Searching for healthy and easy vegan recipes for kids? Interested in adding more plant-based options, including vegan toddler recipes, to your family's meals? We've got you covered with 30 delightful breakfast, snack, and lunch/dinner recipes, along with valuable tips and a glimpse into my son's typical vegan toddler meals.
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Meeting the Mealtime Challenge
Hello! I'm Patricia, a mom of three, neuroscientist, and food blogger. Like many of you, I'm faced with the puzzle of what to cook for dinner, a challenge that amplifies after a busy day. My journey into meal planning began when I realized the need for quick yet nutritious meals for my growing family, leading me to create AtMyTable. This space is where I share not just vegan recipes for kids and families, but also the strategies and tools that have been a game-changer in ensuring my kids enjoy nutritious, fun, and delicious meals.
I've faced the challenges of catering to a household with mixed dietary preferences, from my early days of experimenting with vegan recipes for my toddler to finding dishes that satisfy everyone's palate. It's been a journey of trial, error, and learning, which I'm excited to share with you.
AtMyTable is born from these real-life experiences. Here, I hope to provide you with vegan recipes for kids that are easy, well-balanced, and cater to diverse tastes and dietary preferences. Join me in making mealtime not just a necessity but a joyful experience for the whole family.
Oh and scroll down to see the vegan toddler recipes I make for my kiddos on a typical day (with time stamps).
Creating Nutritious Vegan Recipes For Kids
The Importance of Balance in a Child's Diet
A well-balanced diet is key for children, particularly when creating vegan recipes for kids. It ensures they get all essential nutrients from a variety of sources, setting a foundation for lifelong health and development.
Balanced meals are vital for physical growth and brain development in children (1,2). Balanced meals are vital for physical growth and brain development in children (3).
As a vegan parent and neuroscientist, I've learned the significance of a well-planned healthy vegan diet. In this post, I'll share quick tips on creating nutricious plant-based recipes. For more details, check out my plog post on 'How to Create Well-Balanced Vegan Meals'.
Tips for Introducing New Foods
Introducing new vegan toddler recipes to your little one can be both exciting and challenging. As a mom of three and an advocate for nutritious vegan recipes for kids and vegan toddler recipes, I've gathered some practical tips to help you:
- Embrace Variety from the Start:
- Diverse Foods: When your child hits the 12-month mark, it's the perfect time to introduce a range of foods (4).
- Safe Textures and Sizes: Ensure foods are in small, manageable pieces to prevent choking and encourage self-feeding.
- Patience with New Textures and Flavors:
- Gradual Introduction: It's normal for kids to be hesitant about new foods. Research shows it might take up to 15 tries for a child to accept a new food (6).
- Make Mealtime Fun: Encourage kids to explore their food. This is especially effective with toddlers. Give them autonomy over how much they choose to eat.
- Balanced and Nutrient-Dense Meals:
- Not Just for Vegans: These vegan recipes for kids are designed for all families looking to incorporate wholesome, tasty, and nutrient-packed meals.
- Customizable Recipes: These meals are not only packed with essential nutrients but are also adaptable to your child's taste preferences.
- Tips for Older Kids:
- Involve Them in Cooking: Older children can help in the kitchen, which can pique their interest in trying new foods.
- Educate on Nutrition: Teach older kids about the benefits of a balanced vegan diet, making them more likely to try and enjoy diverse foods.
- Dealing with Picky Eaters: Read more here
- Positive Mealtime Experience: Keep mealtime stress-free and positive. This will help create a positive atmosphere and take some pressure away from having to try new food.
- Offer Choices: Give older kids a say in meal planning, which can encourage them to try new dishes.
More resources:
Consult Healthcare Experts: Always consult with a healthcare professional or dietician, especially if you have concerns about your child's diet or nutrition (5).
How I answer 6 common questions as the parent of a vegan toddler.
