2 Recipes for kids to try.

I've told you this before, but my kid is a picky eater! I find it annoying. I'm always on the lookout for fun recipes and food ideas that will peak The Toddler's interest in eating. Here are two that we've done recently.

These are Spaghetti and Meatball Cupcakes. They really aren't cupcakes at all, but since they take a similar form, the name suits them. I had a page open on the blog where I found these cute little cupcakes for about a week. Every time The Toddler saw the photo, he would ask me to make them, and tell me he wanted to eat them. Every. Single. Time. So when The Toddler actually asks to eat food, I definitely take notice. So I made them. You can find the recipe here.

Because I have trouble with my blood sugar levels (and consequently avoid sugar, and simple carbs), I modified the recipe slightly. Instead of frozen meatballs, I made my own and cooked them before I baked them in the spaghetti cups (btw - I added purred veggies into the meatballs - ha ha). I also used a sugar free spaghetti sauce (Hunts) and whole wheat spaghetti noodles. Since the meatballs were fully cooked before I baked them, the meatballs ended up drying out a little on the outside. I compensated by pouring additional warm spaghetti sauce and cheddar cheese over the meatballs once they finished baking (And they tasted fine).

I think my son actually thought these were cupcakes, so when I put it on his plate and he realized they weren't, he seemed disappointed. He tends to be wary of food with several ingredients. But once we encouraged him to separate the meatball, cheese, sauce, and noodles, he liked them. My husband and I loved these! They were fun to eat (yes, we are adults), and my husband loved the meat to spaghetti ratio. AND they are the perfect entree to pack in your lunch. I would say these are definitely worth a shot. :)

The other recipe isn't really a recipe. Well, sort of. It's just your classic, tried and true Little Smoky Sausage Wrapped in Crescent rolls. My son loves these. LOVES them. The problem is, they're kind of lacking in the nutrition department. So I changed it up, ever so slightly.

I used a tube of refrigerated crescent dough, like always. But after rolling it out, I sprinkled Wheat Germ (ok maybe doused, piled, covered, whatever) on top of the crescent dough and pressed it into the dough. Then I proceeded to cut each pre-cut triangle into 3 or 4 additional smaller triangles, and wrapped up the Little Smoky Sausages in the dough, starting with the flat edge of the dough and ending with the tip. Then I baked them using the baking time and temperature listed on the dough's can.

If you look closely at the picture below, you can see little grains of wheat germ sprinkled around the Little Smokies. This didn't seem to bother The Toddler. But if this does bother your kiddo, you can easily hide the wheat germ. I was too lazy to bother with this task. (Meticulous activities annoy me)

This was definitely a quick and easy way to make a not-so-nutritious food a little bit healthier. A little. And the family liked them. And ate them. Score.