Toddler Meal Ideas

[DMickey28]

I need to find some ideas for todder meals. My 11 month old has a very limited diet and I can't seem to figure out what to feed him! He has some food allergies that we are trying to figure out if he has outgrown, mainly a milk protien allergy.

I am just really having a hard time coming up with healthy meals for him. I didn't have an issue with my ODS but by the time he was 1 he had all his teeth except his two year molars and just seemed to eat a lot more. YDS only has 6 teeth and does really well with them but I don't know!

So give me your best toddler meal ideas. Either homemade or store bought ... just anything to mix up this poor babies diet!

 

[Minnesota!]

What about home made soup? Just shredded chicken/turkey in some broth, with some noodles and cooked, small chunks of veggies. My kids LOVED this when they were little.

Or some mashed potatoes and shredded meat?

My kids loved tacos, too. I would make them a soft taco with taco meat, avocado, cheese (but you can eliminate), beans, and roll it up burrito style then cut into chunks.

Oh, and beans and rice.

They also loved hamburger over rice. I mix stewed tomatoes in, too. It's been a favorite for years..

 

[DisneyFan06]

Not to really change the topic...

But, we believe that our son who just turn 4 month has a milk protien allergy too. We are not positive and neither is the doctor.

What signs and symptoms should we be looking for?

Our son has had (cold like symptoms) since November. congested a lot. and breaths hard at times. We got back to the Dr on Monday.

 

[HillPete]

My ped. always told us to feed the boys the same things we were eating. Cut it up smaller, cook it a little longer to make it mushier, give tiny portions so he can try things without being overwhelmed, but don't limit seasoning. Now is the time to develop a broad palatte (doesn't always work, but you can try).

When my guys were mostly toothless, they liked scrambled eggs a lot. Canned peaches were a big hit (I never bought baby food - too expensive!). Torn up bagels dipped in hummus lasted for a while (now they won't touch hummus -go figure?!) Grapes sliced lengthwise and dipped in strawberry yogurt! Defrosted, but not warm, frozen broccoli was very messy, but well-liked.

My biggest sneak attack where food was concerned - toasted wheat bread smeared with canned peas. Put a slice of cheese on top and nuke for about 20 seconds. Cut into bite sized pieces.

As usual, YMMV. Good luck!
-H

 

[tiggger1]

my friend's mother used to make all her grandkids baby food. when I had my kids, she would make me a batch and I would freeze it.

she would take whatever meat/potato and veggies she was using for the adult food and puree it ( till it was lumpy, not smooth) and then add more broth and some of those teeny tiny noodle. ( kind of like a purred beef stew)

All the kids loved it.. they couldnt get enough of it..It had a ton of good stuff in it ( usually some type of meat, potatoes, carrots, onions and peas...) without all the salt!

as they got older the chunkier it got until they were eating the adult meal!

 

[amyren]

Some of DD's favorites were....
scrambled eggs & cheese
refried beans
creamed spinach
sweat potatoes

 

[ilovejack02]

MY little guy ate what we ate . I just cooked it longer, shredded it smaller etc . I didn't cut back on seasonings either , he needed to get used to way we cook . This is South Louisiana , gotta get used to hot sauce early lol.

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

My DS's favorite:

Homemade Soup: shredded chicken, potatoes, carrots and noodles
Pasta (any kind)
Avocados
Scrambled eggs

 

[simba20]

MY little guy ate what we ate . I just cooked it longer, shredded it smaller etc . I didn't cut back on seasonings either , he needed to get used to way we cook . This is South Louisiana , gotta get used to hot sauce early lol.

Minus the hot suace...LOL...I second this. My saying was DD eats what we eat. No special meals.

 

[DMickey28]

Thank you!

The issue I am running into is that our dinner schedule is all over the road due to my DH's job. I feed the kids consistantly at 4:30-5pm. They both go to bed between 6:30-7:00PM. Sometimes we get to eat together but sometimes DH and I wait until they go to bed. That makes it difficult to give them what we eat.