Why we eat a whole-food plant-based diet
Tips and Meals for Picky Eaters
Vegan Breakfast Recipes
Let's kick off our day of delicious, kid and vegan toddler recipes for breakfast. All these kid-friendly meals were created to help offer you quick, fun, and stress-free breakfast options (many are perfect for on-the-go!).
Our family's favorite vegan breakfast recipes for kids:
Fun and Healthy Vegan Snacks
Snack time is ideal for adding extra nutrients and satisfying kids' hunger between meals. Finding healthy, easy vegan snacks that appeal to toddlers and kids can be challenging. This list features quick, nutritious, and family-friendly vegan snack recipes, perfect for busy parents and great as after-school treats (scroll down for store-bought suggestions).
Easy Snack Recipes Using Simple Ingredients
More Healthy Snack Ideas:
- Anne's Bunnies with Plant-Based Yogurt and Fresh Fruit: Combine Anne's Bunnies with your favorite plant-based yogurt and a selection of fresh fruits for a balanced and delightful snack.
- Cereal with Blueberries and Oat Milk: A bowl of your child's favorite cereal, topped with fresh blueberries, or banana slices and a splash of oat milk, can be a quick and nutritious snack.
- Granola with Fruit: My son loves granola with a side of fresh fruit for a snack!
- Veggie Hummus Cups: Slice red bell peppers or cucumbers into thick rounds. Fill them with a dollop of hummus for a protein-packed snack.
- Trail Mix: Create a custom trail mix using a variety of nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and dark chocolate chips. It's a convenient and energy-boosting snack.
- Mini Veggie Pizzas: Use whole-grain crackers or mini rice cakes as the base. Let your child decorate them with tomato sauce, vegan cheese, and their favorite veggies to make mini veggie pizzas. It's a fun way to get them involved in snack preparation.
- Ants on a Log: Spread peanut or almond butter onto celery sticks and top with raisins to create the classic "Ants on a Log" snack. It's a playful and nutritious option.
- Fruit Kabobs: Skewer a colorful assortment of bite-sized fruit pieces on wooden sticks to create vibrant fruit kabobs. Kids will enjoy the interactive and visually appealing snack.
Lunch and Dinner Ideas for Vegan Kids:
When it comes to easy weeknight dinners (or lunches), we all want to serve our little ones meals that are nutritious, and easy to prepare. But let's be honest, coming up with a new meal idea, especially vegan recipes for kids EVERYDAY is a daunting task. That's why I've put together this list of vegan toddler recipes perfect for any diet type.
Our Family's Favorite Vegan Recipes For Kids:
I hope you found these vegan toddler recipes helpful! If you made any I would love to hear about it int he commetns.
My Vegan Toddler Meals
Here is what my vegan toddler meals looks like on a typical weekday. Just like most kids, he has his mealtime ups and downs. Some days he's all in, others not so much. This day was a great day for him, so please keep that in kind.
The key is looking at their intake over a few days and not to focus on individual mealtimes. Our role as parents is to offer healthy choices, and it's up to them to decide to eat it, never force or shame them.
Check out my vegan toddler recipes for breakfast, snack, lunch, and dinner!
My Toddlers Vegan Breakfast: 7:30am
Most days we have steel-cut oatmeal topped with berries, nut butter, and a little maple syrup. I am still nursing (he is 23 months old) so he also gets some breast milk after.
When we are pressed for time, we will opt for sprouted oats cereal with oat milk or one of the meal prep recipes we shared above.
Snack time: 9:30 am
My little man goes to daycare for a few hours, and we send along his snack. I always try and ensure my vegan toddler meals that includes all 3 food groups, so a protein, carb, and veggie or fruit source.
Lunch Time: 12:00 pm
Lunchtime is the highlight of my day! It's when I pick up my little man and we get to share a meal together. This time is precious to me, and I use it to reinforce healthy eating habits. I make it a point to sit and eat with my children during meals. This way, they can see what I'm eating and tasting, and we create a positive, social atmosphere around mealtime.
