I had been serving DS the Gerber lunches because he is very impatient when it comes time to me making meals. DH decided he wants me to serve him other things because he doesn't want him eating all the preservatives and sodium. Well, it seems as just about everything I've tried to serve lately he doesn't want to eat. The only thing he'll eat is pbj and whatever fruit and yogurt I give him. What does your DC like to eat for lunch and/or dinner?
TTC #1 Cycle #18
m/c Jan. 9, 2007,
chemical pg May 4, 2007,
methotrexate shot Oct. 5, 2007--m/c Oct. 9, 2007,
IUI Nov. 17, 2007 It worked! beta 11/30 & 12/6
TTC #2
Cycle #5
IUI July 20, 2009 -BFN 8-3-09
Cycle #6
IUI August 17, 2009-BFP! 8-31-09, beta 9-1-09, 9-8-09, saw the H/B 9-22-09
EDD 5-10-10
Can you kind of emulate what's in the Gerber lunches but make them yourself? That way you can control what's going into them but maybe he'll still eat them. It looks like a lot of them are pasta with veggies. You can make a casserole or batch of pasta on the weekend and dole out through the week, and then just add some thawed frozen veggies or cut up fruit.I do that a lot for J right now.
It might help to get one of those cool containers with the different compartments to make them more appealing/"cool."
I never realized how hard it is to come up with menu ideas, especially ones that are quick and easy. DD is much younger than your son but here are some things I pack for her for snacks and lunches:
Protein
Low sodium ham or turkey from the deli that I get sliced 1/4" thick and then I cut into cubes. I also freeze the slices individually so that I can thaw them out and use them one at a time.
Veggie burgers sliced into cubes
Turkey meatballs from Trader Joe's sliced into cubes
White meat chicken nuggets (from TJs)
Fish sticks (from TJs)
Dairy
Cheese sticks which I cut up into cubes
Yo Yo Baby Yogurt
Veggies
Peas, corn, broccoli or mixed veggies (frozen that I microwave in water)
Fruit
Peaches or pears with no added sugar in the little plastic containers from the grocery store.
Carbs
Whole wheat pasta with cheese sauce and pasta sauce
Cous cous
Whole wheat Annies bunny crackers
Whole wheat Goldfish
Other than that, I also try to feed her leftovers of things that DH and I eat for dinner or other fruits that we have in the house. She likes salmon, cous cous, rice, stir fry, etc. But the list above are things I try to keep on hand in the freezer and pantry as quick and easy options.
I'll be interested to hear what the others say because I'm looking for more ideas too.
VTKendra's list is great. DD doesn't really like much meat. Additional protein choices she loves are hard boiled eggs and hummus. We use hummus for dipping veggies and spread on sandwiches w/tomato, spinach, and feta.
An additional dairy choice DD loves is sour cream for dipping. We do a lot of steamed veggies and she loves to dip them. She loves grilled cheese w/tomato too.
DD also loves watermelon in cubes, bananas, and dried cranberries.
Pasta or rice are staples and our go to when we can't think of anything. We mix them with frozen peas and carrots.
Some more thoughts . . . there was a post about daycare lunches a week or so ago. You might also want to check out Weelicious, which has awesome ideas for baby and toddler food.
In line with vtkendra's post, here are some things we serve DS:
Protein
Turkey meatballs (I use this recipe and subsitute ground turkey)
Chicken nuggets (I coat tenderloins with yogurt and mustard, then bread crumbs, and bake - easy!)
Avocado
Turkey sausage with veggies and cous cous
Nut butters (I'll be intro-ing these once pedi OK's it) on wheat toast
Dairy
Small cubes of cheese
Greek yogurt
Veggies
Frozen mixed veggies
Sweet potatoes (roasted and cut up)
Spinach pesto and peas mixed with whole wheat pasta
Mashed potatoes
Roasted/steamed carrots
Fruit
Melon
Bananas
Raisins
Blueberries
Grapes
Applesauce
Carbs
Macaroni and cheese with whole wheat pasta and pureed butternut squash
Sweet potato pancakes
Oatmeal with fruit puree
Dry cereal
Quinoa with protein or fruit mixed in - he like roasted bananas and pears
Otherwise, he'll eat whatever we're eating: hamburgers (well, DH eats those), barbeque chicken, pizza, etc. We want him to try Indian next . . .
