It’s “brat” summer as I write this, the logical outgrowth of the “girl dinner” moment in 2023–mass culture, in other words, finally normalized picking at a bunch of slightly-above-junk could count as, yes, a meal. Clearly, none of these people have been parents of young children, because the little ones have been doing that on their own since, well, the start of solids. Which may explain why your children apparently are next up on the trend beat: toddler dinner is now a thing.
Confused? You should be. “Toddler dinner,” as you know it, is simply those mealtimes when, either because you didn’t have time to prepare anything and/or your child wasn’t eating what you did, you scattered a few things on a plate you know your child likes and called it dinner. We’ve all been there–and often. It’s not a “thing”; it’s the reality of trying to feed a small human with no self-regulation and/or conception of the relationship between feeding and his/her growth.
This toddler dinner thing, though, is about grazing with intention rather than desperation–as in, toddler dinner as a designed meal in itself. You pick bites–say, cheese slices or yogurt or veggies with ranch–that are easy to like and hit various dietary needs; you serve ‘em finger ready so your child can mix and match at his/her discretion. It can come together quickly, with what you have in house; cleanup is minimal. Often left unsaid: it’s pretty fun–and maybe the easiest way to ensure your kid(s) and you eat the same food together. Calling it “toddler dinner” gives it the appearance of kowtowing to your child, but it’s worth noting that we adults often eat this way when at a restaurant: think small plates, mezze platters, sharing things around the table. It’s joyous and stress free; your kid (and you) will want a bite of everything. Fun.
It’s in that spirit that we encourage you to go ahead and make thoughtful non-meal meals a, yes, thing in your house. We do this at least once a week ourselves, often under the banner of a “dips” night: a spread of made-ahead (or purchased!) spreads, with all kinds of different things to use as dipping mechanisms–breads, veggies, high-protein flatbreads (see below). You can side these with some handheld proteins that you can pop into your oven and air fryer–say, hard-boiled eggs* or nuggies–without any effort; you can just bust out a sleeve of Ritz crackers or Triscuits and call it an evening. That’s the beauty of toddler dinner: you make it your own so that your child can, too.
But here’s a little help: a compendium of the best New Dad Kitchen recipes for toddler dinner is right below!
Spreads
Breads and Dippers
Quinoa and Lentil Flatbread
Avocado Flatbread
Okonomiyaki
*Easiest hard boiled eggs: bake at 250 in your air fryer for 13 minutes if you want a fudgy/jammy yolk; fourteen if you want a set but still creamy center; and fifteen if you want a full-on crumbly middle.
