Brittany over at A Healthy Slice of Life and Kristen at Concrete Runner and I were all talking about the eating habits of our toddlers. Turns out I'm not the only one with a child that doesn't seem to want to eat. Brittany is hosting a link up over at her site all about baby eating habits. I'm going to share with you what we feed him but only if you promise not to judge. I don't have the ability to make big beautiful breakfast during the week. I'm at work by 8:00 a.m. Usually I pack his food for the sitters and he eats there.
First let me tell E is a terrible eater. I try and try and try to sit down at normal meal times and get him to eat a square meal but he usually has other plans. We've tried to adapt while also impressing upon him the importance of eating at mealtime. Let's remember I'm talking about a toddler here. I know I'm supposed to have pretty pictures of his food but hopefully you'll be ok with a few iPhone Pictures.
Breakfasts:- Cereal: Cheerios, Quaker Oatmeal Squares,and Chex Mix
- Others: Yogurt, Oatmeal, Planters Anti-Oxidant Granola Bars
Lunch:
- Turkey (My grocery store makes turkey breast and slices it just a little thicker than lunch meat. E loves it and I know it's real meat)
- Peanut Butter/Almond Butter
- Fruits & Veggies: Cucumber, Apple (spoken as "baple" by E), Edemame, Grapes, and Pears
- Other: Pretzel Chips, triscuits and wheat thins, string cheese
Dinner:- Marinated Chicken Breasts
- Chicken Pesto Pasta
- Quinoa, Couscous
- Brown Rice
- Fruits & Veggies: Broccoli (with a little soy sauce on it)/Asparagus
Beveridges:
- Whole Milk
- Motts for Tots Juice (basically it's watered down juice. I don't like all the sugar in a full glass of juice)
- Water (lots of water) He loves to drink out of moms water bottles, as you can tell. Either way, I'm very happy he's a water drinker.
Things he won't eat that I wish he would:
- Fruits and Veggies: Sweet potatoes, avocados, green beans, peppers, melons, and peaches
- Bread
Thought I should leave you with a super cute picture of the mini bad*ss. All of a sudden he wants to wear sunglasses in the car (just like momma and daddy). It's so freakin cute!
He sounds like an exceptionally healthy eater to me! Sometimes for snacks I give my daughter those little baby food pouches, like Happy Baby or Ella's or whatever the other organic brands are. She is over 2 but still sucks them down like smoothies and thinks they're a treat. Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/HAPPYBABY-Organic-Broccoli-3-5-Ounce-Pouches/dp/B0030VBRCG
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reassurance. Sometimes I worry that I'm not feeding him healthy enough.
DeleteHe goes through phases with the Ella's packets. He loves them one day and hates them the next but I always keep a couple on hand. They are just too easy!
my daughter is almost 2 1/2... she is exactly "picky" but she likes certain foods way more than others. She would live on a diet of annie's cheese bunnies and cheese sticks if I let her. I would say just keep introducing new stuff and letting him try it, or reintroduce it if its been awhile. Also, smoothies are a GREAT way to get in extra veggies/fruit.
ReplyDeletekeep it up !
-courtney from journeyofadreamer.com
Thanks!! I appreciate the support! We'll get there. :)
DeleteHonestly, he seems pretty good for a toddler. Just keep trying stuff. My kids (10 and 6) loved sweet potatoes as babies, hated them as toddlers and now can't get enough of them, especially if I sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar on them. And my 10 year old still loves the organic squeeze apple sauce things.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big believer in just giving them new stuff to try with each meal. Sometimes they will, sometimes they won't and sometimes they'll surprise you with what they like. Now that they are older I do ask them to try one bite of something, but I refuse to get into food battles with them, so if they don't like it, I've always got things that they do like as options on the table. (Sometimes this means they eat nothing but rice, cucumber and one bite of chicken at a meal, but it all works out eventually.)
I like that approach! They have to eat something. :)
DeleteI think we may have the same little boy...and your little guy may actually be better on some days. I'm always worried about how little my 19 mo old eats...but I have to remind myself he's not going to starve. I just keep trying and try not to get frustrated. Everything on your list looks similar to mine and I too try to be as healthy as I can and want the same for him. I guess what I'm saying is that we have normal little boys :)
ReplyDeleteOh yeah! I'm so happy to hear that! Normal is good!
DeleteI think he sounds like he eats really healthy!! You're doing a great job! If Hailey gets picky down the road I plan on making her green smoothies so she had no idea spinach is in them ;)
ReplyDeleteBrittany (www.ahealthysliceoflife.com)
I think your little guy is doing very well! My kids just turned 2 (today!) and are pretty good eaters. My guy is more adventuresome but my girl is kind of picky. They aren't into eating greens like spinach or kale by itself yet own so I usually will make a green dip, smoothie or muffins. We also make homemade pancakes full of shredded veggies and fruit on the weekend so we can have leftovers in the freezer for quick weekday breakfasts.
ReplyDeleteLike someone else mentioned, one day they love something, the next day it's the grossest thing in the world!
Man, someday I'm going to have a kids like that. He sounds so perfect. ;)
ReplyDeleteI just saw this post through another blogger. Have you tried cheese quesadilla's? I will smear avocado, refried beans or smash black beans and my 20 mo old eats it up. I think the cheese masks some of the other flavor plus cooking it on the griddle with some olive oil makes it yummy. You can get creative with what you put in there. He also loves the pouches, I like Happy Tots or the ones at Trader Joe's. Another thing is Dr. Praeger's spinach littles. They taste almost like potato pancakes and my son will eat like four of them in less than 5 min. The brand makes different ones that you can see if your son likes. We also bake him sweet potato fries with olive oil, salt and pepper which he loves. I'm always looking for new ideas...last night he ate spinach tortellini so I was pretty happy. Hope this helps!
ReplyDelete