Help with Food Ideas

Hi N.!

Try kraftfoods.com, sign up for 4 seasonal magazines a year. Its free!! They cater to families, and have very helpful ideas for kids. (how to introduce foods, weekly grocery list for dinner, etc.)

how about fritatta or quiche? Just scramble eggs with grated parmisian, some sauteed veggies (soft) and cook in pie pan at 350 degrees until cooked and golden brown, fry or bake some small cut ham strips or bacon to go with. Let cool and cut quiche into triangles he can hold.

Looks like you got a good response, I didn't read through all of them. I am doing Nutra System right now so I am not cooking. I felt bad that my daughter (15 months) was eating the same things over and over. We went out to dinner a few weeks ago and she was eating all kinds of stuff off of everyones plate. I was so surprise. So I went out and bought her Stouffers dinners. They have no preservatives and I don't feel like I wasted a lot of time and money if she doesn't like it. If she likes a dinner it lasts 1 or 2 more meals. I asked her doctor today and he said that is fine because it is preservative free.
That way my daughter tries food I don't like and doesn't keep her from eating it.
Just an idea.

Maybe you know this already, but regarding iron: calcium inhibits the intake of iron, so for the meals when he's having meatloaf or some iron-rich foods, don't give him milk to drink. Hope this helps.

Spaghetti with meatballs or meat sauce. Or take those meatballs and put them in a gravy over mashed potatoes. Homemade mac and cheese with hot dogs cut up. Yogurt or cottage cheese. Scrambled Omelets, we often have breakfast for supper. If he likes turkey try some chicken dishes. Or maybe just a burger.
When I make meatloaf, I mix ground chuck and ground pork together. I add Italian seasoning and a onion soup mix the mixture. And yes I put ketchup on the top.

Just have fun with your meals.

My kids loved when I made salads by putting the lettuce (I use mixed baby greens) in a large bowl and all the individual veggies in separate containers for them to pick out themselves and put on their own salad. I use things like garbanzo beans, diced avocados, diced tomatoes, diced bell peppers - all colors, sliced mushrooms, sliced cucumbers, raw sunflower seeds, raisins or any dried fruits, alfalfa sprouts, sliced strawberries, diced red onions, canned mandarin oranges, grated carrots and whatever else you can think of! Homemade chicken nuggets was also a favorite. Macaroni and cheese was a popular choice. Also I would make homemade whole wheat banana pancakes and add blackstrap molasses to it for extra iron. Check out some cookbooks from the library..."Whole Foods for the Whole Family" is very good. Have fun in the kitchen!!

Instead of deep fried french toast sticks as a "staple" for food, try at least pancakes that aren't deep fried for a kid his age. Salami is very fatty and full of salt too.

Why go the lunchmeat route, when he would probably enjoy chunked up chicken breast, pork chop pieces and meatloaf. At age 2, he should be eating pretty much what you eat...as long as it isn't lunchmeat which has sodium nitrate in it and other stuff that isn't the best. It's okay for an occasional snack, but I worry that , that is all he is eating. His span of food should be a little more diverse at this point.

try piece of chicken or meatloaf or pork with mashed potatoes . Scrambled eggs with whole wheat toast triangles for breakfast. Blueberries, strawberries, bananas, apple sauce, and maybe pears should be somehow in is diet every day. Sweet potatoes, baked potatoes, peas, corn, broccoli, carrots etc. should be included in his lunch and dinners.

Items like goldfish crackers and snacks like that, should be just limited snacks. They are fun for kids, but also have a lot of salt in them.

I'm not saying that he shouldn't have any of the foods you listed, but none of those foods except for the peanut butter sandwiches sounds very nutritious and should only be "treats".

Some ideas are spaghetti sauce with noodles, tuna cassaroles, meat of some sort with a starch and veggie.....just start thinking real food instead of snack type foods.

Try that cook book I think it's "deceptive cook" or something like that. She blends veggies and things into everyday foods to get vegetables in her family. I've had some healthy chocolate chip cookies from there that are better than regular ones we are used to.

Also hormel brand has a healthier lunchmeat now. It comes in a brown paper box and it is lunchmeat without nitrates or hormones.

There are a lot of food choices out there. Cream cheese and jelly sandwiches is a twist on regular pbj's. Also when making peanut butter sandwiches. Check your label. More than likely you are using PB with partially hydrogenated soybean oils and high fructose corn syrup. Just changing brands and reading the labels can make a big difference in your child's health. Smuckers, jiffy and some store brands like jewel carry "natural" PB versions that are just Peanuts and salt. You have to stir to reconsititute, but personally it tastes real and not fake like the other stuff...and is MUCH healthier.You can feel good about feeding that to your child. ALSo jelly, if you are doing jelly...do the natural preserves without the added sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Smuckers natural is JUST AS good if not better than the fake stuff.

