[lovnbnhome]

I am curious because I am running out of ideas for my kids and I guess it is me that is bored with serving the lunches... We aren't vegan nor vegetarian but we aren't closed minded... We do try to be healthy and stay away from fried foods (tater tots, fish sticks,... whatever else is like this).

What do you give your babes for lunch? Would you give me a few examples?

Thanks for your help!!

 

[Harper]

Harper's favorites:
Mac and cheese with chopped spinach (it has to be chopped small or she calls it "leaves" and picks it out!
Veggie burgers
Grilled cheeses with shredded carrots or apples
pizza (made with ww english muffin, homemade sauce with lots of hidden veggies, mozzarella)
Sweet potato fries
Peanut butter or almond butter on ww toast
Baked beans and tofu dogs (although she usually just eatst he beans)
Biryani (spelling--the indian rice dish!)
ww spaghetti with abovementioned sauce

I have to admit that I am tired of this stuff but dd can be a picky eater and rejects lots of stuff. I still give her jars of organic baby food veggies because she still likes them and it's an easy way to get veggies into her. She rejects lots of stuff in its original form that she will eat out of a baby food jar!! Silly baby.

 

[lovnbnhome]

Just curious...how would you hide the veggies in spaghetti sauce?? Do you puree them and add them to the sauce?? That is a great idea!!!! My kids don't like tomato sauce, but I suppose I could try to make up a new one that they may like. Mac n cheese with spinach sounds good too! My kids are pretty picky too so I guess I have to get more creative!

 

[Harper]

I usually sautee onions, green peppers, carrots, oregano and garlic in olive oil. Add crushed tomatoes and lots of spinach. Some salt, pepper and fresh basil. When it's all cooked up, I puree it in the food processor. You could probably add all sort of stuff like zucchini or eggplant. Dd loves it.

 

[Bippity]

I puree veggies and meat into lots of things. DD (19 mo.) has low iron, so we keep pushing the spinach and some meat & blackstrap mollasses, too. One of DD's favorite "casseroles" is creamed spinach with pureed chicken and lots of peas & carrots added & some garlic. Then I bake it for a bit & put some cheese on top to melt. Then scoop into ice cube trays & pop out a few for meals as needed.

Have you seen this site? www.wholesomebabyfood.com

It has lots of good ideas for toddlers!

 

[hipumpkins]

Lunch around here:
Annie's mac n cheese with chopped broccoli in it.
Turkey melts on whole grain bread
Broccoli bites
Dinner leftovers
Soup (chicken noodle, cream of broccoli or mushroom are DD's favs)
No nitrate hot dogs with whatever veg (green brans are a favorite)
Cashew butter on honey wheat englsh muffins (DD will not eat jam

)
HAmburger or cheeseburger
Grilled cheese on grain bread
DD likes celery, tomatoes, cauliflower (of all things) raw so I can giver her those as sides with any meal.
She will not eat tomato sauce (just like her momma so we don't do any pizzas)

 

[sagira]

My son likes rice and beans (either black or kidney) with spices (no bland foods for my little guy -- he likes the spices

and Middle Eastern couscous (wild mushroom and herb). I mix in vegetables from a small can and he eats it happily. Another idea is spinach tortellinis (egg noodles stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese).

For the rest, he can eat whole grain crackers, SnaPeas, O cereal and bananas all day long.

I make him other things, but to date, those are his favorites.

Cheers,

 

[carolsly]

I used to work for a daycare. Here are some of my ideas.

Quesadillas (I use whole wheat tortillas and I make my own but did not do that at the daycare). I put in hamburger (you can put any kind of meat..or none) refried beans (you can use black beans too, but my kids never liked them) chedder cheese (or any hard cheese). I bake them in the oven and flip them in the middle of the 350 deg..10 min one side 5 on the other..approx. We cut them up like pizza's and serve them with dipping stuff. Avacado puree, salsa, sour cream or plain yougert. My kids think that these are grand. We also chop up tomatoes and lettuce for the adults (the kids can have some if they want, but they usually don't want to have anythign to do with it.

Lasagna..anyway you want to make it. We found that the kid friendly way was with ricotta, mozerella and eggs. Salt pepper that and a couple of cans of whatever was on sale speghetti sauce with a small can of paste to make the sauce not too runny. Cook the noodles before baking the whole thing. You can make this with veggies...I put all kinds of pureed things into the sauce. The cook where dh used to work did it with portobello mushrooms. Can also be done with eggplant if your kids will eat it. We served it with garlic bread. I've served it with home made wheat bread and my kids think that that is great too. We ate this stuff for a few meals.

Pitas..we put everything in pitas. I put good stuff in front of the kids and let them stuff them themselves.

Tacos. We love these. Soft, hard whatever. I sneak little pieces of avacodo into the 6 yo. She doesn't have a clue.

I make home made chicken fingers and bake them in the oven. I use bread crumbs mixed with italian seasoning and parmesan cheese. My kids love these. We dip them in everything. I have a great recipie..comes from my mother... The kids love these with green beans. They eat the green beans with their fingers too. It's a fun kid meal.

I'm sure I can think of more.

 

[oceanbaby]

Beans
Cheese
Sliced fruit
Olives
WW pasta w/olive oil and parmesan cheese
Turkey sandwich
Dinner leftovers
Tofu dogs on whole grain buns
Quesadilla
Grilled cheese sandwich
Minestrone or chicken noodle soup
Grilled chicken
Waffles
Sardines (he loves these!)

Ds tends to prefer 'simple' foods - he'll eat pasta, cheese, and veggies, but won't eat lasagne. So I tend to make him little combo plates of various things.