manufactured food
• Don’t reheat cooked food more than once

Safety

• Don’t leave your toddler on their own with food or drink
• When using a high chair make sure it is sturdy with adjustable safety straps

And in case you run out of recipe ideas, there’s some inspiration in our recipes section.