I always thought feeding kids would be easy. Pre-mum me thought ‘my kids will just eat what we eat’, ‘it won’t be hard’. Mum-of-a-toddler me laughs, and continues making two separate meals.
Making one family meal that everyone will love and praise you for seems practical and easy. Until you meet a toddler at meal time. A toddler that refuses to eat the meal you spent hours preparing, decides they no longer like the food they begged you for yesterday, or cries because you made squares and they wanted triangles.
Toddlers are creatures like no other.
Luckily, fussy toddler’s don’t usually last forever. But boy is it a challenging time to get through.
When I first met my fussy toddler (meet him here, lucky he’s so cute!) I was a little shocked. He’d always loved his vegetables and would eat whatever I served. In fact, he ate a simple version of what I made. Feeding him was simple just like I had imagined. It wasn’t hard at all.
Practically overnight that all changed. I’m incredibly blessed that he still loves his vegetables and will ask for a green (hulk) smoothie, BUT don’t let that fool you. I still meet often with that fussy toddler I’m sure you know too.
Like any challenge I face, I immediately looked for research and a how-to guide for feeding fussy toddlers. What I found was hundreds upon hundreds of recipe books for adults. A decent amount of recipe books for babies transitioning to solids, and a few recipe books for school aged children. But where were the recipe books for toddlers!
There were very few, and none that solved my fussy toddler problem!
Over the past year I have been creating and testing recipes with my toughest critic yet (aka fussy toddler). He’s not shy in letting me know when my recipes need more work (or when they are completely rubbish and should never EVER be served to him again). Very clear.
So let me share with you some SUPER EXCITING NEWS! I’m releasing my very first recipe book just in time for Christmas. I’ve designed it specifically for toddlers (the fussy ones) with over 35 whole food recipes that are simple to make and delicious to eat. Every single ingredient needed for the recipes can be found at your local supermarket or health food store (but don’t worry, they are inexpensive) and every single recipe has been trialled (several times) by my toughest critic ever. Mr 3 made sure you are getting the best recipes EVER (and if you don’t like them you can take it up with him haha).
Today I have a super fab BONUS recipe for you that is completely TODDLER APPROVED! Feeding fussy toddlers is hard enough without having to think up new and fun recipes. Let me do the hard work for you. Enter my healthy Thermomix chocolate zucchini muffin recipe. Completely dairy free, gluten free and refined sugar free and hiding two zucchini/courgette and half and avocado making them perfect for fussy toddlers. This healthy Thermomix chocolate zucchini muffin recipe can be made in the Thermomix (haha, obviously) but also just in a bowl with a little extra arm work.
A quick note on the sweetness. This is NOT a sweet muffin and as you can see in the ingredients I have only used two tablespoons of rice malt syrup, a natural fructose sweetener that isn’t actually that sweet. My son and I are totally fine with the lack of sweetness BUT if your toddler is new to healthier options you may want to increase the amount of rice malt syrup used. I would suggest increasing to half a cup and adding an additional two tablespoons of gluten free flour.
You can also add dairy free chocolate chips to this recipe for an indulgent treat. My son LOVES finding little chocolate chips throughout his Thermomix chocolate zucchini muffin (most of the time, of course).
Find Feeding Fussy Toddlers here!
HEALTHY THERMOMIX CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI MUFFIN RECIPE
- 360g zucchini, roughly chopped (approximately 2 medium sized zucchini)
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 1/2 cups gluten free flour/wholemeal flour
- 1/2 avocado, mashed
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 2 tbsp rice malt syrup (increase to up to 1/2 cup for sweeter muffin)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 cup cacao powder
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and prepare 12 muffin cases in a muffin tin.
- Place the roughly chopped zucchini into your Thermomix, secure the lid and chop for 6 seconds on speed 6. You may need to scrape down the sides and chop for a further 2 seconds.
- Add the wet ingredients to the Thermomix (eggs, avocado, coconut oil, rice malt syrup and almond milk and secure the lid. Mix (mixing speed) for 30 seconds or until well combined.
- Add the remaining dry ingredients to the Thermomix. Secure the lid and mix (mixing speed) for 30-60 seconds or until well combined. OPTIONAL: Add dairy free chocolate chips and mix for 10 seconds.
- Pour/spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin cases, ensuring they are approximately 3/4 filled.
- Place the muffin tray into the oven and bake for 40 minutes or until cooked through.
- Muffins will rise while cooking and then sink slightly after cooking. This is normal. Don't worry, they still taste delicious and are super moist.
INGREDIENTS:
As per above, but finely grate the zucchini rather than roughly chopping.
METHOD:
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and prepare 12 muffin cases in a muffin tin.
- Add the wet ingredients (minus the grated zucchini) to a bowl and mix together with a fork for approximately 1 minute or until well combined. Add the zucchini and mix together until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix for 1-2 minutes with a spoon until the mixture is combined.
- Pour/spoon the mixture into the muffin cases ensuring each case is 3/4 filled. Place the muffin tin into the oven and bake for 40 minutes or until cooked through.
Do you have a fussy toddler to feed or know someone who does? Share this recipe (and the book) with them!