Toddler Meals: Part 2

The twins are eating us out of house and home already - and they're only 1 year old! It seems like I feed them 20 times a day now that they are eating solids (minus one bottle at bedtime) because they snack... all. the. time. We're trying to get out of that habit, though. 

Currently they wake up at 7 a.m. and have a 10 ounce sippy cup of whole milk and a handful of Cheerios. At 9 a.m. we eat a real breakfast - this is their biggest meal of the day... I swear I can't feed them enough in the morning! They eat a snack (Goldfish, Cheerios, share a pouch) at noon and real lunch at 1:30. Sometimes they need a snack while I'm cooking dinner... heck, even I like to snack while I'm cooking dinner. Dinner is at 5 p.m. and their bedtime snack is at 7:30 p.m.

Like I said, it seems like feeding them is an all day long event. I make as much of their food and pouches as I have time to, and keep very few processed foods in the house - mostly snacks like Goldfish and chicken nuggets (because, Andy.) Everything that I make for them or that I make for dinner is doubled and we eat every last bit of the leftovers! Making everything in bulk saves me a lot of time... less cooking, fewer dishes to clean.

Here's a sample of what they've been eating recently!

Leftover penne with meat sauce, sweet potato fried, peaches and pears

Leftover chicken alfredo, sweet potato fries, applesauce with pumpkin pie spice

Fish sticks with ketchup, black beans and peaches

Mac & cheese (boxed) with steamed veggies, hotdog (processed), tater tots (processed) and mixed fruits. Not my best meal!

 

Leftover penne with meat sauce, string cheese, green beans and peaches

Spinach stuffed grilled cheese sandwich, spinach and cheddar omelette slices and roasted sweet potato

Sweet potatoes are a huge hit in this house! Whether it is pureed in a pouch, mixed with yogurt and pumpkin pie spice, in fry form or baked... they'll eat it! And they'll eat it first!

Ways I like to sneak extra fruits and veggies into food:

• Pancakes - add pureed banana, carrot, avocado, blueberries, pumpkin, etc
• Omelettes - add anything! A little bit of cheese with almost any vegetable
• Sandwiches - grilled cheese with spinach, butternut squash, etc. 
• Pasta sauce - puree carrot, celery, onion, green or red peppers and add it to your sauce along with all of the tomato-y goodness
• Oatmeal - toss in any fruit
• Pouches - I make all of my pouch foods except for the emergency stash I keep in the diaper bag (doesn't have to be refrigerated) and blend yogurt, applesauce, and/or oatmeal with ANY fruit or vegetable. My kids love any of their various colored "smoothies!"