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  1. #1
    Fairy's Avatar
    Fairy is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    Default What do you feed your toddler?

    Hi Guys! Well, I'm feeling like I need some help with ideas for meals for my 16-month-old. He'll eat almost anything we put in front of him -- not every time, of course, cuz he certainly has his days of refusing to eat just about anyhting, but often. My problem is that I'm ashamed to say, yet honest, that I don't cook well. I can do five or six homemade meals well (like meatloaf, shephard's pie, a few chicken dishes), but the rest is hamburger helper, pasta & Ragu, tacos -- and alot of it has partially hydrogenated oil crap in it that I try REALLY hard not to give our son.

    Here is what we currently give him almost every week: chicken nuggets, fish sticks, Yo Baby, apple sauce, Prepared Jello/Fruit (not good), Hormel Kidz Meals, Buttered Noodles, lunchmeat & crackers, oatmeal, eggs & bacon or sausage. That's about it for meal food.

    So, I ask you --> What kind of meals are you making for your toddlers so that I may humbly and appreciatively try, myself.

    THANK YOU!
    :-)

  2. #2
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    Default RE: What do you feed your toddler?

    For dinner, we feed her whatever we're eating. Yah, that does mean that we are careful not to eat junk we wouldn't feed her too often.

    For lunch, since she goes to daycare, we send leftovers when we've got them, and when not: Meatloaf, turkey meatballs, sliced up sausage, rice with soup poured over it, rice with yogurt, shu mai (Chinese dumplings from Trader Joe's), little mozzarellas cut into quarters.

  3. #3
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    Default RE: What do you feed your toddler?

    Well first of all, pat yourself on the back for working to make a change - that is half the battle and good for you. As a start, maybe consider checking out a few cookbooks from the library or subscribe to a cooking magazine (I like Cooking Light) to get some new ideas for both your child and yourself.

    I have generally fed my children whatever I am eating - and tried to make things from scratch. Learn to make chili (ground turkey and black bean), lasagna, and beef stew. Think about crock pot meals - again ingredients that can be dumped together and heated over time. My children have all loved salmon, grilled chicken with a bit a sauce, and pork tenderloin. Mashed or baked potatoes are a hit. I make my own french fries by cutting up a few potatoes, drizzing with a bit of olive oil and a dash of seasoning and then baking on a baking stone. I make and freeze vegetable and chicken soup (I use organic broth - very easy). Cook a turkey breast, cut it up and freeze for endless possibilities. Sometimes we splurge and have an Amy's organic pot pie - really yummy. Try lightly cooked vegetables and dips. I encourage you to work away from canned and processed foods and just try more natural ingredients. If you give him time, he'll come around.

    Good luck - you are on your way!

  4. #4
    chiqanita Guest

    Default RE: What do you feed your toddler?

    Hi Fairy - I have 16 m.o. twin boys and lately I'm finding it difficult to get them to eat new things. I'm not a good cook and sometimes we order out. I use frozen, fresh and sometimes canned veggies/fruit. We were going fast and steady there for a while and then everything changed. DSb is allergic to eggs so we don't eat eggs right now. I try to get as much organic as I can and I try to stay away from that partially hydrogenated stuff. DSa usually eats everything. DSb fusses a bit and sometimes I have to give him something different.

    Bfast: organic waffles, pancakes, YoBaby, Peach preserves, oatmeal, bananas, pears, Cheerios

    Lunch: quesadillas, grilled cheese w/ cheddar cheese, dino chkn nuggets, tater tots, applesauce, peaches, pears, bananas, fish crackers, grated carrots w/applesauce, peas, corn, broccoli, avocado, sweet potatoes, tofu, smoothies

    Dinner: grilled chkn breast, rice pilaf, steamed veggies, mac n cheese, turkey, ham

    Lots of water and milk.

    Thanks for starting this topic.

    BTW they won't eat ground turkey at all.


  5. #5
    mtnmom9 Guest

    Default RE: What do you feed your toddler?

    I like your idea of grated carrots in applesauce! Will try it with my 22 mo old:)

  6. #6
    Fairy's Avatar
    Fairy is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    Default RE: What do you feed your toddler?

    Hello, again!

    So, thanks for the suggestions, everyone, they were very helpful. I do make Chilli, actually, and my son sometimes loves it, sometimes hates it. Hmm. Rice is something I didn't think of before, and I"m not sure why, cuz it's a great idea. Will also try the quesedillas, too. All forms of cheese so far he doesn't like except grilled cheese, so while mac & cheese is out (darn!), quesedillas may be in. Here's hopin'.

    I forgot to mention that he eats veggies and fruit every day - I hope no one thinks I've been shoving crap in my DS's mouth! But the main meal stuff is getting REAL ho hum with the fish sticks and chicken nuggets, etc. Love the ideas you all suggested.

    Part of my problem is that we don't eat all together yet. My husband gets home no earlier than 6:30pm, usually 7pm, and that's Matthew's bedtime. I could keep him up later, but he'll still ahve to get up really early to go to daycare, so I don't want to reduce his sleep from 11 hours to 9 or 10 if I can avolid it. So I usually make my dinner after he is in bed. I think maybe the first step is changing that (maybe we eat he and I, and then my DH will join us when he's able to get home early enough). That will go a long way to having my DS eat a more diverse diet.

    Thank you, all!
    Fairy

  7. #7
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Fairy
    Hello, again!

    Part of my problem is that we don't eat all together yet. My husband gets home no earlier than 6:30pm, usually 7pm, and that's Matthew's bedtime. I could keep him up later, but he'll still ahve to get up really early to go to daycare, so I don't want to reduce his sleep from 11 hours to 9 or 10 if I can avolid it. So I usually make my dinner after he is in bed. Fairy
    I have the same issue with my husband getting home late and eating late. What I will sometimes do is make extra for our dinner and then save it for our son the next day. Most things heat up pretty well, especially pasta. Otherwise, I will sometimes cook chicken the night before and make a stir fry the next day. Ziploc steaming bags for the microwave save a lot of time, you can use it for almost anything and since you are steaming everything, it makes it a healthy too. Hope this helps.

  8. #8
    bubbaray's Avatar
    bubbaray is offline Blue Diamond level (20,000+ posts)
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    Default

    Resurrected old post, folks.

    I did a double-take at the title b/c I thought, "Wait, he's not a toddler, he's a preschooler". LOL.
    Melissa

    DD#1: April 2004
    DD#2: January 2007

    "My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world." Jack Layton 1950 - 2011

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