Otherwise, he'll eat whatever we're eating: hamburgers (well, DH eats those), barbeque chicken, pizza, etc. We want him to try Indian next . . .
C love love loves naan. And anything with chickpeas. He's only had Indian at home so I sometimes rinse off the chicken or whatever quickly so that it isn't terribly spicy. I want him to be introduced to the flavors, but I worry about his tummy.
NowDNA - C isn't nearly as big as your DS, but lately I've been going out of my way to freeze kid-sized portions of meals that I know he really likes. Our freezer door is currently filled with little take and toss containers of pasta with tomatoes and zucchini, tofu stirfry, etc. It's kind of like having your own Gerber meals ready to go. I just have to remember to cook extra on the night I make it.
If I'm in a bind, we usually have chicken sausages (precooked, from Costco) in the freezer and dice it up and saute it with peas and corn. For us, lunches at home are pretty hard because the things that I would normally make for myself (a sandwich, salad, soup) aren't really baby/toddler friendly. Although, he does love cut up sandwiches. I mostly struggle with the vegetable/fruit.
These lists are pretty good....one additional thing DD loves is the mini whole wheat bagels and cream cheese (costco has the big boxes of individual cream cheeses) and she loves to put her own cream cheese on. Keeps the bagel from getting soggy early.
We also do things like dried fruits, sometimes cereal bars.
There are great suggestions above. I just wanted to say that with DD #2 we've become incredibly lazy and send those Gerber meals with her to daycare just about every day. We used to have all these things we'd prepare ahead of time for lunches when DD #1 went to in-home daycare, but with two kids (soon to be three) those Gerber meals are just too damned convenient (we pay for DD #1 to eat the school lunch at her preschool). Artslvr is a bad mommy.
Wife, Musician, Fed, WW-er, and Mom of three little kids - not necessarily in that order.
I'll send dinner leftovers and will make ahead meals and freeze in toddler portions. I'm a big believer in limiting processed foods, so I cook a lot. Premaking food has been a big help since I work FT. I too love weelicious.com...lots of great ideas that are quick to make!
LO isn't a fan of meats, so I try to combine them with other things (e.g. pasta sauce). Some of LOs favs: mac and cheese w/ spinach and chix, chix or ground beef quesadillas (i'll sometimes add in extra veggies like spinach), sunflower butter sandwhich, pasta w/ tomato sauce & meat & veggies, turkey meatballs, baked eggplant parm
Since I was compiling a list for myself, I thought I would post it here in case you want to copy/paste it into your Blackberry or grocery list. These are the suggestions thus far:
Protein Low sodium ham or turkey Veggie burgers Turkey meatballs White meat chicken nuggets Fish sticks Hard boiled eggs Hummus Grilled Cheese Avocado Turkey sausage Nut butters Sunflower Butter Tofu Chicken Beans - Black beans, chickpeas, etc.
Dairy Cheese sticks/cubes Yogurts Sour cream for dipping
Veggies Peas Corn Broccoli Mixed veggies Sweet potatoes Roasted carrots Spinach mixed with other stuff like pasta and rice
Fruit Peaches Pears Blueberries Bannanas Raisans Graps Melons Applesauce
Carbs Whole wheat pasta Mac and Cheese Cous cous Quinoa Whole wheat Annies bunny crackers Whole wheat Goldfish Mixed carbs with veggies and protein Oatmeal Cereal bars
DD loves grilled cheese with either apple butter, sliced apples or grape jelly (I know it sounds strange but it is really good). Also, perdue has the quesadilla or italian nuggets and those are easy. Other favorites include tortellini (but it has to be cold), turkey meatballs, perogies, peanut butter and banana, hummus and sugar snaps, eggplant 'fries' (the recipe is on weelicious now), polenta slices with pesto and banana slices dipped in pancake batter.
