Looking for Quick and Easy Lunch Ideas for Sahm and One Year Old!

I have a product that has easy to make ery nutritious recipes with it at www.wandafloyd.my-ntc.com. Also take a peek at Gerber Graduates.

W.

check out www.KidApprovedMeals.com and www.menuplanningcentral.com - both are GREAT menu planning sites and VERY affordable! the first one has menu plans for breakfast and lunch for SAHMs :-) please tell christine (the owner) that J. coligado referred you

I have a son that just turned one, too. He is the same way. He will eat something up one day and not want anything to do with it the next. Or he will eat something, I give him a bite of something else and then he refuses the first thing for the rest of the meal. We have a lot of cheerios, pb crackers, and yo baby yogurt when nothing else works. He LOVES fruit and rarely eats veggies, which drives me crazy. I am glad you posted this, atleast I know we are not alone. I haven't been to the pediatrician yet for his year appointment. We had a lot of trouble getting in since we just moved here. So I hadn't been able to talk to anyone about this really.

I have a 1 1/2 year old grandchild that lives with me and my daughter ordered a cookbook from the internet with fast easy recipes in it. It has some easy and some not so easy, so look on the internet, also don't worry about him not eating. Alyssa decided at one she would no longer eat babyfood, so that was tough, but even now she just has days that it seems she will not eat anything and other days she eats everything in sight.

throw out the notion of the 'meal'. place nutritious items on the plate and enjoy. My 18 month old has a couple of favorites, I by the frozen unbreaded chicken tenders and I can cook those in the oven, in the frying pan and even the crock pot. Sometimes I lay some swiss cheese on top and let it get a little melty or we have some BBQ sauce to "dip it". I serve these up with a bit of vegetable (corn, green beans, broccoli,etc) I prefer frozen and can cook by the serving size. Then I put some sort of cut up (peeled if necessary) fruit on the plate. She also likes home made burritos/fajitas - usually leftover meat from last nights dinner (cut up small or shredded) some cooked veggies (peppers or corn) throw them onto a corn or flour tortilla and sprinkle some shredded cheese and wrap up. And pasta's of every kind. She loves cooked macaroni w/ a bit of butter and some shredded parmesan cheese.

I felt the same way when my daughter turned one, but I would first concentrate on getting rid of the bottle. We never put milk in the bottle, the only thing she had was breastmilk in the bottle and we had introduced the sippy cup around 9 months, she never got the hang of the tilting back with the sippy cup. Instead we did the straw and she was hooked. They say it's much better to drink through the straw anyway. All we did was switch the watered down juice or just water to milk and slowly replaced feedings with milk and within a month we had her weened and drinking whole milk!

Foods, simple easy stuff would be finger foods. If he is good with a spoon try soup or yogurt. Cheese, chopped fruit, small sandwiches that you can use cookie cutters to make fun shapes are a hit with my daughter. Noodles are a hit I like to secretly hide vegetables in hers, but if your child likes vegetables then try those, chopped and well cooked preferably soft. All of this also depends on the amount of teeth that he has! Look at:
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/
for some great food ideas, and think baby.

Think simple, fun, and healthy "snacks" through out the day too. My daughter likes dried soft apricots and prunes as well as just about any other fruit! Once there are enough teeth try pretzels, gold fish, cheerios, crackers with peanut butter are fun or cheese. Small pits of deli meat with cheese and crackers are good. Though ask to see the sodium level in the ham, and other ingredients in the meat. You will be amazed at the amount of stuff that is in it. I don't do this often, but I do give on occasion hotdogs. Lately, she has found a interest in chicken and we use a bit of honey mustard and she absolutely LOVES it! Also try mini pizzas on toast, another hit with my daughter.

Hope that helps with finding simple easy meals for your son to eat.
A.

I feed my 1yr old son cottage cheese with mandarin oranges, egg salad, or mac and cheese (I use easy mac) with veggies (brocolli and coliflower). I've been running out of ideas too. I'm glad you made this request so I can get some new ideas. I also just bought some tyson grilled chicken strips that aren't breaded. My son LOVES meat and these easy to prepare.

little cubes of cheese, sliced apples, crackers, raisins, bananas, a scrambled egg with a bit of butter, a fruit "smoothie" (fruit blended with yogurt), peanut butter and honey sandwich cut in quarters.

fresh cut up fruit is great. also i steam fresh veggies in bulk on the weekend, and serve them throughout the week. my son also loves flat breads, like nann or pita. for protein semi-soft cheeses like string cheese are good cut in to pieces. generaly i dont "cook" for lunch. my five year old eats sandwiches and fruit, or veggies and i give a variety of the thing i listed above to my 10 month old son.

When my daughter was about one I used to give her mini tortellini's with spinach or cheese in them. They were small, soft and had a little bit of veggies in them. Also quesadillas with a little spinach "hidden" inside, or shredded carrots. I tried tofu, but that didn't last very long! ;-) Also she liked eggs, fruit, cheese, crackers, cheerios, the usual toddler stuff!
Hope that helps! Good luck!
M.

With my kids I cut up a variety of fruits and vegetables and put them out on the table. The kids ate on them all day. I just made sure I cut everything up very small. Then I wasn't worried about them chocking on a carrot or grape. I put everything in a small individual bowl each day. I believe this made them well rounded (not picky) eaters. They are now young teenagers who eat everything.

