Another week, another Toddler Food post… But before we get on with the photos, here’s a question I received last week:
What is Miss G’s eating schedule? How many meals does she eat per day? And how much milk does she drink? Do you limit it?
Alright, this one is actually pretty simple. Gracen eats 3 full meals a day, plus morning and afternoon snacks. As far as a schedule goes, she eats breakfast a little while after she wakes up, which normally ends up being around 7:30 a.m. Then, a couple of hours later, around 9:30 or 10:00, she has a small snack… Usually something like fruit slices, raw veggies, or nuts. By the time noon rolls around, she’s ready for lunch. We eat, clean up, do our regular nap time routine, and then she goes to sleep. She normally sleeps from about 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., and when she wakes up, she’s ready for her afternoon snack. Later on in the evening, normally just before 6:00, we have dinner, and that’s her last meal for the day.
As far as milk is concerned, yes, we absolutely limit her intake. She loves good, healthy foods, but that’s not to say that she wouldn’t fill up on milk if it was limitless. She has milk 3 times a day – with breakfast, after her nap, and with dinner. For each serving she gets a small cup, about half full, and other than that, she drinks water.
Alright… I hope that answers that! Now onto what Miss G’s been eating lately…
Breakfast // Wholewheat lemon poppy seed pancakes with stewed raspberries.
Breakfast // Organic multigrain o’s with sliced almonds and frozen blueberries (a Gracen favourite).
Breakfast // Wholewheat banana blueberry muffin. Kiwi slices.
Breakfast // Avocado omega seed toast. Granny smith apples with all-natural peanut butter.
Breakfast // Wholewheat flax oat pancakes (she asked for FIVE and ate every last bite). Kiwi slices.
Breakfast // Banana blueberry baked oatmeal with organic milk.
Breakfast // Plain organic yogurt with sliced almonds and pomegranate seeds.
Lunch // Mexican couscous with black beans, veggies, and fresh avocado. Shredded chicken breast.
Lunch // Homemade chicken veggie soup. Broiled parmesan multigrain toast.
Lunch // Cheese ravioli with basil, sun-dried tomatoes, and feta. Roasted carrots with fresh dill.
Lunch // Southwest turkey chili with organic sour cream. Cilantro lime couscous salad with red peppers and avocado.
Lunch // Chicken wild rice soup.
Dinner // Roasted garlic broccoli. Cheese-filled veggie tortellini with chicken tomato basil sauce.
Dinner // Spinach ricotta veggie lasagna.
Dinner // Chicken, tofu, and veggie stir-fry with fresh asian noodles.
Dinner // Roasted herbed chicken. Potato crisps. Roasted butternut squash and carrots. Stir-fried garlic asian melon.
Dinner // Butter chicken on brown rice, black barley, and daikon radish seeds. Garlic naan. Steamed broccoli.
Dinner // Roasted herbed chicken. Brown rice medley. Snap peas. Steamed beets.
Dessert // Frozen banana bites.
wow… do you actually have/use a cookbook for all those delicious healthy dishes ?? if so, I’d love to have it too
Oh, well thank you, Peggy. I feel like I’ve been in a bit of a meal rut lately, so that’s nice to hear. I very rarely use cook books, and I haven’t been doing a very good job of my usual meal planning lately, so these are all kind of things I randomly put together. I really enjoy looking for new recipes to try on the internet, and I find that when I plan our meals out the week before, I try cooking new things regularly and don’t have to go through the whole ‘what am I making for dinner’ stress. Must get back on it! :)
If you’re looking for some inspiration, you might find something on my Pinterest board: http://pinterest.com/jkossowan/food-entertaining/ Enjoy!
wow… I admire such cooking creativity… I’m totally lacking that! Never mind planning out meals :o … mind you… I don’t have kids yet (just pregnant with my first) and never really had to plan out meals as hubby and I always cook in bulk and eat the same stuff all week long. LOl… bet kids wouldn’t be happy about that. So I really soon will have to get into the cooking daily habit to make little tummies happy but still trying to keep cooking healthy. Thank you for the pinterest link!… I will for sure look into that!
Yummy! Has Gracen ever had Bison? I make a mean Bison chili with a cilantro creme fraiche and garnish it with chives and shredded cheese!! The secret is some cinnamon!!
To be honest, Sarah, no… I know bison is a particularly healthy red meat, but I haven’t eaten red meat (or pork) in nearly 20 years! My hubby does eat it, but because he often prefers chicken or turkey anyways, we stick to those plus fish. Truth be told, I would like to be fully vegetarian, but at this point it’s easier to just make one meal for the whole family, so we do veggie meals about half of the time and include meat for the other half. Your chili does sound delicious though… Perhaps I could pull off a chicken version? :)
Elliot likes bison too – I make a pseudo bolognese with it. It’s so funny, I don’t really pay attention to how much milk Elliot drinks because he’s not very interested in it, so it’s unlikely he’d fill up on it. I was the same way – I hardly drank milk as a child.
I don’t know if this would help your meal planning Jen, but I read a tip somewhere to make a list of meals to make for the week, but not to put them on a specific day. That really helps me feel less boxed in.
And, I’m sure you’ve seen her site, but Heidi from 101cookbooks.com has a good cookbook called Supernatural Everyday that I think you would enjoy. Similar style in terms of ingredients.
Erin, you hit the nail on the head as far as meal planning goes – that’s exactly what I do normally! Just make a list, stick it up on my corkboard, and depending on what I feel like cooking / how much time I have, I pick one of the planned meals. It really does work like a charm, I’ve just got to get back into the swing of it.
As for 101cookbooks.com, I have seen it, but I’ve never actually checked out her cookbook. Thanks for the tip – off to do that now! :)
Reblogged this on Nurwita's Closet.
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Wow that all looks fabulous!! My toddler is so picky, it can be frustrating!
Oh, I bet Mandy! My nephews are very picky and it can certainly be very frustrating/stressful. I honestly don’t know what I’d do if Gracen was a fussy eater… Probably load her up with kale and spinach-enhanced smoothies! :)
Gorgeous. What healthy and fabulous food she is having :)
Thanks!
Toddler food posts are my favourites