Also, she would eat steamed peas at every meal if I made them. I think my kiddo has some strange taste buds :-)
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Re: lunch ideas
Can you kind of emulate what's in the Gerber lunches but make them yourself? That way you can control what's going into them but maybe he'll still eat them. It looks like a lot of them are pasta with veggies. You can make a casserole or batch of pasta on the weekend and dole out through the week, and then just add some thawed frozen veggies or cut up fruit.I do that a lot for J right now.
It might help to get one of those cool containers with the different compartments to make them more appealing/"cool."
TTC #2: BFP 12/17/11, m/c 1/7/12 and D&C 1/12/12
baby blog/cooking blog
I never realized how hard it is to come up with menu ideas, especially ones that are quick and easy. DD is much younger than your son but here are some things I pack for her for snacks and lunches:
Protein
Low sodium ham or turkey from the deli that I get sliced 1/4" thick and then I cut into cubes. I also freeze the slices individually so that I can thaw them out and use them one at a time.
Veggie burgers sliced into cubes
Turkey meatballs from Trader Joe's sliced into cubes
White meat chicken nuggets (from TJs)
Fish sticks (from TJs)
Dairy
Cheese sticks which I cut up into cubes
Yo Yo Baby Yogurt
Veggies
Peas, corn, broccoli or mixed veggies (frozen that I microwave in water)
Fruit
Peaches or pears with no added sugar in the little plastic containers from the grocery store.
Carbs
Whole wheat pasta with cheese sauce and pasta sauce
Cous cous
Whole wheat Annies bunny crackers
Whole wheat Goldfish
Other than that, I also try to feed her leftovers of things that DH and I eat for dinner or other fruits that we have in the house. She likes salmon, cous cous, rice, stir fry, etc. But the list above are things I try to keep on hand in the freezer and pantry as quick and easy options.
I'll be interested to hear what the others say because I'm looking for more ideas too.
VTKendra's list is great. DD doesn't really like much meat. Additional protein choices she loves are hard boiled eggs and hummus. We use hummus for dipping veggies and spread on sandwiches w/tomato, spinach, and feta.
An additional dairy choice DD loves is sour cream for dipping. We do a lot of steamed veggies and she loves to dip them. She loves grilled cheese w/tomato too.
DD also loves watermelon in cubes, bananas, and dried cranberries.
Pasta or rice are staples and our go to when we can't think of anything. We mix them with frozen peas and carrots.
Lunch is a tough one. Leftovers are the easiest.
TTC #1 Cycle 14 - IUI#1=BFN, IUI#2=BFP | TTC #2 Cycle 8=BFP!!
Some more thoughts . . . there was a post about daycare lunches a week or so ago. You might also want to check out Weelicious, which has awesome ideas for baby and toddler food.
In line with vtkendra's post, here are some things we serve DS:
Protein
Turkey meatballs (I use this recipe and subsitute ground turkey)
Chicken nuggets (I coat tenderloins with yogurt and mustard, then bread crumbs, and bake - easy!)
Avocado
Turkey sausage with veggies and cous cous
Nut butters (I'll be intro-ing these once pedi OK's it) on wheat toast
Dairy
Small cubes of cheese
Greek yogurt
Veggies
Frozen mixed veggies
Sweet potatoes (roasted and cut up)
Spinach pesto and peas mixed with whole wheat pasta
Mashed potatoes
Roasted/steamed carrots
Fruit
Melon
Bananas
Raisins
Blueberries
Grapes
Applesauce
Carbs
Macaroni and cheese with whole wheat pasta and pureed butternut squash
Sweet potato pancakes
Oatmeal with fruit puree
Dry cereal
Quinoa with protein or fruit mixed in - he like roasted bananas and pears
Otherwise, he'll eat whatever we're eating: hamburgers (well, DH eats those), barbeque chicken, pizza, etc. We want him to try Indian next . . .
