Banana Split Yogurt Bowls + Cooking with a Toddler

Banana Split Parfaits make the perfect nutritious 5 minute breakfast with Greek yogurt, fresh banana, strawberries, mini chocolate chips and cereal!

Breakfast is my favorite time of the day. My daughter is a morning person like I am and wakes up in the best mood and is always super chatty and comes up with the cutest things. We love breakfast foods and enjoy making breakfast together. I often let her choose what we are going to eat since we like the same things and then, we make it together.

I have some tips for cooking with a toddler to make it fun and go smoothly:

1. Give them a couple of options of what to eat

You know how toddlers are- they love something one day and hate it the next. Give them a couple of choices of what to make such so they get excited about cooking.

2. Get out all of the ingredients first

I find that getting out the ingredients for a recipe first make it easier for cooking with a toddler so that you do not have to run around the whole time while cooking. Today, we made cookies and I gave Adalyn each ingredient to carry over to the counter. This got her all ready for cooking.

3. Bring a chair or stool to stand on

Since toddlers are shorter than adults, give them something to stand on so that they are up high and can see everything being done.

4. Have a carefree and positive attitude

Cooking with a toddler is bound to bring more messes than cooking by yourself so plan for cooking to take longer and to have to clean up a bit more afterwards. Preparing yourself for this ahead of time is helpful because then you know what to expect. When I am in a hurry, I don't cook with Adalyn but when we have extra time, it is a fun way to teach her new things and spend quality time together.

5. Give them jobs that they can do

Adalyn is great at mixing, throwing things away, getting ingredients and pouring ingredients into a recipe. I am enthusiastic about each thing that she does and tell her what a great job that she is doing. This helps to encourage her to want to cook with me again and become confident in the kitchen.

Adalyn and I created these quick and easy banana split parfaits for breakfast one morning and they were so delicious! They take about 5 minutes to make and are very much toddler approved. I had Adalyn help drop in the different toppings which she was excited about. We enjoyed having this simple breakfast together.

They are nutritious with protein and calcium rich Greek yogurt, fresh fruit for fiber and vitamins, cereal and nuts for healthy fat and protein. I used coconut yogurt but you could also use vanilla or plain Greek yogurt and sweeten it with a bit of maple syrup or honey.