2 Recipes for Children from 2 to 5 Years Old Who Don't Want to Eat
Some children remain without appetite between the ages of 2 and 5 years old, and in these cases, their nutritional guidelines must be optimized to cover their daily requirements and avoid deficiencies. To contribute to this arduous task, we’re going to offer you some simple recipes for little ones that don’t want to eat. You’ll be surprised by how gladly they accept them.
Before starting, we must highlight the importance of maintaining a varied and balanced diet from the early stages of life. This way, growth is optimized, some complex diseases are prevented, and proper brain development is promoted.
Grab a pen and paper and get cooking!
1. Eggs in tomato sauce
Eggs are usually liked by all children, even those who don’t want to eat after the age of 2. In addition, they’re a good source of nutrients. They contain a significant amount of proteins of high biological value, which are essential elements for development.
During the first stages of life, it’s crucial to ensure an intake of more than .4 grams of protein per pound of weight per day, as recommended in a study published in the Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism.
The ingredients you’ll need for this recipe are the following:
- 4 eggs
- 3/4 cups of fried tomato
- 3/4 cups of frozen peas
- 3.5 ounces of Serrano ham
- 4 slices of chorizo to cook
- 1 can of asparagus tips
To start, you have to preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place a few drops of extra virgin olive oil in some clay pots to grease them. The preparation will be assembled in these containers.
Immediately afterward, break an egg on top of each of them and pour a little fried tomato on top.
To continue, place a generous slice of ham, a slice of chorizo, a tablespoon of peas, and the tip of an asparagus in the container. All this is arranged next to the egg, still raw. All that remains is to add a little salt to taste and bake with heat on both sides for 5 minutes.
It’s important that the egg be well-cooked before removing the pans from the oven. Therefore, you can leave a little more cooking time if necessary.
To top it off, there’s even the option of preparing a side of white rice to accompany your dish, according to the taste of each child.
2. Ham rolls with Potato salad
Vegetables are an important part of a nutritional diet. It’s important to eat them on a daily basis, as they provide a significant amount of phytochemicals. These elements have been shown to neutralize the formation of free radicals, which causes a reduction in the incidence of many complex diseases in the medium term.
This potato salad has several types of vegetables that provide more than these substances.
For this recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- 4 slices of sliced deli ham
- 2 medium boiled potatoes
- 4 tablespoons of frozen peas
- 2 cooked carrots
- 1 Red pepper in pieces
- 1 cup of mayonnaise
- Salt
- Finely chopped lettuce
- Cherry tomatoes
First of all, boil the peas in water for a few minutes. Meanwhile, chop the carrots, the red pepper, and the boiled potatoes. Place all these ingredients in a bowl and pour the mayonnaise on top, stirring well so that everything mixes together. Finally, you have to add a little salt.
Next, the slices of ham should be cut in half widthwise. Then, place a spoonful of potato salad on each of the portions and create a roll that lies on a plate.
When serving the dish, we recommend accompanying it with some cherry tomatoes cut into 2 halves to improve the presentation, along with a little well-washed lettuce.
Prepare simple recipes for children ages 2 to five who don’t want to eat
As you’ve seen, there are simple recipe options that can be prepared for children who don’t want to eat in order to satisfy their nutritional requirements. This is a key factor to avoid the development of chronic diseases over the years and to ensure the proper functioning of the body.
However, when the goal is to improve health, diet alone isn’t enough. From the early stages of life, it’s crucial that you promote other healthy habits, such as physical exercise and good rest. Children need to get used to getting at least 8 hours of quality sleep at night.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Richter, M., Baerlocher, K., Bauer, J. M., Elmadfa, I., Heseker, H., Leschik-Bonnet, E., Stangl, G., Volkert, D., Stehle, P., & on behalf of the German Nutrition Society (DGE) (2019). Revised Reference Values for the Intake of Protein. Annals of nutrition & metabolism, 74(3), 242–250. https://doi.org/10.1159/000499374
- Neha, K., Haider, M. R., Pathak, A., & Yar, M. S. (2019). Medicinal prospects of antioxidants: A review. European journal of medicinal chemistry, 178, 687–704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2019.06.010
