meal time ideas

Helen - posted on 06/19/2011

My son is the same way!! He'll grab an apple and chomp on it, but if I slice it up I guarantee that I'll find slice of apple around the house.

Miranda - posted on 06/18/2011

Thanks so much ladies, I will definitely be trying these new ideas. My daughter is picky sometimes, so I know I should be thankful for the sometimes part. Thanks for the muffin recipe, I will be making this one for sure!

Andriea - posted on 06/18/2011

corned beef hash, cook potatoes as normal (boil water in kettle first cook quicker) then mash with a little marg and milk (optional) whilst mashing add corned beef (reduced fat) mash till well mixed then serve with beans (yummy) simple, only takes 25-30min (including peeling) and can be batched cooked for freezing. :-) never met a child yet that will refuse it and it is versatile you can add spring onions to mash, mushrooms, cheese (good for calcium). well balanced and cheap as chips xxx

Amelie - posted on 06/15/2011

Orange, dates, baby cereals muffins, by Louise Lambert-Lagace

1cup of orange juice
1/2 cup of finely chopped dates
1 egg (I put 2 cause I prefer the consistency
3 tbs canola oil
3 tbs honey (after 12 months old) or maple syrup
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups baby cereals (enriched with iron)
2 tsp baking pouder
1/2 cup salt (after 12 months old), I don't put any

In mixer, mix juice, dates, eggs, oil and honey.
In big bowl, mix dry ingredients, add liquid, mix all
I pour mix in 24 mini-muffin baking tray
Cook at 400F for about 15 minutes

These muffins can stay fresh for 3-4 days in the fridge and 2-3 months in the freezer. I love to keep them in the freezer. When we are in a hurry sometimes and don't hav time to organize snacks, I grab a muffin or two for the road an it thaw very quickly.

Kristy - posted on 06/15/2011

Love the muffin's with the baby cereal. Can you share that recipe ? Also, love the smoothie idea :) Thanks !

Amelie - posted on 06/15/2011

My daughter never wants to eat breakfast so, many times a week, I'll make her a "full-meal smoothie" with frozen berries, banana, the juice of one squeezed orange (or orange juice) with baby cereal (for grain and iron) and probiotic plain yogurt. She loves it and I feel good cause she gets all the nutriments that she needs. My daughter doesn't like meat and doesn't like baby cereals so, I make her healthy muffins with iron supplemented baby cereals and, because it's a muffin, fun to eat, she's happy to eat it anytime. Let me know if you want the recipe! I try to have her eat whatever we're having, when we're having it so that she gets used to the "family food" but, if she doesn't eat well for more than a day, I don't like that (she's so tiny already!) so, I'll try to fool her by mixing a whole bunch of good stuff with something she likes. Not always easy!

Zipporah - posted on 06/06/2011

Since my daughter has always been under weight I let her have pediasure once at snack time. Veggies and fruits are always a good snack idea. Crackers or gold fish. My kids even like sociables. For meals she eats whatever we eat. I just tried a great chicken enchiladas casserole which was easy to make the night before and throw in the oven for dinner. I look for new recipe ideas online.

Tiffany - posted on 05/31/2011

you can check out gerber.com/preschoolermenus they have weekly menus on there customize to your childs age. It's not real practical for us bc my girls dont care to eat the gerber graduates or lil entrees but as far as seving sizes and veggies and stuff go it's got all that on it. I'm trying to figure the same out for my lil ones... about what else to make them. good luck!

Kristy - posted on 05/31/2011

A whole wheat pita with hummus is a favorite at our house !

Ann Marie - posted on 05/30/2011

I'm not going to pretend I can get my preschooler and toddler to eat a lot of veggies (I can't), but recently I've found that the preschooler is much more likely to eat veggies if she buys them at the farmer's market with me. This weekend she picked out some broccoli and munched on it raw all day. :-) Also, she greatly prefers to eat a whole fruit or veggie (like munching on an apple or tomato) rather than one I've cut up. Go figure. Other than that, I just try to make sure I always have a fruit and a veggie on their plates.

Kelly - posted on 05/30/2011

My daughter is a BIG FAN of rice and cous-cous. so when I make it I add peas, carrots and any other veggie I can to flavor it up for her. She enjoys veggies quite a bit and never has a problem eating them. fruits are her yuck factor that I am trying to explore options for her.

Karen - posted on 05/28/2011

My most common meal ideas for our daughter are: Chicken & vegie risotto, Pasta with lots of vegies and some kinda of meat chicken/mince, quiche with heaps of vegies hidden in. I love to grate the vegies so they cook down really easily and aren't noticed. But lately my daughter just wants to eat steamed brocoli and carrots and will grab them off our plates at dinner time which i think is fab.