Comments on Mama Notes: Ask the Moms: What Do Your Kids Eat Every Day?

Sounds like you got some really great ideas! My l...

2010-01-18T06:23:21.802-09:00

Sounds like you got some really great ideas! My little boy is 9 months old and my pediatrician was shocked that he was eating table foods already. I think baby food is so silly. David hates it (like Lucas) and prefers to eat what we are eating. My little guy LOVES cantelope! I need to buy more.

David doesn't eat as many veggies as he should. That is because I don't cook enough veggies for US....hmmm..... LOL

Good luck!

I probably don't have much to add. We feed ou...

2010-01-16T19:45:35.105-09:00

I probably don't have much to add. We feed our 15-month-old whatever we are eating. That is the way we've done it since he began solids around 9 months. He has never had baby food either so he loves a variety of flavors and spices and tastes. I would say if you don't feel like your taste buds are in a rut, his aren't either. BUT if you are tired of the same foods, try something new and offer him the same thing. No need for special baby meals. And yes, sometimes I do feed him ingredients as opposed to the actual thing (bits of cheese and tortilla as opposed the the quesadilla).

My baby boy is 2 and he LOVES quesadillas. He favo...

2010-01-15T19:36:24.463-09:00

My baby boy is 2 and he LOVES quesadillas. He favors anything he can eat by himself without too much assistance. He loves fruit, broccoli, pastas, waffles, eggs and breads. He can just eat a slice of bread on its own. He is also a big fan of Ritz crackers.

Ultimately, I try and make my dinner meal as healthy as possible so I know I'm offering him a good meal. He doesn't really care for a "lunch" so he usually snacks at that meal. And breakfast, I'm still trying to pry him away from oatmeal. He just loves the stuff. I say if baby is happy and healthy ( and Lucas seems to eat lots of fruits and veggies) variety may not be a big thing. Im trying to incorporate variety, but I'm not pressing it.

Hey Samantha, It looks like you have plenty of su...

2010-01-15T19:03:31.986-09:00

Hey Samantha,

It looks like you have plenty of suggestions here but I just wanted to add that the APA has changed their stance on restricting foods for allergy reasons and as long as you don't have family history and are introducing food after 6 month you should be able to feed him anything.

A typical day for us looks like this:
Breakfast
Egg muffin, this is a thing I make that is basically scrambled eggs in a muffin pan with vegies and cheese in them sometimes with turkey bacon. My LO loves these and it's a good way to add vegies to breakfast. I'll post the recipe on my blog tomorrow.

Lunch after nap, crackers and pb or cheese and fruit blueberries or apple or bannana with some of whatever I am having for lunch soup or salad.

Snack around 2: puffs and apple slices and maybe some chunks of cheese

early dinner around 4: beans and carrots or snap peas or canned peas or frozen veggies he loves to eat them still frozen

dinner is whatever we eat in smaller versions

he also likes to have bites of ice cream that we have for desert or pieces of fruit we eat after dinner.

What a great menu you are giving him...I would add...

2010-01-15T18:25:41.974-09:00

What a great menu you are giving him...I would add some eggs and oatmeal in...but really it sounds like he is eating just about what I gave my last 3 kids...they are healthy veggie/fruit eaters now at 2, 5, and 7!! My oldest at 9 though -- I only gave him what I thought babies would like -- and now he only eats what babies would like...white bland foods...We all try to convince him to try things - and he does -- but it's just not the same. Good JOB on your veggie lovin efforts! :)

You're giving him a wide variety! We do the s...

2010-01-15T17:17:26.326-09:00

You're giving him a wide variety! We do the same things as you for the most part. Oatmeal is always a hit, as is yogurt or cereal. Oatmeal Squares cereal is nice and filling. If I am making a quesadilla, I like to make one for the kids and give them each 2 slices. They will eat it! I often grill up veggies like zucchini to put in the quesadilla and that is an easy way for them to get their veggies.

Looks like your doing a great job! My daughter is...

2010-01-15T17:13:33.886-09:00

Looks like your doing a great job!

My daughter is 27 months old and she still drinks water most of the time. If she does get something else it's usually brown rice milk (the refrigerated kind because I can just imagine how many preservatives are in the other ones). The only juice I will give her once in a while is one I make myself.

My daughter is not a picky eater at all - she will eat almost anything. She even likes radishes (sliced and placed on buttered bread) which my husband hates hahaha. She LOVES fruits and veggies. I suspect it's because she always ate a lot of them since she was very small.

I give my daughter puffs as well. They're sugarless, organic and are made of brown rice, kamut or corn. Whenever I give her those, they keep her busy for a few minutes :)

Hey Samantha... When did you start giving Lucas w...

2010-01-15T16:44:56.279-09:00

Hey Samantha...

