What kind of meals would you expect a nanny to make for a toddler?

[Anonymous]

It's hard to cook for just one tiny person who may or may not eat what you serve. What recipes would you suggest? Or would it be something simple like deli meat, chicken nuggets, frozen veggies, etc.?

[Anonymous]

Does the nanny have time to make more elaborate meals? I’m a nanny and have done homecooking to frozen meals. For the families where I have zero downtime and the kids don’t listen or behave, basically it’s frozen meals because they need constant supervision. If the children actually behave and listen or nap, and I can leave them with an activity while I cook and prep, the meals are homemade.

[Anonymous]

Real food

[Anonymous]

If the Nanny is experienced, ask her for suggestions.

[Anonymous]

Check TikTok for nanny videos. Some of these nannies are AMAZING.

[Anonymous]

OP here. We only have one child and she takes one nap a day, but after lunch. She likes a lot of attention from adults when awake so cooking something elaborate probably wouldn't work. Breakfast is usually oatmeal or cereal with milk and fruit. Lunch used to be cooked frozen veggies with chicken nuggets or fish tenders, but now she's soured on both of those meats. Our nanny has tried making eggs, but she hates eggs in every imaginable format. She likes mac and cheese, bread, fruit, some hams, and most veggies.

Our toddler is also hit or miss with leftovers.

[Anonymous]

How old a toddler?

[Anonymous]

My 2 year old’s nanny makes him a variety of simple food. He’s not super in to meat, so she tries to get him a protein, veggie, fruit, and carb at every meal. Sometimes he literally eats hummus, carrots, and crackers for lunch. Two year olds are weird. But, she’s cooking while watching 2 two-year olds, so I don’t expect gourmet meals. She also does all the grocery shopping for his breakfasts, lunch, and snacks, so she has a lot of control over the options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How old a toddler?

2.5 years old.

[Anonymous]

I would work together to make a week's menu and see how it goes. Adjust from there.

I would expect different things depending upon the meal, but at the minimum, meals that follow USDA guidelines / meal patterns or whatever dietary preferences you have.

Lots of favorites + consistently trying new things, too.

[Anonymous]

I’m a SAHM but here’s what my 20 month old often eats for lunch (I don’t have time to make elaborate meals for him because he’s nuts and needs supervision):

Leftovers from previous night’s dinner
Scrambled eggs with cheese
Mac and Cheese (usually frozen)
PBJ
Bagel or toast with cream cheese and/or mashed avocado
Deli turkey with cheese and crackers
Pasta with marinara sauce (tortellini, ravioli, chickpea, whole wheat, etc)

Always with a serving of fresh fruit (or 2) and typically a vegetable (that he won’t touch)

[Anonymous]

My 2 year old eats what we eat. Lentil soup, chicken breast, rice, veg, etc. Why do you keep pushing chicken nuggets? Deli meat is terrible. Get healthier, OP.

[Anonymous]

For lunches, I generally make up things ahead of time, that I can pull out of the fridge. So, I might make a batch of meatballs, serve half for the whole family for dinner, and then freeze the rest in toddler portions and pull them out when it was time. Or I'd make a chicken for the family, and set aside some for the next couple days. I'd always make extra vegetables, so there were steamed carrots or roasted broccoli in the fridge. So, lunch was less cooking, and more just prepping things that were already cooked. Then I'd have a few things in the mix that either were super fast too cook (throw some salmon under the broiler, scramble some eggs) or things I didn't need to cook at all, like whole wheat bread, Greek yogurt, frozen peas, etc . . .

I wonder if you could do the same thing. Add to what you cook for dinner, and also have nanny prep some things for the next day during the toddler's nap. I'd probably stick with easy formulaic things. A protein, a whole grain carb, a veggie, and a fruit.

[Anonymous]

My old nanny for my first kid would pan fry fish or chicken and make soup for lunch for my then toddler every day (soup for a couple days) but she loved to cook.
Current nanny and second kid and she doesn’t like to cook. So am is a frozen waffle and fruit and yogurt or a fried egg. For lunch she cuts up veg and fruit and reheats soup I made and a meatball or similar protein. She will make rice or pasta sides fresh to go with lunch. I batch make and freeze muffins, fritters etc and those get reheated. It bothered me for a while but she’s has other strengths the first nanny didn’t.

[Anonymous]

Our nanny makes very basic healthful food for our toddler and preschooler. Sandwiches, cut fruit, yogurt and granola parfaits, healthy mini-muffins, those chick pea noodles, pancakes. We make the kids their breakfast and dinner foods.