[mama2toomany]

I am going nuts over my 5 year olds diet. Right now most of her meals are prepared by my dh. He is doing the best he can, But I think he could be doing better, I see way too many Ice cream cones, and popcicles and candy being handed out.<br><br>
So I mentioned it to him and he says "Your right, I totally need help with this, why don't you help by making me a meal plan for her, and I promise to stick to it".<br><br>
Fair enough if you ask me.<br><br>
Can you tell me what your child (around 5 if that helps), eats in a single day, just tell me everything the kid had yesterday?<br><br>
My dd is 5, weighs about 35 pounds and is a little short for her age. She seems skinny, but she has always been that way.<br><br>
Any info you can give me would be awesome.<br><br>
I am interested in hearing from veggie mamas and meat mamas, my dd refuses meat so I don't push meat here.<br><br>
Whats a normal day of eating like for your young child?

 

[nola79]

Well, my ds is a little older but his diet has not changed much in 2 years. Here goes: Breakfast is waffles grits or eggs and bacon or ham, whichever we have also fruit every morning, either starwberries, melon (his favorite) or orange slices. He would prefer to eat sugary cereal (which I let him do on occasion). Lunch he eats at school, I do pack him a snack of a cheese stick, or graham crackers, with a capri sun or bottled water.<br>
Dinner we eat a meat or fish, with 2 steamed vegtables and sometimes potaotes or bread/butter or biscuits (which I make, not canned)<br>
For drinks, he has either water or milk, except for his school snack. For snacks at home, he can have fruit, nuts, plain popcorn, or a bowl of cereal. He does eat the occasional ice cream or popsicle. I've loosened up over the years, at age 5 I was much more strict with sugary items.<br>
Durning the summer, when luch is at home, I roll up ham or turkey, plus cheese and carrot sticks or a fruit or sometimes chips. (he doesn't like sandwhiches)<br>
Actually, looking at this list, maybe I could use some good advice, too on nutrution LOL, but that is my honest answer.<br>
Also, he plays sports, so on game nights I let him drink gatorade instead of water and he eats whatever snack is provided.<br><br>
eta: he is about 4'4" and 55 lbs

 

[mama2toomany]

Thank you for telling me!<br><br>
Todays breakfast my dd had pancakes, she wouldn't eat anything else.<br><br>
For lunch she had a banana, 4 cheese slices (cut from a brick), and a strawberry yogurt smoothie, but she only drank about 2oz of it.<br><br>
I am not sure if this is a good amount or if she should be eating more, she does say she is full and she doesn't ask for more.<br><br>
I am worried that she might not be getting enough meat, because she isn't getting any lol, She does love peanut butter and eats it with crackers late in the day. My eldest son is 13 and he is doesn't eat meat at all, by his own moral choices, so as long as he is eating enough other stuff, I am ok with that, but my dd will not eat veggies like most children. I try to give her veggie/fruit juice and she eats veggie crackers, but that is about it. I wish I could get her to try new things without a big huge war. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/greensad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="greensad"> Makes me feel like a bad mama!

 

[Alyantavid]

My kids are 8 and almost 4, but I can tell you what they typically eat. DS2 is completely dairy free.<br><br>
Breakfasts: cinnamon or pb toast, bagels with Tofutti, eggs and toast, bacon, french toast, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal.<br><br>
Lunches: ds1 takes his lunch and it's almost always pb&j on a toasted english muffin, fruit, veggie and crackers. He'll sometimes eat a ham and cheese sandwich. DS2 eats at daycare and I'm not always sure what that is.<br><br>
Dinner: most dinners are meat, veggie, starch at our house. Last night was meatloaf, mashed potatoes and corn. Some of their favorites are paninis, tacos, spaghetti, steak, hamburgers. Pretty typical kid food, but we do make it all from scratch because of ds2's dairy issue.<br><br>
Snacks: fruit, crackers, muffins, hardboiled eggs are the ones they eat most.<br><br>
They have watered down juice in the mornings and then milk or water the rest of the day (rice milk for ds2). And they do have candy and other treats, but I try to make it rare.

 

[nola79]

Ds is not big on lunch. What he "eats" at school is only a few bites, I've eaten lunch with him there before and he really just picks at it. If I didn't fix him a lunch, he would not ask for one. As far as veggies go, could you sneak some in to her other foods. I have heard of other mamas using veggie purees and I'm pretty sure there are some cookbooks out there that give more specific recipes.

