What Busy Moms Feed Their Kids – Part 2

Hi Friends!

This whole week pretty much revolves around food since it’s Thanksgiving tomorrow, right? So I thought it’d be a good time to share another roundup of what some of my favorite busy moms feed their kids!

If you like this post, be sure to check out What Registered Dietitians Feed Their Kids and What Busy Moms Feed Their Kids – Part 1! Hope this gives you moms out there some new food ideas!

 

Brittany
Delights and Delectables (delightsanddelectables.com)
“Baby Delight” 8 months

1. What do your children typically eat for breakfast?
Right now, he is still mainly on formula.  However, about 1 hour after his morning bottle he has some form of “big kid” food.  That is when I introduce new foods every 4 days.

2. What do they typically eat for lunch?
Formula.  We pretend it is filet mignon though.  😉

3. Do you all sit down as a family for dinner?
Yes!  We want to institute that early in life.  We do the best we can with him.  Dinner is usually his “witching hour” so it can get interesting.

4. What happens if they don’t like what you’re making for dinners?
We try, try again.  I am dealing with trying to decide if he has a food allergy or intolerance to certain foods, or if he just doesn’t like them.  Right now, he despises bananas.  I plan to reintroduce them in a couple of weeks.  The key is patience…. Sometimes it takes several introductions to a new food before they like it.

5. What are the kids’ favorite snacks? What are some snacks you never leave the house without?
His favorite foods right now are sweet potato and avocado.  We aren’t really doing portable snacks right now, but I always make sure to have extra formula with me!

6.  Are any foods off limits?
We aren’t doing any gluten or grains until he is older.  Our doctor told us of some new research that suggests this keeps babies from developing food allergies.  Since I have a ton of allergies, I want to keep Baby D allergy free if possible!  Plus, we aren’t sure if there are food allergies in his family history.

7. Any tips for picky eaters?
Keep trying and be patient.  Sometimes it can be a sensory or texture issue.  Someone told me it could take up to 30 times before a child accepts the food.

8. Do any of your kids have food allergies? How do you deal with that both at home and when in public?
Not yet!! Fingers crossed!!

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Courtney
Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life (www.sweettoothsweetlife.com)
Lucas, 13 months

1. What do your children typically eat for breakfast?
Full fat yogurt, banana, and a pancake

2. What do they typically eat for lunch?
PB&J on whole wheat bread, homemade chicken meatballs with peas and carrots, homemade spinach mac & cheese, and deli turkey with string cheese are a few favorites these days.

3. Do you all sit down as a family for dinner?
We try really hard to all sit together, but 90% of the time, it’s usually Lucas eating while at least one of us sits with him. As hard as we try, we aren’t always able to get his food AND our food on the table at the same time.

4. What happens if they don’t like what you’re making for dinners?
We might attempt to feed it to him a different way (sometimes he won’t want to pick it up himself, but he’ll eat it with a fork, etc.) but if he’s really not into it, we’ll usually go to one of his typical lunch favorites. And some nights, all he wants is blueberries and Cheerios. It happens.

5. What are the kids’ favorite snacks? What are some snacks you never leave the house without?
Cheerios are a MUST for us right now. Fruit and veggie food pouches are also great for on-the-go snacks (although we need to watch him with them now because he likes to squirt them anywhere but in his mouth).

6. Are any foods off limits?
Not really at this point, but limit the added sugars/sweets to special occasions.

7. Any tips for picky eaters?
Sometimes, adding a little butter or cheese and extra spices to veggies has made a huge difference for Lucas.

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Jess Allen
Blonde Ponytail (blondeponytail.com)
Jada, 15 months

1. What do your children typically eat for breakfast?
Fruit (usually a banana), cheerios, sometimes pancakes if I can get my act together and cook! Things she can feed herself, as she is Miss Independent now! 😉

2. What do they typically eat for lunch?
Chicken & peas (she love these), or if we are on-the-go, a Sunbutter & jelly sandwich on whole wheat with raspberries on the side. We also do whole milk with added DHA.

3. Do you all sit down as a family for dinner?
We try to, but my husband is a baseball coach, so his hours can get late! For dinner, she loves turkey burgers and Amy’s organic veggie bowls, so I try to play into her veggie interest as much as possible.

