What's for Dinner?

[AwakenedMama]

"What's for Dinner?" threads are always fun - I've seen them on parenting and foodie forums. I thought it'd be fun to have one here - but on this one, we want to know what your toddler is eating!

Last night, we went out for dinner. Kiddo (15 months) had some cottage cheese, a piece of bread (which she calls "breh"), water, and a little bit of ground beef from my plate. And then lots and lots of breastmilk when we got home because I was away from her all day!

[Giselle]

Oh fun!

Tonight we are having ground beef with beans dish, rice and corn on the side. Last night she (my 3 yr old) had a mix of snack (veggies, dried fruits, pita, crackers) and chicken. My son is 12 mos, but eats very little compared to my daughter. He'll probably have some ground beef and beans tonight from the dinner.

[apimarianne]

Fun idea!

Can I lovingly borrow this for the Childhood forum?

[APIRachel]

Well, tonight hubby and I will be having a butternut squash, spinach and lentil curry over brown rice...

YUM!

Cora will probably eat mac and cheese with broccoli...She is not very adventurous.

Rachel

[bluebonnet]

Oh...if only my toddler would eat something (anything) on a regular basis that wasn't a munchkin do-nut!:eek: Tonight she had 5 fish sticks, a bite of applesauce and 2 bites of potato and about 15 whole grain gold fish crackers.

I, on the other hand, had bacon carbonara pasta (think cheesy bacon sauce) over yummy Barilla plus pasta w/ mixed veggies. Makes me want seconds just thinking of it!

When do toddlers actually start to eat the food the rest of the family is eating?? I keep waiting for that... I offer every day, but she just smiles and say, "No."

[Aloha Baby]

Oh...if only my toddler would eat something (anything) on a regular basis that wasn't a munchkin do-nut!:eek: Tonight she had 5 fish sticks, a bite of applesauce and 2 bites of potato and about 15 whole grain gold fish crackers.

I, on the other hand, had bacon carbonara pasta (think cheesy bacon sauce) over yummy Barilla plus pasta w/ mixed veggies. Makes me want seconds just thinking of it!

When do toddlers actually start to eat the food the rest of the family is eating?? I keep waiting for that... I offer every day, but she just smiles and say, "No."

Hey, that's 5 more fish sticks than mine will eat! LOL G had LOTS of breast milk this evening & not much else since I work on Sundays. But tomorrow, hmm, chicken something. Who knows?

But, I always give him what we're having for dinner. If he eats it, awesome, if not then he has to wait a bit then he can have a snack. :) I always try to make sure that I make something that he likes (meaning he ate it once before, but that doesn't mean he'll eat it again) so he usually eats a little. But if he doesn't eat much then his snack can be pretty filling. Fruit with some cereal or crackers & cheese & ham etc.

[Piol]

Yesterday our dinner was pork chops with rice and green beans. Both the children ate a bit of everything. DS preferred the meat, and DD preferred the rice.

[Piol]

When do toddlers actually start to eat the food the rest of the family is eating?? I keep waiting for that... I offer every day, but she just smiles and say, "No."

Just keep offering, and one day I am sure she will. :) Do you make separate food for her? Or do you serve the same dinner to everyone?

[bluebonnet]

I know that eventually she'll eat food consistently...I'm just curious how long this toddler stages lasts..:p

We always offer her what we are eating and once she refuses it, then we'll make her something else. Breakfast is usually a hit. She likes a lot of normal breakfast foods. And..I am seeing some progress...she actually ate a tuna sandwhich for lunch yesterday! Yeah!!!!:D

[Giselle]

I know that eventually she'll eat food consistently...I'm just curious how long this toddler stages lasts..:p



I know what you mean...I think for us, it wasn't until a few months ago that my 3 year old finally started eating really well at meals. But, I'm sure I just jinx it! ;)

[sapphos]

last night we had half of a very large avocado, a organic chicken, sauteed potatoes and onions, and steamed carrots! DD LOVES avocado. And then once we were finished she got her "milks" with mommy :D

[althara]

Last night we went out for Japanese food. Kaylee loved the gyoza and my chicken yaki-udon. She also had a bit of my unagi roll.

She ate a surprisingly large amount last night, but I think she's getting ready to sprout again.

[Giselle]

Oh, now I am really really hungry for Japanese food. Yum!

