Need Healthy Food Choices for My 19Month Old.

Hi Chinetta,

I just joined and intend to take out an ad , but just saw your entry. I am an expert in natural
health (a Naturopath) so can give you a few general tips to get you started. 1. Feed them
real food, not something out of packages 2. Use a lot of vegetables and some fruits at meals
and as snacks. Don't buy junk and have it in the house then you will have to get creative with the good stuff. As you experiment, let your kids learn along with you and get involved
creating healthy snacks and, later, meals. Use nuts and nut butters for protein. Check out your local health food stores for information and ideas. My number is ###-###-#### if you want
more help. S. D.

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Chinetta, I think every mom struggles with this same thing. I thought I was feeding my son right and come to find out he has low iron. If you are looking for healthy meals I would say make them balanced. For example: a meat (chicken, steak,etc), a carb(rice, potatoes,mac and cheese, etc) and a veggie. This seems to work pretty well in my house. My son has become the pickiest eater and is 2 yrs. He just started to ask for raw carrots. So he gets that as a snack. He loves fruit so I give him the veggies he likes and I don't push it. Just remember that a serving of a veggie or fruit is 1 Tablespoon for your little guy. Also if you are in a hurry, peanut butter and banana sandwichs are hit hit with mine. And I also use yogurt as a dipper for chicken, veggies or whatever. Sometimes just going to basics can help. If your lil man will eat spagetti, you can always hide veggies in the sauce. Spinach can be purred and put in and no one will ever no its there. I hope this helps a little. You can also go on wed md and look up ideas on how to get your toddler to eat better. Good luck I so know what you are going through!!!

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It is really important to read the labels. It will take a little extra time in the store (I know it's hard with little ones, but worth it.) A couple of things to think about when purchasing food. Try to avoid anything that has trans-fats (you probably knew that already), partially hydrogenated fat (essentially does the same thing as trans fat) and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). You'd be surprised at how much stuff has HFCS in it. When my daughter was sick to her stomach, I was looking for some crackers and they almost all had it in it. HFCS inhibits leptin which is a protein that tells your body that you are full. So essentially, HFCS tells you to keep eating, it takes a lot to feel full and never really feel satisfied.

Kashi: I try to stick with Kashi crackers and cereal. They make a Heart to Heart cereal that looks like cheerios with hearts in it. It might be a little challenging to eat for little ones though because they are a little bigger and crunchier.

Annie's Homegrown:I've bought their mac and cheese, cheddar bunnies (like goldfish), graham bunnies

Quaker Simple Harvest: They have a granola bar with dark chocolate bits in it that my daughter loves as much as the other kind with all the bad stuff.

Pasta: try to stick with the whole grain stuff. I buy Barilla Plus that adds protein and flaxseed, which is an excellent source of Omega 3 fatty acids...very important for brain development.

Bread: Notorious for containing HFCS, even the supposed "good" kind. I buy Pepperidge Farm Honey Flax.

Vitamins: I try really hard to find the kind that are made from fruit and veggie extracts, most are not. Publix carries a brand called "Berry Garden Gummies". They are shaped like gummy bears. The child has to be at least 2 to take these, though.

Finally, check out http://www.savingdinner.com She is a Certified Nutrition Consultant. I'm not at all creative in the kitchen, but I can generally follow a recipe. She has tons of great, healthy food. She even has ways for you to make up lots of meals and store them in the freezer, like those new chains popping up all over the place. She includes shopping lists and makes it as easy as possible for you.

I'm not a nutritionist, but I teach a college level Nutrition Course. These are some great pointers I have learned. I have a 3 year old daughter and I struggle to make great choices for her too. She is very picky! The only veggies she eats are carrots and lima beans! She refuses to eat just about any fruit, I can still get her to eat baby food fruit, but that's about it.

