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Toddler Meals

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

If you have kids, how does dinner go down in your house? 

Dinner time around here can either be a complete you-know-what show ;) or pretty great because there is complete, beautiful silence while everyone chews. In all seriousness, I aspire for it to be a time when our little family can gather around a table, eat, and catch up about our days. We have a "no technology" rule, so phones are off limits during dinner. We try to sit down together, but I admit that the girls sometimes end up eating before us.

shredded grilled chicken, sweet potato fries, peaches and salad

I usually make the girls the same thing we have, occasionally with a few tweaks. For instance, last night Steve and I had chicken caesar salads so I just cut up the chicken for the girls with some shredded cheese and gave them each a side veggie and a side fruit.

 
left: minced up steak, rice, broccoli // right: cheesy rice (like knorrs), grilled chicken, peas

There's no "clear your plate" rule here, but I do ask that Carrie (and will do the same for Hadley when she gets a bit older) eat a decent amount of each food before she gets dessert. Dessert is always the driving factor around these parts, and I am not above a bribe. Carrie loves Outshine fruit & veggie ice pops, but she only gets one if she's given a good effort to trying what's on her plate. For instance, she'll polish off a fruit within seconds, but she must also eat at least a few bites of her protein and veggie to earn dessert. Then, when she says she's full, that's fine by me!

a lunch example: all natural pb & j crackers, fresh peaches, shredded cheese

We're far from an organic-only, all natural household but the girls drink organic milk and I try to steer clear of artificial dyes or lots of ingredients I can't pronounce/extra sugar. Like most families, we have limited and sometimes frenzied time in the evenings so dinners are usually simple but we try to make them somewhat wholesome. Some nights are better than others. :) One night it might be steak, veggies, and potatoes and one night it's a grilled cheese and applesauce pouch. It's all about balance, right?

we don't do hot dogs too often but Applegate makes good ones, plus sweet potato fries & creamed corn

I know every family does things differently and I also know every family probably has their own genius tips and tricks, so I'd love to hear... how do you do dinner? What has worked well for you? 

PLUS! Here are some more ideas for simple toddler dinners:

scrambled eggs (my girls love them!), whole grain toast, turkey sausage

meatballs, spaghetti, broccoli

baked chicken, potatoes, peas

homemade pizzas - veggies on top or a side salad (do your kids like salad?)

chicken and veggie quesadillas sliced up, side of fruit

soup with the "guts" scooped out (C loves chicken noodle, H did well with chili)

grilled pb&j with carrot sticks and side of fruit

black beans, brown rice, chilled corn



2 comments:

  1. Thank you for more toddler meal ideas. I am always struggling with changing it up for them.

    ReplyDelete

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