Good Bubble Bath and Food Ideas for Two Year Old Boys!

Of course, my original message was deleted when I tried to post. Oh, well.

I want to come across as helpful and not judgmental.....unfortunately, it doesn't appear that any of your food options are really healthy for your boys. I'm not a health nut, but they're all loaded with fat, cholesterol, sodium and carbs. Our kids do eat them, but in moderation. We try to stay with healthier preparation as much as possible - we're both working parents, so simple is always the best option for us.

We always have a fresh fruit or veggie on the table with each meal. Our kids love frozen mixed vegetables. You can get a name brand for $1.25/bag at Walmart, microwave, add a little butter and salt to taste, and it's a relatively good way to get them to eat veggies. My kids also love broccoli and cauliflower.

Here are some of the staples we have in our house for dinner.
1. Baked potatoes
put them in the oven for an hour, play, add the toppings you like, and you're done.
2. Quesadillas
Get tortillas, add whatever protein you like (beans, chicken, ground beef, etc). I like to add either black beans or refried beans, cheese, and have sour cream, salsa, etc. available (lettuce, tomatoe)
3. Fajitas
Super simple. Chicken, peppers/onions, tortillas, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, cheese
4. Make your own pizzas
You can purchase refrigerated pizza dough or get pita bread cut in half long-ways to make a circle. Use a little sauce, cheese, and add healthier toppings (ham, veggies). Kids can choose their toppings and bake for about 8 minutes.
5. Turkey burgers
Mix with some bread crumbs, seasoning, egg, form patties and cook. We serve ours with cheese and ranch dressing.
6. Sloppy Joes
Not the healthiest, but if you use ground chicken/turkey or lean beef, they're a little better. Serve with some kind of fruit/veggie
7. Bisquick Chicken Tenders
Recipe is on the box - we usually serve with rice/veggies or egg noodles/veggies
8. Frozen or refrigerated pastas
Look for frozen ravioli, gnocchi, etc. in the frozen or refrigerated section. Serve with fruits or veggies on the side.
9. Sandwiches
Our kids love ham and cheese sandwiches. We usually have grapes, carrots, celery, cucumbers on the side with ranch to dip the veggies in, or we cut apples/pears in the summer/fall when they're a little more in season.

As far as bubble bath goes, we still rely on baby shampoos (Target Up&Up currently that's both body wash and shampoo). Add a little as you're starting the bath, and we have lots of bubbles - too many sometimes. A bottle usually lasts us ~6-8 weeks.

As a mother of two year old triplets, BGG, I feel your meal time pain. All the things you mentioned are a major part of our menu repertoire. That being said, I do try to liven it up a bit, when it gets too boring. Instead of grilled cheese sandwiches, we have quesadillas. Instead of PB&J on bread, we make it on crackers. Sometimes, we also do backwards dinner nights. "Dessert" first, then the meal. Usually, on those nights, "dessert" is some type of fruit or yogurt. They eat it up, and then dig into whatever I made for dinner. I also sometimes make fruit smoothies to replace their drinks at dinner, with fun straws. Anything thats make them feel grown up and special will make them eat.

As for the bubble bath, we use the stuff they sell at Target. It comes in bottles with Disney or Nickelodeon characters on it. It's hypo-allergenic, tear free, and smells great. It's manufactured by MZB Accessories, but like I said, it's available at Target, in the baby aisle with all the baby bath, etc. Great bubbles with just a little squirt in the tub. They also have an ELMO bubble bath that pretty good. (I've also found these bottles at Walmart, but they don't always have them, Target does.)

Hope these suggestions help you!!!

I have a 3yr old son and he has always ate what I've cooked. I don't make special meals for anyone. Not to sound judgmental, but a lot of the food you listed is not healthy for them. Yes, meal time should be fun, but it needs to be good for you too. I've heard a lot of great things about the Sneaky Chef and I'd like to get my hands on the book to see if it is good. I have to be sneaky sometimes even to my hubby! I like to put spinach in spaghetti, v-8 juice in my tacos with the season packet (instead of water), I make ABC muffins (apples, bananas and chocolate chips)/ Just little things like that.

Dinner time is a battle right now with my son because he is on a phase that everything is icky! Won't eat chicken, pork chops, steak, etc but he'll eat the heck out of some processed chicken nuggets, hot dogs, fish sticks and what not! He will eat his veggies most of the time though. We don't fight with him either. 2 bites of everything and he can have snack, if not, then no snack and nothing to eat till breakfast.

As far as bubbles go, I don't know what brand it is but it is Lighting McQueen bubble bath and it seems to do well. Got it at walmart back in the face care area.

Good luck!
S.

Can you add veggies to your favorites? Add cauliflower or broccoli to mac & cheese. Add carrots (shredded) to your meatballs.
The more variety you give them the sooner you can be free from the kid food trap.
I never fed my son "kid" stuff and when I would take him to McDonald's, he would ask me if he could get shrimp! :-)
My point is, yes, they're kids, but they don't know that! Feed them what you eat and you will be happy for YEARS, not making them special meals!

