BLW - come inspire me with ideas for teatime please!

[IsItMeOr]

Hi,

About 5 weeks into BLW with my 7mo, and having started with lunch, have also been doing breakfast for almost two weeks now. As our own diet was pretty ropey when we started, we've had to be doing quite a lot of meal-planning and menu adaptation, but we're getting better I think.

I'm having my main meal at lunchtime (so that will be 11-11.30am ) with DS, so that we're eating similar stuff together. I always offer fruit/veg, carb and source of protein.

For breakfast we do things like weetabix, yoghurt, fruit, toast/bagels spread with peanut butter/fruit spread.

I'm really struggling to think what sort of things to offer for teatime when I introduce it. Please can some of you wise ladies offer inspiration?

Also, what time would you do teatime? DS's bedtime routine starts with a bath about 6.15 (and ends with a breastfeed).

Thanks!

Anybody?

Hi IsItMe! We are about 5 weeks into BLW too. We started the other way round with breakfast and tea but have just introduced lunch this week as Cosy Tiger Cub seems to have the appetite of a small elephant. We are giving main meal at teatime but struggling a bit to think of things for lunch. But some possible ideas that might also help for your teatime as if you are doing main meal at lunchtime then you will probably want more snacky things at teatime.

Roasted veg - all sorts and v quick and easy to prepare. DD loves roasted tomatoes esp.
Bread, pitta bread, chappatis spread with cream cheese or hummus - have to watch salt in the bread and we made our own hummus
Baked potato or sweet potato with cheese on top cut into bite sized pieces
Avacado and pieces of cheese
Mashed bananas - or banana pieces - and yoghurt
A couple of times have fed home made soup - bit difficult to do BLW with but tried to put DD's hand on spoon and help her guide it to her mouth

All of these were things that I was eating for lunch anyway so not too difficult.

Oh and meant to say that time varies. DD tends to have a short nap towards the end of the afternoon and we start tea whenever she wakes from that, usually about 5 or 5.30. I usually start bedtime routine about 1.5 hours after she wakes from nap with a view to bedtime itself being somewhere between 7-7.30. Doesn't always work but more hits than misses these days!

Let us know how you get on.

Cheese on toast or sandwiches usually here. or assorted bits of cold meats/cheese plus breadsticks or pitta, tomatoes, cucumber, fruit, yoghurt (the only thing I spoon feed)

Ooh, good and interesting ideas - am impressed by what you were eating anyway in the Cosy Tiger household (I think we were keeping Heinz soups in business single-handedly before I started weaning ).

Tried cheese on toast early on, and I had forgotten how good it was!

I haven't tried sandwiches at all yet, so that's definitely something to try.

My only concern is that I sometimes do bread at breakfast - and DS really loves bagels - would I be overdoing the salt if I did both? Do you have other breakfast ideas that I'm overlooking?

Also, do you have any tips for cooking while dcs are around? I'm only really able to do this during naps/evenings/weekends at the mo, as I don't know how to get ds to tolerate my cooking anything more than toast or reheating pre-cooked stuff.

Moaningminnie - I also spoon feed yoghurt (guide it to his mouth, then leave him to it), and have been tending to scoop up left over runny bits (e.g. bolognese sauce) when he's getting towards the end of his meal and is getting frustrated. I figure he has already tasted it all, so knows what it is, and if he takes the spoon, must be because he wants it. He seems to like it, and it doesn't seem to have put him off trying himself. Plus I only do it once I've finished my own meal . He's still not great with his fingers, so often his attempts to get stuff into his mouth fail when it's anything slightly trickier.

Er, a slightly unconventional idea perhaps but I made yoghurt into finger food by adding baby rice (had a sachet in bounty pack!) or if you can't stand the mess it will definitely stick to the spoon more easily!

Pancakes are a salt free alternative for breakfast, or lunch/tea if you make savoury ones, like cheese and tomato.

I've looked at the salt content in bread this week and I'm horrified. I definitely try not to give it twice a day now (until I get a bread maker for christmas!) but have given ds crackers tonight - I found that some crispbake things have very little salt.

I give bitesize shredded wheat for breakfast (I got a tip from MN to pour on the milk and pour straight off again for just the right sogginess!)

When you say cooking while they're around - do you mean they're screaming for thier dinner?! I sit DS in his bumbo with a breadstick or stick of cucumber if he's screeching.

I've put a hummous recipe on the Anybody about to start BLW thread. That's a good one with breadsticks and things to dip in.

Oh and soup can be done without a spoon! Dip pieces of bread in and hand it to them. It's quite fun to watch

Cooking while the DC's are killing each other around? That is the holy grail I do 'proper food' when they kindly nap at the same time, or when at least one of them is asleep, ie peel the veg etc. If impossible I have been known to take the spuds or whatever into the living room and peel them there. Some days I just nip into the kitchen and throw fishfingers and oven chips in the oven

I also give half a breadstick when it's not ready yet and his lordship is shouting, DD is old enough to understand she has to wait for things to cook/cool down but DS has a huge appetite and wants his meals promptly

I avoid too much bread by giving him a banana for breakfast, although DD has been known to top this up by feeding him weetabix or fake shreddies. Sometimes has grapes as well if he's still smacking the table for more when the banana has all gone.