Toddler recipe book

So anyone who knows me knows that I have to have a project to work on constantly. I really feel lost, unfocused and completely out of whack when I don't have a personal project on which to focus my mental energy. My latest project was an ABC book for Lily. I began the project thinking that I would take pictures of our household items so that Lily would have a point of reference for the words, and thus the words would be more meaningful to her. Then I thought about the thousands (no exaggeration) of pictures that we have from Lily's first 20 months of life. Why not just go through the pictures that I already have and see what I can make from them? And so began one of my all-time favorite projects (right up there with the calendars that I made for my family). I had the best time going through all of her baby pictures, but the book is now near completion (just needs to be bound). So, time to move on.

The thing that I am most interested in right now is healthy meal ideas for toddlers, with obvious reason. Sometimes I feel stuck in a rut, offering Lily the same things over and over. I want some new ideas! I've already searched the internet and looked in cookbooks, but I want more. So I'm asking for everyone's help with this one. If you have a young child, have ever had a young child, or just know of a young child, I need your help!! Please submit any and ALL meal ideas to me at kathleendeetz@youngschool.com. Don't be shy! Please tell anyone you can think of that would benefit from this project about it. My goal is to compile all the submissions into a simple recipe book and then send out a copy of it to anyone who submitted ideas.

There are no real guidelines for the recipe book, except that something in it should be considered somewhat healthy. The ideas can be as simple or elaborate as you wish. Even frozen meals or a certain brand of prepackaged food that you've found to be effective with little ones is welcome. My goal is to have a RESOURCE BOOK, something that parents can flip through when they are feeling like they are simply out of new ideas. All children are different and some are obviously more finicky than others but exposure to different foods is what I'm most concerned about. How do we know that they won't eat quinoa if we never try it, right? Recipes for healthier versions of old standbys like mac 'n cheese would be also great. The possibilities are truly endless. Again, the more ideas submitted, the better this book will be, so please pass the word along. It only takes a minute to forward a recipe or two (or three or four...), and you'll end up with a great resource. Thanks for your help!

Please e-mail recipes/ideas by August 15th. My goal is to have the book done and sent out by the beginning of September.