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Hi Chinetta,
I have 19 mos old twins and they love macarroni too!! but I add some chopped broccoli to it,also for my 5 year old I puree coliflor and add it to the macaroni and the scramble eggs too and she doesn't tell the difference!!! I give this to the twins too. Also ,lipton has this wonderful dishes like rice and brocoli or pasta and spinach(publix has it too).
Spinach bites are wonderful (veggie patch)they are by the organic area .
I use wheat bread spead with almond butter ,my kids loves it!
I hope this helps a little.
S.

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Fresh is best. My little one loves brocolli, squash steamed. You can boil it in a pot or cut it into pieces, place in a bowl with a little water, cover with saran wrap then microwave for about 2 minutes (just until tender). Green beans, lima beans, green peas are a good choice. I get the little cans and then cook them in the microwave for a quick addition to lunch. He loves them. Since he typically only gets fruits and veggies he asks for fruits and veggies, not realizing how good sweets can be. Fruits are great to, cut up a cantelope in advance, watermelon, apple slices, pears, grapes (cut in half), bananas. Stay away from packaged foods. If you do buy pkgs. the following should not be in the first five ingredient spots: sugar, brown sugar, hydronated oil, corn syrup. If you see it, put it back. For on the go healthy options, Gerber makes dehydrated fruit and veggies for toddlers. I don't believe they have added preservatives. They are really good, Ihave to stop the grownups from eating them.
One more piece of advice, if you go to a restraunt, have healthy foods in your bag to feed your munchkin before the food arrives; once they see french fries its the end of it. This has the added benefit of keeping them entertained until all the food is there. What can you carry in? I usually cut up fruit in a tupperware dish or bring cranraisins or puffs, or the Gerber dehydrated food.
Hope this helps
P.

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I recommend the "Super Baby Food" book. It was my bible with my first child and a great reminder with my 2nd. It gives you so much advice on nutritional meals, snacks, etc. It even gives ideas for parties & crafts. It breaks down individual foods & explains the benefits. I hope it works for you!

SOme other ideas:
Make fresh smoothies using yogurt, fresh or frozen fruits, a bit of milk-soy-or juice, and then add some spinach to it. They'll never know. I also like to add wheat germ or flax meal - but check for allergies.

Pita (they make tiny ones kids love) with hummus, or make your own bean dip using canned beans, bit of olive oil, and spices.

I disguise all sorts of things in pancakes - our favorite is canned pumpkin. You can break up the pancakes into tiny pieces for the baby.

I make tons of soup - you can even begin with an all natural soup starter mix & then add your own ingredients to make it taste better. If the kids don't like the vegetable texture - food process it & keep the veggies they like whole. I put beans inn all my soups. This is a great way to cook for your little one. After you make the soup, you can freeze it in an ice cube tray. Pop a few cubes out when baby is ready to eat & heat. Easy way to prepare lots of meals.

My kids seem to love their veggies mostly when roasted with a bit of olive oil & garlic powder. I use a dash of sea salt, but you may want to omit.

I have spent the past 5-1/2 years searching for the "good tasting" organic or all-natural food for the kids. I can give you some ideas with those - including hot dogs w/o the gross stuff like preservatives, nitrates, additives...
Aunt Annies has delicious snacks & mac n' cheese. I'll raid the pantry for other ideas & post later.

You'll also see that they go through phases of what they like/dislike, so don't get too discouraged. My daughter used to hate broccoli - now she likes only the stalks - maybe later she'll also eat the floret. Who knows?

Happy eating!

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Hi Chinetta!

I totally relate to your question. I was so worried when my kids were younger. And with my 13 month old all those worries are coming back again! But I have 2 older kids that are 9 and 6 and they are very healthy weights. I think the best thing is fresh fruits and vegetables! We steam veggies until they are soft and the kids love them! They have veggies they will eat no matter what, and we brought them around on some others with a little I Can't Believe it's not Butter Butter Spray. My kids often prefer fruits for a snack, but often that is the sweetest choice available. My daughters both love raisins and applesauce which is easy and healthy too.

We also just talk about things all the time. We talk about healthy food choices. They rarely are offered soda and fresh cold water is always available from our Brita and they often drink from there when thirsty. I have been giving them water since they were little. My 13 month old loves water. I don't offer juice too often because of the high calories and sugar.

