What do your LO's have for dinner?

i feel like when it comes to dinner I am running out of options and I dont wnat them to be picky like their mama! ha! WHat do you cook or heat for dinner?! The girls eat the same thing all the time bc they are so picky or some days we are, it always changes!! would love to know what you all feed your LO's? TIA TIA

 

My guys depending on the day and my motivation get, beef stew, chicken stew spaghetti, hamburgers, grilled cheese, chicken divan, pork ternderloin, fish, ham, turkey, pot pie, chicken souflaki, tacos. For veggies we do corn, peas, green beans, broccoli, cauliflaur, carrots, potato, sweet potato

 

There are only 3 "sure-thing" dinners they will eat (at just over 13 months); macaroni & cheese, grilled cheese, and cheese ravioli with homemade sauce. We do try to introduce other things, and I think at day care (lunch) they are more successful, but by dinner they are usually tired/cranky and we just want to make sure they eat. So we alternate. Some days I do a "de-constructed" grilled cheese too - cheese slices and bread & butter. We've been trying to get them to each chicken tenders too, not great success yet. And omletes are good but hit/or/miss with my ladies.

I'm ok with just having 3 or 4 things for dinner and rotating. They can't tell me yet what they like or don't like.

 

Dinner for our boys is usually chicken of some sort, plain steamed veggies, and fruit. They are still soy intolerant, so they can't eat much of what we eat - I sure wish they could!! If I make something like pot roast and veggies that I know is safe, I will give them that, but we rely on convenience food for ourselves mostly (frozen meals, etc.).

 

Perdue makes these great baked chicken nuggets the girls absolutely love. They also like teriyaki chicken meatballs, baked chicken, all kinds of veggies, fish sticks (HappyTots), and Gerbers Lil' Entrees are a huge hit. They also love Sprout Stage 3 Lasagna and Mac n Cheese. We've tried ham and cheese sandwiches a couple of times, but they just deconstruct them, so I give them ham, cheese and bread separately.

 

They eat what I cook. When Henry wakes up, we are going to walk up to the store to get something to grill tonight. Either chicken or steak. I will serve mashed potatoes and peas with it. I tend to make meals that have 1 or 2 items they will eat on the plate and then something that is hit or miss (usually meat). Since there are 5 of us in the house, I cook 1 meal each night and everyone eats what they eat.

 

They pretty much eat what we eat, with the addition of tons of fresh fruit, extra veggies, homemake veggie muffins (I make and freeze), and veggie burgers. It's a struggle to get dinner on the table in time for them though - they really want to eat at 5:30 and we don't get home until 4:45.

 

Can you share your veggie muffin recipe? I would love to have it.

 

I try to have the kids eat what we eat, but most times it is an epic fail.

So.. we have 4 or 5 rotating dinners they will eat. Turkey hot dogs with ketchup, fish sticks, chicken nuggets, ravioli's and then fitting in gerber preschool dinners as needed. My daughter loves rice and all things made of noodles, the other has texture issues so he is challenging to get to eat our "real" dinners most of the time.

Then I add a veggie-usually still a puree with a bit of chunk in it, tons of fruits, and a dessert like jello or pudding or applesauce.

 

Thanks for all the ideas! When did you all start using forks? I still break everything up and put it on their tray? Sometimes will give them a fork but then they tend to be distracted and just want to play with the fork and not eat their food. They know the fork goes in their mouth though with food on it.

Is it ok to continue to break up their food? I rarley feed them on a fork bc there is two of them and i dont like them to wait so i break it up and put on tray!

oh and at what age did you all do hotdogs and grapes?

 

We started offering forks and spoons at each meal around 12.5-13 months. They are starting to do better with the fork now at 15 months, although they still play with it a lot. They can stick large things, like green beans, but they often go back to their fingers because it is easier and faster for them. Spoons we are still struggling with. I give them something like baby oatmeal or yogurt at least once a day to let them practice, but they still aren't getting it too much. They may dip it in and get a bit on the spoon, but then it usually ends up in their hair or flung all over the place. We just keep showing them what to do every day - it gets tedious, but I figure they will get there eventually!

We haven't given them grapes or hot dogs yet. I almost got some grapes this week to try, but ever since my niece choked on them when she was little, I've been paranoid about grapes. Hot dogs I plan to avoid as long as possible because they have lots of junk in them that I would prefer not to give my kids too much of.

 

I've done hot dogs and grapes since 15 months or so.

I quarter the grapes. The kids don't really like the skin, so I often have to peel them too. Very time consuming, but they do like to eat them then.

I also cut hot dogs into small chunks. I buy either all beef or turkey dogs and they LOVE dipping them in ketchup.

 

One of twins will eat just about anything! So she usually eats whatever we have. Unfortunately this is not the case with her brother! He has a very limited selection that he likes. He will eat hot dogs, chicken nuggets, spam, spaghetti, some fruit and he loves bread! I constantly try to get him to eat new things but he refuses. I am hoping that at some point he will grow out of this. None of my other children were ever this picky!

 

I just started grapes last week. They love them. I was paranoid at first and chopped them up a lot, but now I just quarter them. We haven't done hot dogs yet, but they like other meats do much I might think about introducing them soon.

I just started grapes last week. They love them. I was paranoid at first and chopped them up a lot, but now I just quarter them. We haven't done hot dogs yet, but they like other meats do much I might think about introducing them soon.

 

My girls will usually eat whatever we eat, but occasionally they have picky moments. When that happens I resort to PB&J or any lunch meat sandwich. Tacos and mexican pizzas are a big hit, just about any kind of pasta(I often use the Lipton pasta side dishes for dinner and they can't get enough), and they LOVE any kind of bbq'd meat. Also those Gerber Graduates pick-up raviolis that are sauce-less. The girls love them and they aren't messy. They eat any fruit I put in front of them and they like corn, carrots, peas, and broccoli. I usually try to do a fruit or veggie at every meal and usually for dinner they get both. We also do a lot of yogurt and cereal bars.

I started hot dogs at 10 months. I did the all beef no by-product kind from Ball Park. However, I do peel them and slice them in small pieces. I just started grapes about a week ago. I just quarter them and the girls LOVE them. They haven't had any problems with them but I do keep a close eye on them while they eat.

 

Sounds like our house. I still cook some food for them and freeze in portions - mainly for lunches, or if we're having take out or if they need to eat earlier than what dinner will be ready.
It is a struggle to get dinner on the table early enough for twinnies to eat with us - we have 4 children and sometimes it feels like a military operation each evening. I've been trying more lately though as its good for them to watch us eat and interact with the family. It means I don't get out for a late afternoon walk though :-(
Also a big fan of making large batches of savoury muffins, slices and homemade biscuits, and then freezing! You know exactly whats in them, and with savoury muffins, you can make so many differnt combos - yum!