Monday, March 15, 2010

Toddler lunch idea - rice balls

It has been so fun watching Molly eat and enjoy food. Now that she's a toddler in full swing, she definitely has more to say about what she wants to eat. To my surprise she said "mmmmm wice" when I asked her if she liked her lunch today! She ate everything that you see above in her lunch box. I try to get all food groups into her meals, as much as possible. This was a good one with protein, fruit, veggie and grain. You already know about my challenges with getting her to eat veggies. I was sooooo excited when I discovered she likes seaweed paper. She eats it like potato chips. If you have a child in daycare, you'll know how hard it can get to come up with fresh ideas that are nutritious for your little one. Believe me, I've relied on the old stand-by PB&J way too many times! I hope you find this helpful and I hope your baby is as good of an eater as mine is!

Molly's Rice Balls

japanese short grain sticky rice (1 cup uncooked)

seasoned rice vinegar (2 tablespoons)

cooked chicken cut into tiny pieces (just shy of a cup)

seaweed sprinkles (tiny shreds sold at Japanese mkt) 2 tablespoons

furikake (I used a few shakes of a veggie mix, make sure no MSG!)

Cook rice, mix in vinegar, mix in rest of ingedients, form balls with damp hands

I made hers the morning after when the mix was cold and the balls were easier to form. The rice was room temperature by the time she ate them. Next time I'm going to try adding some broccoli puree. Let's see if she likes that!

11 comments:

lishapisa said...

GOSH!!!!!!
Everything about Molly is cute, yummy ,adorable!!
Even her lunchbox! Lol
great idea for my lunch box!
I wonder if this taste good? While cooking the rice add veggies in the water that way the vita/nutrients will infuse into the rice.
Watercress ?
Spinach ? Strong baby! Haai yaah!!

hungrysmurf said...

Yes! That's what I was thinking with the puree. How cool is green rice?

lishapisa said...

Green rice and ham.....
It's cool to go green! It's the law!

MaryMoh said...

That is really delicious food for a toddler. Even I love it :P

Bananee said...

I think I'm going on the Molly lunch diet too. I want to look like Molly.

Cooking Rookie said...

A lovely recipe. I don't think it's necessarily for toddlers - I might make it for my bf :)

hungrysmurf said...

I learned that the rice doesn't keep. You have to make all the balls straight away and eat them soon. The rice got really hard and dry after a couple of days in the fridge. I thought the vinegar would keep it moist. I'll make a smaller portion next time or make it when I need rice for something else.

Anonymous said...

I have a 3 and 1 year old and they would love this. Thanks for sharing. And your hungrysmurf name is too cute. Love Chinese food! Think I could learn a lot from you ladies. Can't wait to read more.

joan said...

ok so i've made a few things from the recipe book you sent for christmas and we liked them as a family which is way cool and soooo necessary. so i visit weelicious and find a bunch of cool ideas...i go the the supermarket and spend a boat load of money and things i've never heard of and dont know how to use other than her recipes...now i have all this stuff and dont know what to do with it! agave nectar, almond & sunflower butter & brown rice syrup. any ideas?

oh and pb&j's...god i always go back to that! she loves grilled cheese sandwiches so i just add some broccoli or any veggie inside before i grill them. she's good with fruits & veggies though. im the one who has a hard time diversifying!

a few things i've made recently that were kick ass and brianlily liked: split pea and ham soup, homemade veggie burgers, always homemade mac & cheese, mini pizzas on ww tortilla...i'm always stuck for breakfast. it's always the same: french toast, pancakes, or eggs with something. i leave hot cereals for bedtime eats. but thankfully...baby girl will eat just about anything!

NAMOWENO said...

http://namoweno.blogspot.com/2010/03/weelicious-recipe.html

lishapisa said...

howtobaker has left you a comment!
Jun. 17, 2010 at 02:32 PM

Thanks! The toddler rice balls look interesting. I must give them a try.