Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Week of Toddler Meals (23 months old)

About 6 months ago, when my daughter was 17 months old, I created a post that showed what she ate for an entire week.   It was my hope that my post would help another mom/dad to get ideas for feeding their own little one, something that I struggled with for a long time.  Well, Olive is almost 2 years old now (just one more month!), so I thought it might be interesting to do it again.  She eats a lot of the same things she did at 17 months, but there are some differences.  Some things you might want to know:

  1. My husband and I have recently adopted a vegan diet.  That means no meat, no dairy products,  no eggs, and no animal products of any kind.  What does that mean for my daughter?  Pretty much the same.  We took her off whole dairy milk (we were going to stop at 2 years anyway) and switched over to almond milk.  She used to eat eggs a lot, so there is no more of that.  When we decided to go vegan, we still had meat and cheese in the house.  You will see some meat and cheese in some of the meals below - Olive got to help finish it all (my husband and I ate something different), but it's gone now and we won't be buying more.   
  2. Even though I am vegan, I am choosing to still buy yogurt for Olive.  I think yogurt has a ton of good things for her and I don't want to let my choices take away something from her that is so healthy.
  3. She drinks about 10 oz of almond milk in the morning and about 8 oz at night.  We plan on weaning it a little when she turns two, offering it more throughout the day in smaller amounts.  I also let her have water throughout the day when she wants it.
  4. Most days, Olive eats what we eat.  But she is a toddler!  I occasionally make her something different because she doesn't want what I serve her (or I can't because it's too spicy).
  5. This is actually a little more than a week.  There are 8 breakfasts, 9 lunches, and 8 dinners.  So....bonus! :)
  6. If you want to know the recipe to something below, just leave a comment and I'll let you know! :)
Okay then, without further adieu....


Breakfasts

blueberry muffin, sliced grapes, cup of veggie/fruit smoothie (homemade)

vegan whole wheat pancakes with pure maple syrup, chunks of colby-jack cheese, applesauce

oatmeal with mixed berries, flax meal & almond milk

yogurt mixed with applesauce & flaxmeal, vegan whole wheat blueberry pancakes

English muffin with natural peanut butter & all-fruit spread, sliced grapes, chunks of colby-jack cheese

banana, potato-onion-bean scramble

yogurt with applesauce & flaxmeal, rye toast with vegan butter, sliced grapes

warm quinoa with chopped bananas and coconut milk

Lunches

peanut butter & fruit spread sandwich, fresh tropical fruit mix, small cup of almond milk

whole wheat crackers, chunks of colby-jack cheese, hummus

vegan quinoa "burger" and hummus sandwich, clementine wedges

grilled cheese sandwich, black beans, cantaloupe

cous-cous, corn, tomato & white bean salad

watermelon, whole wheat cracker, bean-cucumber-corn salad 
hummus on lavash bread, banana & blueberries

watermelon, peanut butter & fruit spread on pita bread

bean & rice burrito (BRC burrito from El Pollo Loco, minus the cheese), frozen blueberries

Dinners

crispy chicken bites (last of the meat!), roasted brussels sprouts & carrots, lemony yogurt dipping sauce

sweet potato chunks, broccoli, avo-dilla

veggie burger, sweet potato tater tots

roasted zucchini, frozen peas, slice of cheese pizza

vegan "chicken" patty, frozen banana chunks, fruit/veggie smoothie

roasted broccoli, carrots & cauliflower, homemade spaghetti & cheese

pinto bean soup, baked potato fries, brocolli & cauliflower

vegan quinoa sloppy joe, vegan potato salad (note:  This is my serving - I forgot to take a picture of hers before she started eating.)  

I hope some of these ideas inspire you to create some new meals in your own home.  Happy Eatings! :)


6 comments:

  1. Love that you guys are going vegan! The potato/onion/bean scramble looks delicious. What spices did you use?

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    1. Hi Kari! My mom actually made it. She used sliced canned potatoes, diced bell pepper, diced onion, fresh minced garlic, Lawry's salt, pepper, olive oil, can of pinto beans drained & rinsed. Fry the potatoes, onion, garlic, bell pepper, Lawry's salt & pepper in the olive oil (can use vegan butter, too) until the potatoes are nice and golden brown - about 35-40 minutes. Stir in the beans and cook until they're warm. We actual ate them as breakfast burritos wrapped in tortillas. Olive ate it out of a bowl. I also added diced tomatoes and thousand island dressing (I mixed veganaise and ketchup). I didn't miss the eggs in the burrito at all. Hope you like it! :)

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  2. This is amazing Natalie! Dalilah loves quinoa and I never thought of serving it as breakfast! Thanks for a variety of ideas for quinoa and couscous. What are in some of your smoothies. I just started giving Dalilah smoothies and am looking for ideas. Thanks :)

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  3. awsum ideas. pictures help a lot.....

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  4. these are some great ideas...but I have a question...isn't soy bad for kids?

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  5. How did you make the cucumber, corn, & bean salad?

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