My son is using the Spongebob Bubble Bath right now and it's pretty decent.

feed them adult food and try dawn dish soap bubbles last longer and it cleans them better back in old days there where no hot dogs and ck nuggets we all grew up fine with normal good homemade cooking

I have an almost 2 year old, and he LOVES the following:
baked sweet potatoes (scrub clean and put in oven for 1hr or until soft)
boiled carrots
pasta (with butter or sauce)
grilled cheese
chicken (baked in oven with marinade or breaded, and ketchup to dip!!)
mashed potatoes
steamed peas with a little butter
steamed green beans with a little butter (I use steamer bags in microwave, takes about 1-2 minutes)
Corn
rice and beans
ground turkey with sauce, carrots, pretty much anything you throw in!
sheperd's pie

A bunch of other stuff, as well the stuff your boys like! I was just trying to think of things you didn't list. They may surprise you with the veggies, my son loves them! Also, any kind of casserole with lots of stuff in it (obviously nothing spicy or otherwise irritating) he also loves since it's a "busy" food. I let him use his fork and spoon, and he will usually eat more since he works so hard at it!!

As far as bubble bath, I just use the same body wash I use for him, the lavender scented kind from Johnson and Johnson. good luck!

My 2 yr old likes quesadillas and really easy to make, you can even add some mashed beans in with the cheese. You might even be able to sneak in some veggies. She also likes ham and I wrap it in a flour tortilla with a little cheese and lettuce.

For bubble bath, I found the AVON bubble bath to be the best. They have special ones for sensitive skin and for kids.

My two year old daughter eats what we eat, I tend to make meals for all of us that would be kid friendly (not spicy, or hot). Here are some ideas:
Lentil soup with carrots
Chili
chicken alfredo & pasta w/ broccoli bake
Salmon in the broiler, steamed rice and veggies on the side
Turkey meat ball in a tomato sauce w/ steamed veggies on the side
Beef stew with all kinds of vegetables in the crockpot
Quesadillas with cheese and steamed veggies on the side

I usually use the frozen california blendi on the side when we are busy and only have few minutes to make lunch! I boil them in water in the microwave for 1:30 only, et voilaaaa !!

Hi mom,
I would suggest purchasing a good Children's Cook Book. So that you can involve the children with the preparation of nuritious meals.The earlier you begin with healthy nutrition habits the better off they will be.
This activity will give them a sense of power, and further reinforce their self esteem, by allowing them to assist with making choices about what they are ingesting proper foods they need to develop. Remember to talk about what the food they are eating is doing for their bodies and how it will help them grow.
This is an area that I enjoyed sharing with my son who by the way is 22 now. He is very concious of what he eats. He loves vegetables and I would like to think this is a result of me begining early with discussion.
The experience of going to the grocery store will be viewed as an adventure instead of a chore. Look at the wonderful opportunity you and your child will have naming all the different categories of items in the store.
Now the situation is being viewed as a "teachable moment".
Are you in the Atlanta area? The local Dekalb Farmer's Market could be a place to go shopping frequently. A multiculturial experience everytime you visit! Whole Foods .... The possibilities are endless. Oh, I can not end with out saying the grocery store advertisements could be used to expand your child's language. The two of you could cut,rip and discuss what foods you are going to buy, where the item grows ......
Math, Science, Problem solving can be a part of this entire on going series of events that surround the topic of food.

Oh, yes I was also a Pre School Teacher for over 30 years.
AB

I hope these suggestions help.

I've had great luck with the Sneaky Chef recipes, have you checked that out? The basic idea is that you make purees out of various things that are similar in color and then hide the purees in other foods. Example: the "orange" puree is carrots, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes. I hide it in mac n cheese, grilled cheese, eggs, tomato sauce...anything orange-ish or dark enough to cover it up. My almost 2 yr old son never knows its there. As far as meals, my son loves english muffin pizzas - I take whole wheat english muffin and put tomato sauce (with orange puree mixed in) and shredded mozzarella cheese and put it in the toaster oven. I've put veggies or ground beef on there before too depending on what I have around. Another favorite of my son's is broccoli pancakes...you take frozen broccoli (thawed), shredded cheese, bread crumbs or matzo meal, salt, pepper, and an egg and put it through the food processor till its like a puree. Then you drop spoonfuls of it onto a non stick skillet/griddle with a touch of olive oil and fry them till they're brown, flip, repeat, and you're done. They're really good, try it! My last suggestion is, believe it or not, tofu. My son's ultimate favorite food and I am not kidding! I buy extra firm, cut it into small squares, and saute in a hot skillet with asian sesame salad dressing (since it has oil and flavor its perfect!). Just cook till outside is brown, let cool, and I just serve it with a side of elbow pasta and some fruit or something like that. He always asks for more. Hope this helps!