Kelly's Korner: What's For Dinner?

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

What's For Dinner?

I don't have a lot to blog about this week because we have been snowed in since Saturday. I'm trying not to lose my mind. I know many of you live "up North" and laugh at the fact that 2-3 inches of snow can shut the South down. But it does. We received 3 inches of snow Saturday night and it closed Church and school has been out the last two days and is closed again tomorrow. We are supposed to get another 2-3 inches on Wednesday night so I'm thinking it will be at least Saturday before I get out of this house. (Can you tell I'm getting stir crazy?)
Anyway - I'm going to get up tomorrow morning and get dressed and put on make-up no matter what. I have been hanging out in PJ's and sweats and I am just starting to feel shlumpy. I'm going to dress up Harper too. And take some pictures. ha! And I haven't had a Sonic coke since Saturday and I'm trying not to shake. (I'm totally kidding). (kind of).
In the meantime - I have a question for you. Harper is totally on table food and I'm very lucky because she will pretty much eat anything but I'm sort of in a slump of what to feed her. She mostly eats carrots, peas, sweet potatos, grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese, peaches, pears, bananas, and mandarin oranges. But I feel like we just eat that over and over. Sometimes I give her turkey or chicken. And also yogurt and/or oatmeal for breakfast. I know there are websites that will give me ideas but I want to hear from REAL MOMS. So what do you feed or did you feed your one year olds? Clearly she also likes oreos but I'm trying to stay away from those. ha!

Any new ideas for me?

Oh and P.S. Congratulations to my sweet friend Angie on having baby GIRL #5 and a happy ultrasound today!!!!

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293 comments:

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Rachel said...: My daughter always loved canned chicken. You can find it next to the canned tuna. It is very soft and easy for a 1 yr old to eat. You could also try pancakes, grapes cut up in small pieces, different types of cereals broken into small pieces if needed (Life cereal).; 1/05/2010 10:12 PM
nancy said...: Everett's only 7 months, so I'm not help on the 1-year-old diet. :) I'll just check back in a few months to get some ideas... BUT I'm commenting because Harper is making the cutest faces in these pictures!
-Nancy (fellow OBU-er); 1/05/2010 10:12 PM
Wally Family said...: Kelly, I had this same question when my son was just turned 1, so I blogged about it and got a few answers from different moms. You can read that post here:

http://nmwally.wordpress.com/2008/09/21/need-your-input-what-to-feed-my-1-year-old/

It's funny because to this day it is the post on my blog that gets the highest traffic, which makes me laugh because my blog is just a piddly little one. But...maybe it had some good suggestions (or more likely there are just a lot of moms googling about it. :)). Happy feeding!; 1/05/2010 10:12 PM
Jennifer said...: Ravioli (no sauce), there are so many kinds! Mine actually really loves the spinach/mozzerella ones from Costco, if you have a Costco close by.

Tortillas, mostly we do chicken and cheese but my first child especially loved whole wheat tortillas w/ hummus.

Chicken nuggets, so easy right out of the microwave!; 1/05/2010 10:12 PM
Jacquie said...: Those little expressions are adorable. Is Harper getting blonde??

I don't know what to tell you about food, but I think if I had to do it over again, NOW I would place a lean protein, a good starchy carb, and either or both veggies and fruit in front of my child at each meal. That, for me, makes a healthy, balanced diet... and I'd want to start them young.

Of course, I'd allow room for an Oreo on occasion! Ha!; 1/05/2010 10:17 PM
shannon said...: My son is one, and he is digging pasta. All three of mine do, actually, and I started them all on different types and flavors of pasta around this age-- my youngest, Jack, is 14 months. He has 6 teeth, but I cut it so he can gum it and swallow it.

How I do it: I boil a box of tri-color rotini pasta, and while that is boiling, I cut up a crown or 2 of broccoli really really small, and throw it in a frying pan coated with a tablespoon of olive oil. I throw the broccoli in and sprinkle a teenie bit of garlic and parmesan and basil, and once the pasta is boiled and drained, I throw that in the pan, too. I toss it around, letting some of the pasta get a wee bit crispy, sprinkle more parmesan, basil, and a little more garlic. They love it. They love it warm, they love it cool. He can pick it up and use his hands, and he thinks it is delicious-- and I am incorporating broccoli, which my older 2 now love!!; 1/05/2010 10:23 PM
2 Little Irish Boys said...: Turkey meatballs--easy peasy and you can freeze them and just pop them in the oven when you are ready.
1 lb ground turkey meat
minced onion (chopped really fine)
grated apple or carrot
sage
salt
pepper
beaten egg
bread crumbs

mix up form into balls and bake on greased sheet in the oven on 350 for about 20minutes.
My boys have always loved them especially just starting on table food!!!!
TRY IT!!!!; 1/05/2010 10:25 PM
2SetsOfTwins4Me said...: I have 13 month old twins and they eat basically everything i eat, just cut into bite size pieces.

