What’s For Dinner?
So, for those of you who have one year olds out there, what the heck are you feeding them? Our doctor told us that we need to stop giving Brayden baby food. But, baby food is SO easy. I know that he’s getting the nutrition and enough food. I’m a picky eater and it’s one of my biggest faults. I hate being a picky eater and I’m embarrassed by how picky I am, but I just can’t help it. I really want B to be a well rounded eater and like everything so I’m doing my best to introduce him to lots of different foods. Also, I should tell you that I’m not a cook… AT ALL! I never, ever, ever cook and I don’t really enjoy it. But, I’m trying to learn. I’ve been make him pancakes and eggs and he doesn’t like either of those. So today I tried french toast with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Well, that was not a good idea. Turns out B is allergic to cinnamon! He took one bite and started coughing and choking, but I thought he was being his normal drama queen self when it comes to meal time. I gave him a couple of pats on the back and told him he was fine. He kept crying and I proceeded to clean up the kitchen (taking my time mind you). I finally took him upstairs for a bottle. By the time he finished the bottle his whole left side of his face was red and swollen (including his eye)! It was the scariest mommy moment I’ve had. I called the doctor and she told me he was fine as long as his breathing was okay. Thank goodness he didn’t eat more than one bite! It cleared up pretty fast and is almost gone now.
So, after my long story, my question is, what do you feed your kids? I need recipes that are easy, fast, and nutritious. If you have ideas post them here in the comments section so everyone can read them. Just make sure they don’t have cinnamon in them 
About DrewB
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Hey Drew!! Reese is 19 months and we went through the same thing. I want to be fast (I HATE TO COOK) but not nuggets every meal, ya know?? I have two ideas: #!Eating for Life cookbook. I cook everything from there. The meatloaf, chicken parm, manwich are especially good. We do a lot of turkey spaghetti with protein noodles too and she would eat that every night! #2. I have a little cuisinart steamer that I throw squash, zucchini, asparagus into. It is fast and SUPER easy! It travels too! Hope that helps!!
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I hate cooking, too! Instant oatmeal, shelled edamamme (boiled for 5 minutes), bananas, nutrigrain bars, jello, dried fruit in raisin size pieces, manderin oranges, graham crackers…. I don’t know if these are all healthy, but my 17 month old survived. Good luck!
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Poor little guy! And mama! Very scary. I have found a lot of times when kids won’t eat, it is because they are ready for the next stage……feeding self with spoon/fork, bigger pieces, cutting it different, etc. I don’t really have any specific recipes but try to feed your kid whatever you are eating……just cut it up smaller or even puree it. That way, you won’t make a habit out of making seperate meals……which I did for 3 years for my son! Not fun!
quesadillas are a staple around here. if you use cooking spray instead of butter or oil in the pan, and put cheese, chicken and corn inside, it’s kind of nutritious?
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Go to wholesomebabyfood.com they have lots of great kid friendly recipes. I always add flax seeds to my sons food. I like to make things in batches and freeze them. I have also made some things from deceptively delicious but my son is only 21 months and can be pretty picky too. Hope this helps!
My nephew makes the same face and every time he does I go crazy bc it’s so cute! And seeing as how he and B are only 3 days apart in age, the nephew’s doctor said the same thing about baby food. The only things I see him eat at the MIL’s house are cheerios and other little snacks. What about making sweet potato fries? I love them (for me that is!) and they’re nutritious as well.
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Hey Drew! Scary indeed!! Glad he is OK.
I have 2 children… neither are picky eaters. At a year old, they can pretty much eat whatever as long as you cut it up in bite sized pieces for them. My 2 year old loved peas at that age [she still does]. Mac & Cheese, PB&J [HUGE HIT with my 2 year old], cheese, pirates booty, corn, organic cheese puffs, pizza, quesadillas, etc. Meatloaf is great! [Albertson's pre-makes them for you... no cooking on your end]…
Hope that helps! Email me if you have anymore questions! I have 2 kids…
*Shey*[B]
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I go the quesadilla route often also. I just slap a tortilla down in a pan (I don’t use any butter or grease), on half of it spread some refried beans, some shredded cheese, maybe some tomatoes if I have them already cut up, or some cooked chicken cut up really tiny, or whatever else I have in the fridge or freezer (I think I even stuck broccoli in there once). My one year old and three year old gobble them down like nothing. They don’t even complain if I use wheat tortillas.
I also freeze some meat whenever I can. I just take it from whatever I might be making for us for dinner, before I add too much spice to it, and put it in a freezer bag, spread thin, and freeze it laying flat so I can just break off chunks as I need it.
I hope that helps! I do still use some baby food though, for the variety and convenience.
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Oh, another thing my one year old will always eat, it’s kinda weird, but half an avocado, some plain yogurt and wheat germ all mushed together. He loves it.
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Hey Drew, I’m like you and some of these other ladies, I hate cooking! I think this was mentioned already but what I did was take the same veggies that I was feeding my girls and just steamed them and cut them into chunks. Bananas and pears are great for that too because they soft enough to for their little teeth. Cheerios and Puff wheat are great too.