4. What happens if they don’t like what you’re making for dinners?
I usually default to a pre-made pouch from Happy Tots or Plum. Right now, she is teething, so soft foods seem to be preferable.

5. What are the kids’ favorite snacks?
What are some snacks you never leave the house without? Again, the pre-made pouches, Cheerios or puffs, and usually a cereal bar. Plus, her water bottle!

6. Are any foods off limits?
Because Jada is only 15 months, no choking hazards like hot dogs, raw veggies, chips, candy, etc. Otherwise, I let her try sweets, not too many, but she’s a big fan of ice cream like her mama. 😉

7. Any tips for picky eaters?
Make it fun by encouraging independence. I let her feed herself as much as she can. I also always try to sit down and eat with her, so it’s a family experience.

8. Do any of your kids have food allergies?
She had a reaction to peanut butter early on, so we stick with almond butter and Sunbutter. Usually, people are really good about asking what she can & can’t have, especially since she is so young.

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Melanie Flinn
Nutritious Eats (nutritiouseats.com)
Lucas 7, Sage 5, Roman 2, and Evangeline 9 months

1. What do your children typically eat for breakfast?
They rotate between scrambled eggs and toast, cereal, oatmeal, pancakes, breakfast tacos, and bagels with cream cheese. In addition, they have yogurt every single morning- they are obsessed, and often fruit.

2. What do they typically eat for lunch?

Main entree is usually one of the following:

• Homemade “lunchables” with cheese, crackers, and uncured, nitrate-free ham or turkey
• Sandwiches: egg and cheese, uncured ham or turkey and cheese or peanut butter and jelly
• Leftover pasta-either pesto, marinara or mac n’ cheese
• Soup
• Breakfast tacos-usually potato and egg made in the morning before school

Sides (I give them 2 or 3 sides depending on the day):

• Hummus and crackers
• Tortilla chips or pretzels
• Fruit (they eat every type)
• Nuts
• Granola bars- both homemade and store-bought
• Snack balls
• Carrots sticks or cherry tomatoes

The baby is eating mostly finger food with the addition of a little pureed baby food. She eats all the soft table food we eat like avocado, pita bread, hummus, potato, chicken, pesto pasta, cheese pizza, fruits and tons of veggies—she loves them all!

3. Do you all sit down as a family for dinner?
Yes, every night. Since the baby has to go to bed the earliest we aim to eat at 5:45pm so that we can all sit together.

4. What happens if they don’t like what you’re making for dinners?
It doesn’t happen often because I usually cook things I know they like. However, if it’s something new and they don’t think they like it, I encourage (or rather make) them try at least one bite. If I am cooking something that isn’t their favorite, I always include at least one food item I know they like. For example, if I make a seafood and pasta dish with marinara, I know they don’t like seafood but they love pasta so I’d simply set aside some plain marinara. I always have frozen veggies on hand if they don’t like the fresh veggies I am cooking with and I have no problem defrosting what they like. That’s about as far as I cater to them.

5. What are the kids’ favorite snacks? What are some snacks you never leave the house without?
They love crunchy stuff like Pirate Booty, pretzels, gold fish, or Annie’s brand snacks. They also love any kind of fruit and nuts (mostly cashews and pistachios), granola bars (typically homemade Lara bars), homemade fruit or nut snack balls.

6. Are any foods off limits?
Not really. I refuse to buy highly processed foods or things with artificial dyes. However, if they are offered those sorts of things at school parties, birthday parties, soccer games, etc. they are allowed to eat them. Obviously we aim to keep those as very occasional foods.

7. Any tips for picky eaters?
If they are under 2 years old, just be patient. Food tastes change all the time. Plus, everyone has different preferences so you can’t force them to like something just because you like it. If they are 2+ years and old enough to help you in the kitchen, absolutely get them involved. This always helps my kids to be more open to trying new foods.

8. Do any of your kids have food allergies? How do you deal with that both at home and when in public?
My 2 year old has an egg allergy. It’s not very serious, but as he continues to test positive, I avoid giving him whole eggs and I often bake with flax as an egg substitute. He can tolerate eggs in baked goods in small amounts so it hasn’t been a huge issue thus far.

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Enjoy!
–Lindsay–