I need suggestions on quick and easy meals for babies! Ayla is a great eater...well I say that but she is a tad picky when it comes to meat and veggies. I just want more healthy foods for her. For breakfast, she loves nutrigrain bars, waffles, muffins, etc...but I need some more options that have more protein.
She also seems to only want chicken. She's not big on beef, pork, or anything else really. She will however eat ham and turkey sandwich meat! SHE LOVES IT! I just don't want her eating sandwich meat all the time. She won't do spaghetti and she's not much on pasta.
Any suggestions?
I've got to try and do better at posting. I just get so busy and when I have time...I usually just want to sit! I PROMISE TO TRY AND DO BETTER!!!
10 comments:
I am dealing with the same issue--finding better protein options. A big hit for us is tater tot casserole (ground beef, cream of mushroom, campbells cheese soup, bag of peas and carrots, tater tots on top and bake at 350 until tater tots are crisp), I have also found that turkey meat with cream cheese and avocado rolled up is a hit, cheerios, yogurt, frozen fruit and a bit of apple juice in a bullet until it is thick and blended, raison cinnamon toast with cream cheese, chicken fingers (use crushed corn flakes and parmesan cheese to bread), and chicken salad on crackers--I'll be interested to see what others post!
Hey Sarah!!
Pax is not a big "meat eater" either...it gets me fired up sometimes! I always try and throw in some different kinds of beans for her to try. They have LOTS of protein. We do black beans, pinto beans, red beans...etc. And like Ayla, she only cares for chicken! I've found that the less of a 'chore' it is for her to eat the meat, the better she likes it. She doesn't do the consistency well, like with hamburger meat. But, she will eat meatloaf & sloppy joe's (usually without a bun!)
This may be NO help at all, but you're not alone in the food war!! =)
We eat a ton of avocado around here - my kids can't get enough. I also do a super easy sweet potato recipe --- cube up sweet potatoes, mix up with a little olive oil, sprinkle with cinnamon, & honey and baked at 350 for about 30 minutes or until golden. I would just keep offering and offering the other meats each week, she may start surprising you. Start mixing them if she likes sauces (cheese or marinara or alfredo, etc). My son wouldn't eat beef until I mixed it with some homemade marinara and a little elbox pasta (I know you said she doesn't like pasta but keep trying!). For breakfast, we do a lot of oatmeal and cinnamon/raisin breads with butter. Bagels and cream cheese have been a big hit as of late. They love it. For more protein, try some different beans - mine really like just plain old black beans, red beans, pinto, you name it - and those are really good for them. Also, they really like meatloaf - that's a good way to sneak meat into something. Sorry, I know this is long but I have a great dietician that I work with to help my daughter gain weight before her surgery so she has given me lots of good tips and advice. Maybe some of that will help you!
when my son was that age i found that he LOVES split pea soup. i would cook up a big batch and freeze several portions for later on. it's just water or chicken broth and you boil split peas for around an hour until they are nice and squishy. you can throw in any veggies you like--i usually do carrots and celery. add some herbs and a pinch of salt and it is yummy!
for breakfast you could do some dry cereals like wheat chex, bran flakes....mix in some fruit chunks to help flavor. my son didn't much care for meat either so don't be alarmed by it. i think it's the texture that toddlers don't like.
My Parker is a picky eater too - I have found I can now "trick" him into taking bite of new foods if there is a character on a cup to watch him try it and be "big boy eater". That's working right now!
We aren't get on veggies but he is trying more lately, at least trying.
Breakfast we love- toast, scrambled eggs with cheese, sausage, fresh fruit, yogurt, breakfast bars, waffles, muffins, and bagel and cream cheese
Lunch - cheese sandwiches, pizza, chicken nuggets (his favorite and often only meat), popcorn, cottage cheese, fresh fruit
Dinner - lasagna, spagetti (both took a long time to get used to but he loves them and most noodles now), nachos and tacos, french fries, pizza rolls, cordean bleu, bread, sometimes we can sneak veggies and lentils in there, and fruit.
I just keep offering new/different things and show him how yummy they are, and sometimes he takes the bait and we get a new food. Anything he can eat with a fork or spoon is exciting for him right now too.
We are big yogurt eaters! Especially the greek kind since it has tons of protein in it. I also make smoothies with it and sometimes add spinach. Just a little baby leaf uncooked. Also, we do baked oatmeal with a bunch of egss is in it. This also makes a great snack to take places.
Hey there,
I had an exceedingly picky eater when she was little, so much so that she stopped gaining weight and the doctors were concerned. That got us referred to GI doc as well as an OT to help with feeding. These are things we learned....
-BREAKFAST: dry cereals, apples that can be dipped in peanut butter or yogurt (we like greek because of the protein), eggs (I made scrambled with cheese initally, then started adding meats, and veggies once she liked the eggs), mini pancakes with peanut butter or sometimes cream cheese or with jelly. (I didn't use syrup) we also made oatmeal, and added craisins, raisins or brown sugar to it
-LUNCH: many of the same things we do for breakfast. We also have added bananas again with PB, sandwiches that I use a circle cookie cutter on to help seal in the contents: deli meat and cheese, pb and j, pb and banana, pasta with/without sauce with parmesan cheese. Make my own chicken fingers.
-Dinner more of the same. I have found that she likes things that are similar texture wise. So don't put a crunchy veggie with mushy pasta. She LOVES chicken noodle soup, mine is pretty bland, but I shred my chicken with a fork, then have carrots, celery some onions and that is about it.
-DESSERTS/SNACKS: fruits, frozen Go-gurts, animal crackers, goldfish, veggie sticks, baby carrots (you can buy them shredded so easy to chew), craisins, frozen bananas, she is loving sugar snap peas right now raw.:-)
My son loves scrambled eggs for breakfast, which are a great source of protein. Like Ayla, he loves lunch meat too. He's not big on chicken, but loves any type of shredded beef. He will only eat ground beef if its in spaghetti or in a sloppy joe mix. Hot dogs and sausage are a favorite. Tried a tuna melt for him, since he loves cheese. I didn't think he'd like it, but he ate it pretty well. I made Tilapia fillets, just put lemon juice, parsley, and garlic on them and baked at 350 for 20 minutes.
For veggies, I found he LOVES cooked carrots with brown sugar and butter. He also will eat broccoli--I usually put some cheese sauce on top. I've found that you really do need to be patient and offer a food several times before they might like it. Like someone else said, sometimes using the fork does help him eat some things better!
My babies LOVE scrambled eggs with cheese for breakfast. Or blueberry muffins. Or I'll make up pancakes and make extras to put in the fridge, then reheat them in the toaster the next day.
Hi Sarah, My son and Ayla were born the same day. We are having the same issues. Here are some things he DOES eat: Nutrigrain waffles,yotoddler yogurt (though think I will switch to greek for the protein), frigo string cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, ronzoni whole grain rotini pasta with sauce and turkey meatballs (think the brand is honeysuckle),wholly guacamole snack packs. He will sometimes eat what we have for dinner (casseroles, crock pot meals, etc). Most beans, even refried.
I don't know if Ayla does this but he is into throwing food on the floor. I try not to react to his not eating the way I would like but I am sure he picks up my anxiety. My ped said he will eat when he is hungry but I still worry. Thanks for the question. I am enjoying the feedback from your readers.
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