[WTurtle]

tonight we have having rotini bake. it's like lasagna but I use rotini noodles instead. Trevor 2 will eat it all and Rylie 1 will eat the noodles and some veggie chips, she's my picky eater, good thing she still likes breastmilk :D

[Lisa2976]

Tonight is turkey tacos w/black beans, and whatever dh added as side dishes. I'm hiding out in the basement while he does dinner and bath. :)

[JennifaBest]

Tonight we're having linguine with sauteed mushrooms, onions, spinach, and tomatoes...

Okay, I admit... I'm totally just cleaning out the produce bin in my fridge, sauteeing it and throwing over pasta.

There's also a leftover slice of pizza that's been kicking around. I think I'll warm that up and give it to DH with his. And I'll throw a salad together with whatever else I find.

[AwakenedMama]

We traveled all day, so just ran around the corner to a nice Indian place. All 3 of us shared mulligatawny, lamb tikka masala, peas & potatoes, rice, and some sort of homemade cheese & pistachio dessert. Kiddo (15 months) really loved the rice and fed herself quite well with a spoon! And she ate off of a plate, instead of just the bare table, which is a big step forward for us (we've always just put her food on the table, sure that she would throw the entire plate or bowl onto the floor). And she liked it enough to stay in her high chair through the entire meal instead of wanting to run around the restaurant saying hi to all the other diners (her usual MO).

[AwakenedMama]

Can I lovingly borrow this for the Childhood forum?

Of course! Have fun with it!

[Corrina]

My almost three year old will sometimes eat everything in sight and then other times only wants cheddar bunnies. Whadya do? ;)

Tonight we're having grilled salmon which Maeve will usually eat. She calls it orange chicken but whatever gets the job done, right? I'm making a mustard greens casserole to go along with the fish. I can't decide if I think she'll eat it or not. Basically, you blend eggs, ricotta, parm in a bowl, saute mushrooms and garlic in butter, then wilt the greens in the same pan, mix the egg stuff with the green stuff, dump it in a casserole, top it with crushed ritz and bake it for 50 minutes. I can't wait to eat it. I'll report back with how it goes over the babe and the hubs. Wish me luck!

Here's a link to the recipe if anyone's interested! http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_30570,00.html

[Giselle]

Tonight we're having grilled salmon which Maeve will usually eat. She calls it orange chicken but whatever gets the job done, right?

I love that! :D It's so cute.

[mama_in_PA]

Our two oldest (9 and 5) are picky eaters. I try to make meals with several dishes so they can pick and choose what they want. I was so dishearted after several nights consecutively of, "EEEWWWW, I don't like that!" which our 3 year old began to pick up as well. So we came up with a new system that works much better and helps them with their communication too. Rather than saying something rude when they don't like what we're having, they can say, "no thank you" and only take what they want. I love this because I'm not left with a bitter feeling that they're ungrateful little maggots and they're learning to be aware that what they say can hurt someone else's feelings.

[AwakenedMama]

... because I'm not left with a bitter feeling that they're ungrateful little maggots and they're learning to be aware that what they say can hurt someone else's feelings.

Ouch!! It is frustrating when you work so hard to cook something and others don't want it. I find that I really take it personally--because I love to cook and really want to nourish my family. My husband is the picky one in my family.

I like that you've found a way to respect their food interests and also encourage gentle communication.

I've tried to do the same in my family. I try to offer things that I know people will like, and to stop taking it hard if they don't want to try it! I've recently learned some things that make me realize that being picky is not a behavioral problem -- people who are picky truly don't like or aren't interested in trying new things -- and that deserves to be respected (as hard as that can be for me, who grew up expected to try everything and clean my plate).

Last night, we had leftovers - everything in our house right now is nourishing, so no hard feelings on what people chose to eat!

DD had a piece of fine raw sheep's milk cheese from Spain :D and lots of fresh raw human milk to go with it.

[AwakenedMama]

Last night - rye crackers, steak, and lots of ice! Her new thing is taking all of the ice out of our cups and putting it on the table or whatever, and tasting or eating a few of the pieces.

