Ideas for my 18 month year old?

sooty&sweep

Hi
I'll be honest and say I did kids meals when mine were younger because my husband is rarely home before 7pm so too late for young ones to eat. I also have to say that I enjoyed being able to relax and enjoy my meal after they'd gone to bed. Both of mine also went to nursery so they often had tea at nursery.

To be honest I don't think there is anything wrong with what you've got in but at 18 months your little one has got used to what he's eating & what he does & doesnt like so you can't expect him to suddenly change.
I'd suggest just keep introducing new things.
I'd often give mine a small tea of something that was familiar & they liked and then encourage them to try some of our tea. They would "steal" some food off my plate. They thought it funny to steal mummy's tea and I found it a good way of encouraging them to try new things without feeling too much pressure.
Jen

YORKSHIRELASS

meritaten wrote: »

I just don't get the concept of 'kids meals'. My kids had what we had from the minute they started weaning.

Me too, but to be fair to the OP she has said that she wants to get her little one onto regular food and is asking for help. I think its really really important that you do this as soon as possible, the longer you leave it the harder it will be.

You need to be tough, your son is going to resist it at first, but he wont starve and he will eat when he is hungry.

Mince is a good option because its easy to eat. If you are giving other meat chop it up really small. Carrots can be grated into sauces, as can courgettes.

The last thing you want to do is make mealtimes a battleground. Make a big fuss when he eats something - and play it down when he doesnt. Never try and force him or make him sit there until its eaten, even if you are seething inside.

Dylans list is good, feel free to ask if you want any help making any of these recipes. I think both of my kids went through stages of being fussy but now they will eat nearly anything - and we always have the same evening meal at night.

Good luck!

dylan2011

I thought of a few more easy meals that my boys love -

Cowboys breakfast - basically bacon, sausage, mushrooms in a saucepan with baked bins and tinned toms, seasoned to your taste. We usually have this with jacket pots, but goes well with chips, mash etc. as well.

Sausage Casserole

Quiche (This is tasty hot or cold so is a handy all-rounder for lunches and dinners)

Omelette - I also do a big fat omelette cross fritatta - I use 4 eggs and milk. I fry off some sausages, ham, mushrooms, peppers, onions or whatever meat/veg I have in. Then I mix the eggs and milk with grated cheese, then pour it all on top of the other bits all ready in the frying pan. Cook it until almost cooked through then pop under the grill to brown lightly on the top. This also tastes good hot or cold.

Home Made potato hash/rostis are also good as you can hide veg chopped small in these - eg. grated carrot, onion, cabbage(think bubble & squeak), grated parsnip etc.

Kayalana99

Right day one! Going to get the ready brek porridge out this morning and try him with that - never even made it myself so good luck to me.

Going to be harder today going to go through the list of things as I am going to sainsburys later so see what I can do.

My blender is a small kids puree one I got but its a bit rubbish so thinking about investing in a proper one so I can make him fruit smoothies ...I think he'll love them and more likey to try it he's got such a sweet tooth.

mumtosix

I maybe going out on a limb here but as mine were baby led weaned I didn't puree their food. Have you tried brocolli, cauliflower, or other food he can pick up? Do you eat with your children, mine always ate better as a family?

Kayalana99

Ok thanks Dylan great list :-)

Quick stupid question - can I blend things in with his porriage? Now I've got him eating that ... he doesn't eat any fruit whatsoever. I have tried, he used to eat bananas but just started saying no to that and keep trying to retry but no luck...so need to hide stuff.

Love the idea of trying diff sandwichs...I did try ham once but after the first bite and realising something 'new' was in it, he proceeded to open everyone and take the ham out and checking each piece bread before he put it in his mouth to make sure it was 'clean'...have to admit it was funny watching him...never seen him so focused...might try cheese spread and nutella or something first.

As for dinners thiers alot on their I havn't got a clue where to start - but will do some googling on them :-)

The omettle sounds nice - everything seems straight forward how much milk do you add though?

Cowboys breakfast - do you mean all cut up and mixed together ?

Quiche - Would love a recipe for this my OH would love this to he buys these from aidi sometimes not sure what flavor will have to ask him...

Home made hash sounds good to will google that ...I know nothing!!!

Kayalana99

mumtosix wrote: »

I maybe going out on a limb here but as mine were baby led weaned I didn't puree their food. Have you tried brocolli, cauliflower, or other food he can pick up? Do you eat with your children, mine always ate better as a family?

I tried broc that was pretty funny...his face was priceless. We try to but partner gets home later then id want LO to eat. So most time we eat separately.

Sometimes I think its actually better on a spoon as he doesn't think to much about it..if you give him new finger food most time he won't even try it just gets chucked.

Gigervamp

One nursery food that I loved as a kid, made for my own kids and still make today when I want some comfort food, is "Nest".

A dollop of mash in the middle of the plate. Make a little indentation in the middle.
Boil an egg, peel and pop in the indentation.
Surround the mash with some baked beans and grated cheese.
And there you have a nest!
I would then take great pleasure in mashing it all up together with a dollop of ketchup.

Floozie

My mum told me that when I was a baby one of my favourite foods was carrots mashed with potatoes so you got a sort of carrot mash. Have you tried doing jellies with fruit in them to get some vitamin C in his diet? You could do a red jelly (raspberry) with some raspberries smuggled into it, an orange jelly with some tinned mandarin oranges smuggled into it or a lime or lemon jelly with some pineapple chunks smuggled into it. Children tend to like coloured things which might look a bit more exciting for them.

Toonie

I've worked with many picky eaters and still do (currently I nanny for six kids who seem to dislike everything between them). One thing I can say is that you need to harden yourself a little to what is about to come.

Your LO knows that if he doesn't eat that Mummy will give him something that he likes. As you said, you tried shepherd's pie and he didn't like it so you gave him toast and he gobbled it up. Children do not voluntarily starve themselves and missing a meal will not hurt. What it will do is show that there is one option. This may happen a few times, especially introducing new foods to a LO and at 18 months it can be even trickier as they become suspicious of things they don't know however seeing you eat as well will encourage him to try foods.

It can take up to a dozen times for a child to get used to the taste of something. So persevering is the name of the game. Give him his meal, encourage him when he does eat, don't stress when he doesn't. Always make sure there is something on the plate he likes so he is not bombarded with new tastes, even if this is something simple like a cracker or breadstick.

I've found that with under 2s the best option is a snacky lunch or tea (depending on when you like your cooked meal) as they have quite small stomachs at that age and get full easily. By providing a few options (some sandwiches, breadsticks, carrot/cucumber sticks, cut up grapes/apple) you give them control over what they are eating which at that age is also what they are looking for (as not much is within their control but they can always say "no" to food).

You mentioned sweet potato, mine love sweet potato chips. Peel and slice into thick chips and cook in the oven with a splash of oil. They're ready in about 25 minutes and you can put carrots in in long chunks as well.