Dealing with a picky eater? Breakfast cookies to the rescue!

There are very few parents that will not deal with a picky eater at one point or another while raising children. For some children, thankfully, it is just a phase that they outgrow as they get used to more flavors and textures. But while you're in the middle of the pickiness, or if you have a child that simply doesn't outgrow it, it can be extremely frustrating.

Having a large family, it's not a reasonable option to make separate meals for each person. I'm also a firm believer of serving children whatever the parents are having to expose them to a variety of foods, typically even if they don't like something on their plate there's plenty of other food for them to fill up on.

During a conversation with my sister the other day, she mentioned that her youngest daughter wouldn't touch any foods except for cookies. At 16 months, and having been a baby that refused to touch baby food ever, this has been particularly challenging for my sister.

You should know right here that my sis is an amazing cook and an even better baker, so what Little Miss is being served is definitely good food. So although sis has done what she can to make the cookies a little healthier she didn't feel confident that Little Miss was getting enough of everything she needed.

Breakfast cookies for picky eaters

So, we started talking about Breakfast Cookies. Although I definitely wouldn't recommend this be a long term solution, it can definitely provide parents with a little confidence if the child likes the cookies and if the recipe includes enough nutritional value that the child would be OK even if they just pick at food the rest of the day.

As soon as I got off the phone I started researching breakfast cookies. All the while I'm thinking to myself, “why on earth haven't I tried this with my own family?” Creating foods that children love in a way that is nutritionally solid is an amazing way to make sure they are getting a balanced diet. Starting a child's day off with a cookie or muffin that will stick with them, help sustain energy and kick start their brain is a great benefit.

Making healthy breakfast cookies

Beware though, not all breakfast cookie recipes are created equal. Definitely spend a little time sifting through the ingredients to ensure that there isn't a lot of sugar or extra nonsense that simply defeats the whole purpose. If the recipe calls for at least 1/2 whole wheat flour and honey as a sugar alternative it's definitely worth trying out, just avoid adding any extra sugary items to the mix (candies in particular).

There are lots of places to find good recipes! Here's one I found that I'm definitely trying out with my family, below it though, I have listed several links to more recipes to get you started. Enjoy!

Banana Oat Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies

One of my boys' favorite combinations is definitely peanut butter and bananas, so here's a cookie that makes their dreams come true.

(obtained from GroupRecipes.com)

Ingredients:

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1  large banana, mashed (1/2 cup)
• 1/2  cup chunky natural peanut butter (unsalted and unsweetened) or regular chunky peanut butter
• 1/2  cup honey
• 1  teaspoon vanilla
• 1  cup rolled oats
• 1/2  cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4  cup nonfat dry milk powder
• 2  teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4  teaspoon baking soda
• 1  cup dried cranberries or raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Lightly coat two cookie sheets with cooking spray; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, stir together banana, peanut butter, honey, and vanilla.
4. In a small bowl, combine oats, flour, milk powder, cinnamon, and baking soda.
5. Stir the oat mixture into the banana mixture until combined.
6. Stir in dried cranberries.
7. Using a 1/4-cup measure, drop mounds of dough 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. With a thin metal or small plastic spatula dipped in water, flatten and spread each mound of dough to a 2 3/4-inch round, about 1/2-inch thick.
8. Once baked, each cookie will be about 3-1/2 to 4 inches in diameter.
9. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 14 to 16 minutes or until browned.
10. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag for up to three days or freeze for up to two months; thaw before serving.

More breakfast cookie recipes

Believe it or not there’s a breakfast cookie cookbook,  Breakfast in a Cookie Jar

Or you could try these websites:

Spark People Recipes

AllRecipes.com

Cooks.com

Group Recipes

101 Healthy Cookie Recipes

 

Shera is mom to six very active boys (14, 12, 10, 7, 4 and 4) and when she isn't trying to keep them busy so nothing is destroyed, or in the kitchen cooking for them, she's usually hanging out at her blog A Frog In My Soup, or designing blogs at Sweet 'n Simple Design.

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Comments

[DebbieKL]

Printing this out now - it sounds great for a quick breakfast or snack!

[Kit]

I went through this with my youngest. The doctor said that I should mix alot of thing with peanut butter. He even suggested that I let them suck on a peanut butter spoon. I think this would be a good cookie.

[Mag]

I do not think that a cookie is the way to get children to eat. We should be shaping the way they eat and I do not think this is healthy picks.

[Jeff]

I can understand what Mag said. I also, feel it is important to get kids to eat any way you can. The healthier the better. If, you can make cookie with a good health value, than it will be alright.

[Shera]

Thank you so much for all your feedback on this subject. I know that although I did not have to deal with children that were ultra picky, there are a lot of parents out there that do.

While I agree that children should be taught to appreciate a variety of foods and I do not in any way condone feeding children foods with high sugar, starch and fat content, I do believe in occasionally giving them foods that are fun AND loaded nutritionally for them!

If you have a toddler that is at risk of being nutritionally deficient, you are likely to be desperate to find something that works to keep them from falling into that category completely.

My solution for that is to continue to offer them the foods that the whole family eats, but to make sure that they are getting something during the day that you know they will eat and will be nutritionally sufficient for them.

For those of us who are traditionalists, this can be a difficult idea to grasp completely but I challenge you to consider the importance of a child (especially toddlers and preschoolers) having a balanced diet as they are so quickly develop bones, muscles and brains!