Finger Food Meal Ideas

[honeybee434]

I need some help expanding my meal planning for DD. I pack a lunch for her for daycare, and then at home she usually eats before DH and I do so I have to make sure I have meals on hand for her that are premade so I can either pull out of the fridge and/or heat up really easily. And especially help with things I can pack for her lunches.

So far they basically all contain the same few foods and I don't know where to start expanding:

Breakfast: oatmeal, eggs, peanut butter toast, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, bananas

Lunch and dinner: shredded meat (chicken, turkey, ground beef), steamed veggies (broccoli, carrot, sweet potato) and then more or different berries of the above. Usually a hand of Cheerios or puffs while I'm getting things ready

The only thing I don't give her is avocado due to DH being allergic.
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[jnnfrrose6]

DD usually gets leftovers, so I'll try and save a bit from a prior meal so I can send it in to DC or give for dinner or she gets whatever we're eating if we eat at the same time. Quesadillas have been a hit lately. Breakfast is usually yogurt and fruit, oatmeal and fruit, Cheerios, eggs, or pancakes.

ETA basically I don't do separate meals for the kids. It's what we're having or whatever we had the night before. Homemade pizzas have been popular too.

[liziz]

Quesadillas and scrambled eggs if you're cooking right there.

We try to have leftovers that we can share with her to break up the monotony. She eats before we do, so it would be food from the day before.

I also have done quite a few batches of mini muffins - egg/veggie, broccoli/quinoa/cheese, and banana/oatmeal muffins. We've also been pretty successful with mini meatballs (I put veggies in them, too). I make a big batch and store in the freezer, then just defrost 1-2 at a time (or send to daycare 1-2 at a time).

[soon2bmrsn]

We basically do what everyone else has already suggested. Plus beans -- DD loves black beans.

[packerbacker]

My DD loves these mini muffins. I make a batch and put them in the freezer so it is always easy to pull a couple out to defrost for her.

www.goldmedalflour.com/ourbakerblog/2013/august%202013/baby%20food%20muffins

[lucanjo14]

I feel like I'm terrible about meals for DS. We've been giving him pieces of what we eat depending on what it is, or a pouch or applesauce or something. I need to start giving him more complete meals I think. Also I can never tell when he's full and feel like I have a hard time guaging how much is enough food.

[liziz]

Jun 24, 2015 13:32:39 GMT -5 lucanjo14 said:

I feel like I'm terrible about meals for DS. We've been giving him pieces of what we eat depending on what it is, or a pouch or applesauce or something. I need to start giving him more complete meals I think. Also I can never tell when he's full and feel like I have a hard time guaging how much is enough food.

We do ok with balancing, but we really struggle with the amount. I think littlemissmarla was struggling, too.

LO would seriously eat a truckload of food if we let her/kept giving her things she likes. 

[missilini]

I'm so grateful for this post. I'm dying trying to figure out what to feed DD. Unfortunately she is still getting baby food way too often. It is just so easy. I'm pretty terrible at cooking for DH, so DD doesn't get a lot of homemade food either. I love the meatball and muffin ideas. I'm also struggling with how much to feed her. She will just keep eating if she likes the food. She generally throws a fit when we quit feeding her. My DH and I are both overweight and I'm hoping DD doesn't pick up our bad habits. We are trying to change them, but it's hard. Here is a pic of DD's dinner. I'll probably give her some applesauce too. Is this too much?

[surfmama106]

For dinner... In the beginning of the week I make a bunch of baby carrots, peas, and open a can of black beans (or caniellie sp?) and I bake a piece of chicken and cut it up. I keep them in separate Tupperwares and basically give her a handful of each. When she finishes that I give her her favs blueberries and strawberries and some cheese (mozzarella or cheddar).

I'm super bored with it, but it's easy. I just bought some ground turkey and chicken to make meatballs that I'll freeze.

[littlemissmarla]

Jun 24, 2015 14:30:32 GMT -5 liziz said:

Jun 24, 2015 13:32:39 GMT -5 lucanjo14 said:

I feel like I'm terrible about meals for DS. We've been giving him pieces of what we eat depending on what it is, or a pouch or applesauce or something. I need to start giving him more complete meals I think. Also I can never tell when he's full and feel like I have a hard time guaging how much is enough food.

We do ok with balancing, but we really struggle with the amount. I think littlemissmarla was struggling, too.

LO would seriously eat a truckload of food if we let her/kept giving her things she likes. 

Yea I am kind of still struggling LOL. I have actually kind of backed off feeding her the pouch, I find she is really lazy when it comes to eat and if she sees that I have a pouch out waiting for her she will stop eating finger foods until I give her some purees. If I see she is really not into the food then I will give her some but i'm trying to cut back.