Their favorite breakfast foods are
pancakes, french toast, eggs, oatmeal, grits, toast w/ jelly

they also like any type of cracker, animal cookies, goldfish crackers, cheese, chicken nuggets, green beans, any type of pasta or rice dish.

i could go on and on, they will literally eat off my plate; 1/05/2010 10:25 PM
Melissa's Thoughts said...: Now mind you my son is 18, but when he was little we would get the mini raviolli and put a little sauce on them. I would cut them in half until he was older and could eat a whole one. They are about the size of quarters. You can get them in the frozen food section in a bag and boil them up as she eats them. You can also make back raviolli for you and Scott too. YUMO; 1/05/2010 10:28 PM
The Giffen Family said...: I got a lot of my ideas for what to feed my son by cruising the baby food aisle. The gerber meals have anything from pasta & chicken to rice & beans. It encouraged me to start feeding him other things and being creative with what I mixed together.
He loved rice & pasta so we could get him to eat a lot when we mixed it with that - we'd always include some sort of veggie and then meat(tuna, chicken (canned or baked), beef, etc...) I'd try to offer a fruit too. I like to keep some veggies & fruits on hand in the can. That way I could have him try them and they wouldn't cost a lot if we ended up wasting them.
Hope that helps!; 1/05/2010 10:31 PM
Teresa Wilkins said...: Love your blog. This is my first post to you. I am Whitney Wilkins MIL. My grandsons loved to eat chopped ham. Like you get on a salad bar. You can find it in most grocery stores. Another favorite is chicken legs. Easy to hang onto and cheap to fix. I used to bake a whole package and freeze individually. I bet you can find them in the grocery freezer now days but they are super easy to fix.; 1/05/2010 10:31 PM
Alison said...: This might very well be the first time I've commented on this blog...although I've kept up with it for almost a year!

I just wanted to chime in b/c my second baby who just turned 8 months has finally started finger foods and I'm in the exploratory stage of trying to figure out what to feed him.

It really depends on how many teeth they have. If they have at molars, you're limitless (almost). You want to stay away from things like hard nuts and raw veggies for quite some time. They recommend 3 for things like that, but I have a 2 year old who loves raw veggies. If she has molars, just feed her what you're eating...just very small bites (marble size for mushier food, pea size for harder). My first pretty much ate what we did from the time she was 12-13 months old when she had her first molars. If she doesn't have them yet, you can do things like breads, cheeses, any veggies that are cooked and mashable, fruits, pasta (ravioli/spaghettios work great), fish, meat that is done in slow cookers and is very tender, etc. Hope that helps!; 1/05/2010 10:33 PM
Tracy said...: Has she tried soup yet? Sam will eat anything in soup, even foods he'd refuse otherwise. He does even better with soup when he drinks it through a straw, then uses a spoon to get the left over chunks. You can get bowls with straws built in, or you can just put a straw in a bowl/cup. He thinks it's so cool! We had potato soup tonight.; 1/05/2010 10:34 PM
Amo said...: Ah! These parents with kids who will eat anything are killin' me! I wish my son would eat anything. My son has been a super picky eater since we started him on baby foods at six months. He is now 16 months and will only eat these foods: oatmeal with blueberries and raspberries mashed in, toast with jelly and flax seed meal, bananas, scrambled eggs with cheese, yogurt, applesauce, chickless nuggets (vegetarian), fish sticks, sweet potato fries, french fries, Gerber chicken sausages, crackers, Pirate's Booty, and grilled cheese sandwiches with flax seed meal inside. That's it. He won't eat ANY vegetables or meat. He won't eat any pasta at all. What kid doesn't like mac and cheese? Mine. Ay yi yi.; 1/05/2010 10:34 PM
FrouFrouBritches said...: When my kids were little (youngest is 3 now), they all loved spaghetti with meat sauce cut up really well and lasagna. Zuchini or squash cut up in cubes and saute in 1 Tbsp. oil and cover and cook on low to soften. YUM! They also ate quiche, blueberry muffins and biscuits. All my southern babies loved biscuits! YUM! Biscuits and syrup or a little jelly - no honey until after 1 year old because of botulism. Also, my kids loved grapes, but I always peeled the skin and cut them up in quarters or smaller. I've always been a bit of a FREAK about the choking hazards!; 1/05/2010 10:35 PM
Amy said...: Those pics of Harper are adorable! And I have to laugh cuz I follow Angie's blog and read her latest entry where she said she'll be back to report on her ultrasound so I was waiting to hear but she hasn't posted about it yet. But you did! :) So now I know! lol; 1/05/2010 10:41 PM
JJC said...: i have a 22mo, and i was determined not to fall into the rut of pizza, chicken nuggets, and grilled cheese EVERY meal. so far, she mainly eats the things that you listed with the addition of bananas, applesauce, string cheese, green beans, black beans, pinto beans, and blueberries nearly daily/weekly. she also eats annie's mac-n-cheese w/ the white cheese sauce (less mess/stains, honestly) and i mix her veggies into that.