For Hot dogs I buy Oscar Meyer 98% fat free turkey franks (cut up small for little ones). Noodles are great like you said, maybe even with some cheese sprinkled on it. We have breakfast for dinner once a week. Eggs, biscuits (pillsbury), fruit and lite brown and serve sausage. Easy and fast! I recently tried the Morningstar Farms corn dogs and they are YUMMY!

Whew, I wrote a lot. One more thing. We watched a lot of the Wiggles when my big kids were smaller and that sparked a lot of discussions on healthy eating. The Wiggles talk a lot about healthy foods, what happens if you eat too much of good things, and sing fun food songs. I love Paul the chef, but I don't think they show him anymore. You probably could only find him on the older videos.

Hope this helps! Enjoy your little ones!

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Frozen or fresh veggies are the most healthy as there are no preservatives or sodium in them. I use 1 mixed spice for all my veggies and think it is great. It is by Mc Cormick and called Veggie Suppreme. It basically compliments all veggies by bringing out their own flavor along with some salt etc. Baked chicken is good and easy. The skin is not considered healthy but to me it is the best part if done crispy. Very easy to do. I buy the 10lb bags of leg quarters and divide it up into family sized pertions in baggies and freeze. Place chicken in like a cake pan or any baking pan uncovered. I sprinkle the pieces with poultry seasoning, salt,pepper, garlic powder and paprika. put a little water in the bottom of the pan , maybe and inch or so and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour. I also cut the legs from the thighs first. I save the juice from the chicken and any leftovers are made into chicken and yellow rice. I use the chicken juice as part of the liquid needed to cook the rice, debone the left over chicken( I warm it up in microwave) easier to debone that way. Cook rice per directions but I find that it always needs extra water, at least 1/2 cup , you can add as needed, I then add canned or frozen peas. Canned with the juice, frozen while rice is still cooking and almost done. Then add the chicken meat. Easy and takes about 30 minutes to cook the rice. Yellow rice comes with seasoning right in it already so all you have to do is add peas and chicken meat, I add a small can of sliced black olives to mine but that is optional. Another easy way to cook chicken is to boil it with salt,pepper,poultry seasoning, then get some bisquick and follow directions for dumplings. You can take the skin off after cooked for a little bit healthier meal and have a veggie on the side. I thicken the chicken broth with a little corn starch mixed with water to make a gravy to pour over dumplings.There are 3 easy meals that are easy to make. Another easy meal, cube steaks. I season them with a tiny bit of salt and pepper, garlic powder. Place a little butter or margerine in a large frying pan and brown meat on both sides, then pour a can of cream of mushroom soup with about 1/3 can of water into the pan, stir it up so it is even mixed in with the meat and simmer covered on low for about an hour, stiring occasionally. meat is tender and gravy is yummy for mashed potatoes. Hope this helps you with ideas and cooking skills. Granny

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I think eating healthy, is all about bringing foods into the home that you know are going to be good choices for your family. I shop at Publix, and I buy frozen vegetables, Publix brand, that contain no salt and steam them for 10 minutes. My son loves them because they are naturally sweet. It took a while for me to get used to it because of no salt, but after a while you can't tell the difference. Instead of ground beef, I buy ground turkey, it is cheaper and once you season it, it tastes pretty good.(The other choice is lean ground beef, but it costs more) You can use it for meatballs, tacos, and hamburgers. I don't buy soda, I dilute fruit juices, and I very rarely buy cookies. If I buy snacks, it is pretzels, granola bars, or dried fruits. When I go to Publix, the bakery gives cookies to the kids, and that is the treat for my son.

Your children will watch your reaction to foods, so it is important to set an example, and then they should follow your lead.

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You don't have to be a great cook to make some meals, like skillet sensations, They are a meal in a bag and you simply eat it up in the skillet. they have chicken teryaki with rice and vegs or chicken alfredo. They also have beef ones as well. They all come with veggies, either potatoes, brocilli, peas. Also, shake and bake is good too. I buy chicken cutlets and use the shake and bake for a coating and then bake the chicken and heat up some mixed veggies in a pot. Also for lunch or dinner, prudue makes chicken strips that you just heat up. They have southwest or grilled flavor and then just add some veggies and heat it up. There is also whole wheat pasta with spinach inside you can buy. I think butolli makes it.

