Food Help

pinkmickey24 · May 2014

Help! I feel like I am in uncharted water and that I am just kind of going with the flow to figure out what works. I decided that once the formula was gone I would switch to milk, so for the last week and half we slowly transitioned from formula to milk. The boys do great with milk. D does great with sippy cups and C knows how to drink out of a sippy, but refuses to swallow. I am learning he is more of a straw cup type kid.

Here is where I need help, I am not sure what to feed them and what type of schedule to feed them on. I am pretty sure it is a see what works for the boys and that every child is different. Here is my thinking:

7:30 Breakfast and Milk

8:30/9ish Nap

10:30ish Snack or after they wake up

12:00 Lunch and Milk

2:30ish Snack

3:00ish Nap

5:30 Dinner

7:00 Milk and then Bed

For breakfast I have been doing yogurt, a handful of Cheerios, and fruit. I tried non-baby oatmeal for a week and it is a no go. Lunch I have been doing a veggie and pasta/meat soup. Dinner has been steamed veggie, meat, and this weekend mac and cheese. (Honestly, I think I am making a bigger deal of this than it truly is. I am just afraid that I will under feed them and they will lose weight when they are already on the small side. They are just now growing out of six month clothes and they are a year old.)

Do you ladies have any recommendations for easy meals for breakfast, lunch, or dinner? I am thinking of scrambling a bunch of eggs so that they are ready to be reheated and served. Nights are me by myself, so I am looking for something that is quick, easy, and healthy to feed them. Also, that they can easily feed themselves.

pb_bride · May 2014

I think your schedule looks great!

I had the hardest time with b'fast for a long time (pretty much giving him fruit and cheerios most days), but now we have a bit more variety. M gets a plate of fresh fruit at b'fast every morning. The fruit changes by the season. Then about 4 days a week he gets plain yogurt topped with my homemade granola (M is 18m; he was just getting yogurt w/o granola until 2-3 wks ago). 1 day a week he gets banana pancakes (the "4 bananas/2 eggs" recipe). The other 2 days he gets homemade muffin or quickbread such as blueberry muffin, or banana nut bread, or apple-oatmeal muffin. M doesn't like eggs but if he did, I'd do at least one egg b'fast a week.

We have always made just one meal for dinner for all of us, so M eats whatever we eat. Obviously I have adjusted my cooking somewhat so the food is appropriate for him. We always have a starch (pasta, rice, egg noodles, soba noodles, rice noodles, bread etc), veggies, and protein (usually meat, but also fish and tofu or beans).

I try to cook enough so we have leftovers for lunch.

I don't know if this is helpful information or not? I try not to cook the same meal more than once every 2-3 weeks, so he gets plenty of variety.

pinkmickey24 · May 2014

@pb_bride Thank you so much! I appreciate it. I think I am hung up on the variety of think I am hung up on the variety of foods, especially for breakfast. What is this banana pancake 4 bananas/2 eggs recipe?

imoverit · May 2014

I agree that you are doing great. My DS has turned super picky but before this stage Id feed him things like rice, beans, chicken, avocado, pasta, sausage etc. sometimes we did breakfast for dinner too.

srveatch · May 2014

Your schedule is perfect! A drank milk more than three times a day as she transitioned to cow milk. She has always been a good eater and it didn't seem to affect her eating habits so I just gave it to her when she wanted it. For breakfast A usually has scrambled eggs, oatmeal or yogurt. On the weekend she may get a pancake every once in a while.

pb_bride · May 2014

The banana pancake recipe is literally just

4 eggs

2 bananas

Pinch of baking powder (1/8 t)

Put all in a blender and that is your batter! Cook in nonstick pan. They freeze well. I usually get about 15-18 pancakes from the recipe and I freeze them. M doesn't like eggs but he will gobble these pancakes up like there is no tomorrow,

luvboston · May 2014

I think that your schedule is great however it sounds like they need more food during the meals. How much soup do they actually consume?