i know this isn't a great deal of variety, but with these listed above in addition to yours, it covers the food groups fairly well. seems like i read that younger children do well with fewer food choices (like the 15 or so we've listed) and will more willingly add foods into their diets when the "usuals" are regularly offered.

i'm thrilled that she does eat so well as i haven't really pushed the issue. i must admit, however, that when we pass a chick-fil-a, she does say "FRIES!" now. ha!

YOU are a wonderful mother and will help harper learn to be a healthy eater.; 1/05/2010 10:47 PM
Mathis Family said...: I have an almost 5 year old and an 18 month old and they both eat what my husband and I do. Our 18 month old loves all the normal stuff like bananas (I just give her chunks to bite from), oatmeal, applesauce, etc. She also loves a homemade cheeseburger macaroni that we make, frozen ravioli that I just cut up and give her, frozen veggies, really anything that she can pick up and feed herself.
Oh, and don't worry about the Oreos! She's just really well rounded!; 1/05/2010 10:53 PM
Mrs. Joyce said...: French toast, eggs w/ cheese, plain yogurt mixed with almost anything, berries, asparagus, squash, peanut butter, grapes, chicken legs, ham (not too often).; 1/05/2010 10:55 PM
Hayley said...: My 15 month old loves cheese quesadillas - and they're so easy! I sprinkle shredded cheese over half a tortilla, microwave it for 20 seconds, fold over and cut up. Tomorrow we'll be trying it with some diced or shredded veggies added in. She also likes cubed hotdogs or corndogs that I cut up so they aren't choking hazards. She is also quite the fan of tater tots from Sonic and when she was about Harper's age she became obsessed with drinking out of a straw, so she is also a fan of their Apple Juice slushes! :) Good luck getting to Sonic!; 1/05/2010 10:59 PM
Krista said...: Campbell's Chicken Noodle OOOO's!!!! IT is way better than chicken noodle soup (it is too hard for her to feed herself..plus all my kiddos still love it! Just make it, then drain almost all of the broth into another bowl and you could spoon it to her between her bites!
Hope that helps!; 1/05/2010 10:59 PM
Heather said...: My 13 month old eats everything you listed plus....chickpeas, Annie's organic wheat crackers, avacado, blueberries, cubed cheese. They're may be more but that's all I can think of :); 1/05/2010 11:05 PM
Ashley said...: I'm snickering a little right now. Mostly because I was thinking the exact same thing when Ava went to table foods. It was so repetitive eventhough she was a great eater. Little did I know it would get worse! HA!!
Just wait until she gets to be 18 months and refuses everything besides one or two favorites. I mean, what happened to my avacado, banana, peas, and turkey lover? She hates all of those foods now!
She only eats cheese and pears. Drives. me. bonkers.
Some favorites at that age for her were:
-flax waffle with cream cheese
-avacado and cream cheese sandwich
-grilled cheese with sweet potato smeared inside (weird, I know!)
-jello
-turkey and cheese roll-ups
-pasta wheels
-turkey and cheese quesadilla

