What do your feed your kids?

Mikkimeow · May 2014

I came across a post asking for toddler meal ideas, and it struck me that while I consider myself very anal about what I give my 14 month old daughter, I have no idea what "healthy" is considered for people feeding their kids of all ages. I would love to know what all you mom and pops feed your children! I will go ahead and start off, most of this is from my early post on the feeding a toddler topic:

My daughter has oatmeal every single morning, and I take advantage of that by sneaking in flax seeds and chia! I use better oats, great all natural company, tons of different flavors. They have perfect little individual packages, where you can choose from things like apples and cinnamon or chai tea. I typically go with the organic bare oats and add in some almond milk and chopped blueberries. SHE LOVES IT! Every single morning. It is messy, but well worth it. Here is the link to their website. I buy mine from Hyvee, but I believe you can get them at Walmart or Price Chopper. I find that oatmeal in the morning really starts the day off well and gives her plenty of energy and keeps away that awful mid morning burnout.

http://www.betteroats.com/brand/raw-pure-simple/

I have some go to on the go lunch snacks if I don't have time to make a meal or if we are out and about and she is hangry. (hungry/angry). Happytot makes these great organic gluten free granola bars in about four or five different flavors. Personally, my little one loves the Apple and Kale crisp! Here is the link to these, I usually have to order these directly, they are a hot item at the Hyvee in my area!

http://www.hy-veedirect.com/baby-food/happy-baby-apple+38-kale-crisp-bars+44-6pk/invt/6046641

Another great snack are these rice cakes called Toddler MumMum. Completely organic and very few ingredients. My little one prefers the strawberry flavor, and could eat 20 at a time if I let her. Really nice little company, I believe you can get them at Hyvee, Whole Foods, Target, and Price Chopper. Here's a link these also:

http://www.target.com/p/toddler-mum-mum-strawberry-organic-rice-biscuit-2-12-oz/-/A-13959197

All of those were typically quick on the go snacks. As far as lunches go, I try and do a protein, veggie, and grain all at a time. My

For proteins I do:

Applegate Naturals turkey or pepperoni
Jennio o ground turkey cooked in a skillet with some spices
Egg muffins (super easy, mix eggs/spices/shot of milk/veggies throw in muffin tins and back for 30 mins)
Mini turkey meatloafs I premake for the week and heat as needed
Johnsonville turkey sausage sliced up and heated
Shredded/cubed cheese
Peanut butter on some whole wheat crackers
Boiled eggs sliced
Greek yogurt (any kind of yogurt really, I just check to make sure there isn't a ton of sugar added)
cottage cheese
shredded roast pork

Veggies/fruits (I've been lucky, my daughter loves vegetables)

Peas cooked with some feta cheese
Steamed broccoli dipped in walden farms sweet onion dressing
Any type of beans, I usually just buy some canned organic black or pinto beans, rinse and heat.
Avocado or Wholly Quacamole organic mini packs, she LOVES avocado in all forms
Roasted tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli
Sliced peaches
Sliced strawberries drizzled with honey

Whole grains (I have never given my little one white bread or overly processed grains, and now she only likes whole wheat varieties.)

whole wheat pasta and a little tomato sauce
kashi go lean crunch cereal
brown rice cakes with a little pb
Ezekiel bread with cottage cheese
whole wheat tortilla with cheese and sliced turkey inside
whole wheat hamburger buns
van's protein whole wheat waffles with some sugar free syrup

Now, there are many times I am just too busy to make a full out meal. That is when I opt for my secret weapon, organic spaghetti rings and organic ravioli. I can read and understand everything on the list, and she LOVES this stuff! You can buy them at whole foods or Hyvee.

As far as drinks go, she usually only gets water, whole milk, and watered down apples that I have juiced myself. \

*I let her have french fries and a mini corn dog for the first time this weekend, and almost couldn't bring myself to let her finish it. She tore it to pieces with manic joy. lol.

