Top 6 Recipes For 1-Year-Olds

Since one-year-olds are in that crucial stage where lifelong eating habits are developed, making healthy meal choices is crucial. Try these top 6 recipes that follow the USDA’s new Dietary Guidelines.

Congratulations! Your child is one year old! That means they’re ready to move beyond baby food and really dive into their solid food adventure.

One-year-olds are ready to enjoy a lot more of your family’s favorite foods. Still, they aren’t quite ready for every single texture of food that you and other older family members enjoy (they’ll still need to avoid the hardest foods, like whole nuts, and other choking risks).

And picking the right foods for one-year-olds is vital. They’re still in that crucial stage where lifelong eating habits are developed.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s new Dietary Guidelines (DGA) for babies under two years of age recommend feeding babies a variety of healthy foods from all food groups, with no added sugars and very little sodium. Eating diverse healthy foods within their first two years, state the guidelines, encourages children to select and love nutritious foods throughout the rest of their lives.

For toddlers 1-2 years of age, the USDA guidelines recommend these healthy foods:

• Fruits and vegetables in many colors and varieties (they should be a priority)
• Protein-rich foods like meat, fish, seafood, eggs, soy products, nut products, and seed products
• Whole grains
• Dairy foods, such as milk, yogurt and cheese

Now that we’ve gone over the foundations, here are our top recipes for 1-year-olds that meet the USDA guidelines.

1. Chicken, Zucchini, and Sweet Potato Bowl

Inspired by Yummy Toddler Food.

This recipe makes 3 toddler servings and 3 adult servings, making it a great option to enjoy as a family.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 2 medium zucchini
• 1 pound chicken breast
• 1 avocado
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• Feta cheese to top the bowl

Instructions:

Preparing the cooked vegetables:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Spray two rimmed baking sheets with non-stick spray.
3. Peel and dice the sweet potato.
4. Place the potato pieces on one of the baking sheets. Toss the sweet potato in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
5. Roast the potato in the oven for 12 minutes.
6. Dice the zucchini.
7. Place the zucchini onto the other baking sheet and toss it in 1 tablespoon olive oil.
8. When the sweet potato timer goes off, place the zucchini pan in the oven. Leave the sweet potato pan be.
9. After another 10 minutes, remove both pans of vegetables and let them cool.

Preparing the chicken:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken once the skillet is warm, making sure the olive oil coats the bottom of the chicken.
2. Cover the skillet and cook the chicken for 8 minutes.
3. Flip the chicken over and cook it for another 6-8 minutes or until cooked through (internal temperature 165 degrees F).
4. Move the chicken to a plate and let it cool.
5. Slice the chicken.

Serving:

1. Peel and slice the avocado.
2. Place the chicken, zucchini and sweet potato pieces in a bowl.
3. Top the bowl with avocado slices and sprinkles of feta cheese, and serve.
4. Save any remaining ingredients for later in the fridge.

2. Veggie Muffins

Inspired by Yummy Toddler Food

Ingredients:

• 1 cup broccoli, grated (only the top parts, not the stems)
• 1 cup carrots, grated
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 ½ cups milk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• ¼ cup melted butter
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Grease a muffin tin with nonstick spray.
3. Grate the carrots and the top parts (florets) of the broccoli.
4. Pour all the ingredients together in a medium bowl. Mix them gently until they’re well combined.
5. Fill 12 muffin tin cups ¾ full with the batter.
6. Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the edges are lightly golden brown.
7. Let cool in the tin for a few minutes, then let cool further outside of the tin.
8. Serve the muffins, store them up to 5 days in the fridge (in an airtight container), or store them up to 3 months in the freezer (in a freezer bag with most of the air removed).

3. Fiesta Bowls With Quinoa

Inspired by Baby Foode.

*Quinoa is used here instead of rice, because young children should avoid rice products due to the high amounts of arsenic they contain.

