Toddler Meal Idea

I had some leftover brown rice and ground beef so I made this up. Sorry, I do not have any amounts to give you, I just added stuff together until it looked like the amount I wanted. But its easy, no big deal!

Here is what I used:

Ground beef (already cooked)
Brown Rice (already cooked)
Frozen Peas
Shredded Cheese
Wheat Germ
Whole Wheat Flour
Milk

All I did was mix the beef, rice & peas together with a little bit of milk, then I microwaved it for about 2 minutes. Then I added in the wheat germ & flour to thicken it up, kind of like make your own "cream of whatever" soup. Then I microwaved it a little more until it was thickened up, maybe only 30-40 seconds. I added the cheese in, microwaved for about 15 seconds, mixed it up again and it was done. Jimmy loved it and I thought it was pretty good too (I added some salt to mine though, I know SHAME!!).

You can change this around any way you want to. You could use chicken or beans instead of beef. Broccoli instead of peas, etc. Its a great "leftovers" concoction. Or you could make up a batch and freeze it in ice cube trays or small containers for later use.

Feeding the Wee One

Here is a sampling of what my little Jimmy usually eats. Thought I would post it in case anyone is having a hard time coming up with ideas.

Breakfast:
- Oatmeal or Cream of Wheat with fruit
- Pancakes or waffles and fruit
- Scrambled eggs, whole wheat bread
(not toast, toasting removes some nutrients) and fruit
- Whatever whole grain "O" cereal we have and fruit

Snack:
- Fruit
- Cottage Cheese
- Cheese
- Slice of bread
- Fruit leather
- Whole grain crackers

Lunch (or dinner if not cooking a meal for whatever reason):
- Grilled Cheese on whole grain bread and some veggies
- Pasta and veggies
- Quesadilla and some fruit
- Peanut butter sandwich (over a year old and not allergic!), plain or maybe with some all natural fruit spread
(try pureeing some fruit in the blender)
- Leftovers from dinner
- This is gonna sound gross, but he loves it: Hard boiled egg yolk mixed in cottage cheese =)

Another snack

Dinner: Usually whatever we are having. I separate his own portion out before adding strong spices/salt etc.

I try to make sure he gets a grain & veggie or grain & fruit in every meal, and a protein (beans, lentils, cheese, meat) in at least 1 meal, but try for 2 meals a day.

Jimmy is still breastfeeding about 6 times a day and I offer him water (sometimes with a little apple juice mixed in) as well. I hope this is helpful to someone. I know it is helpful to me to just see it "written down"!

Lunchtime!

Today we had a cheesy-veggie quesadilla. I found a similar recipe here along with a bunch of other great toddler recipes.

To make the quesadilla you will need:

2 whole wheat tortillas
Shredded cheddar cheese (or whatever kind you like)
chopped cooked veggies
Add in some chopped cooked chicken breast if you like. We didn't because I didn't have any pre-made.

Sprinkle the cheese on one tortilla, add the veggies and/or chicken and top with the second tortilla.
Bake or broil until cheese has melted
(If you broil, watch it to make sure it doesn't burn!)

I cut it into triangles (like a pizza) and then cut the triangles into little bitty pieces that Jimmy could handle.
This makes more than enough for a little one, so you may want to "help" them eat it. I did, it was pretty tasty dipped in some salsa. =)