My Fussy Eater | Healthy Kids Recipes

A UK kids food blog full of healthy and easy recipes for fussy eaters

  • Home
  • About
    • About Me
    • Contact
    • Work With Me
    • Privacy Policy
    • Website Terms & Conditions
    • Cookie Policy
  • Meal Plans
  • Recipes
  • Special Diets
    • Gluten Free
    • Dairy Free
    • Egg Free
    • Nut Free
    • Vegetarian
    • Vegan
  • Tips & Tricks
  • APP
  • Cookbook
You are here: Home / Tips & Tricks for Fussy Eaters / Healthy Energy Dense Foods for Kids!

Healthy Energy Dense Foods for Kids!

October 18, 2017 by Ciara Attwell, Updated May 25, 2018

Share53
Tweet
Pin206
+1
Vote
259 Shares

Energy Dense Recipes for Kids – These calorie and nutrient rich recipes are perfect for kids with small appetites who only eat a small amount of food at a time.

15 Energy Dense Recipes for KidsAs a parent I’ve personally spent an awful lot of time worrying about my small person not eating enough over the years and I’m sure I’m not the only one that has!

MY LATEST VIDEOS

There are all sorts of reasons why your child may not seem to be eating enough, be it a period of fussy eating, a reduced appetite due to a period of illness or even just being too tired to eat much after a jam packed day of school/nursery or play.

If you are seriously worried that your child is underweight or not growing normally then you should seek help from your GP or Paediatrican. If your child is otherwise healthy and you are just trying to get a great quantity of healthy food into them, here are my five top tips!

 

1. Relax!

Make mealtimes a calm, relaxed occasion and never rushed. Even though your child’s lack of eating may be causing you anxiety, and as hard as it is, try to relax. Encourage them to eat well and healthily by providing an enjoyable setting in which to do so.

 

2. Snacks!

Kids expend lots of calories just in the business of growing, so it may be the case that they are not getting enough energy from three meals a day and they may need some small healthy snacks throughout the day to increase their calorie intake. I talk more about the importance of snacking in this article and here are a few energy dense snack recipes to try:

Raspberry & Coconut Energy Bites

Delicious and healthy energy bites packed full of oats, peanut butter, freeze dried raspberries and shredded coconut. A tasty and nutritious snack that adults and kids will love!

Sunflower Butter Energy Bars

Delicious energy bars made with homemade sunflower butter, oats, flaxseed and coconut. They are the perfect nut-free snack for kids that can be popped into lunch bags or enjoyed as an after school snack!

Peanut Butter & Banana Popsicle

A super healthy,  and all natural summer snack with only 3 ingredients all of which are great energy dense foods!

Oat & Raisin Cookies

Delicious Oat & Raisin Cookies made healthier with reduced sugar and whole wheat flour. The perfect snack for kids after school.

 

3. Up the Energy Density!

If you are unable to get your small people to increase the amount of food they consume, then make sure to include healthy high calorie and energy dense foods at meal and snack times. Some great examples are: avocado, nut butters, seeds, eggs, coconut milk, hummus & bean dips and full fat dairy like cheese, yoghurts and butter. Some great recipes containing these foods are:

Cheese & Chive Chickpea Dip

A creamy and cheesy dip made with chickpea and packed full of protein! A great way to get kids to eat their veggies!

Dippy Eggs with Avocado Grilled Cheese Toasties

Eggs aren’t just for breakfast. These Dippy Eggs with Avocado Grilled Cheese Toasties make a tasty and quick lunch or dinner for hungry kids!

Spinach & Cheese Muffins

Delicious savoury muffins packed full of vegetables like spinach and peppers; perfect for a family lunch or a kids afternoon snack

Coconut Chicken Curry

A quick and easy cook-from-scratch Chicken, Coconut & Tomato Curry recipe. Super mild and suitable for kids!

Sweet Potato & Chickpea Veggie Burgers

Delicious vegetarian burgers packed with nutritious sweet potato and chickpeas and flavoured with cajun spices!