For breakfast
Blueberry muffins gf,df,sf,cf, sugar free
Ian's French toast sticks gf df
Omelette
Yogurt and fruit
Oatmeal
Organic Cheerios and milk
Vegetables- sweet potato and leeks LO loves it.
Banana

Mnerani · May 2014

I do really easy but healthy breakfasts. A handful of cheerios while I'm making an egg. The egg I whip w a fork and then cook in the microwave in a small bowl. This is easier but I do it because it makes it super fluffy which makes it easier to stab w a fork (his preferred way of eating). While he eats the egg, I heat some oatmeal that I prepared the night before. Add some vanilla, cinnamon, milk. Half a banana after he's finished everything, as dessert.

Lunch is meatballs or chicken strips that I make big batches of. Plus veggies. Lately, I've been getting him to eat cut up veggies by sprinkling a little soy sauce on. Fruit after he's finished everything.

Dinner is the same as lunch, except sometimes I put the veggies into a smoothie, because dinner is always harder than lunch, since he's tired. So- meat, cheese, and a veggie smoothie, and I end with fruit.

I only do one snack at his age, because I find that he eats SO much better at meals (more food, less picky, healthier) when he's not snacking a lot during the day.

kaf7 · May 2014

Just wanted to interject and say my guy will not eat reheated scrambled eggs so don't go overboard making them! We usually have a few fruits and veggies cut up and saved in the fridge/freezer in case LO needs more than what we have made for ourselves but at this point he gets three meals and one snack in the afternoon and eats what we eat just sometimes cooked a little more through. He actually eats more fruit and veggies than we do. Food comes first, milk second, and only gets water between meals. We know if he is still hungry because he will scream about getting out of the high chair or because the plate is empty. ETA: my guy is 14m but has been on this schedule with increasing quantities of just eating what we eat since 9m

ccam · May 2014

Your schedule sounds perfect! DS at that age, and still now, pretty much eats the same breakfast every day - yogurt, fruit and a pancake, waffle, etc. Some mornings he'll have eggs and toast, just to change it up. We do eggs in the microwave, so quick and they come out good - 2 eggs in a coffee mug, scramble up with some milk & pepper, microwave for 45 seconds, stir, microwave for another 45 seconds, let sit for a few (I sometimes throw cheese in at this point so it's melty by the time I'm ready to serve). It's perfect for daycare and stays hot until he's ready to eat them. We also use a lot of Van's organic products - he loves their gluten free French toast sticks & whole grain waffles with a little jam.

For lunch, DS eats a lot of chicken. I'll make some extra the beginning of the week that I can pack for daycare - he normally gets a grain, veggie and fruit along with it. We also do quesadillas, which are really easy and you can use leftovers in. He also loves any kind of turkey or chicken sausage. Sometimes I'll make batches of meatballs for him and freeze them. These are easy to defrost overnight for daycare the next day.

For dinner he just gets whatever we are eating or a version of it.

TJ1979 · May 2014

You have gotten lots of great advice! The main thing I want to add is to try to relax about it. Food is very stressful for a lot of moms, and your LOs can feel that stress. Offer a good, healthy variety of food, and let them eat how much they want. If you want to add extra calories, smoothies are a good way to get in extra nutrition and calories (if they will drink them.)
Keep trying things they don't like, their tastes and opinions will change frequently over time. If they don't like eggs scrambled, try them hard boiled or fried. If they don't like potatoes mashed, try baked fries. If they don't like sliced carrots, try crinkle cut or diced ones. You would be surprised how much the difference in the way foods look can make as to how they eat.
Oh, and don't underestimate the power of a condiment. E is OBSESSED with dipping things. She will refuse her entire plate, then we give her a little cup of ketchup or other dipping sauce, and she will clean her plate.
Don't be afraid to try things you wouldn't think a toddler would like. One of E's favorite meals is Greek salad. She loves the lettuce, cucumbers, and olives. Who would have thought?

pinkmickey24 · May 2014

Thank you ladies for the advice and suggestions. I'll keep at it and aee how it goes.

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