When did you start giving Lucas water to drink and what did he drink it out of at first? Also, what kind of water do you give him (that sounds like a weird question :) ) we have a PUR water filter, do you think water out of that would be okay to give my son when he starts drinking water too? Or do you use something else? I'm so lost and a little nervous when it comes to anything other than breastmilk. I would love to know any tips you have on water :)

Thanks SO much -Meg

try taking a look at this site...i've really e...

2010-01-15T09:50:22.292-09:00

try taking a look at this site...i've really enjoyed it...and my first isn't even due till May! But I have it bookmarked for when we're ready!

http://www.feedinglittlefoodies.com

I don't have any kids myself, but i did nanny ...

2010-01-15T09:47:16.485-09:00

I don't have any kids myself, but i did nanny a baby girl from 4 months-1.5 years. She LOVED berries, practically swallowed them whole, and she wouldn't stop eating them! Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries.-- That's if you're looking for some more finger-food/side dishes.

Here are a few ideas from when my kids were that a...

2010-01-15T09:27:38.802-09:00

Here are a few ideas from when my kids were that age (in addition to those you listed):
Breakfast-
Scrambled egg yolks
Hard boiled egg yolks
Oatmeal or Cream of Wheat
Yogurt

Lunch/Dinner-
Canned Tuna
Beans
Soup
Grilled cheese
mashed potatoes
potato pancakes
Apple sauce
Fish sticks
Cooked ground turkey meat
Rice

Snacks-
Shredded cheese or cheese cubes
Cheerios

Madison (1) is not a fan of baby food. She used to...

2010-01-15T09:07:41.847-09:00

Madison (1) is not a fan of baby food. She used to eat it. But not too much of it. She prefers big people food :)

She will pretty much eat anything we eat! That is my husband and I. My other two kids (6 and 4) are picky eaters.

She LOVES hand and cheese sandwiches. That is her absolute fave at the moment. I just cut the sandwich in to 4's and she goes to town! She is a big fan of wheat bread! She LOVES veggies! So, she eats quite a bit of them! And Enchilada's!! Oh my goodness she is piggy when I make them!

Breakfast is typically yogurt, fruit, oatmeal, cereal bar, etc.

We did little to no baby food as well. We often st...

2010-01-15T08:31:01.864-09:00

We did little to no baby food as well. We often steamed fresh organic vegis in our rice cooker and put them in a container in the fridge.
Other things we fed them; Great Harvest bread (not sure if you have one near you anymore), quinoa (you could roll soft f/veg in it if too hard for him to eat), cheese, brown rice, whole wheat pasta with a touch of butter and parmesan, used applesauce as a spread for bread, squash, nitrate free turkey, english muffins, plain organic whole yogurt with our own fruit mixed in (much cheaper than the "baby" yogurt) , Happy Baby rice cereal to thicken some runny stuff so they could eat it better on their own when big enough to try a spoon, organic raisins from Costco, pirates booty type cheesy puffs when they got bigger, and lots of organic black beans. Sounds like you are doing great!

LOL! I love that pic w/food on his head. My kids...

2010-01-15T08:18:15.262-09:00

LOL! I love that pic w/food on his head.

My kids are older 5, 6 and 11 but we seem to eat the same things OVER and OVER and OVER again. I was just thinking about this yesterday. I need NEW ideas!

Our babies are pretty much the same age, and i'...

2010-01-15T07:08:16.948-09:00

Our babies are pretty much the same age, and i'm really glad to hear i'm not the only one worried about this! i feel like DS eats the same thing every day! we also skipped the "baby food" and he eats what we eat. i don't normally make something separate for him, i just give him pieces of whatever's on my plate. that way he can also see that we're eating the same stuff so he doesn't get jealous. I've actually been feeling kinda bad lately because he's been napping during dinner time so he hasn't had any solids in the evening - but he doesn't seem to care just yet! I think you're doing great mama:)

Our 8 months old get a combination of jarred baby ...

2010-01-15T06:40:44.260-09:00

Our 8 months old get a combination of jarred baby food and fresh food. We try to co-ordinate what he eats with what we're having so he can eat fresh. I'm anxiously awaiting him to get some teeth so he can start feeding himself.

Have you tried multigrain cheerieos of the veggie mum-mum's? Our oldest ate those until he was about 18 months. What about food like broccoli, cauliflower, celery- I think these ones often get forgotten about. Also try adding spices to the food for variety.

Our toddler eats what we eat- some of his favourites are curry, yogurt, pizza( made at home), feta and any mexican food.

My little Zach is loving the jarred baby food. He ...

2010-01-15T06:19:53.274-09:00

My little Zach is loving the jarred baby food. He loves all veggies except peas. I will offer in a couple of weeks and see if he changes his mind. I plan on doing lots of veggies for him as he grows because I never liked them and my older two children dont like them. I always offer them at every meal though.
Mia didn't like the jarred baby food either. She just ate whatever we ate starting at about 7-8 months old.
Sam hated baby food. He would never eat it so he also ate what we ate.
I think what you are doing is great. Kids loe repitious stuff and you are doing great offing veggies and water. As far as the quesidilla I would make him one (melted cheese tastes a little different) and cut it up really small.

