I wonder if any of you creative mums out there have some ideas for feeding toddlers? BabyBird is a fairly good eater but I want to make sure her diet remains varied so we don't become one of those mac 'n cheese meal families. You know, the type that have one meal for the kids, like mac 'n cheese, and another for the adults? No offense if you are one of those families, that's just not for me! It's been a steep learning curve and our meals are definitely more kid-friendly than they were before we had a little eater in the house. At the moment her repertoire of meals is okay but I want it to become slightly more varied. As you can see, vegetables are seriously lacking! I don't mind a repetitive breakfast but lunch and dinner are getting really boring. I try to vary it up with things we like to eat but she isn't big on saucey meals.
Can you add any ideas to our menu? What do your kids love to eat?
Breakfast
porridge with yoghurt, honey, and cinnamon
yoghurt with either honey and cinnamon or some kind of berry
banana/grapes
sourdough waffles with jam and yoghurt
pancakes
zucchini or banana bread
muesli with yoghurt and milk
Daddy's cereal
Lunch
cheese and ham melted inside either a wheat or corn tortilla
sourdough bread with peanut butter or butter
fruit
scrambled egg
hard boiled egg
anything her daddy is eating
cheese and crackers
Dinner
spaghetti with either a white or red sauce and cheese (and I sneak in vegetables and tuna)
cheese cheese cheese cheese cheese please
roasted chicken leg
peas peas peas peas peas please and corn
roasted kumura (sweet potato) or potato chips (fries)
root beat (she used to love this but has recently gone off it)
rice noodles with stir fry
rice
sushi
Ha ha, your list made me laugh, esp. cheese cheese cheese cheese cheese please and peas peas peas peas peas please! My kids esp. like the peas frozen! There was so much food I said I would never cook once I left home...and now I realise why my mum cooked it, because it was easy and we kids ate it! My main tip though is to keep them hungry - then they'll eat anything - so go light on the afternoon tea. My kids went through a stage of just eating huge afternoon teas (crackers and fruit mostly) and then no dinner. Now I really limit afternoon tea and it helps heaps.
ReplyDeleteHEY! That's not a full idea! But yes, I always remember you said this and I think I've been feeding her slightly too early as I get nervous she'll have a grump (because she starts to get kind of grump around 5) and not eat at all. Today I only gave her fruit and half a cracker for her afternoon tea and then I managed to keep her going with the odd frozen pea or corn! and by letting her help me taste what I was preparing, and I just started dinner prep a tiny bit later and she survived. and the tricks of the trade are hard tricks to learn, they just have to be learned and I could go on and on and on!
ReplyDeletewe also need to stay away from the kitchen so I don't give her those snacks that she has started asking for when we're in the kitchen!
DeleteSoups - chicken noodle. It's a great way to get vegetables into them. Cauliflower Soup - boil some frozen cauliflower in chicken broth, blend, add some onion powder, sour cream, bacon pieces and grated cheese. Tomato Soup - use crushed, strained, pure tomatoes in a jar, add some chicken or vegetable broth until desired thickness, add some heavy cream (good fat for her brain), serve with grated cheese, cheese, cheese, cheese.
ReplyDeleteMildly flavoured turkey chili with beans and tomatoes.
Homemade chicken nuggets with a yummy, healthy dipping sauce. So fun to eat!
Cottage Berry Whip - 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 cup berries, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp raw honey - blend. Delicious and nutritious.
Homemade chips from a whole wheat wrap, drizzled with coconut oil and some onion powder, broiled and cut into triangles - dip in hummus or guacamole.