If your 15 month happily ate everything, what would you feed them?

[sebsmummy1]

I thought I was going ok, he has toast and porridge for brekkie and I batch cook so he has a proper lunch and dinner.

However this week he has eaten raw red pepper, fine green beans, passion fruit! and I realised I really could be giving him so more diversity and I'm actually limiting him when I should be expanding his palette.

Does anyone have any ideas on a great balanced daily mix of foods? I was thinking of maybe making lunch more about veggies and dips or something.

He has fruit after each meal, handful of blueberries, banana, clementine etc.

Thanks.

[Mrswellyboot]

I am only starting to read up on foods for babies/children and I was thinking of avocado and chickpea mash. Red lentil dishes.

Fresh fish

Cucumber and carrot batons

It's easy to get into a rut though.

[Indith]

Whatever we eat.

Ds2 is 23 months now but even at 15 was just joining in with family meals. Sure, there are some things we don't have much so he views them with suspicion but I'm sure he will eat them eventually. The other 2 were the same. For example we don't have puddings much so ds2 pretty much refuses to eat things like crumbles and pies. I remember ds1 being exactly the same but age 7 he loves them.

So the last week we've had spag bol, roast chicken, soups, curry with king prawns, sausages and mash, beef stew and brown rice. Lunches tend to be sandwiches, eggs (which actually ds2 isn't fond of) cheese and salad bits so cucumber, lettuce, carrot sticks or grated carrot, pepper. Lots of fruit available. Wide variety of veg with meals, broc, peas, green beans, the dcs love mangetout or sugarsnap peas if they get their hands on them and they all love sprouts (weirdos).

I wouldn't stress, I'm sure you are doing just fine.

[BonaDea]

V easy to get into a rut.

Last night I made DS fish curry with peas in and fruity rice and he loved it!

Why not buy a couple of baby friendly cook books and make a couple of new things each week?

[BuggerGrips]

Watching with interest. My DS is also 15mths. He pretty much has the same as us when it comes to cooked meals, it's teatime that I've got stuck in a rut with. Tried houmous and bread sticks the other day but he was unimpressed. Turned his nose up at grated carrot and sweetcorn. Yet cooked veg he is fine with.

[goodbyeyellowbrickroad]

Like Indith our DS eats whatever we eat bar really chilli hot foods. Dinners he really loves at the moment are meatballs (I make them from turkey, pork or beef) in tomato sauce with pasta, butternut squash and chickpea stew with rice, pork and apple stew and chicken teriyaki with broccoli and edamame.

Breakfast is usually porridge, cinnamon raisin bagel or eggs of some sort on toast. He'll then have some fruit. Lunch is either leftovers from dinner, soup if I've made a chunky one with beans or pulses in it or pasta with veg and pesto.

I'm regularly amazed at what he'll try and then like. Last week I had a pomegranate and offered him some which he loved.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Agree that its all to easy to get into a rut, so don't beat yourself up over that one.

For breakfast mine like ready brek with chopped banana or berries, blueberry pancakes (you could batch cook and freeze), beans and sausage, pain au chocolate, toast with smooth nut butter, eggy bread or just some fresh fruit chopped up.

By 15 months they were both pretty much on family meals so yesterday we had blueberry pancakes for breakfast, roast dinner for lunch and sandwiches with chopped veg for tea. Tonight we've all had spanish omelette and salad for tea, all of these would be fine for your Lo

[sebsmummy1]

Aww my son liked pomegranate as well!! Not too surprised as it is tasty!!

We don't eat until later and he has his dinner around 6pm. Also my partner likes to eat foods that I would rather my don didn't eat (processed crap). Do I cook Annabel Karmel recipes for my son and freeze them in portions for lunch and dinner.

Ok, I am going to buy more fresh veg and give him broccoli and cauliflower etc. also maybe salad batons with hummus. He likes boiled eggs with soldiers so we do that twice a week.

I tend to eat the same things day in and out so it's definitely very easy to get into a rut!

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

If your partner eats crap are you cooking 3 separate meals or are you eating the crap too?

Do you do the cooking? Couldn't you just serve meals you can all eat? You could always have a night off and serve him something else on a Friday or Saturday night and you two have some crap

[goodbyeyellowbrickroad]

I really like The River Cottage Baby and Toddler Cookbook for new ideas. Might be worth a look.

[goodbyeyellowbrickroad]

One of the big positives for us is that having our DS has made us eat a lot healthier. DH and I we're eating pretty well before DS arrived but it's made us have a lot more variety in our diet. We have one vegetarian dinner a week and fish at least once a week. And you're a better woman than me if you're cooking more than 1 dinner a night!