I love the Super Baby food book, they have ideas f...

2010-01-15T05:15:39.692-09:00

I love the Super Baby food book, they have ideas for toddlers too. My kids love cottage cheese, salad, veggies with hummus dip or bean dip, leftovers. Try out the muffin tin ideas, so you can break things up for him. I realized when I wasnt trying to plan this great meal, that they got more variety and more nutrients!

Sounds like you are following baby led weaning? If...

2010-01-15T04:51:52.388-09:00

Sounds like you are following baby led weaning? If you've never heard of it, then, well you are. The puffs get SUPER expensive. Try switching to 'o' cereal or any other small cereal. Might take him a day or two to get the texture difference, but with everything else he's eating, shouldn't be a problem. You definitely go all out with the veggies and such, we do our best, but not as well as you! You could scramble 2 eggs or egg whites (if you care about that sort of thing), add a little cheese or bits of ham and share with him, and have some fruit yourself. I've found I eat better when we share food! I wouldn't bother making a whole 'anything' at this point, a whole quesadilla for him, but I'd go ahead and let him try to eat a section of yours. My LO is almost 15 months and she can't eat a whole anything (except fruit), but certainly does a good job with whatever we have! One of my goals for my LO is to have a balanced week, if I can't balance the day. Because, eventually, he's going to start demanding EVERYTHING you are eating. Take out pizza included! We switched to getting Mexican when doing take out food and give rice, beans, and then bits of whatever meat we are getting out of our meals and sneak some fruit on her tray, done. However, some days we don't have veggies, even leftover ones and I'm too lazy to it at lunch, so I give myself permission to feed her extra veggies that night or the next day, and give her fruit and good grains and protein instead. It's called 'give yourself a break already', you're not hurting him and I think he's already getting good stuff, so try and incorporate things that give you a break and not worry so much! You could also try soups/stews and just keep broth off of his portion! Veggie/beef soup rocks! I wouldn't suggest raisins, nuts or any other stuff that could be considered a choking hazard though,unless cut up into VERY fine bits! I agree that kids like repetition. We started helping with a spoon around his age, teaching the general motion. She still doesn't have it by herself yet, if we 'load' it for her, she can do it, but if a bowl of something was put in front of her, she'd chuck the spoon and eat with her hands! In short, you're doing fine, eat along with him, and give yourself a break. Not every meal is going to be perfect and that's okay, because life is not perfect!

We kind of do the food rut thing, too. Also, latel...

2010-01-15T03:31:51.272-09:00

We kind of do the food rut thing, too. Also, lately I have to be careful to keep the bread/carb items (muffins or whatever) until LAST or he doesn't want anything else.

I was in an oatmeal for breakfast habit for a while and he kind of got tired of it. Lately it's been Kashi toaster waffles, because that's what big brother wants. With 2 kids eating them (2 for the 4 year old and 1 for Jordan) we burn through a box of 6 in 2 days! Expensive, but I refuse to go for the cheaper, nutritionally void Eggos or whatever. I love Kashi stuff!

They both also like Fiber One pancakes.

Just tried cottage cheese the other day and he adored it. He ALWAYS likes yogurt. Scrambled eggs are also a hit.

Lately, Jordan likes to throw his food more than he likes to eat it. That's fun!

Once, I made grilled cheese and gave him bits of that and he really liked it. Of course he did! What's not to like about bread, (real) butter and melty processed cheese?!!!

As for dinner, he generally gets whatever we're having.

Ingrid is almost 2 and she eats whatever we're...

2010-01-15T03:25:24.053-09:00

Ingrid is almost 2 and she eats whatever we're eating. Which is actually good for us, as it makes me rethink eating pizza for the fourth time that week! At 10 months we fed her just like you're doing--almost exactly :) It sounds like you really do have a good selection, just keep mixing up what fruit and veg you get. And just remember that kids will eat the same thing over and over and over again, so it's probably not bothering him at all!

I try to feed 10 month old Kiela a giant breakfast...

2010-01-15T02:36:22.751-09:00

I try to feed 10 month old Kiela a giant breakfast. Eggs, yogarts, and fruit. Sometimes toast, oatmeal, raisins...

Lunch is always excessive veggies and we also do leftovers. I wish I could only give her fresh food, and not share such greasy food with her but time does not always permit.

Dinner is whatever we're having. Excessive veggies. I try and overload on veggies so that she likes them as she gets older. I didn't grow up eating veggies and have a hard time eating them now. I would love to raise Kiela vegetarian... But I feel like I don't know enogh about it.

Thank you for this post. I am exited to read foodie ideas!!!