 

[mama2toomany]

I am not sure what I would mix it in with? But that is an awesome idea!

 

[Llyra]

Our diet is lower in sugar I think than the standard american diet, and except for DD1, less processed, but it does contain more fat than what is usually considered "healthy" in the mainstream. It also varies seasonally-- we eat a lot of meat in the winter, for example, but nearly none in the summer, when we eat a lot more veg and fruit.<br><br>
DD1 is five. Here's what she ate yesterday:<br>
breakfast: a hard-boiled egg, plain yogurt with frozen blueberries, orange juice with Metamucil in it<br><br>
lunch: She eats the school lunch, which is usually a standard-kid-food entree like hot dogs or pizza, plus raw veggies with ranch dip, fresh fruit, and milk. None of it is organic, and the entree is excessively processed. I have decided not to stress about it. Life is too short. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/orngbiggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="orange big grin"><br><br>
snack: organic peach yogurt (sweetened), fruit leather<br><br>
dinner: minestrone soup (with chicken, veg, beans, pasta), whole wheat bread, butter, a banana for dessert<br><br>
My three year olds eat better, because they aren't having the school lunch. So they get more veg and less of the processed crap the school serves. For lunch they had fried uncured ham with a tiny bit of maple syrup for a glaze, potatoes and sweet red peppers roasted in olive oil, and buttered sugar snap peas.<br><br>
Their snack was different, too: they had cheddar cheese, raisins, and slices of apple.<br><br>
They get juice for breakfast, milk in the early AM, after naps for the little ones, and at bedtime. Other than that, they drink filtered water.

 

[nola79]

I have never done it myself, but I would think it could be mixed with anything...her smoothie, for example, but also spaghetti sauce, if she eats that, or pancakes, or whatever get mixed. A little bit would probabaly go unnoticed. I know I have heard of things being mixed that sound totally crazy, but people swear it tastes the same and the kids don't notice.

 

[Alyantavid]

I've pureed veggies before when my kids were little. I put it in everything. I make my own pancakes and waffles and put some in there.<br><br>
Now that they're older, they know I put veggies in everything. Spinach in last night's meatloaf for example.

 

[Grace and Granola]

My ds is 4.5, 40lbs, thin..... and also is not a meat eater by his choice since he was age 1. However, we have gotten him to eat a few different types of meat, but it's only when he's in the mood, rare! I am always trying to figure out ways to sneak in protein. I consider myself to be health conscious, but pretty mainstream, whole foods eating. Here are a few types of food he'll eat at each meal:<br><br><br>
Breakfast: WW Waffle with fruit OR Plain yogurt mixed with frozen berries and honey<br><br>
Snack: Cheese and crackers and fruit<br><br>
Lunch: Cheese quesadilla OR Tomato and cheese sandwich and carrots<br><br>
Snack: Pretzels and cheese OR Veggies and ranch OR granola bar<br><br>
Dinner: Tacos, no meat (stuffed with romaine, tomatoes, cheese and sour cream) served with veggies and dip. OR Salad chock full of veggies, peanuts, craisins<br><br>
DS1 is definitely my pickier eater, but he also has a very healthy diet of fruits and veggies. He also just became a "raw foodist' on his own! For some reason, now he won't eat cooked veggies, only raw. Whatever! I try to make sure that there is always a protein and a fruit/veg at every meal.<br><br>
I would suggest checking out some food blogs, like this one: <a href="http://www.superhealthykids.com/recipelist.html" target="_blank">http://www.superhealthykids.com/recipelist.html</a> to give you inspiration for fun, kid-friendly ideas. And make sure, since your dh is handling the meals, that things are pretty easy or already prepared, so he isn't overwhelmed.

 

[mamadelbosque]

Well, my ds1 is lots younger... but he basicly eats cold cereal (w/ raw milk) or bagles w/ cream cheese or butter for breakfast... occasionally eggs or waffles or pancakes if someones feeling ambitious (which is rare... none of us are morning people. Except the boys.)<br><br>
Lunch is hugely variable. Often its leftovers or pb & j, though some days its really just snack - cheese, triscuit crackers, canned peaches, yogurt or cottage cheese, pudding, pepperoni, etc.<br><br>
Dinner, is another kinda crapshoot. I usually cook, and he has to eat some part of the meal. If he simply refuses to eat anything, then thats fine, but no snacks later on. I've been known to leave his plate sit so if he gets hungry I can simply point to it and say 'great, go eat your dinner!'. If he chooses to eat a decent amount, then he's aloud a snack (fruit or cheese sticks mostly) later on.

