Feeding 1.5 &4 year old

sillysocks

Would people like to share any recipes of ideas for what their toddlers/young kids eat for lunches and dinners?

Mine aren't great eaters but want to try expand what they eat in the new year. They are 1.5 and 4 years old. Neither will eat veg, although will eat it if it's blended up or are part of a sauce.

At the moment they pretty much eat different things every day but would be much handier to get them onto eating the same dinners to save prep etc.

Have an Anabel Karmel book it looking for some tried and tested ideas!

lazygal

I sound cruel but I don't pander to fussy eating and we've always been a one dinner/lunch/breakfast household. There'd be some things one would eat that the other wouldn't like as much but I serve the same food for all and that's it, no buffet of options. I don't think they'll starve and once they try a bit of everything I don't worry too much. We cook mostly from scratch so I'm happy they're eating healthy food. I use a few Jamie Oliver Ministry of Food recipes if you can get the book.

galah

That's pretty much the same here, 11 months old and 3 year old. I refuse to cook several separate meals, but they can always have yoghurt or fruit if they dont like dinner -provided they give it a try at least. The older one has always been good with food, just recently started to be a bit funny refusing his dinners (even some i know he loves and eats), probably just a control thing. Baby gets everything we eat, just pureed or mashed (i leave out salt and really hot spices in all my cooking), and i havent heard him complain yet.

Jamie's ministry of food is a life saver. what always works is roast veg, like squash, sweet potato etc. pasta another favourite, so are stews - with the added bonus that you can freeze these as well.

pwurple

My 9 month old and 3yr old eat what we eat.

Weekdays we all work/school/creche... And have our lunches there. They give the children meat or fish with veg and potato, pasta or curry.

Weekday Evenings for us is usually soup, salad or sandwiches.

Weekends I have more time so it is something slowcooked / roasted, or fun... Like homemade pizza.

I find involving them in the prep gives them an real interest in trying new things. My 3 year old makes some Mega-interesting salads for us to eat. Grapes with goat cheese and lettuce was her last one.

sillysocks

Thanks for the replies so far. Think I actually have that Jamie Oliverbook so must root it out and find some things in it.

I think it's going to be a big battle, especially with the 4 year old, to start eating better now but would like to try in the new year.

If anyone else has suggestions/recipes/tactics I'd love to hear them!

How Strange

I'm firmly in the camp that everyone eats the same food. I've got two children of the same age and the almost 4 year old has a tendency to be fussy.

The thing I've noticed as the biggest deciding factor is snacking. If I don't let him snack too much he usually eats quite well. If he snacks then he's not hungry enough and he picks at his food. He also has a very small appetite unlike his 20 month old sister who eats pretty much everything and lots of it.

Both of them were hungry this evening and ate a fairly spicy curry with rice. The 4 year old didn't eat a lot but the main thing is he tried it.

pwurple

The snacking is probably right.. But another massive difference I think is parental pestering.

We eat regularly enough with a family where all the kids are fussy eaters. The mum is fairly full-on freaked out about food. Every bite they eat is coached. "That's it now, eat some peas now... Not too much potato, have some protein, now more brocolli. I'll give you a biscuit if you eat a vegetable". It actually puts me off my own food!

My own go through fussy patches where they won't eat something or other, or have a few not hungry days, but I just ignore it. It passes. The other mum writes it up as a list of yet another food they won't eat, and tries to hide veg in fish fingers... Insisting they don't eat anything green. When the kids come over to my house on their own... They eat what the rest of us eat. If the mom is there... World war 3 over what is on the plates.

braddun

http://www.parents.com/kids/nutrition/healthy-eating/get-your-kids-to-eat-better/

sillysocks

See it sounds great in theory to say give them what we eat but because I've fallen into the habit of not doing that I think it might be abattoir. We need to change our own eating too I think and that will make it more suitable for family meals but if anyone has specific suggestions of dishes that go down well (and don't take an age to prepare) I'd be very grateful.

Gee_G

sillysocks wrote: »

See it sounds great in theory to say give them what we eat but because I've fallen into the habit of not doing that I think it might be abattoir. We need to change our own eating too I think and that will make it more suitable for family meals but if anyone has specific suggestions of dishes that go down well (and don't take an age to prepare) I'd be very grateful.

Spag bol or Meatballs is a favorite here with my 2.5year old and have been for a long time, chicken curry(although he doesn't eat mine, he loves the one in creche for some reason!!) We all love risotto and its a great way of hiding meat/veg plus it takes no time at all to prepare, especially if you've some leftover meat from the day before and frozen veggies/stir fry veg!

sillysocks

Thanks. The 4 year old loves the Anabel Karmel hidden veg pasta sauce so the spag bol could be a hit.

