Eating what we eat (long. sorry!)

shakinros

Ok first a bit of a FFC: DD eats loads of prepackaged meals. Gerber raviolis are her favorites but she also eats Plum brand bistro bowls and lots of fruit/veggie squeeze pouches. I always pack her regular food in her lunch (though I sometimes throw in a pouch so she'll get some veggies). H gives her dinner before I get home and she always has something packaged.

How do we move towards her eating more regular food? Eating dinner together is not an option. I get home after 7; H and I eat around 830 after she's gone to bed.

She eats a decent variety of foods, except veggies. She only likes peas. She eats lots of fruit, beans, meatballs, soy "chicken" nuggets (but not regular chicken nuggets!), pb&j, all dairy, hummus, guacamole. Should we be phasing out prepackaged meals and just feed her more of what she already likes? Then work on expanding her palate?

This got really long. I may be incapable or writing a short post. Ha!

SJandVA

We rarely eat as a family too. The girls usually eat together then DH and I eat once they are dressed for bed. Dinners can be hard.

I would start feeding her stuff she already likes. Keep peas on hand and give her those, fruit and an easy main dish of things she likes. That's basically what I do.

Maybe you could also save whatever you eat for dinner and try giving it to her the next night.

ccam

If we can't eat as a family, DS will eat leftovers from the night before. And I always make sure to put something on his plate that I know he will eat (right now that's cheese or cherry tomatoes). Once he starts eating that, he eventually at least tries the other things. If he tells me he's done and hasn't had much, we offer him some fruit. If he doesn't eat the fruit, he's done eating and we don't offer him anything else. We're trying really hard to get away from the whole making him 75 different things until he eats something.

NeneCakies

Meal planning and leftovers have helped us because dinners together are rare. No guarantees she'll eat it but it's better than when we don't plan and we're trying random things from the pantry. I do have packaged meals for her as backup in these cases.

FFMC: Last night was really special because we almost forgot dinner all together!! We got ahead of ourselves and put her in the bath and brushed teeth. She usually gives hunger cues way before then so when I saw her milk unfinished in the fridge while getting her some water I was surprised to realize she hadn't asked for it and we had entirely skipped a meal!! She wasn't starving but she did eat a bit and then happily went to sleep. ::facepalm::

Tapthathank

That is tough!  I would do what PP suggested - using the leftovers from your dinner for her for the next night.  Otherwise, ravioli is a really quick thing to boil up and put some sauce on it.  I think it cooks in 3-5 min!  I would keep offering different veggies.  DS's favorite is peas also, so we always have frozen peas on hand, but we still offer other veggies especially if it goes along with the main dish that we know he will gobble up. 

How about grilled cheese sandwiches with ham or turkey on it?  That's a quick easy meal with some veggies and fruit.  Quesadillas are quick and easy also - some shredded chicken, black beans and cheese - you can even hide some veggies in there.  DS will pretty much eat anything with sour cream and salsa on it!

Honestly, I would try to get away from fruit/veggie pouches at meal times and save those for a quick snack or when you're on the go.  She needs to get used to chewing/eating a variety of different veggies and fruits.  The texture is so different (obviously!).

Good luck!

sdlaura

We don't eat dinners together either. We're all home most nights when DD eats, but haven't gotten it together enough to have meals prepared by then, since we need to plan ahead more to do it. But I would say that DD still eats pretty healthy, even though I wish she ate more actual meals. Our go-tos for her are whole wheat pitas with hummus, string cheese, avocado, soup, applesauce, yogurt, and all kinds of fruit - strawberries, grapes, pears, etc. if we do have leftovers of something she will have that, too. Sometimes she gets kid foods like Mac and cheese, pb&j, or pizza, but it's pretty rare. It is one of my goals to get her eating more adult-type meals, but we're in survival mode right now, so it's enough for me to have her eating relatively healthy. I'm also eating no dairy, soy, or gluten because of DS's intolerances while I breastfeed, so it makes it harder to all eat the same meals.

Megispreg

DH gets home pretty late, so I usually make dinner early for DD. By the time he gets home, I'm busy with her bath and bedtime,so he just reheats it. Not ideal, but it's what works right now.

I usually make something quick that I know she likes. Her favorites lately are tacos, pasta, and chicken. Then I'll either steam some vegetables or use frozen.

She refuses to eat those prepackaged meals. I think they would be awesome for out and about, but probably not everyday.

Reilly626

I love pouches too! Mine used to like those meals but don't now. They scream for pouches. If they won't eat a veggie or dinner I give pouches so I know they are getting veggies. My twins won't eat meat at all. They still like this Gerber soup in a jar. They do like eggs, cottage cheese doubles, Mac and cheese, ravioli, tortellini, fish sticks, yogurt is a go to for me when the meal fails, grilled cheese, spaghetti with meat sauce. I've tried a bunch and it gets frustrating when they don't like it. I'm trying zucchini quiche today. Breakfast for dinner is an easy way to go. I give them pancakes or French toast and honey to dip them in.