 

4. Bulk it up!

Bulk up mashed vegetables by adding full fat milk and cheese for additional calories or try your small person’s favorite fruits in a smoothie with full fat yoghurt for a healthy and nutrient dense snack. Here are a few high energy pasta sauces that always go down well with my family:

Broccoli Mac & Cheese

A super easy and delicious meal ready in less than 15 mins. This Broccoli Mac & Cheese is sure to be a new family favourite!

Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

Sneak some veggies into your kids meal with this delicious Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese recipe. Great for toddlers and baby weaning too!

Creamy Avocado Pasta Sauce

A quick and easy recipe perfect for picky eaters; Creamy Avocado & Spinach Pasta with a no-cook sauce!

 

5. Add a pudding! 

Make milk based puddings which are nutritious as well as a great source of energy. Puddings don’t need to be unhealthy. You can make some classic favourites with natural sugars, such as these:

Mango Coconut Chia Pudding

A delicious and healthy pudding made with chia seeds, coconut milk and fresh mango

Strawberry Banana Bread

A delicious and easy Strawberry Banana Bread recipe, made a little healthier with no refined sugar. The perfect afternoon snack for hungry kids!

Apple & Banana Brownies

These delicious brownies are refined sugar free, instead sweetened with apple and banana and a little honey. They’re also packed with nutritious almonds and are gluten and dairy free!

 

 

You Might Also Like These Recipes:

  • Four delicious smoothie recipes that are packed full of nutritious ingredients, kid-approved and perfect for the whole family. 
    Four Healthy Smoothies For Kids

    Four delicious smoothie recipes that are packed full of nutritious…

  • YUM! Deliciously Healthy Recipes for Kids - Ebook

    I'm really excited to announce a little project I have…

  • These Chocolate Chip Energy Bites make the perfect snack for kids, packed full of slow releasing carbs from oats and protein for peanut butter and flaxseed. And they look like heallthy cake pops too! My Fussy Eater blog
    Chocolate Chip Energy Bites for Kids

    These Chocolate Chip Energy Bites make the perfect snack for…

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks for Fussy Eaters Tagged With: avocado, bean dips, bulk, calorie intake, calories, chia pudding, chickpea, children, energy, energy bars, energy dense, full fat dairy, fussy eating, healthy, hummus, kids, nut butters, reduced appetite, seeds, snacks

« Kiddyum Frozen Meals
Easy Slow Cooker Lamb Curry »

Comments

  1. Stella says

    March 21, 2018 at 8:43 pm

    Am going to try some of these ideas with my 14 month old. Especially like the idea of adding full fat milk and cheese to bulk meals up.

    Reply
  2. Claire P says

    January 2, 2018 at 9:58 am

    Great share! I was in search of such similar post or information on healthy foods for my daughter and came across your post. Thanks for such an informative content, Ciara! It’s really helpful.

    Reply
  3. Charlie Mace says

    October 20, 2017 at 12:20 pm

    Love this post – I’m always banging on about how to sneak veggies into little ones and obviously writing a clean eating blog means that I concentrate lots on nutrition – but I’m very aware that I want my kids to enjoy food, and be excited about it, so I always try to get the balance right, of course allowing them a little of everything – and trying hard to make the healthy foods just as fun and exciting as the not so healthy. I love these ideas, thank you! Charlie x

    Reply
    • Ciara Attwell says

      October 29, 2017 at 12:01 pm

      Thanks Charlie!! x

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Hi, I'm Ciara! I'm a food writer and cookbook author and I'm always looking for new ways to make food fun and interesting for kids! Read More…

Sign up for my weekly email!

sidebar1
sidebar1

Connect

I’m Ciara, an Irish gal and ex-Londoner, now living the village life in rural Kent and attempting to tackle fussy eating one meal at a time [see more]

vueliotop10badge2017
Foodies100 Index of UK Food Blogs
Foodies100

Copyright © 2018 CIARA ATTWELL // MY FUSSY EATER