Toddler Tastes - My Little Snacker

Looking back at my past "Toddler Tastes" posts, Noah has always been a pretty good eater.  I don't know if it's my lack of creativity or if Noah is just going through a phase, but he hasn't been into eating as many "meals" lately.  Instead, he prefers to snack throughout the day.  I try to keep these snacks on the healthier side, but it still feels weird when we sit down for meals and he has no interest.  Maybe we should force him to sit down with us even if he isn't hungry, but let's be honest, we are pretty laid back parents.  So instead, we let him get out of his chair and play.  I figure he's old enough to tell us when he's hungry, which he does by going to the fridge or pantry and asking for something.  The challenge I'm facing is providing him a variety of healthy snacks that he actually likes and will request.

grilled cheese, strawberries, green pepper, goldfish pretzels | chicken nuggets, strawberries, goldfish pretzels
wheat thins, cheese, pears | clementine, cheese quesadilla, goldfish pretzels

So far, his usual requests for snacks are cheese, greek yogurt, applesauce pouches, or some sort of bread (the healthier options), and fruit snacks, animal crackers, or popsicles (the less healthy options).  Those are just the things he will actually ask for.  I offer him waffles for breakfast and he will usually say yes.  I also offer him a smoothie after every nap and 99% of the time he enthusiastically says yes and then helps me make it.   I still make a plate for him at each meal, but often he will just leave it untouched.  He used to LOVE pasta, but 95% of the time won't even touch it now.  And just like many toddlers, one day he will love a certain meal, and the next time wants nothing to do with it (like my BBQ meatloaf)!

english muffin & peaches | chicken nuggets, clementines, cheese, animal crackers, fruit snacks
apple zucchini muffin, green peppers, clementine, goldfish pretzels
hard boiled egg, strawberries and grapes, yellow pepper, cucumber

He's just like me in that he will eat the SAME THING for days or even weeks and then one day he is sick of it and doesn't want it at all.  He did that with greek yogurt.  He ate it EVERY MORNING for breakfast and then one day just didn't want it.  We went for maybe two weeks without a single yogurt (making us throw out a few expired containers).  Then just recently he's started asking for one occasionally.  He did the same thing with the apple zucchini muffins.  I was making 2 dozen almost every week and he would eat at least 2 a day.  Then one day I offered him one and simply said no!   Thankfully, these are all just phases and he usually goes back to eating all of these items.


cheese, clementines, strawberries | clementines, apple sauce pouch, cheese & crackers | grilled cheese, apple sauce pouch, goldfish pretzels | smoothie, wheat thins, cheese, green pepper

I've also noticed that he's become pickier with the things he will eat now.  Chinese food has been a favorite of Noah's for a while now.  But recently, he won't eat the fried rice unless I take out all the extra stuff (peas, onions, and pork!).  Maybe I should just start giving him the white rice instead and see if he prefers that now!   When we eat dinner as a family, he likes us to each take a bite of the same food at the same time or all take a drink at the same time.  It's actually pretty cute and it gets him to eat more.  Recently he decided he likes to be fed sometimes airplane style!  We haven't done that since he was a little baby, but if it means he will eat more, we will humor him :)


^^^ he didn't even eat 1/4 of that roll!

Thankfully the smoothies are still a favorite and he gets a lot of fruits and veggies in one every day.  It makes me worry less about his nutrition when I know that he's drinking a full glass of a healthy smoothie.  I'm also hoping that with the warmer weather and more fruit being in season again, that he will eat a larger variety again.

Are your toddlers picky eaters?  What are their favorite meals and snacks?   I would love some suggestions on different foods to offer Noah!   

One Year and Beyond: How to Get Your Toddler To Eat Their Veggies…Or Their Food At All

Feeding a toddler is not the easiest thing.  I found it much easier when Noah was eating pureed baby food pouches.  It didn't require much thought and he was getting a nice variety of fruits and vegetables that I don't normally buy.  I do like that when we are out I don't have to pack as much ahead of time, but it's always hit or miss whether Noah will eat what we make, order at a restaurant, or is available when we are out.  Thankfully, Noah loves fruit so I don't have to do anything crazy to get him to eat more of that.  I do need to work on him eating more vegetables.  I think that's because of my lack of planning rather than his lack of interest.  

We seem to have a rotation of foods that Noah eats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I feel like Chris and I are the same way, and honestly I feel like we are all in a rut.  I can't wait to see what other toddlers are eating so I can get some more ideas.

Breakfast:  Noah either eats a bowl of fruit (strawberries, melon, grapes, and bananas are his favorites) or a container of Bananas and Cream greek yogurt.  He then has a few spoonfuls of my Multigrain Cheerios.  

(Oxo bowl)

Lunch:  For lunch, I usually give Noah Kraft mac & cheese, grilled cheese, hard boiled eggs, or deli meat with some buttered toast.  I then give him sides of fruit, sometimes a pepper, as well as some sort of snack.  He also sometimes gets leftover pasta from the previous night's dinner.

