Please tell me I am not the only mom who feels like I feed my kid the same thing day in and day out! I would LOVE to have a variety of foods/meals for my son, but I dunno if I am just stuck in a rut or what?? I can't seem to think of much. We usually eat a nutrigrain bar, yogurt, and sometimes a banana for breakfast. Lunch is almost always chicken nuggets and green beans or broccoli, with dinner-basically whatever we can get him to eat. (Don't judge-I know its not the BEST foods to be eating! haha!) I really dont want him to be a picky eater, and am trying to introduce more foods. Can you guys help?? What do you feed your toddlers?
i no longer remember toddler-hood.. ^__^ i think i blocked out the younger version of connor from my brain-- but seriously, he's almonst 9 now, and I def feed him pretty much the same thing every day. He's fine LOL. (brekkie is usually eggs + banana, lunch is 99% of the time a pb& j sandwich + apple + crackers, afterschool snack is usually yogurt, crackers, more fruit, dinner is usually chicken ,rice, veggies) There's not much variation in our world It just makes life easier. If your kid is healthy, and growing, and happy.. Meh..... leave it be I say :]
i just finished reading the book "french kids eat everything" and it's definitely making me re-think some of our eating habits. i lived in france for a while and my husband was born/raised there, so i'm already biased to like their approach ... but in general, our foods are: breakfast ideas: eggs, toast, yogurt, smoothies, cereal with some fruit lunch: always some fruit and veggies (carrots, broccoli, cucumber) and then selections of: yogurt, sandwiches, cheese + crackers and cold cuts, pumpkin or sunflower seeds, craisens, pasta, cheese stick, pretzels or goldfish, cereal bar dinner: we have family dinner and kids eat the same as the adults - sometimes it's healthy and sometimes its pasta or tacos LOL - depends on my mood ...
well i guess i am glad i am not the only one who feeds the same things. haha. I will definitely be trying these out!! thanks for the ideas!! Keep em coming!
im with you my toddler has weetobix for breakfast potatoes and veg for dinner and a sandwich for tea,i bet if she could talk she would say hey mom whats this all about
There is light at the end of this tunnel. My son ate only waffles, poptarts, chicken nuggets and Totinos cheese pizzas for years. I am not exaggerating, people. He still doesn't like much in the way of vegetables but he is a healthy 18 year old young man that has played lacrosse for years. They get through it! As long as they are continuing to grow at a healthy rate, they'll be fine. I do have hope that one day he won't give an awful face while eating cauliflower...
oh stacie that made me laugh,love his child hood diet,im pretty lucky that my kids am old fashioned and love a roast dinner
Lunch almost every day is summer sausage, cheese, crackers & some veggie or fruit. DH does breakfast as I'm trying to catch a few more minutes of precious sleep. Dinner I really strive to make fun & exciting. But we always do pizza on Tuesdays when we have a babysitter coming over. And we usually have refried beans w/ _____ twice a month. That's my go to when all heck broke loose!
My 4 yr old is very picky and if it was up to her she would have a nutella sandwich for every meal. Even if she doesn't eat what I give her a lot of times I still keep trying. Last night she surprised me by saying how much she loved dinner (Salmon). I was so happy, after many tries she finally came around to liking it. I would just continue to offer him a variety of things, if he doesn't like it, no biggie you can always try again. Here's a Board with a lot of ideas for lunches. I would love to be as creative, but alas I'm not, LOL but at least it gives me ideas for meals.
I have a 5 year old who is (if I do say so myself) a really great eater. Not picky. Doesn't like or eat sugary snacks. Favorite foods are sushi, salmon, broccoli and fruit, You get the idea. LOL Now, I am not saying this is due to anything spectacular I have done as a parent. I think that in large part it's just her tastebuds, but there are a few things I've done that I think have been helpful. 1. Muffin tin meals - I did these pretty frequently when she was a toddler and started tapering off at about age 4, but it really works. The whole premise is to use some cute small portion containers with a big variety of bite sized foods. It's kind of an Americanized bento, although I do have some fun Bento supplies I use for mine. I would typically include a few different fruits and veggies in each meal. I think the key is to offer new stuff in small doses and repeatedly until it gains acceptance. There's a flickr group where you can see examples. 2. The "no thank you" bite - still a must at my house. Even when I make something the kids are sure they will not like, they have to try it. This happened 2 weeks ago with a spinach casserole I made. Julia said she would eat everything but "the grass" (shredded spinach LOL). She ate the meat and cheese out of it and then decided after the no thank you bite that the grass was pretty good too. She ate every bite of it. I also think that having to try everything is respectful to the chef (me). 3. When possible, get the kids involved in selection and meal planning. Mine are much more accepting of new things and "health" foods when they've helped to prep them. Hope that helps!
Oooh I'm going to check out that book Dana! And thank you Laura for your tips! My daughter continues to be so.very.picky. It's something we've struggled with for years now and we are attempting (again, afresh, still) to help her adapt to new foods and achieve a healthier balance. In the end, I know you're right Stacy about all being well. I just hold on to this hope I think that one day I can help Bugga develop long lasting healthy habits when it comes to eating. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...
Laura I love those ideas! I am definitely going to try those. Thanks so much! You ladies are helping me feel better. I get feeling so down as a mother sometimes (don't we all??) And hearing that I am not alone is definitely a huge self esteem boost. Oh and sara-you couldn't have said it better...just keep swimming just keep swimming. Ha ha.
love that "no thank you" bite, laura! we do something similar but don't have a name for it (the kids all know that they will make no negative comments about food at the table and they will try at least one bite of everything) - nowwww i do have a name! i have read in a few places that kids balance their diet over a 30 day period.... so, if you keep that premise in mind when you're feeding, it helps a bit, i think.
Oh I feel you! This constantly stresses me out. I'm not very good about continuing to offer things they've turned down before. If they hated broccoli once, I kind of just give up and go for what I know they'll eat. I need to be better at that! I was the PICKIEST eater as kid and I comfort myself with the fact that I was always healthy and that I grew out of it, but sometimes I think I use it as an excuse. Thanks for all the tips here!