Also, here is a link to some super cute meal ideas!

http://www.freebiefindingmom.com/25-toddler-lunch-ideas/

dopeysmelly · May 2014

Ever since my daughter was a baby/toddler she ate whatever we did. I've always worked and don't have the time to do separate meals for everyone, and always believed there was no reason to give children separate food. I tried pureed food on her once, but she found it frustrating and didn't like that she wasn't eating the same as us, so we just gave her finger sized and shaped pieces of whatever we had, and just progressed to not cut-up as she got older.

The rationale for my losing weight has always been to be more healthy, which means that we ALL eat more healthily. So lean meats, red meat maybe once a month, a fair amount of fish, wholegrain bread, wholegrain pasta, and huge quantities of vegetables and fruit. I cook everything from scratch (I have a bread machine so I can make my own bread), and very occasionally when I'm on a business trip SO will take our daughter out for a hotdog. We discuss healthy eating quite a bit in an informal way, and we're now stressing the importance of swapping out a piece of fruit instead of another slice of bread at breakfast (and why!), and things like that. For breakfast we have a poached egg, wholegrain bread, fruit, yogurt, or steel cut oats I make in a rice cooker overnight.

fitmek · May 2014

What a great post!!!!!!

We eat organic as much as we can, but I always am frustrated that it feels like our 5 year old doesnt eat a complete balanced meal every time he sits down for dinner. Sometimes I feel like my husband and I eat healthier than he does. Sure, its organic, but he's just picky and it makes having a balanced meal (thats different every night) hard. His go-to meal is organic beef hotdogs, with organic green beans and some type of organic berry that we have in the fridge. He also loves organic lunch meat on whole wheat crackers with cheese and berries on the side.

We eat a lot of oatmeal too!!! Thanks for the suggestions on what to put in it to change it up though!

MomTo3Lovez · May 2014

My kids get what we eat unless I know that they really don't like what we are having and then they have something else. But for the most part we all eat the same foods.

Mikkimeow · May 2014

Ever since my daughter was a baby/toddler she ate whatever we did. I've always worked and don't have the time to do separate meals for everyone, and always believed there was no reason to give children separate food. I tried pureed food on her once, but she found it frustrating and didn't like that she wasn't eating the same as us, so we just gave her finger sized and shaped pieces of whatever we had, and just progressed to not cut-up as she got older.

The rationale for my losing weight has always been to be more healthy, which means that we ALL eat more healthily. So lean meats, red meat maybe once a month, a fair amount of fish, wholegrain bread, wholegrain pasta, and huge quantities of vegetables and fruit. I cook everything from scratch (I have a bread machine so I can make my own bread), and very occasionally when I'm on a business trip SO will take our daughter out for a hotdog. We discuss healthy eating quite a bit in an informal way, and we're now stressing the importance of swapping out a piece of fruit instead of another slice of bread at breakfast (and why!), and things like that. For breakfast we have a poached egg, wholegrain bread, fruit, yogurt, or steel cut oats I make in a rice cooker overnight.

Making your own bread is such a great way to keep the ingredient list down to what you want, never thought of that! Is it fairly simple of a process?

jennk5309 · May 2014

"Hangry" is a great word! I think I'll add that to my vocabulary, thanks!

dltaylorii · May 2014

Most of her meals consists of big macs, pork rinds and krispy kremes. Sometimes we let her cheat and get a diet soda.

Mikkimeow · May 2014

Most of her meals consists of big macs, pork rinds and krispy kremes. Sometimes we let her cheat and get a diet soda.

Is that a food group? :laugh:

tycho_mx · May 2014

My kids get the neutered version of what we eat (lots of spicy food in the house). We are lucky they (3 y. o. and 9 m. o. ) are not picky at all.

So the oldest (daughter) got in the last 2 weeks: eggs (unless scrambled, she'll only eat the white), cheese, mango, berries, cantaloupe, cereal (alpha-bits, kashi, corn, kamut, rice puffs), roast pork loin, ham, rice crackers, octopus, calamari, baked tilapia, potatoes, broccoli, peppers, couscous, rice, prosciutto, porchetta, squash soup, stir-fried vegetables and noodles... basically, whatever is in the house, we cook, she gets it. She doesn't like stuff with seeds, even bread or bagels. But she'll eat nuts, and just recently started eating the skin of an apple Go figure.

