I want to share a new recipe I tried and adapted for our family. As I have mentioned previously, I have been having some difficulty with my now 1 year old’s (Ahh, I can’t believe he’s one!) eating.
Although, I haven’t had to deal with concerns about Isaac’s weight gain, it has been very stressful for me as a mom. I have had to give myself little occupational therapy pep talks every day. Things like, “You can’t feed him pizza every night for dinner.”
I am very grateful and pleased to say that Isaac’s eating has been steadily improving. If you’ve got a picky eater, or just wish your child would eat a wider range of foods, I’d highly recommend checking out our free picky eating workshop. In it I teach you what I’ve done to help Isaac eat more foods, so it’s a combo of my mom and OT experience!
When I was at my wits end about a week or two ago, I knew I had to sit down and do a meal plan for the whole family that would challenge Isaac just enough, but not too much that he would refuse to eat.
I love to do meal plans, but with all the chaos of moving, it just hasn’t been happening a lot lately. I finally got it together but was nervous about one dinner in particular — Asian night.
I had planned on making egg rolls (store-bought), brown rice, and shrimp stir-fry. There wasn’t any preferred food in this meal for Isaac and I wasn’t sure how to incorporate one, especially since he only had a few foods I would consider preferred.
Then it dawned on me to make a sauce, separately. I wasn’t sure if he would respond better to the dry rice or a wet texture.
Isaac likes a lot of flavor and peanut butter (see my note below on feeding peanut butter to kids under 2) so I thought I would try an Asian peanut sauce, problem is they are virtually all spicy, really spicy. So it was time for me to experiment with a non spicy peanut sauce
I adapted a recipe I found on Good Earth Peanuts. This recipe is extremely forgiving, so feel free to experiment and use what you have on hand. It turned out to be a perfect kid friendly peanut sauce.
As for our dinner, Isaac devoured the sauce mixed in with his brown rice, and even ate some shrimp. It was a good night for him (and me too)! I do have to admit, Sam struggled through this dinner and didn’t care for the peanut sauce very much, despite his love of peanut butter.
He ate enough though. You never know how it’s going to go, until you try!
I know people might question me on giving Isaac peanut butter before the age of 2. In a nutshell, (sorry, can’t pass up the pun) I have given peanut butter to my boys before the age of 1 because we don’t have a family history of food allergies. This peanut sauce recipe for kids is a great way to get the consistency you want while exposing your child to a new flavor packed with lots of nutrients and versatility.
I introduced it slowly and am careful to how thick it is when they are young because it can be a choking hazard. Some research shows that there is no evidence of reduced risk to allergies by waiting to introduce foods when a child is older.
Of course, you should always discuss these concerns and any questions you may have with your child’s doctor.
Asian Peanut Sauce
Non-Spicy Homemade Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Peanut Butter
- 3 tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Hoisin Sauce (Optional)
- 1/3 cup Water
Instructions
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Whisk all ingredients together and heat slowly over low heat. Stir frequently.
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Add more water or vinegar if you like a thinner consistency.
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If you use a sugar free peanut butter, you may want to add 1-2 tbsp of brown sugar.
If you are new to meal planning or looking for more inspiration, grab our Meal Plan Freebie Bundle, with all kinds of simple and delicious meal ideas for you and your family!
More Kid Friendly Recipes
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The Ultimate List of Baby/Toddler Meal Ideas
The Picky Eater Approved Chicken Nugget Recipe
Green Bean Recipe That Kids Will Chow Down On
Alisha Grogan is a licensed occupational therapist and founder of Your Kid’s Table. She has over 19 years experience with expertise in sensory processing and feeding development in babies, toddlers, and children. Alisha also has 3 boys of her own at home. Learn more about her here.
I have looked for a peanut sauce for a long time and was very happy when I found this today. Every time I looked it was always spiced and I can’t have spices so it was a delight to find this. I haven’t made it yet but intend to do so tonight. Thank you.
Awesome Gaye!
Hope you enjoy!
Best,
Desiree
Looking forward to trying this!
I nearly cried when i came across this recipe. A loooong time ago in a land far away (I’m not kidding. I was overseas lol!!) I had a dish that changed my life. Cold noodle, chicken, cucumber, and peanut sauce. It instantly shot to my favorite dish of all time. After college when i started really enjoying playing with recipes, I tried to recreate this dish, and I cam pretty close. Problem was, I could and liked, eating spicy food back then but a few ulcers and acid reflux years later totally took that off the table. And every time I would find a sauce, it would be spicy and I wouldn’t be able to eat it. That is torture. Now this. I find you, you kind, gracious, heaven sent angel that you are, you have fixed my problem- you brought my fave dish back to me, I thought I had lost it forever. And to go even a step futher, I don’t even have to go buy ingredients! These things are staples in the pantry! So very cool, and I am conviced you are magic. Thank You, thank you thank you thank youuuuu!!!!!!!!!!!!. 🙂 XOXO
Thank God for this non spicy version of one of my favorite dipping sauces. Love your Cancer Warrior Fan!💜
Hi there! So glad you found this post helpful! Happy eating! 🙂
Best,
Kalyn
Absolutely- that should work fine! Let me know how it turns out… enjoy!
Thanks for this helpful recipe! I’m an adult but both my mother and I do not eat anything spicy, and every Asian recipe we run across seems to expect spicy as par for the course. Certainly every Asian peanut sauce did! I’ll definitely have to try this one in recipes that call for peanut sauce. 🙂
How do you think a mixture of lemon juice with a little apple juice concentrate would do as a substitute for the vinegar? We don’t use any sort of vinegar in our cooking.
I tried this tonight, since one of my 4 year old’s favorite foods is peanut butter (on a spoon.) He helped me make it (he LOVES to cook) and I really thought it was going to be a big hit, but he wouldn’t even try it. I ate it on a spoon, on an apple, and on noodles (another of his favorite foods) but he wouldn’t touch it. He did smell it, though, and ended up eating regular peanut butter on apples, which I *think* is an improvement from just plain, right?
Anyway, any tips to actually get the new foods IN his mouth? He’s very stubborn about many things, not just food.
Yes! I have lots of tips! First, it is great that he did something new, eating it off the apple! I know it is frustrating to spend all that time preparing a meal you think he will like and it seems like a flop. I assure you though, it wasn’t. He learned a lot. Try the meal again or serve the left overs in a couple of days. Try to serve a preferred food along with the meal. Again, encourage the play. Most of my posts, especially the recipes have more tips, but check out this guest post for more specific strategies. http://www.playingwithwords365.com/2012/08/getting-your-picky-eater-to-explore-new-foods/
Let me know how it is going or if I can be of any more help!
Great tip Julie, thanks for sharing!
This is very similar to the recipe I use, but I always serve it with noodles. I’ll have to try it with rice; never thought of that! I don’t know if it makes any difference in prep time, but I mix all the ingredients (just kind of mash them up) and then add the water that’s been brought to a boil in the microwave. It saves me from having to light a burner with a two year old helping me in the kitchen.
This looks great Alisha! I bet Max and I would both like it!! Thanks for the idea!