Today he is having canned lentils i sautted with some onions and garlic, rice, steamed peas, and peppers.
Afternoon Snack: 3:00 pm
My son takes a nap after lunch, and when he wakes up he is usually pretty hungry. By this time his older brothers are home from school so the snack will vary based on what they request that day. Most days it's a smoothie, veggies with hummus, a granola bar, or muffins.
Check out the snack section above for more vegan toddler recipes and store-bought suggestions.
Dinner Time: 5:30/6:30 pm
If any meal is hit-or-miss it is dinner. Finding vegan recipes for kids can sometimes be challenging! Even as a food blogger. A lot of times we rely on recipes we know works and they are not alwasy new and exciting.
With 3 boys at home, there is a lot going on at dinner time. My little man is the best eater out of my 3 kids but there are days when he won't eat much or isn't into what we made. You can read a bit more about picky eaters, along with some tips and strategies here if you are interested.
My son is eating roasted veggie and creamy oat milk pasta today!
Bedtime 7:30 pm
I always offer a fruit snack before bed, and often times my toddler wont eat much. He is still nursing so he gets a little mom cuddle and milk time just before bedtime - I suppose that's his version of a bedtime snack!
And there you have it - a day in my kids vegan eating life! Tomorrow, we'll do it all over again in the ever-revolving door of mealtimes.
Take it from this mama, making vegan toddler meals doesn't have to be a challenge. I hope that with these vegan recipes for kids and vegan toddler meals, you can feel more assured in making vegan recipes.
Remember, variety is key when it comes to a child's diet, and these vegan recipes offer just that. So why not give them a try? You might just find your toddler's new favorite dish. Until next time, happy cooking
If you are looking for a collection of vegan recipes and plant-based meals, be sure to check out our recipe catalog here.
Thank you for joining us on this journey! If you try out these easy vegan toddler meal ideas or have your own vegan toddler meals, I'd love to see your creations.
I hope you enjoyed some of these kid friendly vegan recipes and vegan toddler meals. Please tag me in your posts so I can share them on Instagram!
Until next time, tchau!
Information Sources:
- Imdad, A., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2011). Effect of balanced protein energy supplementation during pregnancy on birth outcomes. BMC Public Health, 11(S3).
- Koletzko, B., Aggett, P., Bindels, J. G., Bung, P., Ferré, P., Gil, A., ... & Strobel, S. (1998). Growth, development and differentiation: a functional food science approach. British Journal of Nutrition, 80(S1), S5-S45.
- De Filippo, C., Cavalieri, D., Di Paola, M., Ramazzotti, M., Poullet, J. B., Massart, S., ... & Lionetti, P. (2010). Impact of diet in shaping gut microbiota revealed by a comparative study in children from Europe and rural Africa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(33), 14691-14696.
- Schwartz, C., Scholtens, P. A., Lalanne, A., Weenen, H., & Nicklaus, S. (2011). Development of healthy eating habits early in life. Review of recent evidence and selected guidelines. Appetite, 57(3), 796-807.
- D'Auria, E., Bergamini, M., Staiano, A., Banderali, G., Pendezza, E., Penagini, F., ... & Zuccotti, G. V. (2019). Baby-led weaning: what a systematic review of the literature adds on. Italian journal of pediatrics, 45(1), 1-10.
- Nicklaus, S. (2016). The role of food experiences during early childhood in food pleasure learning. Appetite, 104, 3-9.
Rachel says
Love this post Patricia! I am shifting my boys and husband and I to more plant based. Found this so helpful. My youngest is also 23months and I am still doing the bedtime nurse - so precious!!
atmytable says
Hi Rachel, so glad you found this helpful! Yes the bedtime nursing is super special for us too. I am trying to get up more posts for people looking to transition to eating more plant based so stay on the lookout for that! Happy to connect with you, and reach out anytime on here or instagram if you need help or have questions about eating more plants! (@at.my.table)