The boy, more or less the same but in mush form. We have a hand blender, and mix his purée with fortified baby cereal. He's pretty big for his age, both size and weight, so he eats a lot. We let him hand feed on cereal and bits of fruit.

It is not consistent, sometimes they'll like things they didn't previously. So I stopped making foods entirely for them and just adapting our meal. The last batch of hideously unseasoned meatballs taught me that.

EDIT - I forgot! With regard to "healthy" we use the recommended portions and suggested meals from the Health Canada guidelines

http://www.sickkids.ca/AboutSickKids/Newsroom/Past-News/2012/Health-Canada-nutrition-guidelines-for-healthy-term-infants.html

chani8 · May 2014

I offer my kids the best of both worlds. They can eat healthy or junk food. Most of the time they want healthy, but not always. And that's fine. I'd say they're doing the 80/20 thing.

blink1021 · May 2014

Both of my children eat what my husband and I eat. We have two food groups in our house when it comes to the kids take it or leave it. That is mostly for my 10 year old now my 17 month old eats what we do unless its something I am not ready for her to have or that is considered a high allergen then I will substitute but otherwise she gets very angry if her food is different or if she doesn't have a utensil.

mooglysmom · May 2014

I have some seriously picky kids. But, I keep offering a variety of foods in the hopes that they will eat them and like them. It can theoretically take 100 times for a kid to try something before they (willingly) eat it. I refuse to have big food fights with them. I can only do my best to offer them healthy, nutritious meals. My 6 year old has a slightly more rounded diet simply because he doesn't have food allergies (as my 8 year old and myself do). 99% of our dinners are gluten and dairy free. Once a week I have a "make your own dinner" night, where they have to choose a well balanced meal for themselves. They don't do too terrible. There's usually a grain, protein, fruit and veggie (or two fruits, since they hate most veggies). My older son will refuse everything but toast for breakfast (homemade gluten free bread), and my younger son eats Oatmeal every day for breakfast. Lunch is usually protein, grain, and fruits. We really don't do a lot of grains for dinner, I figure they get enough at breakfast and lunch. Its usually meat and veggies.

PJPrimrose · May 2014

80/20 here too. My son has good eating habits.

weird_me2 · May 2014

Both of my kids got homemade baby food and I made my own quick "meals" for their lunches and such when they were younger, but I'm more laid back about it now. I was way more anal about it with my oldest DD. I've relaxed a lot with my youngest DD and don't worry as much. My DH is now the one who's usually home for lunches and he likes pizza rolls, fish sticks and corn dog nuggets. He also likes to steamed veggies and fish. He doesn't get complaints for anything he cooks for lunches. Some people would probably cringe at the "junk" my DH feeds the kids, but they eat a varied diet, plenty of fruits and veggies and that's good enough for me.

We don't "cater" to our kids wants at meal times, but I have no problem letting my children have a say in what they eat. They have to try the foods offered, but if they don't want to eat whatever's provided, I will let them get some cheese cubes and/or some fruits and veggies to eat instead. Usually it's not an issue because between all of the meal components, they usually find enough to eat. Last night we had rib-eye's, baked potatoes and steamed broccoli for dinner. Oldest DD ate seconds on her steak, all of her broccoli and a little potato. Youngest DD ate two small potatoes with probably 1/2 C of low fat sour cream on them (no joke), a little broccoli and 3 little bites of steak that we made her eat.

My kids generally make good food choices because they genuinely like most "healthy" foods and we keep a lot of their favorite fruits and veggies and other foods around. The other day, DD3 chose to have baby carrots for breakfast after deciding she didn't like her Nutrigrain bar. She also chose to eat a pint of blueberries instead of a piece of wedding cake that was sitting on the table. DD7 will go grab a green apple for a snack and last night she was begging me to make her a smoothie (milk, frozen fruit and yogurt).

tazhinshaw · May 2014

bumping for all the healthy ideas

swalberg0625 · May 2014

I have an 18 mo. old that has eaten very little processed foods in his short lifetime. I switched to a vegan diet but still have him on whole milk so I would consider his diet more of a vegetarian diet. For breakfast he generally has a piece of homemade whole wheat bread with raw honey.