Hope that helps! Welcome to the life of toddler food.; 1/05/2010 11:10 PM
Melissa Stover said...: i am loving her hair! it's growing so fast. i'm sure you have plenty of food suggestions, i haven't read the comments, but tess eats scrambled eggs, waffles, breads (she loves bread),and pretty much anything we're eating except tough meat or hard, crunchy foods. she does not have back teeth yet, but she does very well.; 1/05/2010 11:11 PM
Michele A. said...: Hi Kelly - I haven't read through the other comments, so I'm sorry if I'm repeating. And I'm not a mom, but I am a full time nanny! So some things my then 1 year old ate were advocados (he LOVED them!), some cottage cheese, and fish sticks from Trader Joe's (or any frozen kind). One of my other 2 year olds (though older), loved rice and beans. I usually made him Zataran's black beans and rice. You could mash those up a bit and Harper could use a spoon?
I LOVED the picture of the oreos. Double Stuffed too!! And I am from Boston, we get 2-3 inches of snow on a daily basis and nothing is ever cancelled. Ha!! But I hope you guys stay warm and hopefully soon you'll be back at Sonic :-)
-Michele; 1/05/2010 11:26 PM
WinD said...: I feed Markie whatever we eat for dinner. Mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, ground beef, or whatever else I have cooked up. Minus peanuts because I just found out a few weeks ago that he is mildly allergic to them. I feed him a PBJ sandwich. Oops! I felt horrible!!; 1/05/2010 11:31 PM
Melody said...: You might try a variety of beans. My daughter LOVES garbanzo beans, but she's older than Harper, and they are not as soft as some other types of beans (they might be a bit of a chocking hazard). Maybe try small white beans, black beans, or kidney. Such great protein and really easy finger food that's not messy.; 1/05/2010 11:34 PM
Melissa said...: Omigoodness! In these pictures Harper looks like a little girl (rather than a baby)! They grow up so fast don't they?!

My little girl is about 6 months older than Harper, and she eats a lot of the same things Harper does. She also eats peanut butter sandwiches. I had planned on holding off on giving them to her until she was older, but she had been eating kid's meals at Chick-Fil-A for a while when I found out they are fried in peanut oil - Oops!! But, thankfully she's not allergic. For dinner, Cora eats pretty much the same thing we do. I just try to make it a little more kid friendly, i.e. no sauces, etc. I just try to make sure there is one thing we eat at each meal that I know for sure she likes. Hope this helps!; 1/05/2010 11:38 PM
Tara G. said...: Pancakes without the syrup, with a side of fruit. We have breakfast burrtios every Saturday morning- our youngest obviously can't hold a burrito, but she likes the insides! Scrambled eggs, tomatoes, avocado, homemade hashbrowns, and cheese.

Put your warm clothes on and go for a walk! :); 1/05/2010 11:38 PM
Kylie and crew. said...: Avacodo and egg yolk....tortillas with cream cheese and turkey cut up small, black beans and rice, pinto beans, chicken in small pieces that have been boiled so it's soft, that's all I can think of off the top of my head.

There is a great book that I use for my 7 mo old and 3 year old. It's called 1 2 3 cook for me. Author Karen Knight. I went to gradeschool with her daughter. Anyway she is a mama and gives you TONS of recipe ideas. Just an idea! I think it's easier than looking on a website. I cook out of if every week and rarely buy jarred baby food because it's so easy to cook!!

Hope this helps!!; 1/05/2010 11:45 PM
Unknown said...: My daughter loved laughing cow cheese and some kind of fruit with it. Now that she is older I Give her apple wedges with and she deeps it. She loved noodles with a little olive oil on them.; 1/05/2010 11:53 PM
Valerie said...: I have a baby food grinder and my kids ate pretty much whatever we ate. My 3rd would only eat what we ate - if she saw the Gerber baby on the jar she would spit it out! :) So yeah, anything - meatloaf, spaghetti, sweet and sour meatballs w/ rice... they ate it all. Just stuck it in the grinder or cut it into pieces. Now I'm hungry.; 1/05/2010 11:55 PM
Crystal said...: I have a 7 year old and a 3 year old so it has been sometime since I was feeding one so little but my 3 year old loves grits. We get the instant kind and try all the diffrent flavors so far he loves the cheddar cheese ones. I know maybe not the most healthy of foods but she might enjoy it for breakfast every once in awhile :) She sure is a cute little thing :); 1/06/2010 12:07 AM
Jami said...: Hey Kelly,
My daughter Presley is 2 months older than Harper and I make pancakes and put in fresh apples slices cut really small and some cinnomon and she loves it. I also boil whole wheat pasta like shells and I mix in organic frozen mixed veggies and a little grated cheese and she loves that. Good luck!!!
Jami; 1/06/2010 12:29 AM
KellyV said...: the baby I nannied in GA ate anything from soft tofu just heated in the microwave (sometimes with a bit of soy sauce on top), eggs, waffles, pasta, rice, cut up chicken ... really anything we ate he ate too! if you can get harper to eat tofu I highly recommend it as it's full of protein and so easy to fix for her!; 1/06/2010 6:31 AM
In Line With The Word said...: I was watching Jay Leno last night and he had a guest make (drum roll please)..... Deep Fried Oreos!!!

