Toddler Foods

Ahhh I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted. I'm sure if you are reading this you are a parent and you can understand how drastically my life changed when my darling daughter learned to walk. Add to that a first birthday party, mommy and baby being out of commission with rough sickness, losing my computers hard drive (more on this later), getting sick AGAIN and going on vacation (awesome trip and I'm not complaining but travel with kids requires tons of planning and is fun but not so much with the restful) and you can understand why I've been absent.

So now to the topic at hand. Food. After breastfeeding ended for us we were forced to switch to formula. Once that happened Ryan and I used to joke that we wouldn't know what to do with all our spare income after she graduated off of formula. I would think to myself at least 4 times a day that I couldn't WAIT for real food. Making one family meal and giving Addison a portion. We would eat well, and therefore she would eat well. And then she actually did graduate to real food being her primary source of nutrition. And it was totally different than I thought it would be.

We have two main daily struggles: One- she has days when all she wants to eat is Mac and Cheese. Two- She is not a good chewer.  I never know what kind of eater she will be that day. Some days she will literally eat spicy calamari or black olives and blue cheese. And some days chicken is greeted with a face of disgust and she spits it out. I have to make her a separate dinner a lot, either because she is being picky or because I know she can't chew what we have. When I say she can't chew, I don't mean she only has 8 teeth and chewing isn't easy. I mean she doesn't really attempt chewing most of the time and she will swallow food whole. So just when I think I have found a great lunch item for her that is easy to chew (or not chew), she will suddenly decide that food is on the list of "not on your life" foods. It can be frustrating.

In the spirit of preventing frustration in others, here are some foods we have all the time. This is by no means a complete list foods that she eats nor am I saying this is a go-to for total nutrition. These are just some staples in our house that work for us and maybe you could incorporate one or two in your house to make things easier for yourself.

Breakfast:

Oatmeal
Aunt Jemima lil Griddles mini pancakes. These pancakes are the perfect size for a toddler. They come in a few flavors and a small stack gets nuked in the microwave for 30 seconds. Can't beat how easy and delicious they are. Most days Addison will have two pancakes with half a banana and a piece of sausage.
Bananas. Addie loves a lot of different fruits but bananas are by far her favorite. She eats a banana a day. I like them because they are portable and I can break it apart with my fingers if I don't have silverware or a plate.
Brown n Serve. One minute in the microwave and it puts a little protein in her first thing in the morning.


Lunch:

Whole wheat tortilla quesadillas. OK here is one of my favorite mommy quick tips are the Perdue Short Cuts. They are small packages of grilled chicken breast strips. They come in a few flavors and all of them are good. I get them from Costco, but you can get them at any supermarket. I use them in a lot of different ways, like on top of a quick salad for lunch. But Addison's favorite way is on a tortilla with some shredded cheddar and a little salsa. Then I cook it in a dry skillet. You can brush a little olive oil on the outside if you want, but since Addie doesn't chew well I don't want the tortilla to get crunchy so I leave it dry. She gobbles this up.

Peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat potato bread. I like the potato bread because it keeps in the cabinet longer and we use low sugar options for the jelly. Light on the peanut butter so it doesn't pose a choking hazard! Addison doesn't care for crust, so I cut it off and save it in a ziplock baggie for feeding the ducks.

Grilled cheese. Whole milk cheese slices and I sometimes add a slice of tomato in the middle because, as I will tell you later, Addison LOVES tomatoes.

Cream Cheese and Jelly or CC and Cucumber on whole wheat bread.

Easy Mac. As I mentioned, Addie loves Macaroni and cheese. She would eat it breakfast lunch and dinner if she could. So easy mac is a great quick, and portable option that I can throw in her bag if she is going to visit Grandma and Grandpa for dinner and doesn't care for that night's menu options. But we also use them at home for lunch. I can also hide healthy items in the macaroni and she often won't notice that she is also eating broccoli.

Sides:
Avocado
tomatoes 
watermelon 
apple
raisins
mandarin oranges canned in fruit juice
pineapple
banana
sweet potato
corn
Steam bag of frozen veggies (the mixed veggies often come cut up in toddler sized pieces!)
peanut butter crackers
string cheese
yogurt bites
strawberries
blueberries
blackberries
cantaloupe
pear


I will use all of these as either sides to a meal or as a snack. Many are portable, easy, inexpensive and don't require a lot of preparation or refrigeration. All things that help me in my day, and hopefully will help you!