Lunch Options:

*1/2 an avocado
*Sliced strawberries
*Sliced/peeled apples
*Unsweetened applesauce
*Brown rice
*Broccoli/brussel sprouts
*Quinoa/veggie quesadilla's on whole wheat tortillas
*Whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce
*Quinoa stir fry
Not everything but just some ideas that come to mind

Dinner is whatever I eat. I batch cook on the weekends so there is always options on hand., I have been fortunate to have a non-picky eater

destinimac · May 2014

bumping for all the healthy ideas

me too!

brynnsmom · May 2014

My daughter isn't picky and is a good eater. Yes, she gets Spaghetti-os and chicken nuggets from time to time. I don't mind that she eats those things as long as her diet is well balanced.

jtjunkie · May 2014

bump

Francl27 · May 2014

I honestly offered healthier food when the kids were little. Then I gave up because I got tired of basically feeding the dog healthy foods.

Breakfast is typically cereal (honey nuts cheerios, Life, or corn pops lately) and yogurt. If I make pancakes, egg, bacon, or cinnamon rolls they'll eat that. Lunch is the annoying part because they eat NOTHING at school unless it's chicken nuggets or a sandwich (and lately it's been PB&J or cream cheese and jelly or PB and nutella, that's it). Always with a side of fruit, a cookie or a couple goldfish or something, and milk. For snack they typically have a cereal and fruit bar, or fruit, with chocolate milk or juice at school, then they have a bit of goldfish and/or yogurt and/or more fruit when they get home. For dinner they eat what we're eating pretty much (protein, veggies, and sometimes grains/starch). On occasions when we make something that we know they won't like, they typically get a cheese taco or fish sticks/chicken nuggets (plus veggies).

So yeah, definitely not as 'healthy' as I'd like but they are both skinny and I want them to eat.

swalberg0625 · May 2014

I don't have a bread machine, but I use the same recipe every week and it's ridiculously simple. The recipe makes 2 loafs so you can split the recipe if you just want one for the week

Soft 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

6 to 6-1/2 c. whole wheat flour
2-1/2 c. warm water (between 105-110 degrees)
1-1/2 TB instant active dry yeast (not rapid rise) – regular active dry yeast can be used as well
1/3 c. honey
1/3 c. oil
2-1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 TB. vital wheat gluten- OPTIONAL (I don’t use this anymore)
Combine water, yeast and 2 cups of the flour in a mixing bowl. Set aside to sponge for 15 minutes.
Add honey, oil, salt, (gluten if using), and 4 cups of flour. Mix until dough starts to clean sides of bowl. Change to dough hook (or turn out to knead by hand), and knead 6 to 7 minutes (10 by hand). Add only tablespoons of flour if dough sticks to sides, being careful not to add too much.
Form into two loaves and place in greased 9×5″ pans. Allow to rise in a warm place for about 60 minutes (1-2 inches above pans). Preheat oven to 350 ten minutes before rising time is done.
Bake for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through if needed.
Immediately remove from pans to cool on a rack.
Makes 2 loaves

And the link if you want to bookmark

http://www.anoregoncottage.com/whole-wheat-sandwich-bread-101/

Mikkimeow · May 2014

Loving all these food choices! As much as I attempt to give my kid a healthy balanced diet, I wonder if I am a bit too anal. My mother gave my child soda once, and it felt like Independence Day, except I was the alien. Parenting is tough, and I think that as long as our kids aren't eating cigarette butts and rusty cans, we are doing pretty good. lol

Mikkimeow · May 2014

I don't have a bread machine, but I use the same recipe every week and it's ridiculously simple. The recipe makes 2 loafs so you can split the recipe if you just want one for the week