If you do a little researching of labels you can make your kids diets just a little bit more healthy without taking away things he likes. He won't know the difference!

"Deceptively Delicious" or the "Sneaky Chef" cookbooks are awesome. You can feed him his favorites and sneak it all in under the radar. Good Luck.
J.

At this stage, he is growing tremendously. Protein becomes very important here. You can introduce organic eggs, cashew butter, almond butter, game hen, salmon, and turkey. You can also introduce oranges, pineapple, crushed walnuts, whole wheat, and brewer's yeast. Always watch for food reactions. Try that cook book "Simply Delicious" by Seinfeld's wife. She teaches you how to incorporate vegetable purees into common recipes. Also, careful on the type of foods you are allowing him. Lunch meats have too many preservatives and artificial dyes/ flavorings.

What about making your own chicken tenders or beans. Apple sauce (sugar free) is a good one too. Grilled cheese. I know what you mean about eating the same foods... we have the same problem too. Good luck!

Sounds like your doing pretty good, I would get a multi- vitimin for the little guy, I will search for a good meat-loaf, reciepe for him. Go to Mercola.Com to learn more stuff for the vitimin part Peace N.

My kids are split on veggies- so meatloaf is a good way to sneak some in. I usually puree a small amount and put it into the meat loaf mixture. As time passes I've added more veggies into sauces for pasta, sloppy joes etc.
* 1 green bell pepper, seeded and cubed
* 3 broccoli florets
* 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
* 3 small stalks celery
* 1 1/4 pounds ground beef
* 1 pound mild pork sausage
* 1 1/2 cups cracker crumbs
* 1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 1/2 cup ketchup

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a food processor or blender, combine the bell pepper, broccoli, onion and celery. Process until finely chopped, but not liquid. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the ground beef, ground pork, cracker crumbs, onion soup mix, salt, pepper, sage and milk. Mix well using your hands, or if you have a stand mixer, mix using the paddle attachment. Transfer to a 9x5 inch loaf pan and form into a loaf, mounding in the center. Cover with a generous layer of ketchup.
3. Bake for 1 1/2 hours in the preheated oven. Serve hot.

If he likes meatloaf, great...add in different pureed or finely chopped veggies...carrots, green or red bell pepper, peas, grated cheeses, wheat germ, etc. Vary it and see which he likes best. Try some fruit smoothies..creamy and yummy with fruit and milk.

We recently instituted "taco night" at our house and this goes over very well with our 26 month old. She LOVES the ground beef and could eat the sour cream (lowfat) by itself with a spoon. We also make lime cilantro corn as a side and she is a big fan of that too. Other things my daughter loves to eat are yogurt, yogurt smoothies, frozen pancakes or waffles (sugar free syrup), grilled cheese, and believe it or not - Boca Burgers! They are so simple, just 1 minute in the micro and they taste like real meat. She loves them.

Hope this helps!

My husband and I recently started changing our eating habits and found out that our 2 and a half year old son loves the new food. Everything we eat is whole wheat even pancakes and waffles and brown rice and pizza. You would be surprised what a difference that makes towards a good diet. They've even come out with whole wheat goldfish crackers! Our son loves them ( so do I)! We started eating salads for lunch and discovered that he loves raw veggies. It's easy to get stuck in a rute, but with summer coming up fresh fruit and veggies is always tasty.

Dear N.,

I know how you feel about the kids eating the same things over and over. But thankfully my kids eat a variety of food. As for some of the veggies i add just a small amount of cheese whiz when I am done cooking and the kids love them. Their favorites are corn, peas, green beans and brocolli with cheese. I would suggest some of the snack food that my kids love are string cheese, yougurt and fruit bars. As for breakfast my kids eat a variety, they love muffins. You can buy a box/bag for about a dollar and it makes between 5-6. Because they made them they love to eat them. I know that Ryan is about 2 but both of my kids have been in the kitchen since about 18mos. They love to stir. Lunch and dinner items totia pizza take a soft tortia shell and then spread either pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce on it. Not a lot. Just enough to cover it with a little red. Then I put pepporoni's and canadian ham on it and them cover it with cheese. Just enough cheese so that you can still see a little of the red. put in microwave for about 30sec to a min. then fold and eat. My kids love it. They can even help make their own. I could give you a whole bunch of ideas that I have found that kids love, if you want more just e-mail me.

as for meat loaf here is our receipe

2lbs of hamburger meat
1 egg
1/8 to 1/4 c of bread crumbs
onions (optional)

i make them into little loaves so each kid has their own. Bake at 350 for about 30 min. You can put ketchup on top if you like.

i hope this helped.
B.