help me feed my toddler

[paige :)]

I am feeling so bad about my toddler's diet. She is 17 months and is SOOO picky! I am not a great cook to begin with. I usually have a main course with veggies on the side or something. Obviously, this is not working for dd. I need a new way of cooking. Does anyone have any ideas for toddler friendly meals? A blog? A website? Please help me convince my dd to eat something other than fruit, bread and cheese. I am having this huge guilt trip that I am just setting her up for an unhealthy lifestyle. And dh is getting frustrated with me not knowing how to feed her. 

[paige :)]

also, what are your 'go-to' snacks that you always have in the pantry. easy to feed, low mess type stuff. 

[elisheva]

what's wrong with fruit, bread, and cheese? My kids like nut butters of all sorts on apples. Before supper I put out raw cut veggies - I know they will eat red peppers, cukes, and wedges of raw cabbage so generally one of these. Sometimes I do dips. Yogurt (plain) and bananas is our preferred breakfast. Kids also like cottage cheese (sooooo much good protein!!!!). They also like hummous on wasa or for dipping veg. 

I make vegetables that I know DH and I like (kale, collards, sauteed cabbage, broccoli, etc - whatever is in season). Sometimes the kids eat it and sometimes they don't. We keep offering. 

I honestly think the biggest mistake I can make is by making a big deal about micromanaging their eating. We don't bring (much) crap into the house so it just isn't readily available. My kids eat apples for snacks by choice and I have no problem with that. When we make dessert once a week (cake, pudding, etc.), they can eat as much of it as they want. I try to keep in mind that food is for fuel and for enjoyment - I don't want to complicate that for them.

[Jenni1894]

My dd is almost 14 mos and she eats what we eat. I actually do have a blog....you can check my profile for the address..not sure on what the posting rules are here. She loves to snack on fruit, cheese, peas, animal crackers,

[McGucks]

Originally Posted by paige :) 

And dh is getting frustrated with me not knowing how to feed her. 

Easy for me to say, but perhaps DH could realize that you alone are not solely responsible for her nutritional decisions.  Why does this one end up in your court only?  Just a thought.

My 13 m.o. eats almost nothing other than BM.  We do give him a wide variety of nutritional snacks and food and usually end up eating them ourselves.  Guess it'll come in time.  And at least your little one eats healthy things when she does eat!  Give yourself credit for that!
 

[crunchy_mommy]

Well I agree with the others that you probably don't need to worry...

But if your goal is to get her to eat more veggies... could you try mixing them in with the meal? Even if she picks around them, she'll still be getting little bits and tastes of the veggies so maybe she'll warm up to them quicker? Plus I just think veggies are more appealing if they are PART of the meal, rather than something off to the side. But, we are vegan, and 95% of our meal is JUST veggies, so I'm biased.

[Momo123]

Don't feel bad! My DS started being very "picky" around 18 months and I went though a few months really stressed as he would only eat rice and fruit. I agree with the PP about mixing veggies into things if you want to try that. My DS loves avocado so I make guacamole with tomatoes and onions in there (they are visible). I do pureed soups sometimes when I feel like he needs some veggies. I also do a "shepard's pie" type thing with mashed potatoes, ground meat and different veggies like carrots and peas mixed in. I think the key is to find something they like and build on that. Also, does your DD like hummus? My DS likes to dip stuff (like chips and sometimes even veggies) and it's a good snack option. It's been a lot of trial and error but I just keep offering and try not to get discouraged when he rejects steamed broccoli for the 100th time :)

[marinak1977]

I'm lurking here for ideas too. DS is 16 months and is not very interested in consuming any measurable quantities of food.

[paige :)]

Well I bought her hummus today...I gave her carrot sticks and pita bread with hummus. She happily took a bite of the pita bread then gave a disgusted look and spit it out while reaching for her drink to 'wash it down'. Figures . 

I also bought some cliff kids bars and some chewy nut bars. Some cottage cheese and some yogurt. I am hoping she likes the cottage cheese. I know she likes yogurt, but I'm going to try and sneak in some granola....

[grethel]

Remember that if she's trying something new, it might take up to 10 tries before she decides she likes it. Keep offering.

Some foods that usually work well for my 18 month old are scrambled eggs, quiche (I like to make little mini crustless quiches/frittattas in muffin tins - you can throw lots of stuff in there, like spinach!), beans (homemade or canned - dd loves kidney beans, black beans, pintos, navy, edamame, pretty much all of them), peas, corn, pasta (I like to make a bunch of plain wheat pasta and freeze it - you can just pull out a handful and defrost, add a little butter or sauce and cheese and a handful of veggies and there's lunch). She also will almost always eat rice (we like brown or black rice), quinoa and couscous, especially if it's cooked with a little broth or lightly seasoned with a few drops of soy or teriyaki sauce. Israeli couscous is bigger and has a fun texture.

Kale chips are a good way to get in leafy greens. She also loves steamed broccoli "trees" and sweet potato fries.

As for easy snacks, freeze-dried fruit and veggies work well here. We buy Just Tomatoes brand freeze-dried peas and corn and they're her absolute favorite snack - crunchy and delicious! Our other go-to snacks are crackers, oatmeal bars, banana bread, raisins, dried cranberries, all kinds of fresh fruit, fresh peas, edamame, all kinds of cheese, and miso soup with lots of tofu cubes.

ETA: I forgot about one of her big favorites - potatoes. If I'm just making them for her for a meal or snack, I use organic frozen hash browns or diced potatoes. Warm them with a little butter and garlic, stir, serve. :)

[boomer78]

If I don't have a meal cooked, I just give dd some bread with butter, piece of cheese, yougurt, carrot/celery stick, apple, pear, banana, some plain oatmeal, pretty much anything I have laying around that's preferably organic and call it a meal.  Even if she doesn't feel like eating certain foods that day, she always finds something she likes or wants to try.  Otherwise I give her everything we eat that I have cooked. 

[ShwarmaQueen]

Anything with 'sauce' works well for DS, though he's not so picky. He just doesn't eat much. For example, pasta and veggies with marinara sauce, chicken breast dipped in ketchup, homemade french fries with mayo/ketchup, glazed carrots, fruit with yogert, etc.

Oh, and cheesy mashedpotatoes and broccoli (or any other soft veggie) is one of his favorites.