Of course, living in the South and Harper loving Oreos...I think that's the best snack ever!; 1/06/2010 6:44 AM
Our European adventure... said...: When my daughter turned 1, she loved scrabbled eggs with cheese for breakfast, my sister also found these adorable pancake molds that are ABC123 and I would make banana whole wheat pancakes with them (I am looking on the box, but can't find any brand on them to give you but I think she got them at William Samona Outlet in Memphis a few years ago) I liked them because they were easy enough for her to hold. Also Quesidillas (with spinach tortillas), applesauce, frozen ravioli (not the can stuff), I would also make spaghetti with macaroni noodles so she could pick it up better. When she gets more teeth, my kids love bell pepper...all colors. The pinwheel little things you make with tortillas, deli meats, cheese, you can even put some fresh spinach leaves in it instead of lettuce.; 1/06/2010 7:29 AM
Sam I Am said...: Avacados! My kids love them!; 1/06/2010 7:43 AM
Mandy said...: I'm so glad you asked this! I'm getting so many ideas from the comments! My son eats lots of pancakes and waffles. (I hand them to him whole...especially loves the mini Eggo pancakes) He also loves frito chili pie. Most of the time I just use canned chili unless I'm making a pot for us too. I crush the fritos up and they get mushy in the chili. It's different from anything else he eats so he loves it. Cottage cheese is good with fruit mixed in, any "Chef Boyardee" thing is a favorite too....raviolis, beefaroni, ABC123's, etc. I also give him PB&J without the PB. :) Sometimes I do marshmallow fluff and jelly. Cheetos also makes a white cheddar natural cheese puff chip that is our new favorite snack and Snyder's makes a whole grain version too! Good luck with all the new ideas!; 1/06/2010 7:44 AM
Anonymous said...: We have gotten more relaxed as we've had more children. With our first we always fed her "kid-friendly" foods, but with our third we give here everything we eat--as long as it can be chewed easily and cut up in small pieces. So much easier and she eats much more of a variety than our first. (We eat pretty healthy food now, too--a big change from when our first was a baby.); 1/06/2010 7:52 AM
Catrina said...: My Kara is almost 14 months and she has been eating the gerber graduate meals and pasta pickups. and sometimes we will give her what we are eating, like last night she had a couple pieces of pork chop, with black beans, shells and cheese and green beans. Usually she doesnt get that much of a variety but she was only going to get the shells and cheese, then my mom gave her some black beans, and I gave her the green beans and pork chops. I like the graduate meals because they always have veggies in it. and she loves her some green beans.; 1/06/2010 7:58 AM
Unknown said...: hey! my daughter,vivian was 1 dec 29th...she likes everything. we r big man. orange fans, i also like kiwi and the cans of tropical fruit salad are good. i have tried cantaloupe and honeydew melon but she only has 1 tooth so we are limited w/meats and some fruits..i usually add meat into mac & cheese that i make.turkey,chicken, ham..its really good :)i also try to recreate the gerber graduates meals at home, it's cheaper! for breakfast she's been having grits and fruit on the side or cream of wheat w/fruit on the side or applesauce mixed in. happy birthday harper!!
-stephanie; 1/06/2010 8:03 AM
Kara said...: My daughter is a few weeks younger than Harper so I am in the same boat as you. I bought her some beech nut let's grow tummy trays this week and gerber graduates pasta pick-ups. They are really easy and you can just let her feed herself with them. I shop at Wal-Mart too, and you can find them there. Hope this helps.; 1/06/2010 8:11 AM
lottfam said...: You have lots of suggestions. I didn't have time to read them all, but one thing I would do is ask the deli worker to slice ham or turkey (would ask for low sodium too) in 1/4" slices so I could dice it up at home for finger food. We'd do the same with different flavored cheeses and let the kids have baby or regular goldfish -- they liked most of the flavors (pizza, cheddar and pretzel). Once they're a year old you can give them hot dogs too. I'd slice in half length-wise and then cut in smaller slices. Good practice for using a fork or easy finger food. Diced apples (peeled) were a hit too.