As for snacks, bananas, applesauce, rasins, whole wheat toast, pudding/jello, string cheese, carrots with ranch, any type of fruit.

Anyway, hope this helps.

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You can pick up large packages of American Cheese and/or White-American Cheese @Sams Club (Real Cheese, not processed cheese "product")... boil macaroni noodles of different shapes as ordered... shells, bow-ties elbows, etc to keep things interesting. Drain the noodles and add some pats of butter, several slices of cheese, some milk, and a litle salt and pepper til you get the consistency and taste you like.mmm!
Also, you can put fresh vegetables, like broccoli or asparagus, in a microwavable bowl with wax paper over them and microwave on high for about 3-5minutes til they're cooked the way you like .

You can wrap a potato in a wet paper towel and microwave on high for about 5 minutes... longer if cooking more than one.

Also, you can cook an ear of corn in the husk on high for 5 minutes, or if the husk is off you can wrap it in wax paper(one at a time cooks best), then let sit for 5 minutes... open, add butter and a little salt and enjoy!!
Also, Hungry Jacks (red box) mashed potatos are delicious... boil 2-cups of water.. remove from heat, add about 2/3rds of a cup of milk, some butter and salt and pepper and yum! The best!
Another quick, healthy snack is eggs scrambled with some cheese, and/or pre-cooked meat or sliced sandwich meat mixed in.

Also, the George Foreman little sandwich-style cookers cook almost anything great in about 3-10 minutes depending on what it is!

Enjoy your little ones!!! They grow big so quickly!! D. M.

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Chinetta,
You can get on the internet and look up easy healthy recipes for yourself and your children. You are doing the right thing by starting while they are young! They are not as picky for the most part and will stick anything in their mouths at this time. Which pretty much means that they will try anything. I have gotten lots of great healthy recipes from the internet. Hope this helps,
L. Jacobs

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Have you heard of the cookbook called Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfield? It is a great way to "sneak" veggies into your kids daily diet without all the fight(and even for yourself or a spouse that won't eat their veggies)It does require a little extra prep maybe once every 1-2 weeks to make the vegetable purees, but then you can just freeze them and use as needed. Another cookbook along this same avenue is called the Sneaky Chef(I can't recall the authors name) but more ideas for incorporating veggies into "normal" foods like pancakes, muffins, etc.........
there are always healthy alternatives to less than healthy kid favorites, it just takes a bit more time and effort to research the products out there...like one of the earlier respondents I am very well read when it comes to nutrition even though I am not a nutritionist/dietician(yet...I'm working on it though!) as it pertains to my work, but there are resources out there if you don't mind doing a lot of reading! I find that the Parents, Toddler, American Baby, and Babytalk magazines which are usually complimentary at your doctors(ob/gyn & pediatrician) offices will usually have a few good ideas/recipes.....the fact that you are aware enough to want to make good nutritious decisions for yor kids is the most important step.....good luck! let us know how it goes! L.

Ps-Oh....and a great "healthy" peanut butter that you can find at both walmart and publix is Naturally More brand it has more protein, less sugar, and healthy omega fatty acids(great for brain development!)

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I see a few responses regarding frozen and pre-packaged meals...just be cautious on those as they are loaded with sodium. Try grilling, I even grill most of my veggies, they retain their nutrition and it is easy and pretty mess-free cooking. There is also a cookbook out, I forget what it is called, but, it was written by Jerry Seinfeld's wife...she was on Oprah with it a while back. The whole cookbook is about cooking healthy for kids. She teaches you how to make ordinary meals and add nutrition by substituting things like carrot or cauliflower puree for other ingredients to add vitamins and nutrition without altering the flavor. It is all about "tricking" them into eating healthy. Try snacks like carrots or crackers with natural peanut butter.

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