Some things we give her:

Breakfast: pancakes 2 kinds (bisquick and then I will freeze them or mix 1 banana, 1/3c ground quick oats, 1/4 c applesauce and 2 eggs and cook like regular pancakes), blueberries, raspberries, greek yogurt, scrambled eggs, toast w. jelly, melon, french toast ( ww bread dipped in an egg with a little bit of cinnamon/sugar sprinkled on)

Lunch/dinner: Leftovers, nitrate free/organic sliced turkey breast, cheese cubes, beans, broccoli, string beans, carrots, minestrone soup, terriyaki chicken+veggies, mashed potatoes, rice, chicken or turkey meatballs I will make with a little breadcrumb an egg and spinach, pasta, fruits, ground turkey


I notice DD will go straight for the cheese if it's there and always choose that over anything so I have to start giving that to her last, loves her berries and broccoli. I need to be better about getting her to eat more veggies.. I'm going to have to offer things one at a time because when I give her them all at once she picks her favs and then leaves the rest. Little stinker.

[honeybee434]

Jun 24, 2015 17:27:02 GMT -5 missilini said:

I'm so grateful for this post. I'm dying trying to figure out what to feed DD. Unfortunately she is still getting baby food way too often. It is just so easy. I'm pretty terrible at cooking for DH, so DD doesn't get a lot of homemade food either. I love the meatball and muffin ideas. I'm also struggling with how much to feed her. She will just keep eating if she likes the food. She generally throws a fit when we quit feeding her. My DH and I are both overweight and I'm hoping DD doesn't pick up our bad habits. We are trying to change them, but it's hard. Here is a pic of DD's dinner. I'll probably give her some applesauce too. Is this too much?

My DD will eat more than that for dinner, but not breakfast or lunch. I don't know if that's good or bad, but I figure if she is eating healthy fruit or veggies I'll keep giving it to her until she slows down to where I can tell she is full. I'll try to pace what I give her, like tonight she had shredded chicken and broccoli, and then when she was acting done with that (giving it to the dogs. Ha) II gave her some strawberries and blueberries. Eventually she slowed down on how fast she was shoveling the blueberries and I could tell she was done. I think it's a lot of playing it by ear, honestly. I would think especially on veggies you could keep giving them to her until she stops on her own?

[soon2bmrsn]

For ideas, follow @replayrecycled and @weelicious on Instagram. Lots of cute/healthy kid food ideas.

Also, this blogger has some good toddler meals that I like because they show appropriate portion sizes.

twobytwomom.com/?cat=63

[hurricanerek]

I just made these to feed dd for breakfasts and she gobbled one up just now. I'm lazy and only used white all purpose flour. A huge plus was that I only needed a half can of crushed pineapple so DD gobbled up the rest in less than 5 minutes for one of her snacks.

Eta: sorry for the blur. Let me know if you can't read it.

[missilini]

My mom told me about a website that has really good baby & toddler recipes. I haven't looked at it too much yet, but so far it looks pretty good. www.annabelkarmel.com

[jnnfrrose6]

Please tell me all you ladies who cook actual recipes and make bags of meatballs or muffins and all that other stuff don't also work full time.

[Lola]

Jun 26, 2015 10:27:09 GMT -5 jnnfrrose6 said:

Please tell me all you ladies who cook actual recipes and make bags of meatballs or muffins and all that other stuff don't also work full time.

I work full time and have yet to make a baby recipe. He gets what we get, as long as it is dairy free. If its not, he gets frozen chicken nuggets, frozen meatballs, lunch meat, or things like that. 

[liziz]

Jun 26, 2015 10:27:09 GMT -5 jnnfrrose6 said:

Please tell me all you ladies who cook actual recipes and make bags of meatballs or muffins and all that other stuff don't also work full time.

I do, but I promise I'm really slacking on other things to make this happen.

[liziz]

Jun 26, 2015 11:06:57 GMT -5 @zerozeroone said:

Jun 26, 2015 10:41:34 GMT -5 liziz said:

I do, but I promise I'm really slacking on other things to make this happen.

I work full time and plan on making the meatballs. An hour in the kitchen on a Sunday is no big deal to me in order to have a back up meal for DS just in case. 

Exactly. We do a bunch of meal prep on the weekends for us, so if I already have the oven on I'll throw in a batch of sweet potato fries, or if we have leftover meat I'll make meatballs, etc.

[isolemnlyswear]

Jun 26, 2015 10:37:08 GMT -5 Lola said:

Jun 26, 2015 10:27:09 GMT -5 jnnfrrose6 said:

Please tell me all you ladies who cook actual recipes and make bags of meatballs or muffins and all that other stuff don't also work full time.

I work full time and have yet to make a baby recipe. He gets what we get, as long as it is dairy free. If its not, he gets frozen chicken nuggets, frozen meatballs, lunch meat, or things like that. 

Have you talked to your pedi about what milk substitute to use at 12 months?

[Lola]

Jun 26, 2015 12:24:18 GMT -5 isolemnlyswear said:

Jun 26, 2015 10:37:08 GMT -5 Lola said:

I work full time and have yet to make a baby recipe. He gets what we get, as long as it is dairy free. If its not, he gets frozen chicken nuggets, frozen meatballs, lunch meat, or things like that. 

Have you talked to your pedi about what milk substitute to use at 12 months?

I havent. Thanks for reminding me. Im going to email her now. We have given a small amount of Almond milk in a sippy a few times and he liked it. Not sure if that is the best option for all the time though. Id SO love to not be spending $150 a month on formula!!