[loveleighbird]

I like this thread! Too fun! Tonight we are having leftovers from what I made yesterday in the slow cooker while our son was napping only because I don't like to handle raw meat when he's around as he still toddles into things or tries to climb on something while I'm occupied with cooking. :) Our son won't be eating it with us though as my husband and I are very strict about what he eats and have been since he was started on solids at 6 months of age. His pediatrician told me that a pediatric allergist told her that it takes 7 days of eating something to fully develop an allergy to it (if one is going to develop), and I know from other things that I've read that it takes trying a new food 10-14 times to determine if you like it or not. So... our son has been getting a new food each Saturday since he was 6 months old (he is now 19 months old), and he doesn't seem to mind or know the difference. Of course now he eats most of what we eat as that is a bunch of weeks and new foods that we've given him. I have a BS in Food Science and Technology, and it just saddens me at the children these days that are overweight from improper nutrition. We opt for and budget ourselves for whole grains and organic when and where we can. Thankfully my mother-in-law has a garden going that she plans to do organic, so that will help. If anyone is interested in any more info about the scheduling of when it is age-appropriate to introduce foods in regards to digestion, etc. (some of the information I've collected has been from Dr. Sears The Baby Book and the book called Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron), please contact me. I'm not an expert, but I have done numerous research. :)

[Garden Mama]

Provided I have enough energy to make it, potato and bean soup is what's for dinner tonight. If I'm not, its frozen veggie pizza. I make a few different variations of potato soup. I always make it thick so it sticks easily to the spoon, makes it easier for the little ones to eat. Its filling too, and there's always leftovers.

[Megan]

This is such a great thread, I'm getting some good ideas!


Provided I have enough energy to make it, potato and bean soup is what's for dinner tonight. If I'm not, its frozen veggie pizza. I make a few different variations of potato soup. I always make it thick so it sticks easily to the spoon, makes it easier for the little ones to eat. Its filling too, and there's always leftovers.


Potato and bean soup sounds seriously delicious...I'd love a recipe is you're willing to share!

[PaxMamma]

my favorite meal is tonight--chicken fajitas!

i'll marinate then grill the chix, slice into strips, then sautee red and green peppers and onions in olive oil. sprinkle w/cheese and fold up into torillas. ds2 LOVES chicken, so he'll get mostly that. and, of course, pancakes for ds1...

[Arwyn]

Naked Baby (almost 13 months!) eats what we eat - maybe not everything (like if we go to Mexican, he's happy with as many black beans as we'll give him LOL), but always something we eat. Tonight I roasted a chicken with potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms, and he had some of everything. Tonight was great, though, because he was able to pick up food with his fork for the first time! The carrots and potatoes were the perfect consistency for him to stab and get to his mouth with the fork. He still mostly used his hands, but the fork thing was cool. :D

[Mama*Pisces]

Chicken with leftover roasted garlic cream sauce(with spinach in it), over brown rice.

Last night I made the sauce, added turkey meatballs, and put it over whole wheat spagghetti. DS is allergic to tomatoes, so I make this all the time instead. It's yummy. :p

Recipe thread, anyone? :D

[PaxMamma]

Chicken with leftover roasted garlic cream sauce(with spinach in it), over brown rice.
Recipe thread, anyone? :D

oooh! that sounds too yummy! PLEASE post the recipe!

[Megan]

Chicken with leftover roasted garlic cream sauce(with spinach in it), over brown rice.

Last night I made the sauce, added turkey meatballs, and put it over whole wheat spagghetti. DS is allergic to tomatoes, so I make this all the time instead. It's yummy. :p

Recipe thread, anyone? :D

Ooh a recipe thread would totally rock!!!

Tonight we did a "Deli buffet" we sliced some garlic sourdough bread and a couple different kinds of cheese and meat and munched away. Tomorrow I'm planning to make a nice stew in the slow cooker.

[Garden Mama]

This is such a great thread, I'm getting some good ideas!





Potato and bean soup sounds seriously delicious...I'd love a recipe is you're willing to share!

I have about three or four different variations of potato soup that I make. Here's the recipe for the potato/bean

About 10-12 small and medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes
1 can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
3 medium carrots, skinned and chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium cooking onion (yellow)
2 cloves garlic, chopped (or do what I do and toss in a scoop of minced garlic)
4 cups vegetable broth
3T butter
2T flour or corn starch (I prefer corn starch, makes a much thicker soup)
2 tsp dried dill
salt and pepper to taste

-Peel and quarter potatoes and boil until partially soft (about 15 minutes)
Chop the onions, celery, garlic, and carrots in butter until they are tender.
-Drain the potatoes, return to the pot and add the vegetable broth, dill, and sauteed vegetable mix. Return to boiling, add the rinsed beans, and reduce heat. Simmer for about 25 minutes. Add the flour or corn starch and stir into the soup and simmer a few minutes longer, until the soup becomes thicker.

Be sure to add a generous amount of salt to this soup, it can be kind of bland if you don't. My 20 month old loves potato soup and would happily eat it every day if I made it for him every day! This can also be done in a slow cooker if you boil the potatoes a little before you add them to it. I put it the slow cooker on High for about 3 hours.