If the kids don't eat at dinner would you give them anything before bed or just leave them until the morning? I know they won't starve from one meal but have a feeling there might be a bit of a fight for a few weeks!

Gee_G

sillysocks wrote: »

Thanks. The 4 year old loves the Anabel Karmel hidden veg pasta sauce so the spag bol could be a hit.

If the kids don't eat at dinner would you give them anything before bed or just leave them until the morning? I know they won't starve from one meal but have a feeling there might be a bit of a fight for a few weeks!

I'd give him something before bed but not a different dinner, I'd give him toast or fruit and yoghurt or something(you dont want them waking up hungry either!) bit I wouldn't give them a second choice of something they "like" instead of what you've made for the family as they will get cute to that and your heart will be broke making different meals!!

seventeen sheep

sillysocks wrote: »

If the kids don't eat at dinner would you give them anything before bed or just leave them until the morning? I know they won't starve from one meal but have a feeling there might be a bit of a fight for a few weeks!

Maybe focus on changing one meal at a time? It's probably more important for them to have a big substantial lunch to keep them going for the afternoon ... so how about giving them a good big lunch of food that you know they like and will eat, then no snacks until dinner time, so hopefully they'll be good and hungry. Offer it to them. If they don't eat it, don't coax them, don't force them and don't show any real interest - just eat your own portion, and let them leave the table when they're ready. I'd be inclined not to allow any snacks afterwards (at least not for the first few weeks) - a glass of milk before bed if they're really hungry.

I think it's so important for them to learn to eat whole veg! I would say no more purees or sauces for the moment - offer them dinners consisting of a wide variety of veg, along with a small portion of meat. Nothing else filling like rice or pasta etc for now. They'll eat the meat (hopefully) so won't be starving altogether, but if they're hungry enough, they'll just have to eat the veg as well. For the variety of veg, use the frozen bags of mixed veg (and look out for special offers!) There will likely be quite a bit of wastage at first, but it'll be worth it in the long run.

Oh and don't allow drinks with dinner - for now, anyways - it'll just fill them up. Also, make sure you and your partner are eating and drinking the exact same.

Disclaimer - my son is only a year old, so I could well give completely different advice in a few years - perhaps the above is very harsh? I'm just trying to think what I'd (theoretically!) do in your position.

My own parents were very much the type who'd do the whole "open your mouth for the airplane" thing when we were toddlers, and who'd go mad if we ever left the table without clearing our plates as we were growing up. They would pander to all of the likes and dislikes of myself and my six siblings - so my mother would often make a few different dinners each night, to please all of us. Result - a family of mostly very picky fussy eaters! I'm determined not to let my own children turn out that way.

RentDayBlues

I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 10 month old, both eat everything we eat. I did baby led weaning with both and have never puréed anything, it was fill meals from the start.

The only difference in any of our meals would be a spicier version for us.

The 2 1/2 year old is going through a messing with her food phase but the rule I have is, if you don't eat it there are no alternatives. Somedays she'll eat it, other days she won't. She makes up for it at the next meal

I really do believe blw has been the reason for their eating habits, we never fed them ourselves and if they didn't eat we didn't worry about it, if they were hungry they would eat. We're going sushi on New Years eve as a family, they love it!

As others have said I involve them where possible in cooking and there are some meals that go down better than others: stew, bolognese, meatballs, fish pie, risotto.

They get 3 meals and 1 snack per day, snack is generally natural yogurt or fruit, any more than that and they won't eat their main meals

I never ate veg until I left home, that was pandered to, I refuse to allow that to happen here!

sillysocks

They're fairly ok at lunch and breakfast I think.
Breakfast is one weetbix and milk each. The older one is in Montessori so for ouch tree normally has a sandwich, fruit, cheese and maybe yogurt. Younger might have scrambled egg or toast or mashed banana.

It's just dinners I'm in a rut with really.
The older on is great for fruit, will eat any kind of fruit I give her. Younger lad will have mashed banana and that's about it. He's ok with fruit purée but not actual pieces of fruit.

Might start with fish pie, they used to eat that and see what happens!

cyning

I'm doing blw here too... I hate boiled veg mostly. Maybe try honey roasted carrots and parsnips, roasted sweet potato wedges, corn on the cob... Might be the texture: I thought for years I didn't like veg, it was the texture I'm not a fan of!

Raw veg maybe too: raw carrots with hummus or yogurt to dip it into. My 2.5 year old is going through a fierce fussy stage so we are doing all of the above. She loves the dipping!

