Aidan loves spaghetti with marinara sauce. He becomes the cutest little mess with tomato sauce all over his face.
We had a late start to dinner tonight. We arrived at home very close to bedtime. I was wondering if he’d have a meltdown before I could even offer him a reasonable dinner. I quickly remembered that Daddy had made chili last night and we had left over black beans in the fridge.
I diced up red grapes for Aidan to start eating while I boiled some pasta. It makes me so happy that he enjoys fruit. I note to the wise – only offer fruit in moderation or tummy upset will occur.
While the pasta boiled, I mixed a small bowl of the chili with a scoop of black beans and warmed in the microwave. When the pasta was done, I mixed the chili over a 1/4c portion of pasta, diced it up, and served to a hungry baby.
He ate it without a melt down. I was even able to sit down and eat the same meal with him. It’s a red letter day.
This particular dish has some nice benefits for small child. The chili was made of ground beef and tomato sauce. The acid in the tomato sauce helps us to absorb the iron in the ground beef. Also, by adding black beans I increased the fiber content of the meal. If you haven’t offered beans to your toddler, you may be surprised how much they enjoy them!
Bottom line, I was fortunate tonight to have leftovers in the fridge to combine into a new dish for a quick family meal. Hope this leaves you with some good ideas too!
