I am not a Pinterest Mom or a Crunchy Mom. I’m not going to make anything that has kale or quinoa in it. So here are my easy and realistic toddler breakfast ideas that real moms can do!
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Fruit
We love bananas, apples, grapes. You could also try strawberries, mango, pineapple, peaches, oranges, blueberries, raspberries, or any other fruit.
Fruit is a great addition to any toddler breakfast.
If you’re like me and terrible about keeping fresh fruit in the house. Get some fruit cups. I try to get the no sugar added kind.
Or get some frozen fruit! I keep some in my freezer and move a serving to the fridge at least a few hours before I give it to her so it will defrost. You can microwave it if you need it right away but I don’t suggest that. It makes it kind of mushy.
Most days of the week, Toot just wants me to hand her a banana. She’s gotten pretty good at “eating it like a monkey” instead of cutting it up. She was about two years old when she started eating it whole.
Yogurt
Toot loves yogurt. One-year-olds can practice their spoon skills with yogurt since it doesn’t slide off the spoon very easily. Just keep some wipes or paper towels near by.
Get a few different flavors and look out for sugar. I buy the Oikos Triple Zero yogurt because it has zero added sugar. Yogurt itself has a lot of sugar in it so I only give it to her in moderation.
You don’t have to go all out with flavors like New York Cheesecake. Toot prefers “flower yogurt” which is just vanilla. It has a photo of a flower on it. Simple flavors like strawberry or blueberry work, too.
Pancakes
Pancakes are one of Toot’s favorites. I totally cheat and buy frozen pancakes because who has time to make pancakes every morning?
I don’t add butter or syrup to them either because she doesn’t need it. She’s perfectly happy just eating a plain pancake. She usually has bananas with her pancake.
Ham, Egg, and Cheese Omelette
Omelettes are pretty much the top of my difficulty level for cooking. I will occasionally make her an omelet for breakfast with deli ham and shredded cheese.
You only need one or two eggs for a toddler portion. Adults need two or three eggs per omelette.
I end up making one for myself too because if I’m at it, why not?
Side note: is it omelet or omelette? I guess I prefer the British spelling. lol
Waffles
Again, I cheat with frozen waffles. Quick and easy. No syrup needed for Toot.
But if you are going to add syrup, you might want to find a light syrup or a sugar-free syrup.
Check out 30 Easy, Fast, and All Day Recipes for Busy Working Moms
Scrambled eggs
Scrambled eggs are the easiest thing to make. Yeah, you have to heat up the stove and actually get a pan dirty, but eggs are great sources of protein.
And I just love hearing her excitedly say “EGG!”
Plus if you screw up the omelette, you can just turn it into scrambled eggs. Happy accidents!
Cheerios
Toot used to have Cheerios every morning before she went to my mom’s house for daycare.
We had a routine that included plopping her down on her little couch, giving her a bowl of Cheerios, a cup of milk, and turning on The Wiggles or Doc McStuffins so Mommy and Daddy could get ready for work.
I’ve since quite my job and now I run this blog full time!
Oatmeal
We did the baby oatmeal until she was about a year old. Now she eats regular oatmeal and can even use a spoon herself!
Oatmeal is a great food to start using a spoon with because it sticks to the spoon and doesn’t fall off.
We buy the low sugar oatmeal now. Added sugar is in everything! She can’t tell the difference with the low sugar though. She likes apples and cinnamon.
What are your favorite easy toddler breakfast ideas?
Let me know in the comments below!
Ellia Blue says
Thoroughly enjoyed this! It’s so nice to read a blog post about feeding your child that doesn’t make me feel guilty for not preparing an organic, four course breakfast cut into flower shapes or whatever Pinterest says is “fun” today. Love your work 🙂 xx El
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
Thanks!! Yeah I’m all about being a real mom. Lol
Charlotte says
This!!! I laughed way too hard at this! It’s so true tho!
Jenna@amongthewildflowersphotography.com says
Thanks so much for this post! I love the simple ideas for a crazy time of the day. And healthy easy options are so helpful!
December says
My son loves scrambled eggs and is also a fan of pancakes I make with a local barley pancake mix Thai make with a jar of baby food (carrot, apple & pumpkin, or sweet potato) and cinnamon. Its easier and faster than it sounds lol.
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
lol I was going to say that sounds too complicated for me!
Melissa says
We feed our toddler all of these! Our little guy is obsessed with oatmeal and blueberries.
Kristen says
These are great suggestions. Easy to make and my daughter Allie loves oatmeal and waffles. A welcome change to the everyday eggs and toast.
Bonnie says
We do most of these! If I’ve managed to plan ahead, egg casserole leftovers are great. I also love green smoothies.
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
Oh I love egg casserole!
Jennifer says
Love you! Thank you for keeping it real!
Kira | A Better Life Lived says
We make a large batch of pancakes for the entire week and then it just needs to be warmed in the microwave each morning. I’m also a big lover of smoothies with fruit, a healthy veggie like kale or spinach, yogurt, and pure orange juice. I throw in some ground flax seed or chia seeds and he’ll suck that down without stopping! If he eats nothing else that morning, at least I know he’s gotten pretty much everything he needs from that!
Stephie G. says
I really wish this was helpful, but my child is so picky. She won’t eat fruit, yogurt or oatmeal. She needs syrup on the two to four bites of pancake she might tolerate. Her go-to is toast with jelly. And I don’t know how to get her to open up her horizons. On top of that, she’s special needs so trying to fight the food battle is so limiting. We consider it a victory if she actually request a food instead of us just trying to guess what she might eat. At any rate, I’ll keep trying and may try to incorporate in some of these. Thanks for the ideas.
Niki @ Toot's Mom is Tired says
Have you tried putting colorful sprinkles on things to get her to try new foods? That worked for a few things for my friend’s toddler. It makes it look fun and they want to eat it. You can put sprinkles in yogurt and I’ve put them on waffles before.
Kira | A Better Life Lived says
Have you tried making the food “fun”? It’s more work for you, but maybe she’d be interested if it was in cool shapes or if you tried making a fruit face on top of her yogurt. Might be worth a try!
G says
Hi! Love this, please keep the “real mom” thing going *claps* … now question, my 2 yr old son is still so hooked on baby oatmeal and won’t go for regular human’s oatmeal (lol). Did you transition Toots any certain way or just plopped down the regular oatmeal and she took to it?
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
Yeah I mixed them together until I was out of the baby kind. And if you make the adult kind really soupy that helps too.
Pcolatiff says
I’m into the lazy cooking because I too am freaking tired. It is so easy to throw a sweet potato in the oven and set a timer. Then just peel off the jacket and cut it into nibbles for my girl. She LOVES it. She also digs cut up avocado and tortilla chips. And Beans. Black beans is a must for this kid.