 

[bri276]

DD is almost 5 and doesn't eat a ton of meat. We do a modified traditional foods diet. Here's some of the easy meals she likes:<br><br>
Lunch: whole grain bread with peanut or any other nut butter, sometimes with raw honey or jam, guacamole and chips, grilled cheese, bean burrito (can make own or Amy's has good frozen ones). Fresh fruit on the side.<br><br>
Dinners: pasta with tomato sauce or pesto and feta, tacos, fish or shellfish of any (low mercury) kind baked or grilled, homemade soups like vegetable, chicken, lentil, pea (easy to make and freeze well).<br><br>
Snacks. She loves popcorn which is easily homemade with coconut oil and butter, cheese, and she's not big on this, but lots of kids love raw veggies with dip.

 

[mama2toomany]

You are all so wonderful for letting me in on your meals. It really is insightful and the link is awesome thank you so much!

 

[Brigio]

My 2 1/2 year old is a great eater and can eat pretty big... other times she isn't too interested in food. She eats better when I change it up a bit.<br><br>
Today she has had<br><br>
B: Smoothie- raw egg yolks, coconut milk/water, banana, strawberries, little bit of high quality protein powder, probiotics. She is NOT a good breakfast eater- so she usually has a smoothie or homemade juice (followed by something later) and it is usually in front of the TV (the one show she watches a day! )<br><br>
S: unhomgenized whole yogurt w/ cinnamon and 1/3 an apple<br><br>
L: Fruit salad (strawberries, kiwi, banana), raw cheese, carrots, sprouted grain toast with coconut oil and fruit sweetened jam.<br><br>
Thats it so far.. for dinner we are having a baked ziti with grass fed beef, raw cheese, and rice pasta with asparagus on the side. She may or may not have a snack... I might make coconut flour muffins while she naps...<br><br><br>
I dont know if that helps but I love seeing sample menus for ideas!

 

[madskye]

Here's what my DD eats--so just pick one from each header to create a daily plan.<br><br>
breakfast:<br>
plain yogurt, old fashioned oatmeal with milk and honey, packaged whole wheat waffles, honey bunches of oats or rice krispies<br><br>
AM Snack: granola bar or yogurt<br><br>
Lunch: small sandwich with turkey or ham, 1/2 pita with hummus, chicken noodle soup, with cut up apple or baby carrots on the side<br><br>
afternoon snack: fruit like cut up strawberries, banana, clementines, or cheese and crackers, peanut butter and crackers, popcorn<br><br>
Dinner--she eats whatever we eat most of the time. My husband is veg so she likes things like tofu and falafel and lentils, but she also has her fair share of more mundane "kid" food like pizza and chicken nuggets on nights she eats without us. She loves steak but I don't make it very often.<br><br>
Treats: I have a big box of Edy's popsicles in the freezer, we have way too many girl scout cookies lingering around, and she just started to chew gum and wants a piece every day. She's not too into chocolate or other candy or ice cream for the most part. If we go out, it's really hard--we were at MIL's on Sunday and it was just a sugar fiesta.<br><br>
She goes to daycare and I pack her food, and I pack "roaring waters" juice boxes. I wouldn't call them "healthy" but they are mostly flavored water so they have a lot less sugar than real juice boxes. She tends to get really nuts if she has too much sugar, consistently.<br><br>
I'm pretty happy with what she eats--I'm sure it could be better, but I like that she's open to trying new things and she seems to get hungry regularly, so I have never been in a place where I needed to cajole her to eat.