(PBKids plate, similar)

(Grilled cheese, pears, yogurt melts, Gerber cheese puffs)

(Hard boiled egg, green pepper, wheat thins)

(Turkey, toast, strawberries, pretzel goldfish)

Dinner:  In a perfect world, Noah would just eat what we eat and when we eat it.  However, Chris doesn't get home until 6:30, so I often end up feeding Noah before he gets home.   Some of Noah's favorites are penne vodka with chicken (from the restaurant downstairs), Nonna's meat sauce with pasta, and meatloaf. He sometimes likes stir fry and chicken fried rice and recently he had pork chops for the first time and seemed to like them.

(Oxo spoon and fork)

(chicken fried rice and my mom's stir fry)

(pork chops, sweet potato, mixed veggies)

Dessert:  We don't normally have dessert.  But when we go over to the grandparents' houses for dinner, he usually ends up with some sort of treat.   Most of the time he prefers chocolate or ice cream, but he also LOVES watermelon (just like his daddy).  

(chocolate cupcake for half birthday, Dove ice cream bar)

Drinks:  During the day, Noah drinks water or pear juice out of his sippy or straw cup.  Since he still drinks a fair amount of milk during the night (drastically less than before but still working on it), I try not to give him milk during the day.  Two nights he made it through without milk, so I made sure to give him a cup of it as soon as he woke up.  

Snacks:  Noah often snacks on smoothies, string cheese, and fruit.  He also almost always has his snack cup filled with Goldfish (pretzel or cheddar) when we go out.  Often times he doesn't even eat them, but he is adamant that he holds onto it at all times!

Out to Eat:  Noah is good at eating at restaurants, but once he's done, he wants down.  Before he could walk he was an angel at restaurants, now he just wants to walk around and explore.  We try to keep meals short and stick to casual restaurants.  Usually we order him a fruit cup and either grilled cheese or chicken fingers.  At Italian restaurants he loves pasta, bread, and meatballs!  He also loves smoothies, so I usually try to get them wherever they are available :)

For more ideas, check out my past Toddler Tastes post.  

I'm linking up with Ashley from Words About Waverly and the other lovely co-hostsesses for the One Year and Beyond series.  

Toddler Tastes

This past month, I've made a big effort to have Noah eat more real food.  We still use the baby food pouches when we are out and I want to make sure he's getting enough fruits and veggies.  But when we are home, I've been trying to give more variety of real foods.

Feeding a toddler is harder than I expected.  Noah will like something one day and then won't touch it the very next day.  Some days Noah wants to feed himself and other days he wants to be spoon fed.  He's also started this thing where if I'm giving him baby food, he fights the first bite.  Then as soon as he tastes it he's ready for me to feed him the whole pouch no problem.  It's like he doesn't trust that I'm giving him yummy food.

Breakfast:

Eggs with toast
French toast with fruit
Cheerios with fruit
Mini pancakes (frozen eggo) and fruit



His favorite fruits include peaches, pears (I often just use the snack packs by Dole), apples, bananas, and cantaloupe.  It's hit or miss with blueberries (recently he just squeezes them and makes a mess) and strawberries.  I also gave him kiwi… he ate 2 pieces both days, but that was all he wanted.

Lunch:

Turkey and cheese on crackers
Ham on crackers
Grilled Cheese
Shredded chicken
Tyson's chicken fries
Mac & Cheese

I then pair these things with fruit and a snack.  He loves goldfish, greek yogurt, yogurt melts, Gerber puffs, and Gerber cheese puffs.  He was liking raisins, but now he usually just throws them on the floor.  I was surprised when he wasn't a fan of the animal crackers I gave him.  I guess he prefers the Golden Oreos I give him instead ;)



Dinners:

Dinner is where we struggle.  If we are eating something he can have, then that's what he eats.  But often, he gets hungry around 5:30 and Chris doesn't get home until 6:30.  So I usually end up giving him a pouch of baby food and then letting him nibble off of our plates at 6:30.

There are a few dishes that he LOVES though…

Meatloaf
Meatballs
Pasta
Rotisserie Chicken
Sweet Potato
Green Beans
Carrots

He isn't really a fan of broccoli, though he eats in it the pouches.   This is where I find the pouches are great.  He eats vegetables he wouldn't touch in "real life", like spinach and kale.

Noah still drinks lots of milk, and he loves to snack on cheese and yogurt.  Though I worry he's getting too much dairy.  I'm not surprised though since I'm a big fan of dairy too!  He still gets his milk out of a bottle… I know I have to switch him over soon!  But he does drink his water out of a zippy cup.  He hasn't figured out how to use a straw yet, so we are working on that too.

While I feel like we haven't been doing the "real" food for that long, I already feel like I'm in a rut with the things I give him.  I would love some suggestions on new foods to try!