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Think the Gill Ripkey cookbook is supposed to be good too. Your library should have a good selection of weaning and family cookbooks

[Indith]

tbh I think the main thing to remember is that children have no clue what is or isn't "child friendly". All those ideas come from us adults. Why wouldn't a child like mussels or curry or other "adult" tastes? I shouldn't come as a surprise.

We all eat together usually but sometimes on a Friday we feed the dcs fish fingers, chuck them in bed and have some crap, or a takeaway or something.

[sebsmummy1]

I don't eat crap luckily, but im a grazer who often doesn't eat dinner. Or if I do it tends to be a pile of veg, like a whole cauliflower or a whole broccoli.

I'm thinking of getting an organic veg and salad box delivered each week. All the pesticides in salad really puts me off feeding them to my son regularly as I'm not convinced they are even that healthy.

It's a minefield!

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

If you feel that way about the fruit and veg I'd have a look at your local shop as well. We have a local shop that sells only organic and you can often pick up organic stuff at Lidl.

Don't know how you manage preparing 3 meals, I struggle with 1. Are you having anymore DC? Just wondering how many meals you will end up preparing

[GingerMaman]

I would give him whatever we eat, that way he'll taste everything!

[Indith]

Maybe this is a good chance for you all to get into better habits. After all your child learns from you so it own't be long before he is questioning why daddy can eat things all the time that he is told are not good for him and wondering why mummy doesn't eat dinner when he is told that it is important to eat your meals.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Agree. With Indith. My DH had shocking eating habits before dc1 was born. He's had to sort himself out. It does help that i do most of the cooking so if he wants to eat, he gets what's in front of him. I also limit the amount of crisps/biscuits/chocolate etc that I buy.

Sounds like its the time to start leading by example

[sebsmummy1]

Thing is OH is a fussy bugger so I just buy him gourmet ready meals and let him get on with it. I make baby fish pie, lasagne, chicken curry etc and OH will happily eat those, so in the future hopefully it will change and we can eat meals together.

I'm not a fan of rich sauces or calorific meals which my OH loves (fine as he has a fast metabolism and is slim, I struggle not to put on weight). So I guess we are going to be like households all over the place where everyone wants to eat slightly differently.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

If you are happy to do that then carry on but for me, I'd start everyone eating the same. Your DS will learn what to eat from both of you, and if you're both not eating well it won't be long before he isn't too.

Doesn't getting OHs ready meals cost a fortune too?

[starlight1234]

lots of fruits ..oily fish, try veg like sprouts...My DS decided he didn't like them when he was about 4 but 2 year later ate them again...

A little bit of spice is good..Garlic anything very goos for immune system..

Stews and dumplings...

Change potaotes for sweet potato...Cous cous...

Seafood mix to pick at...

Omlette with different fillings.

My friends little boy the other day was eating a raw spring onion dipped in humous ( similar age)

[sebsmummy1]

Well he pays the grocery bill so I guess I think if he wants to eat that way it's up to him! I do buy a lot of stuff out of the reduced section but yep, it's not an inexpensive way to eat.

What made me laugh though is I made an AK baby lasagne last week and he said it was restaurant quality, the nicest lasagne he had ever eaten. He was evangelical about it lol. I can't afford the calories of food like that though. I tend to have some lean protein and vegetables with no sauce. He won't eat like that, he gets moody if I try and force him.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Couldn't you have a small portion of the lasagne and lots of veg or salad? It is totally upto you though, I'm just trying to think of ways around preparing 3 meals every mealtime. Let's hope your nect pg isn't triples, you'd never get out of the kitchen!

[neversleepagain]

DP had to quickly change his eating habits when our children were born. He now eats whatever I cook or it is toast for him.

I try to give them organic fruit and veg, especially things like berries (which had a huge amount of pesticides sprayed on them). We eat a vegetarian diet unless we get some good organic meat. I think the trick is introducing a variety of food early on. We have a picnic type dinner and a hot lunch. I offer them a wide variety of bits at dinner, cucumber, tomatoes, olives, hummus, tzatziki, sandwich, boiled egg, chopped fruit, Greek yoghurt is a typical picnic dinner in our house. Lunch is usually something with brown rice, brown pasta etc, we tend not to give them much wheat in general.

What should I feed my baby by Suzanah Olivier is a good book.

[Artandco]

Anything we had.

Very simple meals usually in the week as both work full time. Ie last night just steamed some salmon, added chilli and honey dressing. Had with courgettes, soya beans, and broccoli. Or we will just marinade some steak/ chicken in the morning and grill in a lean mean grillin machine in eve. Add veg.

Weekends tend to be tagines/ risottos/ roasts etc

They do like quite strong flavours though and always have. Both still happily eat through lemons, like chilli and weird seafood items

[Ragwort]

Same as others - whatever we ate - actually DS was (and is) a much more adventurous eater than I am - he loves all fish, seafood etc. He had a healthy tuna salad for lunch I had chips .