Perennial peanut butter on bread, crackers, celery and carrots (when older); yogurt with veggies or fruit; good chicken dogs; cheese toast/bread/biscuits; fruit with cheese; homemade soup or left overs from dinner the day before; toasted tortillas made into chips with different dips; scrambled/hardcooked eggs... My 3 year old granddaughters don't like a lot of variety, so I have to urge them to eat anything but hot dogs. They like some surprises though, and will eat yogurt with almost anything. R.

I started feeding both of my boys peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch as soon as the doc said it was ok for them to have peanut butter. They also have other kinds of sandwich "butter" other than peanut, if you're worried about food allergies. Or you can try lunchmeat. I cut off the crusts to make it easier for them to gnaw on it. (My oldest didn't cut his first teeth until well after his first birthday and only had the 2 bottom teeth for a long time, so he couldn't really chew the crust of the bread that well.) My boys are now 5 and 2 1/2, and they still have a pb&j for lunch almost everyday, it's their favorite!

my little girl likes friut, yogurt, lunch meats, peanut better, chicken noodle soup, and grilled cheese sandwiches. all them are esily prepared, healthy and don't take long to prepare. if we're really pinched for time we resort to the prepackaged gerber graduates meals...but only when we have too.

I usually cook two meals during the week and freeze them in individual containers for lunches. I work full time outside the home so I am super crunched for time but I cook these meals after I put her to bed. It's so worth the time and effort because you know they are getting good food without preservatives! She loves homemade whole wheat mac and cheese with broccoli, lentil and brown rice casserole (with cheese on top), squash casserole with cheese, rice & broccoli & carrot soup (I strain it). These are super easy to make and I make a lot so I can freeze a bunch and just take it out the night before. You can sneak in a bunch of veggies in these casseroles and know they are getting a good healthy meal. If I don't have anything ready I usually send cottage cheese, slices of baked sweet potatoe and a fruit. A good way to get "good protein and fat" is to stir in some ground nuts (like almonds or walnuts) into applesauce. Another quick meal is to scramble up some eggs and put in parmesean cheese and spinach, it's one of our favorites! Hope this helps!

Little kids eat so little, that 'snack foods' are almost a meal for them. Low-salt cooked vegetables are good (carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, etc). Applesauce (and other canned fruits), raisins, cheese, fresh fruits (apples, bananas, grapes -maybe cut grapes in half to reduce choking hazard). Peanut butter and low-salt or graham crackers. Cottage cheese (it's high in salt, tho) Yogurt. Dry cheerios are cool, too. No need to buy specialized 'baby foods' all the time!

I have a one yr. old and this is what i do-it is simple and healthy.
Buy fresh or frozen (i do organic because they taste better) steam the veggies and (re)freeze in small containers or ice cube trays. Put them in freezer bags when frozen. Just pull out whenever. The uneaten portions can be saved for the next day and mixed with something else. I use, summer squash, green beans, peas, corn, sweet potato, carrots.....He loves them. He eats better than i do. I also freeze apples. blueberries, bananas... this way. Just blend everything to the best consistance for your child. If you take a hour or so and just do a bunch you are set. I add in cheese, yogurt, pasta, bread......with everything to balance it out. You barely have to think about it-just pull it out, heat it up, and your little one is eating healthy- not salty, preservative, processed junk.
Best Wishes,
Val

i like to go through the grocery store (especially the kids isle) and get ideas of differnt foods to fix from boxed / convenience meals. it's a great way to add variety to your child's meals and when you make them at home, it is healthier and saves you money. i take advantage of the crock pot and i make regular sized meals and store the leftovers (some in the frige and some in the freezer). i love the spinach tortelini. buy it dried and it lasts a long time. there's also alphabet pasta and risoto and small shells and another small pasta (can't think of the name). since these come in whole wheat now, they are great to use and you can just varry the sauce. i love to do breakfast for lunch and fix oatmeal or eggs with fresh fruit and whole grain toast. you can buy turkey breasts, wrap them in foil, and cook them in the oven and use the turkey for many things. when i cook ground beef, i rinse it off in hot water to get rid of a lot of fat. my secret spaghetti sauce receipe is this: 1 small can of tomato sauce (no salt added), 1 sm can of tomato paste, 1 can petite diced tomatoes, 1 can condensed tomato soup. you can add salt, pepper, italian seasoning, garlic, onion, and cooked ground beef/turkey (if preferred). you can also add frozen veggies. cook it in the crock pot on low for at least 5 hrs. it's a great sauce and very easy to make and it makes a lot and can be frozen.

You already have some good advice, but you might try some of these things too...
1) Don't offer the bottle until the food (just as many parents don't give a child fruit before the rest of the meal). You may want to talk to pediatrician about how much milk your child should have a day. I know recommended amount of juice is just 4 to 6 oz a day -- that is not much. But, if kids grow up drinking water, it may be easier to keep them drinking that rather than the sugary alternatives.
2) Make things you like too so your child will see that is what people eat -- even if Riley's version is in miniature.
3) Try giving milk in a cup at meals and in a bottle at snack or bed time. (sorry don't have much advice on this one as my child is allergic to milk and all milk products and all products that contain milk or milk products). With the Nutramegin we just kept reducing it until it was one serving at bed time and then finally none at all.
4) Make ahead -- things like pasta shapes, rice, chicken, etc can be made ahead and warmed later or eaten cold.
5) I see a lot of people saying Peanut Butter, but the MDs around here do not recommend Peanuts of any fashion for children under 3. I might stay away from this.
6) Anything that can make the food fun -- arranging it on the plate is a face or using cookie cutters to cut into fun shapes.
Hope this helps. Our son is a good eater, but we had to get creative due to his allergies.