I wouldn't personally start leaving out the carbs etc: all food is important. I wonder would a reward chart for trying new things work for your 4.5 year old?

kandr10

I got this recipe from boards a whole back and it's been a great hit. Really easy to prepare.
http://www.babyledweaning.com/blw-recipes/alisons-lentil-and-cheese-wedges/
I sometimes put bits of roasted veg in too.
Soups are a good way to get veg in too as you can blend them if you want to hide them. At least they're getting the flavour of the veg and eventually might take to a piece of the veg whole. You can add beans or spaghetti or meat to bulk it out.
Roasting vegetables of any kind makes them tastier and sweeter. Sweet potato, parsnip, carrot, butternut squash, peppers, tomato, courgette, aubergine all work well roasted with a bit of oil on. If they didn't like the whole bits of veg you could add the rest to a soup or tomato sauce so there'd be less waste. It's a quick way to prepare veg too.

Fish pie, shepherds pie, stew, spag Bol, pasta bake are all relatively fuss free.

If you find stuff that works would you mind updating? I'm always looking for ideas! Good luck

Hannibal Smith

Different kids have different tastes. We did the whole spag bol thing but now the 5 year old won't touch it unless its meatball style. then the 3 year old won't eat cheese or ham so lunch times can be a bit of a head scratcher.

They're both adventurous enough to give anything a go but the 5 year old has decided veggies aren't for him and the 3 year old is following suit. so for lunch I make them a homemade veggie soup, stocked with broccoli, carrots, parsnips etc blitz it and serve it to them with bread. we call it 'mums dipping soup' (we don't dare mention vegetables) and the happily scoff it all the time telling me how much they hate vegetables

How Strange

Bolognaise is always a big hit here as is chicken and noodle stirfry, ratatouille or anything in a tomato based sauce so I'd do a big casserole with veg, chicken legs and drumsticks most weeks.

I personally don't stress about vegetables. It seems kids universally dislike them so perhaps it's something they get to like as they get older. My son will (sometimes) eat ratatouille, red cabbage and broccoli but hates peas and sweet corn. My daughter hates the texture of broccoli and cauliflower but will try most other veg if the mood takes her. However I much prefer they eat their meat/fish as that's the most nutritious. I always put veg on their plate and ask them to taste. Once they taste it then I don't push it any further. I think they'll come around as they get older if they see that's normal food that everyone in the family eats.

Sitting down and eating as a family, trusting that they're full when they say they are and not allowing too much snacking/grazing seems to be working for us. Somedays we wonder why we bother when it ends up in crying and tantrums but hopefully it'll be worth it in the end.

Rosy Posy

Our kids love chilli con carne- put loads of veg in and make a massive amount which can be made into nachos, enchilada, burritos, tacos, quesadilla...you get the picture.

Egg fried rice- lots of veg and nuts and soy sauce. Omelettes. Macaroni cheese. Pizza. Roast meat and veg and potatoes. Soup. Casserole. Potato gratin with veg and bacon in between the layers. Risotto. Paella. Pulled pork with apple slaw. Fish pie. Fishcakes. Sausages and mash and onion gravy (with vegetables in the gravy. Sushi. Savoury Bread and Butter Pudding. Buckwheat crepes (gallettes).

I usually put out a plate of cucumber and carrot at dinner as well so that they'll definitely get some veg in if they decide to eat around the veg on their plate. Kevin Dundon's Great Family Food is a good book that I use quite often. There are some good leftover recipes too. We do BLW and pretty much feed our kids the same food as we're eating from when they start solids. In saying that there's a lot of foods that I have mostly given up since having kids- I used to have a lot more salads, curries and grains like quioa and buckwheat. I think if my oh was more into them I might have stood a better chance of getting them into the house. Any kind of experimentation is met with dismay and where I used to be passionate about cooking now it's a bit dull. I'm hoping that will change as they get a bit older!

Sligo1

All these recipes sound amazing! Makes me feel boring and unadventurous. All I ever really serve is some sort of meat/fish with spuds and vege... The spuds and veg are hardly ever eaten by my 2yo. I wpuld find it very hard to find the time to cook that amazing food . That's why I try to make easy stuff that I can throw in oven with barely in preparation... Otherwise we would be eating take aways.... Which I wouldn't feed the kids....

Hannibal Smith

Sligo1 wrote:

All these recipes sound amazing! Makes me feel boring and unadventurous. All I ever really serve is some sort of meat/fish with spuds and vege... The spuds and veg are hardly ever eaten by my 2yo. I wpuld find it very hard to find the time to cook that amazing food . That's why I try to make easy stuff that I can throw in oven with barely in preparation... Otherwise we would be eating take aways.... Which I wouldn't feed the kids....

whatever works for you is the way to go!