TTC #2: BFP 12/17/11, m/c 1/7/12 and D&C 1/12/12
baby blog/cooking blog
C love love loves naan. And anything with chickpeas. He's only had Indian at home so I sometimes rinse off the chicken or whatever quickly so that it isn't terribly spicy. I want him to be introduced to the flavors, but I worry about his tummy.
NowDNA - C isn't nearly as big as your DS, but lately I've been going out of my way to freeze kid-sized portions of meals that I know he really likes. Our freezer door is currently filled with little take and toss containers of pasta with tomatoes and zucchini, tofu stirfry, etc. It's kind of like having your own Gerber meals ready to go. I just have to remember to cook extra on the night I make it.
If I'm in a bind, we usually have chicken sausages (precooked, from Costco) in the freezer and dice it up and saute it with peas and corn. For us, lunches at home are pretty hard because the things that I would normally make for myself (a sandwich, salad, soup) aren't really baby/toddler friendly. Although, he does love cut up sandwiches. I mostly struggle with the vegetable/fruit.
These lists are pretty good....one additional thing DD loves is the mini whole wheat bagels and cream cheese (costco has the big boxes of individual cream cheeses) and she loves to put her own cream cheese on. Keeps the bagel from getting soggy early.
We also do things like dried fruits, sometimes cereal bars.
I'll send dinner leftovers and will make ahead meals and freeze in toddler portions. I'm a big believer in limiting processed foods, so I cook a lot. Premaking food has been a big help since I work FT. I too love weelicious.com...lots of great ideas that are quick to make!
LO isn't a fan of meats, so I try to combine them with other things (e.g. pasta sauce). Some of LOs favs: mac and cheese w/ spinach and chix, chix or ground beef quesadillas (i'll sometimes add in extra veggies like spinach), sunflower butter sandwhich, pasta w/ tomato sauce & meat & veggies, turkey meatballs, baked eggplant parm
I love all of these ideas. I'm going to compile a list for myself.
I've never heard of that. Where do you get it? Is it like an alternative to peanut butter?
Since I was compiling a list for myself, I thought I would post it here in case you want to copy/paste it into your Blackberry or grocery list. These are the suggestions thus far:
Protein
Low sodium ham or turkey
Veggie burgers
Turkey meatballs
White meat chicken nuggets
Fish sticks
Hard boiled eggs
Hummus
Grilled Cheese
Avocado
Turkey sausage
Nut butters
Sunflower Butter
Tofu
Chicken
Beans - Black beans, chickpeas, etc.
Dairy
Cheese sticks/cubes
Yogurts
Sour cream for dipping
Veggies
Peas
Corn
Broccoli
Mixed veggies
Sweet potatoes
Roasted carrots
Spinach mixed with other stuff like pasta and rice
Fruit
Peaches
Pears
Blueberries
Bannanas
Raisans
Graps
Melons
Applesauce
Carbs
Whole wheat pasta
Mac and Cheese
Cous cous
Quinoa
Whole wheat Annies bunny crackers
Whole wheat Goldfish
Mixed carbs with veggies and protein
Oatmeal
Cereal bars
Great list above.
DD loves grilled cheese with either apple butter, sliced apples or grape jelly (I know it sounds strange but it is really good). Also, perdue has the quesadilla or italian nuggets and those are easy. Other favorites include tortellini (but it has to be cold), turkey meatballs, perogies, peanut butter and banana, hummus and sugar snaps, eggplant 'fries' (the recipe is on weelicious now), polenta slices with pesto and banana slices dipped in pancake batter.
Also, she would eat steamed peas at every meal if I made them. I think my kiddo has some strange taste buds :-)