[Mama*Pisces]

oooh! that sounds too yummy! PLEASE post the recipe!

K, forgive me, it's late and I need to go to bed so I can't type the whole thing out right now. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Broiled-Chicken-with-Roasted-Garlic-Sauce/Detail.aspx

Definitely, definitely roast the whole head of garlic, though I find it easier to just break the cloves apart, peel them , then throw them in foil with some olive oil(I also chop them before I put them in the sauce). I use plain rice milk instead of cow's milk(and dairy-free Smart Balance buttery spread instead of butter), which I have found makes sauces thinner than they normally would be, so I end up having to use a BUNCH more flour. The spinach(I used frozen) I just kind of eye-balled, I would say I used about half a cup.

This is a GREAT cream sauce, and it's low fat compared to most others, since they usually call for heavy cream. :)

[AwakenedMama]

I love the idea for a recipe thread!

Last night we had homemade chicken nuggets (chicken breasts coated in any type of milk and dredged in any type of flour then cooked at 400 with some coconut oil in the pan), fermented gingered carrots, and fried corn (just frozen corn sauteed in butter with salt and pepper). We flew home all day, and I had the nuggets frozen in the fridge, so it was a really great quick meal after a long day. And we were sooooo glad to not have to go out to eat ~again~.

[Megan]

I have about three or four different variations of potato soup that I make. Here's the recipe for the potato/bean



Thanks for sharing that sounds so good, I think I'm gonna work into my menu this week!

So I was planning on making a stew tonight, but I forgot to take the meat out to thaw, so that's out for today. I think we are going to bbq some pork chops instead, DS won't eat the pork chops (he's really picky about his meat) but he'll go to town on the baked potato and the dinner rolls!

[skueppers]

Tonight my toddler had turkey, mixed vegetables, and a little smidge of Stove Top stuffing. He liked the turkey best. :)

[Arwyn]

Tonight my toddler had turkey, mixed vegetables, and a little smidge of Stove Top stuffing. He liked the turkey best. :)
Naked Baby FLIPS for turkey! He was around 8mo at Thanksgiving and had been eating solids for less than a month, and he DEMANDED my turkey thigh leg. I don't think he actually at any/much turkey, but boy did he love gnawing and sucking on it. Chicken's good too, but nothing beats turkey in his eyes. :D

Last night we had leftover groundnut stew baked as a casserole - it's a tomato peanut sauce with chicken (and kale and mushrooms) over brown rice. It's one of the few things he'll just eat (instead of nibble and play with - although there was plenty of playing too ;) ).

[AwakenedMama]

I threw together a quick meal of leftover millet sauteed in coconut oil with salt and thyme and some chopped smoked salmon from Whole Foods. And we had oven "fried" sweet potatoes with it. Yummy and quick!

[Megan]

So yesterday we ended up out running errands and we all got hungry so we went to Chipotle for dinner- I was suprised at how much ds loved the burrito, he even ate the chicken- and he usually hates chicken!

So tonight we're having those pork chops I mentioned earlier, probably with artichokes, maybe mashed potatoes if I have time.

[Megan]

I have about three or four different variations of potato soup that I make. Here's the recipe for the potato/bean

About 10-12 small and medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes
1 can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
3 medium carrots, skinned and chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium cooking onion (yellow)
2 cloves garlic, chopped (or do what I do and toss in a scoop of minced garlic)
4 cups vegetable broth
3T butter
2T flour or corn starch (I prefer corn starch, makes a much thicker soup)
2 tsp dried dill
salt and pepper to taste

-Peel and quarter potatoes and boil until partially soft (about 15 minutes)
Chop the onions, celery, garlic, and carrots in butter until they are tender.
-Drain the potatoes, return to the pot and add the vegetable broth, dill, and sauteed vegetable mix. Return to boiling, add the rinsed beans, and reduce heat. Simmer for about 25 minutes. Add the flour or corn starch and stir into the soup and simmer a few minutes longer, until the soup becomes thicker.

Be sure to add a generous amount of salt to this soup, it can be kind of bland if you don't. My 20 month old loves potato soup and would happily eat it every day if I made it for him every day! This can also be done in a slow cooker if you boil the potatoes a little before you add them to it. I put it the slow cooker on High for about 3 hours.

WOW!!! We just finished having this soup for dinner tonight and IT ROCKED!! Dh had 2 big bowls, and declared it a complete success. Thanks for sharing!