Rosy Posy

Sligo1 wrote: »

All these recipes sound amazing! Makes me feel boring and unadventurous. All I ever really serve is some sort of meat/fish with spuds and vege... The spuds and veg are hardly ever eaten by my 2yo. I wpuld find it very hard to find the time to cook that amazing food . That's why I try to make easy stuff that I can throw in oven with barely in preparation... Otherwise we would be eating take aways.... Which I wouldn't feed the kids....

Most of them are one pot wonders that if you can make in bulk will do two or more nights. Tbh we have the odd takeaway which I don't think is too bad for the kids, especially if it's better quality.

kandr10

Sligo1 wrote: »

All these recipes sound amazing! Makes me feel boring and unadventurous. All I ever really serve is some sort of meat/fish with spuds and vege... The spuds and veg are hardly ever eaten by my 2yo. I wpuld find it very hard to find the time to cook that amazing food . That's why I try to make easy stuff that I can throw in oven with barely in preparation... Otherwise we would be eating take aways.... Which I wouldn't feed the kids....

Nothing wrong with that at all! Your kids will thank you when they're older for cooking fresh.

I'm coming at it from a slightly different perspective as a vegetarian as we don't eat the meat and two veg kind of dinners often . It's one pot wonders a lot for us too. I leave the veg chunky for the baby so she gets the taste of them. Luckily she doesn't seem to be too fussy generally. However When I give her plain carrots and broccoli steamed or boiled she picks them up and nibbles at them but doesn't really get stuck in in the same way as when it's chopped up.

Sligo1

Yea well that's the thing I spose. I do cook fresh everyday and they've never had frozen food. Had so many people telling me I'm mad cooking fresh everyday. But sometimes I keep some leftover pots in the fridge for the following day or 2 in case me and hubby can have an Indian . I have to say tho, I love hearing all these lovely recipes! I think I'm going to keep them in mind for when T starts Montessori next year and I will be having "slightly" less busy mornings .

fro9etb8j5qsl2

I'd love to give my little fella whatever we eat but I'd be too worried about salt content. I love cooking from scratch and I'd rarely add actual salt to meals but I usually use stock/soup powder or soy sauce in my casseroles and curries. Am I worrying unnecessarily? He's almost 11 months now and a great eater but I'm tired of doing the big batch cooks for him and the space they take up in the freezer.

cyning

Would you make your own stocks instead of batch cooking maybe? Stock cubes etc are very high in salt.

seventeen sheep

You can get special stock cubes in Boots especially for babies that are low in salt.

I'm (way too!) fond of salt, though, so would probably add a dash of salt at the very end, after removing the baby's portion.

Sligo1

Jacqueline Rhythmic Landlord wrote: »

I'd love to give my little fella whatever we eat but I'd be too worried about salt content. I love cooking from scratch and I'd rarely add actual salt to meals but I usually use stock/soup powder or soy sauce in my casseroles and curries. Am I worrying unnecessarily? He's almost 11 months now and a great eater but I'm tired of doing the big batch cooks for him and the space they take up in the freezer.

I'm terrible for this! I used to add salt to everything. But don't add it now when I'm cooking because of the kids. But I do use a lot of gravy and stock when I'm making casseroles, shepherds pie etc. I just give them what we eat. I think everything in moderation is fine. I have to say tho.... My 9 month old won't actually eat her dinner without gravy on it! Which I know has loads of salt... So I'm worried about this. I would put gravy on her dinner nearly everyday... She won't eat without it.... This does concern me I have to say,

lazygal

Sligo1 wrote: »

I'm terrible for this! I used to add salt to everything. But don't add it now when I'm cooking because of the kids. But I do use a lot of gravy and stock when I'm making casseroles, shepherds pie etc. I just give them what we eat. I think everything in moderation is fine. I have to say tho.... My 9 month old won't actually eat her dinner without gravy on it! Which I know has loads of salt... So I'm worried about this. I would put gravy on her dinner nearly everyday... She won't eat without it.... This does concern me I have to say,

Could you slowly reduce the amount over a few weeks? So you don't stop giving it all at once, but phase it out.

fro9etb8j5qsl2

It probably would make more sense to make homemade stock instead of the batch cooking. I use the baby stock cubes when I'm cooking for the baby but they're nowhere near salty enough for me :pac: I hadn't thought of using them and putting salt in for the adults later, I might give that a go.

Sligo my OH was a ridiculously fussy eater as a child and apparently for years the only dinner he would only eat was chicken or fishfingers with mash and veg, all doused in white sauce :rolleyes: Even now he only eats poultry and the odd bit of fish which drives me mad sometimes cos I'm a pure carnivore I agree that everything in moderation is ok but it's a pain in the arsè that there's no indication or real way of telling if they're getting too much salt