 

[rainyday]

Let's see. Yesterday ds had:<br><br>
Breakfast:<br>
oatmeal (made with milk instead of water) with brown sugar, glass of milk<br><br>
Snack:<br>
cheese, whole wheat sourdough toast, small handful pumpkin seeds (maybe 1.5 tablespoons?), water<br><br>
Lunch:<br>
Spanish tortilla (basically fried potatoes and scrambled eggs, cooked without stirring - probably about 1 egg's worth plus about 1/4 cup of potatoes), asparagus, strawberries, milk. He might have had another slice of toast with this, but I'm not sure now.<br><br>
Snack:<br>
1" thick x 3" x 4" piece of pumpkin bread made with extra egg and less sugar, glass of milk<br><br>
Dinner:<br>
3 refried bean tacos (made with soft corn tortillas, not hard taco shells, each taco has about 2 tablespoons beans), cheese, one lettuce leaf, another about 1/4 cup refried beans eaten without tortillas, one sweet potato fry, glass of milk, part of a tangerine for dessert

 

[lyterae]

B. is at daycare weekdays, here is a fair guess at what she ate on Saturday :<br>
B. is dairy and peanut free, she is 4 years old (42" and 42 lbs)<br><br>
breakfast: apple frenchtoast w/ 1 slice of bacon and strawberries and blackberries<br><br>
snacks before lunch: apple and carrot sticks<br><br>
lunch: applesauce, sliced turkey,crackers, 1/2 cucumber<br><br>
snacks: more berries and cinnamon crackers<br><br>
dinner: (out at Papa's for mothers day) - sliced greenpepper, more cucumber and carrots, 1 hotdog on bun and a couple of chips.<br><br>
dessert - soy ice cream w/strawberries on top<br><br>
ETA: she gets water throughout the day and 1 glass of coconut milk with meals.

 

[~cassie]

Here is what my picky 5 yr old had today:<br>
Breakfast-pancake, 2 sausage links, milk<br>
Lunch--PB sandwich, juice box, applesauce(usually it's yogurt though), and an oatmeal cookie. This rarely varies. He packs his lunch every day for school as he is too picky to eat the school lunch.<br>
snack--whatever school offered, usually juice and crackers/cereal. Oh and we took advantage of Mcdonald's 60 cents icecream cones after school <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile"><br>
dinner--6 breaded nuggets-it's one of the few "meats" he will actually eat, a few bites of rice, a few whole green beans, a cup of milk-but he didn't drink that.<br><br>
He will probably have something else later today-maybe a bowl of cereal or some raisins, etc. He doesn't eat much fruit/veggies-he likes sliced apples, bananas, green beans(sometimes), and corn(which isn't really a veggie lol).

 

[emaye_to_2]

My kids are four and six (the 6yo is a notoriously picky eater).<br><br>
Breakfast typically looks like: waffles, french toast, pancakes, scrambled eggs or cold cereal, and veggie sausage and OJ<br><br>
My 6yo does pretty poorly at lunch during school. He'll eat a veggie dog, piece of bread, some fruit and snacks- crackers, chips, cheese stick or fruit snack. Or he may eat spaghetti or mac&cheese in a thermos. Last, grilled cheese.<br><br>
Dinner: Their favorites are: Salmon, greens and rice. Baked or fried cod. Stir-fry with tofu/tempeh and vegetables. Spaghetti with vegetables. Thai curry with tofu, veggies and rice. Tacos with fake meat. Baked marinated tofu.<br><br>
We don't eat desert on a daily basis but both of them are crazy for sugar if they can get it. They don't snack too much and mainly drink water. Before bed they'll have a little popcorn or some fruit.

 

[Therese's Mommy]

My oldest dd is 5.5 yo. Here is what she ate the past 2 days.<br><br>
Breakfast: Oatmeal with frozen blueberries and milk to drink<br><br>
Lunch: a slice of pizza, brussel (sp?) sprouts, milk to drink and 2 little chocolate eggs from her Easter candy<br><br>
Snack: Oatios and milk<br><br>
Dinner: Black beans and rice with a dollop of Greek yogurt, roasted root veggies (sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots, beets) and milk to drink.<br><br>
Today:<br><br>
Breakfast: 1 egg, piece of ww bread, frozen blueberries, and milk to drink<br><br>
Lunch: Sunbutter sandwich (ww bread), brussel sprouts, milk to drink and a little square of chocolate from her Easter candy<br><br>
Snack: Oatios<br><br>
Dinner: same as last night<br><br>
My dd gets a treat after lunch basically every day, but it is super small. I think it helps because she gets a treat but she is used to the fact that a treat is something special and it is small. Oftentimes it is about 15 or so Sundrops.