it's a Lee life: Toddler Meals

Okay mamas I know when you go to Pinterest and you search Toddler Meals - a ton of ideas pop up! But if you are like me I'm thinking "Wow, how do these moms have this much time to put into their kids food!?!"

I don't even cook that well for myself and my husband!

They also have all types of recipes with that one ingredient you need but will never use again for anything else. Don't get me wrong I LOVE to cook and I do use those recipes once in a while for inspiration but when I have two hungry kiddos, I need something quick & easy!

And lets get the facts straight right now, I am no Pinterest mom! I seriously wish I was but that is not one of my gifts God blessed with me.

That DIY gene skipped me!

I am just a mom who gets bored feeding her kids the same thing day after day so I have come up with fun, easy, and mostly healthy ways to get out of the chicken nugget rut.

{my kids eat those too from time to time!}

If you follow me on Instagram, {and if you don't - go right now @colleenmlee} I have shared a few ideas on my stories but I'm going to mention them again just incase!

We are really working on Ulric's colors right now, and even though he is non-verbal, he is really good at matching his colors! So I started a color foods game with him!

For example - obviously this meals theme was orange!

Mandarin oranges, carrots, and sweet potatoes {I also gave them shredded chicken for a protein but it didn't look as pretty in the picture!}

So I make up the colored meal and I get his color fish puzzle and ask him to select which fishy matches our food today! He giggles and laughs and {usually} picks the correct puzzle piece!

Now if your kid is verbal, obviously super easy and fun for them to tell you what color you are eating today and even help you select which foods go with the meal!

Red - apples, tomatoes, and pasta with red sauce with ground turkey

Yellow - mac and cheese, corn, and banana

Green - grapes, cucumbers, and I added green food coloring too scrambled eggs for breakfast once

Now, you don't have to be that into it {see that one ingredient you need} but you get the idea!

Have fun with it and it is usually things you are serving your kids anyways!

I think sometimes we can forget that our kids are people too. I mean you are feeding them baby food for like a year, it is hard to remember oh yeah, now that they are older they can eat what I eat! At least it took me a hot minute to get out of the baby food aisle.

This combo is a regular in our house! Mostly because Ben and I probably eat it once a week ourselves! I love wraps!

Just a whole wheat tortilla cut into triangle pieces, turkey slices {shredded them a little more for Sawyer}, cheese cubes, cucumbers and apples!

Another favorite in the Lee house! Taco Tuesday!

Warning - probably one of the messiest meals but my kids love it!

I mean who doesn't love tacos!?

Make them a little taco bowl with all the fixings:

Ground beef or turkey

Taco Bell has nothing on Chef Colleen!

For the most part the kids do eat what we eat but I just like to "kid it up" a bit sometimes!

If we are making grilled cheese or PB & J - I like to cut them into shapes!

I got the big cookie cutter shapes at the Dollar Tree and the tiny square cutter is called FunBites from Amazon. They also have triangle and heart ones!

SO cute for Valentine's Day coming up! Pretty sure anything I can put into a heart shape I will! I love making holidays special for my kids!

Saved the BEST for last!

Pizza is a weekly occurrence in our house! So I like to get the kids in on it too!

I'm sure you have seen this easy pizza roll up recipe on Pinterest but it is so delicious and takes max time 20 minutes!

All you need is Pillsbury crescent rolls, makes eight roll ups. Mozzarella cheese sticks and pepperoni. You can sprinkle cheese on top of the rolls too! Add any other ingredients like bacon or veggies! Also, I forgot this time but buy a little jar of marina sauce for them to dip them in too! Ully is really into dipping his food in sauces and condiments right now!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place crescent rolls on an ungreased baking sheet.

I added about three pepperoni's to the small end of the triangle and divided the cheese stick into little sections. Then, just roll up and fold over the ends to make them look all fancy!

Seriously makes your whole house smell like a pizzeria! Yum!

And husband approved too!

Okay, that is all I have for you guys! Hope one idea helps you this week with meal planning for your little humans! Let me know if you tried any of them and if your toddlers liked them!

What are some of your go to kid friendly meals??

And I love these Tommee Tippee divider plates! Only $5.99 for two on Amazon! And yes I give Sawyer a pink one and Ully a blue one! The joy of having one of each gender!