What did your toddler have for dinner?

[Friendshipissue]

Just that really. Looking for some inspiration before I place the delivery order for the weekly groceries!

Thanks everyone for the solidarity.

Seems a pattern, DC started off such a good eater but now at 3 only wants chocolate and ice cream. Obviously that's not what I serve but defo does have too much sugar overall and not enough veg. Hoping will emerge in a year or so 🫠

Chicken nuggets and chips at McDonald's 😁

Just for a bit of balance mine had pizza and garlic bread! Eldest two wanted a pizza night.

Why wasn't he given his chicken dinner back?

@AliceTheCamelHasFiveHumps because he'd obviously had enough of it. All I ask is that he tries his dinner at the very least. I'm not going to force him to eat what he doesn't like. He's not a fan of potato anyway regardless (mash / roast potato / chips even)
Plus he ate most of the chicken and the veg. He always has yoghurts for afterwards

I don't see what the problem is?

🙄

As long as your toddler is eating don't worry and his meals are fine I'm sure plus it sounds like you keep trying new foods. Tbh people can claim that their kids eat anything on here but there's no actual proof id there. Don't worry.

@takealettermsjones not really sure what that person was getting at to be honest?
No my toddler does not eat anything and everything but at least we try and I'm not forcing him 😬

There's always one. "If my child didn't eat their meal I'd give it back to them for breakfast tomorrow!" Ok cool, nobody asked.

I don't force it either. If mine are hungry at bedtime they get toast. It's not an issue for me so it's nobody else's business imo! Sounds like you're doing great to me ☺️

@takealettermsjones yeah exactly that! Or a 'my kid eats everything or they don't get down from the table' kind of person.
Same here, if he tries his food and genuinely doesn't like it, fine I'll give him a small something else. If he doesn't try it he's not getting an alternative and then has a banana or toast before bed
Don't really want to ruin his relationship with food.
Thank you, I'm not doubting my parenting choices and I certainly don't need some bellend on Mumsnet trying to question them either 😂

I think the people whose kids eat whatever they make for them are like the ones who had babies that slept through the night at 6 weeks.

No, you didn't do anything special, you were just lucky.

People ask me how I "made" DC be so verbal and physically capable. Did nothing mate. Just came out like that. But they're bad eaters and sleepers. Win some lose some.

Never said it was a problem, Just wondering why he was given raisins and a nutigrain bar when he still had food to eat form his dinner that he likes.

Sausages, mash, broccoli and corn on the cob, desert a mini milk, and asked for a small glass of milk

generally a decent eater but does like sugary crap and sausages so we offer within what we consider to be moderation.

Went to a friends house who serves their children ice lollies made with spinach and micro greens and a tiny bit of coconut milk for sweetness…. He wasn’t impressed. But then they had sausages
at dinner too so 🤷🏼‍♀️

To be clear, my DD 3.5 doesn't have to eat everything or clear their plate. But if there was perfectly acceptable food still on their plates after they'd eaten the two yoghurt and were still saying they were hungry...i would have just offered the rest of their actual dinner before making more food. Like the other day DD had her dinner, ate about half, then ate some blueberries, and then said she was still hungry, so she was given the rest of her pasta to finish off. She had a bit more and declared herself full.It wouldn't occur to me to give her something different again without offering her own leftovers.

Not saying I'm right or wrong, just curious as to why the dinner wasn't offered

Blimey- not sure why mumsnet need to look at my post about what toddlers live off!!!

Mine eats a lot of crap and I'm not kidding. She's had 3 ice creams today and a lot of raspberries. She has had some risotto for dinner but only because I spoonfed it to her while she was watching her tablet 🫣 I've given up really to be honest she started out as a great eater but she's so stubborn now. One day we'll get there and if I get one bit of fruit in her a day I take it as a small win 😅

Chicken nuggets, sweetcorn, cucumber, guacamole, some fajita; a yoghurt and a compote (we're in France) for pudding. He's 14 months.

Omelette with ham and mushrooms- initially refused to touch it which took me by surprise as she loves egg then I realised she wasn't recognising it as egg as she normally has scrambled egg. So I opened it up and showed her the none browned inside and she then ate it- however picked out all the mushrooms!
I put some salad on her plate but she just totally ignored that.

Dinner for the 3.5 yo was two plates of pasta in white sauce with spinach, 3 whole oranges, a custard cream, and a glass of milk.

@AliceTheCamelHasFiveHumps I didn't offer it back because he'd already eaten the veg that he does like (on that particular day - you know what toddlers are like) and the chicken was cold so I wouldn't then expect him to eat it
He had eaten enough of his dinner for me to feel satisfied that he had tried and made an effort
His relationship with food is not the best. It's actually rare that he will eat meat without a bit of a battle so that's another reason I didn't force the chicken on him
He's always been a bit difficult with certain foods. the nutrigrain bar wasn't straight after and it wasnt used as a reward - it was closer to bedtime so it was to ensure he didn't go to bed hungry
I don't offer him an alternative meal ever as such

@atthebottomofthehill Completely agree with this 🤣👏🏼

Mine - incredibly verbal and legit eats anything and everything I put in front of him. Can’t sleep for shit though. 2.5 currently, dropped all naps before he was 2 andI can count on 1 hand the number of times he’s slept through the night 🤣

Best friends 3.5 year old - has slept 7pm-7am since 12 weeks and still reliably naps now at 3.5. Very verbal. Turns his nose up at probably 70% of what’s put infront of him for meals though 🤣

The wee creatures all do what they want 😅

Blueberry, banana and oat pancakes that she'd only eat if spoon fed (she's nearly 3!).

Yet another crap eater here. Loves fruit and a couple of types of veg but generally refuses most food. She would live off peanut butter wraps if I let her.

DC (17months) tends to prefer a main meal at lunch. Yesterday's was a bit of a treat (translation: everyone ate junk!) as we had a family day out for a celebration. For a starter, DC had a loaded potato wedge (cheese and chives) and half a mozzarella stick, then half a tub of tomatoey dipping sauce. Then for their main, fish fingers (never have these at home) with salad and a bit of garlic bread. Not healthy, but it was a special occasion.

Dinner was a couple of spoonfuls of quinoa and veg chilli and then DC was full.

Meal ideas that DC likes, in case anyone's interested...
Cheesy or tomatoey pasta with hidden veg
Salmon or haddock with potato and peas
Watermelon and feta salad
Veg chilli
Kormas, passandas, etc (any mild curry)
Baked bean and veggie sausage pie
Lentil soup
Chicken in mango sauce
Avocado toast with scrambled eggs and tomato used to be a favourite but I've been informed that eggs are currently terrible

It's a 50:50 chance DC will either be up for trying anything or will just want bread. Identifiably green things that aren't peas are an instant "no". Not sure why peas get a free pass.

Our current challenge is that DC will not sit in their high chair at home, or most high chairs out and about, but also won't stay sitting at the table after they've finished eating unless there's something really interesting going on. Which I understand, sitting at a table watching other people eat gets boring, but it's something they're going to need to learn at some point.

Oh I was tempted to ask this question. I find toddler meal-planning so difficult. Tonight mine threw a tantrum as the veg was mixed into the risotto. And he hates rice. So that went well!

We’re also in a “no touching” phase, so solidarity to the others upthread. Dinner is usually a rotation of omelettes, jacket spuds and pasta dishes if we actually want him to eat anything. He also eats a lot of sandwiches. Veg is regarded with suspicion but he’ll eat a punnet of blueberries in one sitting (which, as I’m sure you can imagine, isn’t pleasant coming out the other way). Toddlers!