Soft 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

6 to 6-1/2 c. whole wheat flour
2-1/2 c. warm water (between 105-110 degrees)
1-1/2 TB instant active dry yeast (not rapid rise) – regular active dry yeast can be used as well
1/3 c. honey
1/3 c. oil
2-1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 TB. vital wheat gluten- OPTIONAL (I don’t use this anymore)
Combine water, yeast and 2 cups of the flour in a mixing bowl. Set aside to sponge for 15 minutes.
Add honey, oil, salt, (gluten if using), and 4 cups of flour. Mix until dough starts to clean sides of bowl. Change to dough hook (or turn out to knead by hand), and knead 6 to 7 minutes (10 by hand). Add only tablespoons of flour if dough sticks to sides, being careful not to add too much.
Form into two loaves and place in greased 9×5″ pans. Allow to rise in a warm place for about 60 minutes (1-2 inches above pans). Preheat oven to 350 ten minutes before rising time is done.
Bake for 30 minutes, rotating halfway through if needed.
Immediately remove from pans to cool on a rack.
Makes 2 loaves

And the link if you want to bookmark

http://www.anoregoncottage.com/whole-wheat-sandwich-bread-101/

Awesome! I am going to try this asap, I have been looking for a fairly simplistic bread recipe. Thanks.

iluvhorses1983 · May 2014

My 14 month old eats exactly what we eat. We eat very healthy, although not organic. He is not a big meat eater, so I give him hummus, cheese and beans when he wont eat the meat portion. He looovvesss veggies and fruit so its usually pretty simple. I try to give a protein, starch and veggie at every meal and fruit as snacks.

aimforhealthy · May 2014

I don't distinguish between healthy and nonhealthy or junk food. It's all food, it has no inherent moral value.

In my house, we talk about how to discern nutritional content and why someone might choose one kind of food over another depending on one's fitness and wellness goals, but my son is 16 and for the most part I let him eat whatever he wants. He favors pizza, cookies and barbecue, but since we eat a varied diet and have always had fun trying out new foods, he'll also happily eat Brussels sprouts, Greek yogurt, kale and prefers whole grain breads.

I want my son to have a healthy, functional and informed relationship with food and eating habits, and that means not forcing him to think about some foods as "bad" and some foods as "good."

He's 5'10" and a skinny Minnie.

He never gets sick, and he runs and hikes with me, too.

rocky503 · May 2014

my kid lives on carbs and air mostly. She never ate baby food and didn't like pureed foods either. I;ve always cooked from scratch and offer a variety of foods. She's picky and left to her own devices will eat junk and sugar. It's really impossible sometimes since I offer loads of good food and I don't really eat much junk food myself. This morning she packed her lunch and it consisted of a laughing cow cheese triangle, an apple and a left over bag of corn chips (which I usually throw in the fire place). She's 10yo very thin and tall. I am hoping our attempts at good nutrition will rub off in end.

cwolfman13 · May 2014

A smattering of everything...both my boys love fruit and eat plenty of it...very picky about vegetables and will only eat a couple different kinds but namely they will tolerate peas. My youngest likes eggs most morning while my eldest prefers cereal, though he will have eggs if they are in a breakfast burrito with potatoes and cheese. Cereal of choice for both is cheerios or quaker oat squares...my youngest also likes Coach's Oats for his oatmeal fix but my eldest won't touch the stuff.

Both of my boys love black beans and have recently discovered black bean and rice burritos so that's a new lunch/dinner favorite at the moment. Pasta with marinara is another favorite. Both are also into grilled chicken and dad's homemade burgers but haven't quite found the taste for a nice juicy steak just yet.

To all of that I would add that they also eat the typical kid junk like chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese (not my wife's bomb homemade stuff...the Kraft crap)...hotdogs (eldest will only eat Hebrew National and yes, he can tell the difference somehow), etc. The thing about "healthy" is that it is very subjective and most people neglect to take into account the overall diet and put too much focus on individual food items.

Linli_Anne · May 2014

My kids eat what we eat at supper time.

Breakfast is usually a bagel, or frozen waffles and a fruit or yogurt and some juice or milk. Sometimes they'll have cereal like Vector (they love it!)

Lunch our sitter feeds my youngest, usually a fruit, a veggie and either sandwiches, pasta or mini-pizzas.

For my older child, I pack her lunch and she gets a fruit, a veggie, cheese, sometimes yogurt, a sandwich/noodles/perogies/fish sticks, a juice box (or she'll buy milk) and then a treat - a wagon wheel, dipped granola bar, sometimes a little container of chocolate chips.

