Toddler Food

I speak for myself (and maybe other moms of toddlers) when I say that I LOVE to read blog posts about what other moms are feeding their toddlers! It gives new ideas for toddler menus and comparisons for how well other kids can eat certain foods.

 

My nephew is an awesome eater! He was eating certain foods before Michael was, and Michael is nearly 3 months older. I was always a bit scared to try out new "big kid" foods with Michael, and I'm still not the best at it. I vow to be more open to trying out new foods for Noah at a younger age than I did with Michael.

 

All that to say, here is a post about the current toddler eating patterns in our home.

 

For breakfast, Michael typically eats fruit-and-cream oatmeal, or French Toaster Sticks. I have also made toast, buttered it, cut it into strips and drizzled it with maple syrup. If Michael is still hungry after eating one of the above-mentioned foods, he can have some shredded cheese or an applesauce. Breakfast includes a sippy of milk.

 

Lunch is a toughy. Michael is picky these days-- so sometimes, we have to resort to the "fall back favorites" in order to make sure he gets some nutrition at lunch. The same gods for dinner.

 

Usually, Michael gets a protein of some kind and then some carbs. He has a sippy of milk or water- and sometimes he has two sippy cups on his tray (one with water and one with milk).

Lunches could include:

 

-turkey or ham sandwich with a thin layer of mayo, & possibly a slice of cheese. Usually crusts are removed and sometimes the sandwich is cut into a shape with a cookie cutter!

-pb&j sandwich. Thin layer of peanut butter. Thin layer of jam. Michael likes to open up the sandwich and lick the jam off the bread and peanut butter. He does not always finish the rest of the sandwich.

Michael eats sandwiches vertically, and they do not stay intact throughout this technique.

- Mac and cheese. This is hit or miss.

-peach fruit cup or mixed fruit cup. We buy a bulk variety pack in Costco

-applesauce cup. We buy a bulk size pack in Costco of this also.

-cut up Nutrigrain bar. Also bought in Costco bulk pack.

-shredded cheese or cheese slice

-yogurt in a bowl

-Cheerios or other dry cereal

-goldfish crackers

-banana

 

 

We attempt to feed Michael a smaller portion of what we're having for dinner. Sometimes he really likes it and other times we resort to the foods listed above.

 

We let him carry around a toddler snack cup with goldfish or Cheerios or other dry cereal or a combo. He snacks on this throughout the day.

 

He also has a sippy of water with him throughout the day.

 

This is a lunch I made for him last weekend. It includes a fruit cup, a nutrigrain bar cut into bite-size pieces, a cheese slice cut into bite-size pieces, and a sippy of milk. I LOVE using the bowl and plate made by BOON. These dishes have a suction cup on the bottom so they can't slide off of the high-chair tray. What a great invention! They were part of Michael's Christmas gift. At Target the other week, I stumbled upon these bendable bibs with a catch-all pocket made by Tommee Tippee. They came 2 to a pack. I am super pleased with them!

 

As you can see, he is quite comfortable at lunchtime.  :)

 

 So is Noah:

 

I hope this post helps out other moms of toddlers. I know I'll be referring back to it when Noah is a toddler! :)