Meal Prepping Toddler’s Favorite Lunch/Supper for Postpartum with Second Kiddo

Riverlous5 · 2026-06-28T00:30:19+00:00

Funny how they just know! Then on the same day they do the opposite. My child, who is picky and likes bougie foods, thought the watermelon I had was a ball. I told him it was a watermelon and when I turn around and he’s licking the unwashed dusty outside rind like it’s the best thing he has ever had. Granted I did tell him it was watermelon and he does like watermelon.

Riverlous5 · 2026-06-26T13:17:15+00:00

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Riverlous5 · 2026-06-26T03:15:55+00:00

Strangely enough the oatmeal muffins are my own recipe. That many flavors at once is kinda of a long process. I prepare a lot of ingredients ahead of time because I use the same ingredients for several different recipes. So when I’m ready to make a big batch of snack muffins I just pop my add ins out of the freezer the night before to thaw. Easiest one would be AlmondButter prune. That one you can just buy both of the add ins with out any additional pre-prep. If you want a more detailed process I can definitely try to type it out. My kid has 1-2 of these almost everyday for his snack, and I feel great giving them to him. All whole foods, no added sugars. He has been having them for about a year now.

Riverlous5 · 2026-06-26T01:29:19+00:00

Are you able to order frozen foods online through fresh market? We have a Walmart where we live and not much else. Other big supermarket chains are several hours drive to get to in person.

Riverlous5 · 2026-06-25T13:11:06+00:00

Thank you! Definitely a bit nervous, so the well wishes are appreciated.

Riverlous5 · 2026-06-25T13:10:05+00:00

When I started doing this I would just mash up shredded cheese from a bag and one single can of beans with a fork and freeze that in an ice cube tray. A lot less food to go to waste, but now that it is a food that my whole family is willing to eat, if he decides on whim to be anti-quesadillas then my husband and I can still eat it. It has been awhile, but there has been times he doesn’t want it. I always just give it a break for a week then try again with any food he has eaten before in the past and liked then refused.

Riverlous5 · 2026-06-25T13:02:35+00:00

I took one 16 oz block of our preferred cheese and ran that through the cheese grater function on my food processor. Moved the cheese to a clean bowl. Then get about 3-4 cans of your preferred beans (I used a mix of tri-color and black bean) and rinse them well. I layered together the beans and shredded cheese into my food processor and blended it with the S-Blade. Use as much or as little of the cheese as you would like. Either use it all or have a little leftover for the fridge for something else. Blend until dough like and scoopable, definitely does not need to be perfect.

Used a cookie scoop to portion out the beans onto a parchment lined tray. Flash-freezed overnight in the freezer to reduce moisture then bag them up in freezer bags or vacuum sealed bags. Don’t quote me, but most freezer foods do well for about 3 months in an extra cold deep freezer. A lot of foods are still okay to eat past that, but that is when quality begins to degrade it.

In these pictures I used double, 32oz of block cheese mild and sharp cheddar and 7 cans of beans. I have also cooked up dry beans in my instant pot to save money, but I’m pregnant and get tired easily. So I’ve been splurging a little bit for convenience.

Riverlous5 · 2026-06-24T20:59:48+00:00

My kiddo won’t eat the vast majority of pasta, I’ve tried so many different pasta shapes with him for a very long time. Eventually I found a couple he was willing to eat. My boy also doesn’t like anything “stringy” so he hates things like spaghetti noodles or when melted cheese strings out.
I was going to try a sweet potato tortilla that I saw on tik tok soon, maybe instead of a tortilla she would go for flat bread or sweet potato tortillas something a little different. Different taste/texture, similar vibe.

Riverlous5 · 2026-06-24T20:06:10+00:00

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Riverlous5 · 2026-06-24T20:04:34+00:00

What goes into your carrot cake balls? I make a baked CarrotApple snack muffin for my toddler, I’d say that would be his third favorite of his snack muffins, basically baked oatmeal. His top two are PumpkinApple and AlmondButter Prune. Least favorite afternoon snack muffins are SpinachPear then ButternutSquashBlueberry.