They aren't picky - but each has favourites when it comes to textures/flavours just like we do, so I don't force those things on them because they are getting a good balance of all food groups.

We also love ourselves Banana Splits, and movie nights with snacks!

dopeysmelly · May 2014

Ever since my daughter was a baby/toddler she ate whatever we did. I've always worked and don't have the time to do separate meals for everyone, and always believed there was no reason to give children separate food. I tried pureed food on her once, but she found it frustrating and didn't like that she wasn't eating the same as us, so we just gave her finger sized and shaped pieces of whatever we had, and just progressed to not cut-up as she got older.

The rationale for my losing weight has always been to be more healthy, which means that we ALL eat more healthily. So lean meats, red meat maybe once a month, a fair amount of fish, wholegrain bread, wholegrain pasta, and huge quantities of vegetables and fruit. I cook everything from scratch (I have a bread machine so I can make my own bread), and very occasionally when I'm on a business trip SO will take our daughter out for a hotdog. We discuss healthy eating quite a bit in an informal way, and we're now stressing the importance of swapping out a piece of fruit instead of another slice of bread at breakfast (and why!), and things like that. For breakfast we have a poached egg, wholegrain bread, fruit, yogurt, or steel cut oats I make in a rice cooker overnight.

Making your own bread is such a great way to keep the ingredient list down to what you want, never thought of that! Is it fairly simple of a process?

The bread machine itself was pretty pricey, but I've gotten my $$$'s worth out of it. I order flour and ingredients in bulk online, but I love that I can have fresh, homemade bread all year round. I hate turning on the oven just for a loaf - in summer it makes the whole house unbelievably hot and in winter turns the thermostat off so the bedrooms are freezing (yeah, our oven has great insulation..).

I've always loved making bread, so I mainly got it because I love the process, I love kitchen gadgets with a passion and there is practically no mess since you load it up and then leave it to do its stuff for 3-4 hours. Also, it means I don't have to go to the grocery store just to buy a loaf of bread for daughter's lunch sandwiches.

I use the Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensperger.

ew_david · May 2014

Other kids

Mikkimeow · May 2014

Ever since my daughter was a baby/toddler she ate whatever we did. I've always worked and don't have the time to do separate meals for everyone, and always believed there was no reason to give children separate food. I tried pureed food on her once, but she found it frustrating and didn't like that she wasn't eating the same as us, so we just gave her finger sized and shaped pieces of whatever we had, and just progressed to not cut-up as she got older.

The rationale for my losing weight has always been to be more healthy, which means that we ALL eat more healthily. So lean meats, red meat maybe once a month, a fair amount of fish, wholegrain bread, wholegrain pasta, and huge quantities of vegetables and fruit. I cook everything from scratch (I have a bread machine so I can make my own bread), and very occasionally when I'm on a business trip SO will take our daughter out for a hotdog. We discuss healthy eating quite a bit in an informal way, and we're now stressing the importance of swapping out a piece of fruit instead of another slice of bread at breakfast (and why!), and things like that. For breakfast we have a poached egg, wholegrain bread, fruit, yogurt, or steel cut oats I make in a rice cooker overnight.

Making your own bread is such a great way to keep the ingredient list down to what you want, never thought of that! Is it fairly simple of a process?

The bread machine itself was pretty pricey, but I've gotten my $$$'s worth out of it. I order flour and ingredients in bulk online, but I love that I can have fresh, homemade bread all year round. I hate turning on the oven just for a loaf - in summer it makes the whole house unbelievably hot and in winter turns the thermostat off so the bedrooms are freezing (yeah, our oven has great insulation..).

I've always loved making bread, so I mainly got it because I love the process, I love kitchen gadgets with a passion and there is practically no mess since you load it up and then leave it to do its stuff for 3-4 hours. Also, it means I don't have to go to the grocery store just to buy a loaf of bread for daughter's lunch sandwiches.

I use the Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensperger.

BRB going to buy a bread machine! :happy:

What do your feed your kids?

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