Hope your party is a huge hit -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARPER!; 1/06/2010 8:13 AM
Amy Maze said...: Kelly,
My mom has an in home daycare and serves scrambled eggs and biscuits every morninig. The kids LOVE it! You know, the cheap 'biscuits in a can' kind. they are easier for them to eat. She also serves lots of varieties of fruits. For lunch it's chicken nuggets, fish sticks, pb&j, noodles, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots, corn, pizza bagels, tater tots, applesauce...that is about all i can think of. but i know you can get into a rut sometimes so i hope these suggestions help!; 1/06/2010 8:13 AM
Blenda Koder said...: Girl ~ Harper is a southern girl!! Give her some cheesy GRITS!

Ya know (Girls Raised in the South) stuff!; 1/06/2010 8:13 AM
Jordan said...: Avacados are good and soft and yummy! I also make a whole grain batter and make pancakes. I'll make like 20 silver dollar size pancakes and refridgerate them and then give my son 1-2 each morning. (warm for about 8 sec) Another breakfast item that my son LOVES is Jimmy Dean turkey sausage. Seriously he wakes up saying "more sausage"! ha Good luck!; 1/06/2010 8:16 AM
The Landis Family said...: wholesomebabyfood.com has some really yummy recipes that are nutritious too. It's not just baby food they have toddler recipes that make me hungry!; 1/06/2010 8:21 AM
Melanie said...: My kids are now 9 and 6, and I fed them what we ate. If the meal was spicy, I would take a little out before the spices were added and feed them that. I think it's important to feed them a wide variety so that they don't get in a rut of eating the same things--I think picky eaters start out this way. I refuse to be a short order cook, so if they don't like what's on the menu, they are choosing to be hungry. They don't choose that very often!; 1/06/2010 8:52 AM
Sara said...: I have always let my little ones have exactly what the rest of the family is having, just cut up really small. Favorites have been strawberries, apples, enchiladas, corn, peas & spaghetti!; 1/06/2010 9:13 AM
Sarah - Roots and Wings said...: I didn't have time to read all 249 comments before me, so please forgive me if these are repeats!!

I always struggled (and still do sometimes) with my 21 month old! But here are a few ideas:

Cheese Quesadilla
Smoothie (frozen veggies, juice, yogurt, baby spinach adds vitamins, but no flavor!!)
Cottage Cheese (fruit added if you want)
Pierogies
Ham (I prefer to give this to my daughter over her beloved hot dogs! yuck!)
Frozen bananas cut into pieces (a fun change from regular bananas)

That's all I can think of right now. Hope you've gotten some good ideas...I'm guessing you have MORE than you can use with 249(!) comments!! =); 1/06/2010 9:14 AM
Haley said...: Avocado is good and so healthy for little ones. You could also do a hamburger patty. I bet she would love to dip it in ketchup. That's a good source of iron for her.; 1/06/2010 9:15 AM
Sarah - Roots and Wings said...: Josie also is loving scrambled eggs lately!; 1/06/2010 9:15 AM
Lori said...: Wowzas! That's a whole lot of comments. Rather than give you another list of the same things already mentioned (which are all excellent suggestions), I wanted share my favorite quick and easy meal that I make at least once a week. Try it, I promise you won't be disappointed.

Black Bean Soft Tacos
-Black Beans (canned is fine)
-Corn (again, canned will work)
-Cooked Rice (brown or white, doesn't matter, it can be left over from your PF Changs doggy bag or minute rice cooked right out of the box or anything in between)

Throw all this in a skillet with a generous sprinkling of cumin (probably 1/2 to 3/4 tbsp) some chili powder and salt and heat through. Serve in a tortilla and top it with plain yogurt (I know, sounds weird, but it really does make the meal-think: sour cream substitute), shredded cheese and taco sauce. Yummo!