My ODS does he what we eat and isn't really picky.

I try to make enough to have leftovers that I can feed the baby the next day.

One of his favorites is pureed Chicken and Dumpling soup that I make and then freeze for him. He is getting to the stage where he doesn't want to be spoon fed anymore.

Tough age.

DisneyFan - I am sending you a PM!

 

[mamacatnv]

both my kids loved spaghetti - messy but good
We also followed the eat what we eat method
DS was always an adventerous eater, DD not so much.

Some of the fav's over the years:
kielbasa w/potatos and green beans
Grilled cheese
Chicken legs
Zucchini spears - coated with shake & bake and baked
anything they could "dip"
DD loved broccoli - lightly steamed, she would munch off the florets and leave the stems
butternut squash cubes

I used to make a concoction for DD and then freeze it:
chicken, cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, celery all steamed together
mashed with some spinach pasta, rice cereal and a splash of baby formula. DD loved this the older she got the chunkier the food became until she was eating all the ingredients without the benefit of it being mashed

 

[minkydog]

I've been out of the toddler business for a long time, but i can remember my kids eating things like canned green beans, fruit cocktail,graham crackers, cheerios, and baked beans, among other things. DD didn't have any teeth until she was past 1 year, but she managed to gum everything pretty well. With both of my older kids, once they hit that "I wanna do it myself" phase, i just stopped trying to feed them so much. sometimes i would spread pureed vegetables on toast, cut it up into bits and let them have at it. We have one picture of DS with mashed beets all over his face. He looks like a baby vampire.

 

[mhsjax]

Not to really change the topic...

But, we believe that our son who just turn 4 month has a milk protien allergy too. We are not positive and neither is the doctor.

What signs and symptoms should we be looking for?

Our son has had (cold like symptoms) since November. congested a lot. and breaths hard at times. We got back to the Dr on Monday.

Mine has a milk protein intolerance. It won't kill him but it makes him very ill. He would scream for about 2 hours and then finally start throwing up. That would last 5 or 6 hours. I think all kids behave differently.

I have a friend whose son has a true mil allergy,(think epi pen) her allergist said that these proteins can be difficult. Apparently there are several and some are actually destroyed in a high heat environment.

So my son can eat somethings that are cooked long enough, pancakes are a total deal breaker.

I don't trust allergy tests. they did a blood test on mine, it cam back that he was allergic to eggs and not dairy. I told the nurse it was wrong, she got snippy with me, I told her to ask the Dr. The nurse came back an apologized, she said even the Dr said that is crazy. We redid the same test with the same results. That was 6 years ago. We still don't know where to draw the line. The Dr says let him decide, he is the one that suffers. So far he isn't interested in trying anything with dairy. We just told him to let us know when and if he wants to.

Good luck with everything, it can be a real PITA.

 

[DMickey28]

mhsjax - Your DS hasn't grown out his intolerance? Poor baby. We did allergy testing on my DS and he was shown to have a slight reaction to milk, soy and oats. However, the doctor ruled it as negative because it was so slight. An intolerance is so different from an allergy ... I am praying that my DS out grows his soon.

 

[scottishduffy]

Go to website called Weelicious! They have TONS of idea for baby/toddler friendly food.

My Nephew is 2.5 yrs old but has loved to eat: Avocado sliced, Cottage Cheese mixed with a little fruit preserve, Some whole wheat crackers with a little cheese and turkey, Take a small tortilla and roll it up with ham and cheese, tortille with just refried beans in it, Bean Soups, Mini Bagels with cream cheese and salmon on it, Yogurt with Granola, Raw bell pepper with a little ranch dressing, Pitas and Hummus, Baked Pasta with a little turkey sausage and veg mixed in, English Muffin Pizzas

ETA: Sorry if some of those don't work, just remembered the milk intolerance!