Munch Menu V.1
The basics + my dietary philosophy + how to use these menus
There are so many different approaches to feeding your child. Some families are able to swing dinner together at the table. Others require a separate munchkin mealtime from the adults.
As I admitted in my villain origin story, we are not one of those families that cooks one meal for everyone and sits down together at 5:30pm on a weekday (weekends are a different story!).
While sometimes we incorporate our leftovers into munch meals the following evening, I’m often delegating some of my daughter’s cooking to a caregiver. And that’s when I started putting together these menus.
If you are lucky enough to share family meals, perhaps these menus will take on another utility. You can use them to plan out daycare or school lunchboxes during the day. Or you can use them simply as a guideline for how to rotate different proteins, starches and vegetables into your kid’s diet, using each week as a checklist of sorts to include 10+ different plants on their plate.
I don’t want these menus to be a burden or feel like another annoying thing on your to-do list. Try one new thing a week and discard the rest, if need be.
How to use these munch menus:
The menu can help you plan and shop for the week by giving you a clear game plan.
The game plan itself lays out any meal prep to get out of the way on weekends.
Print it out and delegate lunch or dinner prep to a caregiver, spouse or grandparent.
Use it as a rough template to mix and match suggestions and create your own weekly munch menus that fit your kid’s tastes.
Learn to freeze extra portions to make future munch menus a breeze.
Ignore the menus altogether and use the store-bought spotlight to add a new item to your weekly grocery list / rotation. That’s fine too!
The dietary mantra:
Maximum plant variety with minimal effort at the stove.
A “blue plate special” philosophy: protein, starch, vegetable.
Minimal to no sugar, unless in service of getting my child to eat a new plant or protein. Sometimes a tablespoon of sugar helps the cauliflower go down.
Thinking outside the “kid food” box and not overly relying on pasta and nuggets. Zero judgement - you just don’t need me for that!
Rotating plants from week to week to pair old favorites with new things to try.
All that said, since today is our FIRST EVER Munch Menu, I am going to start simple. This is your blank canvas to get going.
We will iterate from here, adding new recipes and giving you ways to turn simple staples into more interesting adventures.
I’ll give you some sort bought recommendations each week, but you can use whatever you like or have on hand for the rest!
Finally, if the menus seem overwhelming, start small. I’d be thrilled if you just took one new thing each week to try—whether that’s a sauce, a different cooking technique, a new vegetable, or just a frozen item you’ve never bough before.
WEEKDAY MUNCH MENU V.1
THE GAME PLAN
Store-Bought Spotlight
(elements you can buy)
Kite Hill Mushroom Ravioli: I can’t get my daughter to eat mushrooms unless it is this ravioli. The filling is so flavorful, you don’t need a sauce! They also make a great spinach tortellini.
Teriyaki Tofu: Premarinated organic tofu is one of my munch menu secret weapons for adding protein. You simply slice or dice – no cooking necessary!
Heyday Apricot Baked Beans: Most baked beans have tons of added sugar, and while these are definitely on the sweet side, all Heyday products have ingredient lists I can get behind. You’ll see plenty of their products in future store-bought spotlights. PRO TIP: freeze extra portions in this tray and store in a bag in the freezer labelled “Legumes” for future munch menus.
Meal Prep
(elements you can make in advance)
BBQ Chicken: Coat chicken thighs with your favorite BBQ sauce (I like this one) and bake at 425 for 25 minutes, until tender.
Turkey Meatballs: This recipe uses chia seeds as the binder, making them gluten-free and more nutrient dense, but feel free to sub your go-to meatball recipe! PRO TIP: freeze extra portions in a freezer bag labelled “Meatballs” for future munch menus.
Roasted Root Vegetables: Toss cubed carrots and/or parsnips with olive oil, salt and dash of cinnamon. Bake at 425 for 25 to 30 minutes, until caramelized.
Sweet Potato Fries: Cut into matchsticks and bake at 425 for 15 to 20 minutes, until crispy.
Brown Rice: Follow the package, babe.
Quickies
(non-recipe recipes you can cook the night or day of)
Baked Salmon: There’s a recipe called “Mother-in-Law Salmon” in my favorite kid cookbook (from fellow substacker Jenna Helwig) that I’ll paraphrase for you: Top 1 to 2 fillets salmon with an equal mix of mayo and Dijon mustard. Stir in any chopped herb and 1 clove minced garlic. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes until cooked through.
FAMILY MEAL IDEAS FOR WEEKENDS
If you’re someone who goes the family dinner route, don’t worry, I still got you! Every week I’ll add two ideas from my archives or the internet that have been kid-approved in my house. You can make them on the weekends or rotate them into a munch menu.
Dairy-Free Fantastic Fish Pie: This is a fan favorite on my main recipe website, Feed Me Phoebe, and a great one pan meal that hits a lot of toddler approved food groups. There’s the mashed potato topping, mild white fish, and finely cubed peas and carrots. You can always omit the spinach if that turns your kid off.
Sweet and Sour Cauliflower: Hetty McKinnon is one of my favorite vegetarian recipe creators out there (here’s her substack!). This hack for crispy oven-fried cauliflower is one that I use often in my rotation. You can swap arrowroot starch for cornstarch and omit the added sugar (ketchup has enough IMO). As you’ll learn, I try to limit condiments like ketchup unless in service of eating vegetables. This recipe is a great example of when a sauce can really do the heavy lifting for you.
These menus will be an evolving beast and I want more than anything for them to be useful. Please let me know how I’m doing, what you’d like to see more of, and any pain points in feeding munches you want addressed!
I am so excited about this concept and format! My family is primarily vegetarian - it might be asking too much, but I would be so grateful for vegetarian substitutes for the meat components of the menu.
I’m confused. Where are the recipes?