And for Harper, you could even put it in a bowl and give her a spoon to experiment with; it's sticky enough that she may be successful with it. Of course, after seeing the Oreo shenanigan, you might just want to let her use her hands. She seems pretty competent in that department.; 1/06/2010 9:38 AM
Lulu said...: You always say that Harper looks like your hubby and I didn't quite see it until these pictures. Wow, spitting image of Daddy!
So sweet :) And my little girl is 10 1/2 months old so I feel like I'm in a slump too, not sure what to feed her!; 1/06/2010 10:26 AM
Surrounded-By-Boys said...: Hi Kelly,
I did grits/eggs at breakfast for my boys when they were H's age....or maybe a bowl of grits and some fruit (banana, oranges, etc.) Nutri Grain bars are good too...I used those sometimes and just cut them up. Harper might like dry cereal--cheerios or something else? I think she can have the Honey Nut ones now too since she's over 1.
For lunch, you can do any type of leftover food from the night before? Or maybe some cheese and some lunchmeat ham cut real small?; 1/06/2010 10:30 AM
6HartsforHim said...: frozen blueberries are a sweet treat that my kiddos love.Also,avacados are a fav.Mangos,and most dried fruit are also a big hit at our house.I have cooked up a big bag of frozen chicken breast,then cubed them and re-freeze it in small zip loc bags.Makes for easy lunches.Happy almost Birthday Harper!; 1/06/2010 10:32 AM
Minnesota Girl said...: Have you tried a chesse roll up? Use a soft tortilla and sprinkle cheese on it, and put it in the microwave to heat up. When ready to serve, cut it in small pieces. Harper will love it!; 1/06/2010 10:37 AM
TigerFamily said...: Well done on such a good eater! Keep offering her new foods and a variety and you will be set! I never got in the habit of making my kids a seperate meal. They were expected to eat what we ate and it has worked beautifully. I am sure a lot of this had to do with me having twins first and needing to keep everything simple. It has worked great for our family. The boys are now 4 and eat what I place in front of them. We now have an almost 2 year old and this meal plan has worked great for her too! I am so greatful to have 3 great eaters. The boys started getting "independent" around 3 or so and there were some nights I think they went to bed a tad hungry:( However, they were sure to eat the next meals I fed them! It did not take them long to figure out to eat when served. They can always come back to the table and eat what is left but not another meal. All this to say...serve her what you are eating at every meal (minus any choking hazerds). She will come to like a variety of foods and learn to eat with the family. Chicken pot pie is great. Lasagna, Spaghetti, green beans, green peas, corn, potatoes with the fixings! You have some great recipes...start there. Smaller, cut up portions is all you need. My boys (4) favorite meal is steak, baked potatoe and grilled asparagus with a side salad!!! Our 2 year old LOVES green beans and salad too...minus the hard round carrots of course. She loves the tomatoes!!! The boys have decided they don't care for tomatoes and that is OK...they can eat the rest in the salad. Look at what gerber offers in their gerber graduate meals and replicate it! It is all food you can cook but will give you great ideas. You are well on your way to a healthy non picky eater! Have FUN with it. As long as you set some family rules/boundries and don't make it a battle then you are golden!; 1/06/2010 10:45 AM
Misty said...: Love reading other moms food ideas! My daughter alsways loved all canned veggies and fruit! Fresh strawberries and bananas.
Breakfast: yougurt,cereal bars, applesauce, plain yougurt w/fresh fruit, mini pancakes (no syrup),eggo french toast sticks and blueberry muffin tops.
Lunch/dinner: gerber ravioli,pasta (rotini or penne) with spaghetti or pest sauce, I always have frozen chopped spinach on hand and will microwave (defrost) and sometimes add to mac&cheese, frozen broccoli rice and cheese, rotisserie chicken,moringstart veggie chicken nuggests, sloppy jo meat or taco meat (messy), lunchable jrs.,deli turkey, pulled pork or turkey.; 1/06/2010 10:49 AM
Tote, Debby, Sammy and Caleb Jimenez said...: I go for beans all the time! Black, pink, white, whatever! You can make them from dry beans or use canned. The canned ones are nice and tender and they are SO good for you! Plus they're great for working on picking up little things. My boys have eaten beans since they were tiny (granted they're half mexican!) but they are now almost 3 and 5 and they LOVE beans!; 1/06/2010 11:09 AM
Anonymous said...: My daughter loves quesadilles - chicken or black beans with cheese is her fav. But I also hide some veggies in there every once in awhile. She also loves ravioli or tortilini.; 1/06/2010 11:23 AM
Two + Two said...: By that age, I gave my boys exactly the same things that we ate. Spicy, not spicy...didn't matter. They loved it and they still eat almost everything we do (my 6 year old is trying to be picky, but we'll work through it HA!).; 1/06/2010 11:28 AM
