I Need Food Ideas

I have a 14 month old little girl, so I hear you. It's hard to get into the swing of things once you stop the jar food. Ahh those days of opening up a jar of peas were so simple!. Anyway, I mostly give Annika whatever we are eating-shephard's pie, spaghetti, chicken and stuffing,etc. But I also keep other foods on hand for times when I need to feed her something different. She loves yellow squash, I saute it in a little bit of olive oil. I try to buy fresh veggies or no salt. I keep a bag of frozen meatballs on hand- they are a big hit and the doctor recommended them. You can toss just a couple in the microwave and they are ready in a minute. I also keep a bag of frozen cheese ravioli's in the freezer too. Another quick fix. Sweet Potatoes baked in the microwave and then rolled into little potato balls are favorites too. Noodles with or without sauce, diced tomatoes, grilled cheese. I hope these ideas help a bit.

With my 1st 2 kids, I got in a bad habit of giving them just "kid foods" like chicken nuggets and mac-n-cheese and hot dogs and pbj and things like that. Then, my son got a stomach virus last summer and couldn't kick it for almost a week and lost a crazy amount of weight--he was skin and bones because he couldn't keep from throwing up. The doctor said his body was having a hard time recovering because when he's not sick he isn't eating a healthy diet. Huge wake up call for my family!! So now with my 7 and 9 year olds (and with my 7 month old, too), I cook regular meals like pork chops, tilapia fish, beans and rice, pasta, etc and we all eat the same meal. Of course I keep chicken nuggets around when I need a quicky meal for them, but now things like that are the acception, not the rule.

My 13 month old daughter eats the same things we do. Her newest favorite is spaghetti, I give her elbow macaroni instead of spaghetti noodles, easier for her to manage, but I have completely stopped cooking her "special" meals.

My friend created wonderful meals for her toddler using Anabelle Karmel's cookbook, "First Foods". Check it out at amazon, you can probably get a used copy. I have seen the book and it is very well written, beautifully photographed and her baby just LOVED the foods her mommy made for her.

My son is almost 15 months and has been on table food completely since around 11 months. Here's some things I feed him...

Veg-All No salt added canned veggies
Other canned no salt added veggies (peas, green beans, etc.)
Veggie and Vegan burgers
Soy patties (that are like chicken patties)
Canned low sodium soup - I drain and rinse the contents
Wheat noodles boiled in low sodium broth
Lunch meat - cubed
Fresh, canned and frozen fruit

Sorry, can't really think of anything else. I emphasize "low sodium" with my son because he was born with a congenital heart defect and has already underwent open-heart surgery. So, I don't want him to develop heart disease anytime soon! We generally eat the same things he does however there are some nights we'll have something bad and I won't give it to him. I also keep Healthy Choice frozen dinners on hand to feed him too.

HTH!

I would say if your haveing chicken that much stop eating it for a while try fish,pork or whatever you want to at that age i was still giving my daughter gerber graduates she loved them but if shes eating what ever you eat just make whatever you feel is right for her to eat!and dont forget breakfast for dinneer once in a while it's easy and kids love it! but just mix it up some and here are a few links i found with some recipies!

http://www.easy-kids-recipes.com/easy-recipes.html

http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/categoryrecipes?...

http://www.thatsmyhome.com/recipes-for-kids/index.htm

I started my baby on veggies, about 2 weeks ago, I like my veggies cooked until they are soft, like last night I cooked cabbage with bacon and butter just put 1/4 cup of water and a few tblspns. of butter a little salt and pepper and let it cook on medium-low for like 45 mins or an hour, same with broccli add the cheese when gets real soft. Also about once a month I cook a roast in the crock pot. Fix it right before bed add whatever veggies you like... ME, I put in the roast first then, baby carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes Then I cut wholes in the roast and stick a peice of fresh garlic right inside the meat.,a can of cream of mushroom and 1 1/2 cans of beef broth, I add all seasoning, Put it on high and let it cook while you sleep. You can put 1/2 in the freezer 1/2 in the frige and have a meal for a whole week and more in the freezer for a real busy week when you don't feel like cooking. (Pork roast is very cost effective). You won't believe how good it is. It will melt in your mouth even you child will love it! instead of just macaroni try macaroni and sausage cut up or macaroni and hamburger. Hope I helped a little bit let me know.

You can try and go to the Kraft website. They have kid friendly meal ideas. I did that when my older son did not want to eat the samething over and over. Since he has a milk protien allergy, the is not alot of things I thought he could have.

I give my daughter all kinds of things. She pretty much eats what we eat, there are just a few dishes (like stir fry) that I know she doesn't care for. But usually she eats what we eat. I fix her noodles, tofu, eggplant, soy burgers, veggie dogs, etc.

There is a great book you should try, it's cheap and filled with great kid friendly recipes. It's called Super Baby Foods.