My 1 year old has disovered mac and cheese....any good homemade and healthy recipes out there?

Any other healthy food recipes for toddlers?My 1 year old has disovered mac and cheese....any good homemade and healthy recipes out there?
Add precooked vegetables to the Mac and Cheese!!!





Any chance you get to add fruits and vegetables to your kids' food should be exploited. That will start a lifelong love of healthier eating. Good luck!


ymmfMy 1 year old has disovered mac and cheese....any good homemade and healthy recipes out there?
Mac %26amp; Cheese isn't very hard from scratch. I commend you for wanting to make the real thing. The stuff in the blue box is very very salty, and contains lots of preservatives. The cheese is so processed (that magic orange powder!) that it can't hardly be called cheese any more.





Easy Mac %26amp; Cheese





Boil up a pound of Mac. Drain.





2 tablespoons butter


2 tablespoons flour


2 cups hot milk


12 oz shredded cheese (mild cheddar for kids, sharp for me)


salt


pepper





Melt the butter over medium-low heat. Once it melts, allow it to bubble until it stops -- this gets all the water out of the butter.





Add the flour and whisk and continue to cook the paste until it starts to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Add the hot milk in splashes and whisk continuously. Incorporate all the milk and whisk until you have a white sauce. Add a dash of pepper and salt.





Add the shredded cheese 1/3 at a a time, whisking all the way.





Pour the finished sauce onto the mac. You can serve it like this, or...





For an extra treat, put it in a casserole, cover with breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs, dot with butter, and top with more cheese. Put it under the broiler until golden brown.





Enjoy the toddler years!
Homemade Mac and Cheese





Ingredients-


8 ounces macaroni


2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese


1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese


3 cups milk


1/4 cup butter


2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour


2 tablespoons butter


1/2 cup bread crumbs


1 pinch paprika








Preparation-


Cook macaroni according to the package directions. Drain.


In a saucepan, melt butter or margarine over medium heat. Stir in enough flour to make a roux. Add milk to roux slowly, stirring constantly. Stir in cheeses, and cook over low heat until cheese is melted and the sauce is a little thick. Put macaroni in large casserole dish, and pour sauce over macaroni. Stir well.


Melt butter or margarine in a skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and brown. Spread over the macaroni and cheese to cover. Sprinkle with a little paprika.


Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Serve.
???


Please double check the salt (sodium) in the M/C..??


It may be unreasonable for a 1Y/O..


There is another catagory here in Y/A - -for parents including toddlers.. Their resources may have many web sites for food.
When you can't make your own, try Annies Natural Mac and Cheese. Its lower in sodium, uses organic durham flour, and is great tasting!
rice and gravy
The poster above had a good recipe, but use whole wheat pasta and substitute some of the cheese for squash puree. It sounds gross, but I do this and my kids don't notice, I swear!
I make homemade almost exactly as the previous poster does. One exception - I use the microwave. Stirring every minute at first, and then every 30 seconds. It doesn't save time, but it prevents scorching on the bottom of the pan, and if your toddler calls you away, it won't burn. It will just sit in the microwave until you return. Just make sure to set the timer to the appropriate interval.





Now that the kids are older, I add broccoli and bacon, or sausage meat to it, too.