He is starving, I am trying to cook dinner
Would your family benefit by offering your 1-year-old a healthy snack while you prepare dinner... considering it a first course of the meal? Some kids like fresh blueberries, kiwi slices, or small pieces of cheese. These can easily be prepared ahead of time and be ready-to-serve at a moment's notice.
Some kids might look forward to playing with a plastic bin of food-themed toys and dishes (often sold to stock a toy kitchen) which are brought out only at meal prep time.
Would it work for your family, to have your eldest child engage the 1-year old while you cook? For example, cheering him on while he feeds himself his appetizer? Or having appetizers together? Or joining him in playing with a collection of toy food, possibly naming the objects and their colors for him or describing the taste of their real-life counterparts: A real apple is crunchy, juicy, and sweet.