This recipe makes 4 servings, so it’s a great option for your family to enjoy together at dinner.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups quinoa, rinsed and cooked
• 4 cups water or broth to cook the quinoa
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• A handful of cilantro
• Juice from ½ lime
• 2 cups canned black beans, rinsed
• 1 cup frozen, canned, or fresh corn
• Cooked ground turkey or ground chicken
• 1 red pepper, finely chopped
• 1 avocado, cut into small pieces
• Shredded cheddar cheese to sprinkle on top
• Sour cream to spoon on top

Instructions:

1. Thoroughly rinse the quinoa to remove its natural coating. This way, it won’t taste bitter or soapy.
2. Cook the quinoa. You’ll need to use about 4 cups of water or broth to cook 2 cups of quinoa.
3. Combine the quinoa with the olive oil, cilantro, and lime juice to flavor.
4. Cook the ground turkey or ground chicken in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, until no longer pink. This will usually take 3-5 minutes. Stir to break up the clumps.
5. Gently heat the beans and the corn.
6. Combine the cilantro lime quinoa and the meat with the other ingredients in baby’s bowl, and serve.

4. Turkey, Beet, Carrot And Cilantro Burgers With Beet Salad

Inspired by Baby Foode.

Ingredients:

Burgers

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 2 tablespoons red beet, grated
• 2 tablespoons golden beet, grated
• 1 medium size carrot, grated
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons plain 2% Greek yogurt, with no sugar added

Salad

• Remaining portions of the red and gold beets not used for the burgers, grated
• 2 medium size carrots, grated
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon feta

Instructions:

Burgers

1. Grate the golden beet and carrot.
2. Place the raw ground turkey, golden beet, and carrot into a medium sized bowl.
3. Grate the red beet.
4. Place the grated red beet onto a stack of a few paper towels. Layer a few more paper towels on top of the beets.
5. Press down on the top of the paper towels with your palm to soak up some of the red color. Continue until the paper towels don’t have much red coloring left on them.
6. Add the red beets to the bowl.
7. Chop up the cilantro and add it to the bowl.
8. Add the yogurt to the bowl.
9. Wash your hands and then mix all the ingredients together with your hands.
10. Divide the mixed ingredients into 6 small patties.
11. Heat a grill pan to medium-high.
12. Heat the patties for 5 minutes on each side or until done all the way through. (As the recipe writer at Baby Foode advises, “The red from the beets will discolor the turkey a tad bit, so don’t let that confuse you like it did me the first time I made these.”
13. Let the patties cool a bit and serve.

Salad

1. Grate the golden beets and carrots into a small bowl.
2. Grate the red beets. As with the burgers, blot the red beets to remove some of the red coloring. Then, add the red beets to the bowl.
3. Add the cheese and the olive oil.
4. Mix all the ingredients together.
5. Keep the salad cold until you serve it.

5. Rainbow Pepper And Feta Mini-Quiches

Inspired by Baby Foode

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup red peppers, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup yellow peppers, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup green peppers, roughly chopped
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt with no sugar added
• 2 tablespoons whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, roughly chopped (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme, roughly chopped)
• 2 tablespoons feta crumbles

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Chop up all three types of peppers and place them into a medium bowl.
3. Add the eggs to the bowl and whisk until they are incorporated with the peppers.
4. Add in the yogurt, breadcrumbs and thyme. Whisk again until all the ingredients are mixed well.
5. Pour the mixture into 12 mini muffin cups (or 6 standard size muffin cups), filling them ⅔ full.
6. Sprinkle the feta on top.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top.
8. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve.
9. Store the leftovers in a ziplock bag in the fridge or freezer.

6. Oatmeal Muffins With Banana And Peach

Inspired by Yummy Toddler Food.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 cups diced peach (fresh or thawed from frozen)*
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sliced banana (from 2 small very ripe bananas)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup honey**

*You can also use 2 cups of diced raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, or nectarine in place of the peach.

**Honey is safe for one-year-olds, but do not give honey to babies under one year old.

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray.
3. Place all the ingredients in a food processor except for the peach.
4. Process for 30-45 seconds or until smooth and well blended. Scrape down the sides of the processor as needed.
5. Stir in the peaches.
6. Pour the batter into the muffin tin. Each muffin tin should have just over ¼ cup of batter inside.
7. Bake for 26-28 minutes or until the edges are just starting to turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Let cool and serve.
9. The leftover muffins can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days (in an airtight container) or in the freezer for up to 3 months (in a freezer bag with most of the air removed.)

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