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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
S/O - Menu ideas (from Lori's post below)
So, I love all the ideas, but I have a couple of questions -
1) Do your LO's eat what you've posted?
2) If they don't, what do you make them?
3) When do you find time to cook so elaborately? If I cook like this, DH needs to be home from work to help with DS (I can do it, but takes longer and is tough b/c I have to entertain him and feed him, etc).
4) If your LO eats what you make for you and DH, and LO eats before you and DH, does what you make "last" and taste good until DH gets home from work? (DS usually eats around 5:30-5:45 and DH doesn't usually get home from work until 6:30-7:00.)
TIA! 
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Re: S/O - Menu ideas (from Lori's post below)
my H cooks 90% of the time. he sah with DD, so he does some prep during nap, and once i get home from work, he's in the kitchen. we eat as a family around 6:30-7, but when i'm late, they eat without me.
DD eats what we are having. she's a good eater, but sometimes she doesn't like the meal. if she won't eat, she's done. we very rarely pull out alternate meals for her.
1. Sometimes.
2. Fruit, veggie, chicken nuggets, grilled cheese, jelly sandwich, fish sticks, ravioli. I am reaching the point of not wanting to make her something separate though.
3. A lot of what I make takes less than 45 min. to make. I try to find quick, fairly healthy recipes. The stuff that takes longer is usually in the crockpot all day. I don't go crazy with wacky ingredients. I'm kind of picky anyway.
4. We always eat together. DD goes to bed at 8:30 so I don't worry if DH gets home late and we eat at 7. While I am cooking, DD is usually playing with toys or tupperware...if she is really clingy I give her crayons and paper and put her in the high chair with a very small snack to keep her occupied.
1. DD will eat most of what we eat, with some exceptions.
2. If it's a meal I know she won't eat, we always have backups on hand. The go to's are usually leftover whole wheat pasta with butter and parmesan, scrambled eggs, or quesadillas with black beans and cheese. They're all really easy dishes that take me a few minutes to put together.
3. I make sure to cook dishes that don't take a long time. I'm not going to be searing tuna steaks on a weekday. Our weekend meals are usually more elaborate, because one of us can watch DD while the other cooks. Generally everything I make takes 30-45 minutes, or it goes in the crockpot, and DD will watch a TV show in that time.
4. We all eat at the same time, so I can't help you there.
1. DD eats what we eat most of the time. Unless we are eating a soup or stew.
2. Most meals don't take very long, but if they do, I will do a kitchen class with DD and have her in her high chair with a tupperware container and spoon to keep her busy.
3. Depending on her mood, she will eat between 5:30 and 6:30. She frequently eats with us and I have noticed that she eats better on those nights.
1. Well, I only posted enchilada casserole, but she does love that. She usually devours it. Most of the time, she does eat what we make, unless we are having something like steak or salad (she is starting to like the veggies out of the salad, though, and definitely likes the chicken if we have that in there).
2. If it's a steak night, I make her something like Annie's white cheddar shells. She loves it and it's a special treat for her. I also make a veggie with it and give her a fruit as well.
3. DD likes to 'help' so I give her a bowl and one of her wooden spoons, and she goes to town. She's been even more into it now because she has a chef hat and apron and her own pot holder, pan, etc. Sometimes I will also just plop her in her booster seat and give her a snack or let her play with her lacing beads.
4. Yes, I make sure that it lasts, but I always make extra so that we have leftovers for lunches. If DH doesn't like it, he makes something for himself, like a sandwich, but that usually doesn't happen. The food I make always manages to still taste good when he gets home, even at midnight.
DS eats what we eat. If we're having some that's very spicy (he likes a moderate amount of spice but I like things HOT) I usually have some of his lunch foods in the fridge for him to eat. I make big portions of pasta with veggies, or I'll make him a quesadilla, grilled cheese, etc.
I am a SAHM and I love to cook (I consider it a hobby) so it's enjoyable and a leisure activity for me rather than a chore. DS takes a pretty late nap (2-4:30 or so) and I do most of the cooking at that time, then everything comes together around 5-5:30 when DH is done with work (he works from home quite a bit) or whenever he comes home. If he's gone and is going to be late, we eat without him and he reheats it when he gets home.
1. My DS is very picky, so it depends on what I make. I'd say its 50/50 that he'll eat the same meal as us. Usually he eats part of our meal and partly his own stuff.
2. If he doesnt eat our meal he eats things like chicken sausage, meatballs, chicken nuggets, chicken noodle soup, mac n cheese, soba noodles in peanut sauce, pb&j, etc, usually with fruit.
3. My meals are not elaborate. I am a super fast cook with a culinary degree so that helps. I prep during nap time and I put on the TV for DS while Im cooking. Sometimes its a handful, sometimes not.
4. I dont make DS wait past 6:15ish. Usually if DH is going to be later than that, I'll just make DS his own food. During the spring and summer DH is never home early enough for us to all eat together. Fall and Winter are slower so we try to all sit down together at 6pm.
Joseph eats what I say I'm making for everyone. There is enough variety in the plan, and I make my plans based on what my husband likes (and can eat with his diabetes), what I can eat (with my protein issues) and what Joseph likes. Joseph will try just about anything, but I make sure that at least one thing on the menu is something he genuinely likes.
For example, tonight, Joseph will absolutely love the yams/rutabagas, and the roasted broccolini. The beef he will try but might not finish. The banana bread sundae? He will like the banana bread but won't be thrilled with the ice cream.