Welcome

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Updated on 5 min read
  1. Who is New Dad’s Kitchen for, exactly?
    Anyone! Fathers, of course. New ones and/or dads who have become parents to another child, especially. But the toddler recipes on the site are not dude specific or required; they’re merely created by a dad and designed to appeal to and assist other dads. We welcome mothers, grandmothers, aunts, friends, other family members, et al. to access and leverage the toddler recipes on the site for their own use, whether it’s to help fathers and their child(ren), or even to help anyone but dad.
  2. What ages do the recipes cover?
    Generally speaking, six months to five years–though many of these recipes could carry on well into the elementary years. For infants from six to twelve months who are just being introduced and acclimated to solid foods, we have a whole section called Starting Solids dedicated to recipes for baby mouths. A majority of the content on the site, though, are toddler recipes, geared toward toddlers between the ages of 1 and 4.
  3. What makes New Dad’s Kitchen different from other child-focused cooking platforms?
    Content and attitude. We’ve got dude food adapted for a small child’s teeth and palate: ribs, quesabirria, breakfast sandwiches, and a lot more. We’ve also got some basics and classics modified and made both more interesting and easier for your own sanity. The toddler recipes on the site are presented in a straightforward and entirely not-cutesy way: this is not a mommy blog. Never baked before? We’ve got you: the recipes and steps are simple; we explain every detail. Many of the recipes do not require measuring or even specific amounts of food, the better to allow you to improvise and/or not f@!k up.
  4. What makes your recipes different–and better–than other platforms?
    As detailed here, we are always aiming in every recipe to do the following: 1) make the food as nutritiously dense as possible; 2) introduce new foods and flavors; 3) make the process and preparation as simple and stress-free as possible; 4) ensure everyone in the family–dad, mom, other children in the household–can sit and eat the same (or reasonably similar) meal with their kiddo. Significant attention is paid to ensuring the textures and flavors of the food are appropriate and appealing to the child, too.
  5. Wait, you eat the same thing as your child every day?
    Most days and meals, yeah! Research shows it’s an effective way of not only sparking positive associations with food but also encouraging kids to be more open to and interested in new foods and/or dishes. As you’ll see when you browse the toddler recipes and advice on the site, we are not compromising for or kowtowing to our child; rather, we are very intentionally curating what we serve so that it appeals to a toddler but also meets our tastes and dietary needs. (Pro tip: cultivate a good hot sauce and/or condiment collection.)
  6. So, Brad, is your toddler basically the best little foodie ever, eating everything you give him no matter how you prepare it?
    I wish! He’s a solid eater, no doubt; I’d like to think how I’ve approached food and eating have contributed to that. But we have the same highs and lows as pretty much everyone else: there are days when he tries foods–and difficult ones at that–we’d never expect him to; there are days he doesn’t eat a morsel of what I cook for him. We’ve had longtime favorites be rejected out of nowhere; we’ve watched him suddenly embrace foods he swore he hated. So, yeah, a lot like you.
  7. How often should I be cooking for my child(ren)?
    As much or as little as you want! The site has recipes for every meal and feeding opportunity (i.e., snacktime); it does not, however, prescribe when and/or how often to utilize them. Use the site when you’ve been assigned cooking duties and don’t know where to turn; use the site to plan a week’s (or month’s!) worth of meals–either approach works! While I do typically cook two meals a day for my son–usually breakfast and dinner–we have plenty of moments throughout the week where what we are eating comes straight outta the freezer or pantry. Between your child’s interest in food and your own capacity, interest is the right answer–i.e., the one that’s right for you.
  8. Where does New Dad’s Kitchen stand on ‘hiding’–i.e., the practice of incorporating vegetables into a dish or meal without the child knowing about it?
    Just about right in the middle. Admittedly, I was an ardent practitioner of the craft when my child was around 16-18 months; he was not always amused by my shenanigans. I’ve since adopted a more nuanced approach, which you’ll see in many of the recipes: make the vegetables known whenever possible; when they present a challenge texturally or can be added without affecting taste or texture, I’ll blend them in with the other ingredients in a dish. ‘Hiding’ is not a long-term solution towards developing your child’s palate to include affection towards–or, at least, tolerance for–vegetables; it’ll only get you through an individual meal. The only real answer, alas, is continued practice and patience with the real thing.

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