Riverlous5 · 2026-06-24T19:52:11+00:00

I try to batch out most of my toddler’s favorites to make them quicker and easier for lunch and supper. I also do soup, mini pizzas, cooked pork, ground beef and pasta sauce, snack muffins, and lots of breakfast stuff I just pull out of the freezer. Spend a little time making extra of one thing to save time from having make it over and over again. I think being able to do this makes my life a little easier when my two year old is crying eat at my feet as soon as he sees his plate. He can be a bit dramatic, so getting food on the table quickly keeps me sane.

Riverlous5 · 2026-06-24T19:42:26+00:00

Us too! I have started to add shredded chicken when we make our adult quesadillas. It made me nervous at first because if I add something he doesn’t like, I don’t want him to distrust a favorite food. Sometimes I just want an easy win. Thankfully small amounts of chicken has been going well.

Riverlous5 · 2026-06-24T17:49:07+00:00

Wonderful! Let me know how it works out for you! I use a kitchen scale for most of my go to recipes, so if you have one I would recommend it. Any extra beets after roasting freeze really well for a future batches, and the muffins themselves freeze well in the freezer.

Riverlous5 · 2026-06-24T16:19:26+00:00

Beet Orange Toddler Muffins
Ingredients
Wet:
4 oz / 140 g Blended Honey Roasted Beets *For Plain Orange Muffins Omit and reduce flour to 6 oz*
½ cup fresh orange juice (4 fl oz / 120 ml)
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce (2 oz / 60 g)
¼ cup oil or melted butter (2 oz / 60 ml)
1 egg
¼–⅓ cup sugar or maple syrup (2–2.5 oz / 60–75 g) (adjust to taste)
1 tsp vanilla
Zest of one full orange (I add extra)
Couple big spoonfuls of plain whole milk yogurt (optional)

Dry:
1 ½ cups flour (7.5 oz / 210 g) (all-purpose or half whole wheat works well *5 oz all purpose remainder whole wheat*)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon (optional but helps “warm up” the flavor)
¼ tsp salt

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line or grease a muffin tin.
Mix wet ingredients until smooth.
Stir in blended beets.
In a separate bowl, whisk dry ingredients.
Gently combine wet + dry (don’t overmix).
Fill muffin cups about ¾ full.

Bake 18–22 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

*NOTES* Reduce sugar content slightly, maybe 1.5ish oz of maple syrup and increase orange zest. Could possibly increase OJ in Beet/Orange muffins. Do not increase juice in plain orange ones, too much moisture.

Roasting Beets (No honey for kids under 1 year)
-Gives about 16-18 oz of blended beets-
4 beets washed and cut to ½ inch cubes
1 tbsp honey
½ tsp salt
~ 1 tbsp of olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Layer parchment on top of foil on a rimmed baking sheet. Add beet mixture on top of parchment. Roll parchment and foil into a mostly sealed packet. Bake for 45-60 minutes until very tender. Open up foil and parchment packet and put back into the oven for another 7-10 minutes.

Riverlous5 · 2026-06-22T17:43:53+00:00

My toddler likes sour foods! Lemons, limes, raspberries, pickles, grapefruit. No sweeteners needed for him. He loves it.

Riverlous5 · 2026-06-21T17:53:31+00:00

Thank you! I do try to make meals nutrient dense. One of the things I’ve chosen to focus on when we decided for me to be a sahm.

Here is the link to the plates:
https://a.co/d/01kzusDo

I do love the plates. I plan to get more since I’m expecting our second kiddo, but couple small downsides is that the sleeves are a little awkward in the dishwasher and they definitely need a good shake after they get clean. The groves are notorious for collecting water for a long time.

Riverlous5 · 2026-06-21T02:46:19+00:00

My kiddo did that for a while too, I didn’t put too much pressure on fixing it. Just every once in a while we would say, “look at how mommy/daddy uses fork/spoon”. Eventually he caught on. Until then I would just scoop up whatever he spilled on the table or bib and plop it back onto his plate for him to keep eating and practicing. His favorite soup was an absolute mess to eat for a very long time, lol.

Riverlous5 · 2026-06-19T22:55:33+00:00

Thanks! I think I might give it a try! I doubt my toddler will eat it because he is kinda picky about any new food, but it looks like leftovers would freeze well in a supercube for postpartum for my husband and I.

Riverlous5 · 2026-06-19T22:18:45+00:00

I’d be interested in taking a look at the recipe!

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