I think as long as your food is soft enough and small enough to chew and swallow will be fine and then gradually you can move up to the bigger, harder things.
It’s all trial and error and then you’ll find what works for you. Isn’t this parenting thing great?!
BTW, I have 4 kids my youngest is 4 months old and I’m still asking for advice about the baby. It seems like I forget everything with each child. gah.
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Okay feeding a toddler is one of the hardest things ever! But I have gone through it now 3 times, and I have some advice. Oatmeal is great! Let him feed himself, it will get VERY messy, but let him, he seems to be stong willed and he will end up enjoying the meal more. Beans are a great source of protein and easy to make, sprinkle some cheese on top. Fruit, fruit and more fruit is good. Bananas, melon (I use a melon baller so it is easier for him to feed himself) oranges. Grilled cheese with turkey is good. I make homemade mac and cheese and is delicious! I add bacon, but just make sure you cut everything up real good. Also I remember Lily was immpossibly picky, but I found if I just put one or two food items in front of her instead of a whole plate, she tended to eat more, it just took longer to feed her. Also, I’m telling you he will eat when he is hungry. He might not be that hungry when it comes to meal time, think about how many crackers/snacks you are giving him during the day and cut down and see if he eats more at meal time. I am going to start a new thing on my blog, it’s a dinner type of swap with other moms, because I too hated to cook, but over the last year I have really gotten into it and I want to help other moms, so keep on eye out for kid friendly easy recipes! Sorry this is a novel!
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So i am not a mommy by anymeans
or a cook for that matter but still wanted to comment! one: i am super picky, i think when we have kids they will eat soo much better than me, i am determined to make that happy 
two: i know my niece loves green beans (super easy to just boil in 10 mins for a meal) and actually loves avocado sushi rolls and they are really easy to make 
!
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I have lots. Here we go…. My boys LOVE pasta. Plain simple pasta tossed in butter/olive oil with a pinch of garlic salt (regular salt works too). I make it fun by using different types of pasta. From angel hair, shell, cork screw, to the bear shaped ones you can find at whole foods. I serve it with frozen corn or peas. Or fresh steamed broccoli with garlic butter sauce (they don’t like the frozen kind). For simple protein, I buy the already cooked (broiled) whole chicken that you can buy from any grocery store or costco and shred them into bite sizes. Hebrew National low fat all beef hot dogs that I just boil in a bit of water until the water evaporates. A simple soup: I boil a breast of chicken until cooked in 100% fat free low sodium chicken broth & throw in some cubed carrots & zucchini to be cooked until soft enough for the kids. Shred the chicken into bite sizes, and you may throw in the soup some rice or left over pasta. And to make other things fun, I use heart shape cookie cutter for toasts/pancakes/watermelon. Oh, they also LOVE 1. frozen eggo chocolate chip waffles 2. Gogurts that I freeze so they eat them like ice cream for snack/dessert. EASY & SIMPLE. Just remember to cut everything into bite sizes just perfect for Brayden’s age. Good Luck!
Oh my goodness! Poor Brayden! I don’t have any food idea’s for you since my baby is only 4 months… i’ll just go read everyone else’s ideas!
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My kids have cinnamon on their oatmeal and applesauce all the time. but at christmas I made them some cinnamon tea for run and on accident made it WAY too strong. My oldest had a very similar reaction as your son did – weird red rash and swelling on his face. Very scary!!!!!
at a year my kids loved: frozen peas and blueberries (right out of the freezer!), hard-boiled or scrambled eggs (a healthy fat like coconut oil or butter is good for their brains), no-sugar applesauce to feed themselves (messy but fun!), green beans and brocoli, toast, bites of cheese. Definitely a lot of eggs, the yolks have great stuff for their brains. Definitely avoid white flour and sugar, these lower the immune system and this time of year, no one wants that!
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We have a one year old too. For lunches sometimes I make the Organic Annie’s Homegrown pastas. I serve it with a side of corn or peas and an organic yogurt or applesauce to give her that last bit of sweet at the end.
She usually eats what we eat for dinner. We try to be as healthy as possible.
Just slowly add in more table food from what you are eating. You can still give him baby cereal and food. I still give my 17 month old that for breakfast sometimes or when she refuses to eat vegetables I just mix some puree into rice cereal and she eats it up!
Good Luck!
Jill
I fed my little boy applesauce, mashed bananas, and instant mashed potatoes. I also fixed him scrambled eggs (I know the doctor says not to do this in case they have an allergy, but oh well). He still loves scrambled eggs! Really just give him whatever you’re eating, just cut it into tiny pieces.
eggs and ketchup. oatmeal with bananas. french toast or frozen waffles (from wholefoods) with blueberries or flax, with applesauce on top. Waffles are the easiest but even easier than that and what I give my little guy almost everyday is a protein shake. I buy a big bag of frozen strawberries, blueberries, I add bananas or whatever other fruit i have on hand. He loves them. He thinks he’s having a real treat! I add a little flaxseed oil, which you can’t taste at all and the whole thing is super nutritious and takes minutes!