High calorie toddler breakfasts?

[lovepiggie]

I was just posting for suggestions for higher calorie baby/toddler breakfasts. My DS only really wants to eat apple sauce and rice cakes for breakfast - tasty, but not really as nutritious as it could be.

We are vegan, so no eggs/dairy... Plus, we live in Canada, so thinks like coconut milk yogurt aren't available to us (dang!). He is also allergic to soy!

Things he will eat for breakfast

-rice cakes

-apple sauce

-bananas

-toast

- peanut butter (sometimes)

-pumpkin seed butter (sometimes)

He is 14 months old... Any suggestions?

[lynsage]

Have you tried smoothies with peanut butter or pumpkin seed butter added?

[swl73]

A few ideas that our vegan toddler loves:

-Oatmeal with nuts or tahini mixed in

-Other hot cereals like quinoa flakes

-Mashed beans (like chickpeas or mixed beans) with olive oil and seasonings

- Corn grits with field roast links (field roast links are a great soy-free "meat" made from wheat and veggies)

Good luck!

[colsxjack]

Our 16mth old DD regularly eats 1/2 an avocado, 1/2 a banana and part of a piece of toast with vegan margerine or PB on it.

Or she will have organic "shreddies" with soy milk softened and mushed a bit.

She will eat oatmeal or spelt meal or something with cranberries, raisins, cinnimon and soy milk in it if we are also eating it. She will not have it if we just make her up some.

[sky_and_lavender]

We often make the Sneaky Dad's Pudding listed here. I don't include the cocoa or carob (though I'm thinking of adding carob) or juice. Our 16mo will eat about 1/4-1/3 of a recipe plus some whole grain bread with almond butter.

Sometimes the way in which the food is offered makes a difference. Our daughter really demands to feed herself (and almost always has). Sometimes she'll reject a food if I am handing it too her but will rejoice in it when I give her freedom to eat in the often messy manner of her choosing.

She really seems to enjoy cooled oatmeal with fruit and flax oil. You can also try a savory oatmeal mixed with red lentils, spinach cut in small pieces and onions and garlic as well as some oil.

[sassycat]

ive been struggling also, getting my 22month old to eat anything at all for breakfast. thanks for all the great ideas!

(kind of funny side note - ive been trying different high calorie higher fat yummy recipes for her, and when she doesnt eat them - guess who does? at least one of us is gaining.. )

[SandyBeachBums]

I love to add avocado to smoothies.
Oatmeal is easy to add stuff to.
I think muscle muffin recipe is in Raising Veg Children by Stepianiak.

I like rice cakes for toddlers though. I prefer the avocado or nut butter as a spread. Add some milk or mommy's milk and that is good. We do almond or coconut because my milk dried up.

[crunchy_mommy]

You don't have coconut milk????? I don't understand... lol

We get our coconut milk in the ethnic grocery stores (or ethnic section of regular store, usually the Thai section) in cans. Then we put it in a large mason jar & thin it out with water (and you could add sweetener or flavoring if you wanted) to add to cereal etc. You don't even have cans of it??? We are practically living off coconut milk these days...

Anyway!!

Avocados -- avocado pudding (puree an avocado with a little maple syrup and vanilla or cinnamon or cocoa powder) or chickpea scramble with avocados & salsa

Muffins made with things like flax seeds, PB, pumpkin puree, etc.

Pancakes with blueberries & Earth Balance or almond butter

PB & banana sandwich grilled on the stove with lots of oil or margarine

[kismetbaby]

Do you still BF?   Are you worried about his getting enough calories or just that he eats more nutritionally dense foods? (For ex my son loves strawberries--he isn't eating enough to get a lot of calories, but they are healthy and full of Vit C).

My DS is 15m and I find that he is almost never hungry or willing to eat a real breakfast.  But I believe that's b/c he does a big nursing session before waking btw 6-7am. Also, he is busy-busy in the morning getting back to his toys/play, so he just doesn't want to sit down and eat. He usually won't eat anything in the morning, but then will eat a good lunch around 11-11:30am. 

Honestly for his age, it doesn't sound abnormal or terrible that he prefers applesauce and rice cakes in the morning. If he drinks any sort of milk in the morning that may be enough for him till lunch time.  But that just my 2 cents.

[pers]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy 

You don't have coconut milk????? I don't understand... lol

We get our coconut milk in the ethnic grocery stores (or ethnic section of regular store, usually the Thai section) in cans. Then we put it in a large mason jar & thin it out with water (and you could add sweetener or flavoring if you wanted) to add to cereal etc. You don't even have cans of it??? We are practically living off coconut milk these days...

Coconut milk is available in plenty in Canada, but sadly we don't have any (I haven't seen them here yet, anyway) of the nifty new coconut products aimed at vegans, such as coconut ice cream or coconut yogurt.  Pretty sure the latter is what the OP was referring to. 

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by pers 

Coconut milk is available in plenty in Canada, but sadly we don't have any (I haven't seen them here yet, anyway) of the nifty new coconut products aimed at vegans, such as coconut ice cream or coconut yogurt.  Pretty sure the latter is what the OP was referring to. 

Ohhhh lol... well that makes more sense. I was thinking Canada banned coconut products!!!

Yeah even down here coconut products are hard to find -- maybe if you're near a big city it's easier? -- and incredibly expensive if you do find them!!! I had store-bought coconut ice cream once, my mom found it & got me a pint, it was awesome!! But anyway, if you have the cans of coconut milk you can make crockpot yogurt (you just need something to use as a starter -- I use soy yogurt but I'm sure there are other options, plus once you've made a batch you use that as the starter for the next batch so after a few batches there wouldn't be much if any soy in it) or you can take the cream from the coconut milk (the part that separates in the can) and put it in an ice cream maker with sugar/flavors. :) 

[GoGoGirl]

My 22 month old scarfs down oatmeal with cinnamon, raisins, and coconut oil.  I've been adding coconut oil to anything I can get away with, just trying to fill her up so she's not after me for ba-bas every 10 minutes.  For breakfast I usually eat hot "berry soup"--it's frozen berries heated up with sliced bananas, soy milk or juice, cinnamon, flax, and nut butter.  DD loves that too and there's lots of good fats in it.

[marsupial-mom]

Our 13 month old eats a lot of the things already listed above, like oatmeal, avocado, vegan yogurt, toast w/ peanut butter, etc. We also feed him beans, pasta, muffins, tortillas, rice, vegan cheese, tofu, every veggie you can imagine, fruits, cheerios, vegan meats, crackers, and more. Basically, he's at the point where he will eat anything we eat and he even prefers our food to his own. Sometimes I'll just pretend to eat something that I want him to eatjust to get him interested in it.