Week of Toddler Meals (17 months old)

My daughter has been eating real food and full meals for a while now (she's currently 17 months old).  But when she turned 12 months and we started transitioning off of formula, it was overwhelming.  Formula use to be her 100% nutrition.  Now I had to make sure:  Is she getting everything she needs?  I bought books, I researched, and finally, I calmed down.  I realized, as long as she eats healthy foods, most of the time, most of the week, she'll be fine.  But it took me a few months to get to that point.  I always wish that I had had a mom just say, "Here are some meal ideas to get you started."  So, with that in mind, I thought that I'd record everything Olive ate for a full week: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and some snacks.

A few notes:

1. Olive still gets whole milk twice a day: 12 oz when she wakes up and 8 oz before she goes to bed.  (I just didn't take pictures of it!)  She also gets water throughout the day when she wants it.
2. This actually took me about 10 days to complete because:  Some days were leftovers of the day before - not that interesting - and some days we were out and about and I didn't have my camera.
3. These are the meals I made for my daughter, not necessarily the meals she ate.  Truthfully, she has a good appetite and usually eats what I give her, but she's a toddler so she likes to be difficult sometimes! 
4. Sometimes she eats what we eat and sometimes I make her a different meal.
5. Yes, we eat a lot of bananas, flax meal, and sweet potatoes.  Hey, they're easy to make and healthy!  Also, you caught me on a week that I had a lot of grapes and pears.  On another week, you might see a lot of cantaloupe and peas or apple and green beans.  It just depends on what we bought that week! :)

Breakfasts

Bananas and Homemade Waffles (the waffles are made with flax meal, blackberries, and peaches)

Applesauce with Flax Meal & Potato Pancakes (made by Grandpa)

Bananas, toast sticks, scrambled egg

Egg, Cheese & Hash brown Burrito 

Greek Yogurt with Banana, Flax Meal, & Applesauce mixed in

Oatmeal with Banana, Flax Meal, Blueberries, and Applesauce

Diced Pears with Whole Wheat Pancake Sticks

Lunches

Peanut Butter Pita Triangles, String Cheese, Grapes

Greek Yogurt with Bananas and Garbanzo Beans 

Slurry (our name for smoothies in our house).  This one has:  spinach, carrots, sweet potato, kidney beans, cantaloupe, bananas, almond milk, flax meal, blueberries, mango, green beans, strawberries, applesauce, peas, and blackberries.  If you want to see me making a similar one, click here.

String Cheese, Diced Pears, Toast Sticks

Scrambled Eggs with Shredded Cheese & Peas

Almond Butter and Banana Sandwich with Organic Cheddar Cheese 

Kidney Beans and Dried Mixed Fruit

                                                Dinners

Pearl Couscous Mixed with Garbanzo Beans, Peas, Corn, Tomatoes & Spices

Sweet Potato and Turkey/Chicken Burger Patty

Sweet Potato, Cheese Quesadilla, Grapes

Turkey/Chicken Meatloaf, Sweet Potato, Roasted Cauliflower & Carrots

Grilled Polenta, Sauteed Spinach, Baked Pork

Taco Bake:  Ground Chicken/Turkey, Pinto Beans, Tomatoes, Crushed Tortilla Chips

Burrito:  Chicken/Turkey Mix, Cheese, Tomatoes, Flour Tortilla

Snacks (these aren't all the snacks she ate - just the ones I photographed)

Baba Ganoush & Pita (shared with Grandma) 

Grapes and Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich (shared with Mama)

Hummus & Pita

For all the parents about to transition into full-fledged meals with their little ones, I hope this can help!  For all the parents with toddlers that are already transitioned, I hope this helps give you some fresh ideas.  And to all parents who choose to offer their little ones healthy choices, even if they don't always eat them...high five to you! :)