Toddler Meal-Time Ideas

My Sweater and Jeans are both from the LOFT. // Chandelier is from Progressive Lighting.

Hey everyone –hope you are having a great week so far. I have been wanting to do a post on toddler meal-time. I am pictured above with our 8-month old son, Sam; however, we also have twin 2-year old boys named Jack and Knox. So, this post will be focused on what the twins are eating now, which honestly, I wish was as easy as when they were Sam’s age. Getting toddlers to eat can be tricky, to say the least. In a perfect world, our kids would eat a balanced meal of protein, veggies and fruit each and every time. Our experience has been trial-and-error –playing with variations of foods and seeing what would stick. Jack will eat steamed broccoli, but I have to be sneaky with Knox, our other twin.

Cutting Board – Target.com // Al Fresco Chicken Sausage

If you are anything like me, you just don’t have the time or energy to do this big home-cooked meal every day. The boys will sometimes eat our left-overs depending on what it is, but I also purchase a lot of healthy “quick” cook items. They have always loved this Al Fresco Chicken Sausage for breakfast. It microwaves in 40-seconds flat and you can quickly dice it up and they have never turned it down. I will usually pair it with Instant Oatmeal & cinnamon, and berries.

Stonyfield Organic Yogurt Pouches // GoGo Squeeze Applesauce Pouches // Publix Greenwise Diced Bartlett Pears //Kids Fresh Quesadilla

We love the Stonyfield Organic Yogurt selections –it also comes in a small container option if you prefer. The applesauce pouches are great for on-the-go snacks.

Knox experiencing meal-time as only a toddler can!

Our boys LOVE all the berries!! Thank goodness they love something, right!?

Baby Sam is still eating purees at 8 months –in about a month I will add bananas and avocados. Sam’s striped PJ’s are from Monica & Andy. Vase is from Target. Flowers – Joss & Main. – on sale for under $30.

Dr. Praeger’s makes these great little broccoli and spinach stars/shapes and even my picky little veggie eater will eat them. We also like the Veggie Tots, and Riced Cauliflower. Other quick veggie options– avocados, steamed broccoli, microwavable diced sweet potatoes from Fresh market, peas & carrots (of course), roasted & diced butternut squash, sautéed squash with zucchini, sweet potatoes fries (roasted), mashed cauliflower (or butternut squash/ sweet potatoes).

One thing that has helped us has been to take our pediatrician’s advice, which was to keep putting vegetables on the plate, no matter what. She said that eventually, they will discover that the veggies keep showing up and hopefully, will take to something soon. This happened with Knox –we kept putting broccoli on his tray until eventually he tried and decided it wasn’t so bad! Last week he changed his mind, so 🙁 you know!

Our boys love the Boars Head Low Sodium Turkey Breast and Chicken. They are pre-bagged at Publix so I can grab it and go instead of waiting behind the deli counter. These organic cheese sticks are also a hit.