[Lola]

Jun 26, 2015 13:01:17 GMT -5 TheCoffeeNinja said:

Jun 26, 2015 12:36:26 GMT -5 Lola said:

I havent. Thanks for reminding me. Im going to email her now. We have given a small amount of Almond milk in a sippy a few times and he liked it. Not sure if that is the best option for all the time though. Id SO love to not be spending $150 a month on formula!!

I still find it bizarre that tubs of formula in the US are $40 when they're about 9GBP (around $15) in the UK. No idea how they manage that.

We are using an organic formula that is $29 at the grocery store or $22 on amazon. Crazy there is such a price difference though.

[Lola]

Jun 26, 2015 12:24:18 GMT -5 isolemnlyswear said:

Jun 26, 2015 10:37:08 GMT -5 Lola said:

I work full time and have yet to make a baby recipe. He gets what we get, as long as it is dairy free. If its not, he gets frozen chicken nuggets, frozen meatballs, lunch meat, or things like that. 

Have you talked to your pedi about what milk substitute to use at 12 months?

She wrote me back. She suggested Soy milk...but im not sure about that. Im going to stick with the Almond for now. 

[liziz]

Jun 26, 2015 13:23:42 GMT -5 Lola said:

Jun 26, 2015 12:24:18 GMT -5 isolemnlyswear said:

Have you talked to your pedi about what milk substitute to use at 12 months?

She wrote me back. She suggested Soy milk...but im not sure about that. Im going to stick with the Almond for now. 

Not a medical professional, but I think I read that almond milk doesn't have enough fat in it for little ones.

[Lola]

Jun 26, 2015 14:36:01 GMT -5 liziz said:

Jun 26, 2015 13:23:42 GMT -5 Lola said:

She wrote me back. She suggested Soy milk...but im not sure about that. Im going to stick with the Almond for now. 

Not a medical professional, but I think I read that almond milk doesn't have enough fat in it for little ones.

Yeah, we are try to do a lot of nutrient/fat dense foods. Maybe i'll do a combo of different milks. I wish there were good research-based recommendations. All I can find are a bunch blogs. 

[jnnfrrose6]

Jun 26, 2015 11:15:45 GMT -5 liziz said:

Jun 26, 2015 11:06:57 GMT -5 @zerozeroone said:

I work full time and plan on making the meatballs. An hour in the kitchen on a Sunday is no big deal to me in order to have a back up meal for DS just in case. 

Exactly. We do a bunch of meal prep on the weekends for us, so if I already have the oven on I'll throw in a batch of sweet potato fries, or if we have leftover meat I'll make meatballs, etc.

I feel like there's so many other things to do/get done on the weekends that meal planning never makes it on the list. Maybe I need to re-evaluate the weekend "to dos."

[liziz]

Jun 26, 2015 15:35:43 GMT -5 jnnfrrose6 said:

Jun 26, 2015 11:15:45 GMT -5 liziz said:

Exactly. We do a bunch of meal prep on the weekends for us, so if I already have the oven on I'll throw in a batch of sweet potato fries, or if we have leftover meat I'll make meatballs, etc.

I feel like there's so many other things to do/get done on the weekends that meal planning never makes it on the list. Maybe I need to re-evaluate the weekend "to dos."

I've been really motivated by the fact that I don't take a lunch break, and so have to at least have salad stuff to cover my lunches for the week. Once I figure that out, meals aren't too bad!

[Lola]

Jun 27, 2015 2:08:17 GMT -5 TheCoffeeNinja said:

Jun 26, 2015 14:40:25 GMT -5 Lola said:

Yeah, we are try to do a lot of nutrient/fat dense foods. Maybe i'll do a combo of different milks. I wish there were good research-based recommendations. All I can find are a bunch blogs. 

Is it lactose intolerance or dairy allergy?
If lactose intolerance, you could ask the pedi about goats milk. That's my first choice for milk substitute but obviously not for dairy allergy or if it's not safe for 1 year olds.

It's an intolerance. I haven't been to the local organic store to see if they have it. I should try.

[soon2bmrsn]

60 things to feed your one year old:

www.playeatgrow.com/2014/03/60-ideas-on-what-to-feed-your-one-year.html?m=1

[asunasword]

Jun 27, 2015 16:12:28 GMT -5 TheCoffeeNinja said:

Jun 27, 2015 11:56:41 GMT -5 Lola said:

It's an intolerance. I haven't been to the local organic store to see if they have it. I should try.

As a lactose intolerant adult, I prefer goat milk even though it's awful in coffee. Soy just wasn't my thing and the nut ones didn't become big until much later. Hazelnut is delicious if you can find that. Nutritionally though, not a clue which would be best.

It is not just the fat content to be aware of but the protein content as well. Our doc recommended putting drops in regular milk as first step to see if he would tolerate it once the lactose was broken down. Then soy due to the fat and protein levels. We were told to stay away from rice at all costs due to arsenic levels. The levels are fine for an adult but not an infant we were told. 

[mary1217]

I'm on this facebook group. Under their files they have suggestions for milk alternatives.