Anonymous said...: Waffles, Pancakes, small blocks of cheese, yogurt. Whatever you eat (well maybe not steak) but you can give her small pieces of chicken and she could surely eat those. Baked or mashed potatoes, small bites of pizza. We eat Salmon frequently so we even gave our kids little bits of salmon. I find that the more variety we gave my kids the better eaters they are now.; 1/06/2010 11:30 AM
Unknown said...: My kids loved tomato soup with crackers crumbled up in it.; 1/06/2010 12:01 PM
Shelley said...: I didn't read the previous posts, but I got the Williams Sonoma baby food cookbook for Christmas. (It was the one thing I really wanted). Once you get past the baby food stuff at 9 months, it has some great ideas for food for kids and often tells you of ways to incorporate it into a family meal. We're still on purees and I freeze those, but I'm looking forward to making some of the 'meals' in it.; 1/06/2010 12:40 PM
MandyJo013078 said...: My niece eats lots of different foods: crackers w/ homemade salsa & humus, avocados, berries of all kinds, raisins, green beens, oatmeal and yogurt are best for breakfast, but you can make it with blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, apples, cinnamon, bananas, etc. also fiber one cereal is a great thing to mix w/ yogurt. applesauce, whole wheat pasta, string cheese, brown rice, Cereals: cheerios, chex, life, kix anything w/ low sugar is good. Alos all of these foods will fuel your workouts and help you lose the weight you'd wanted as well. Plus it's good to show her that you are eating these foods it gives Harper a healthy example. Water w/ Lemon is something my niece loves as well, she thinks it's a treat! HA! Hope this helps! I love your site! I'm still a single gal - but love hearing about sweet Harper!; 1/06/2010 12:41 PM
the osbornes said...: My little guy will turn 2 in April, but when he was right around Harper's age he got really tired of just plain old cut-up fruits and veggies for meals. Since that time he has always eaten whatever we eat for dinner, and for lunch I try to make him healthy meals that can be refrigerated or frozen and served all week long (or longer). He has always liked pasta stuff, but those Gerber things gross me out. So I will make whole wheat pasta (any small shape, like spirals, penne, etc) and make homemade cheese sauce (flour, butter, cheese) then toss in all kinds of veggies. It is so easy because you can get stuff like frozen broccoli, frozen spinach, etc. and just cook the veggies right with the noodles. Then toss it all with the sauce and voila! You can keep it in the fridge all week. I have tons of other homemade, healthy faves too but don't want my comment to go on forever. I know you don't want websites, but I just have to say that wholesometoddlerfood.com and wholesomebabyfood.com are AMAZING; 1/06/2010 12:43 PM
Lisa said...: My 1 year old loves lunch meat, popcorn chicken, yogurt, cheese, bananas, and cottage cheese. I have a hard time getting her to eat any green vegetables, but she likes cooked carrots and sweet potatoes with butter. She wants to feed herself these days, so I have a more difficult time getting her to eat soup, ravioli, ramen noodles (with vegetables added) and macaroni and cheese like she used to. Oh, and the daycare told me she LOVES sloppy joes! :) She usually wants whatever we are eating, so I let her try whatever she wants.; 1/06/2010 1:00 PM
Nicole Buser said...: things you haven't mentioned: raisens, yogurt covered raisens (cut in half), whole grain crackers or cereal, egg noodles or pasta with butter, frozen fruit cut up helps with teething so much!! pretzels stix (the thin ones), I just feed him whatever I am eating really.. except for meat because its too chewy..; 1/06/2010 1:35 PM
Angie said...: My son is a tad bit older (17months), but he loves when I make peanut butter and jelly. He also likes when I make a wheat wrap with refried beans and cheese.

Also, applesauce mixed into oatmeal is always a favorite breakfast. and waffles and pancakes.

Ham...like we made on NewYears...honey glazed and cut into squares...he super 'hoovers' (like a vacuum cleaner) ham!! He eats everything fast!

Also Gerber (i think) makes ravioli in a microwaveble container, those are a huge it, and bite sized.

Anyway, sorry about the jumbled mess, but I understand: feeling like you feed her the same thing...I have felt that too, and love getting ideas from other moms!

Have fun with trying new foods :); 1/06/2010 1:43 PM
Style and Grace Events said...: I love your blog and your daughter is so cute! I have a few kiddos (3 yrs & 17 months) of my own, and some of things they enjoy eating are:

1) Soup! Belive it or not, I make big pots of soup (chicken noodle, minestrone, lentil, etc.). My 3 yr old can eat the soup with broth and all, but I just use a slotted spoon to drain the broth for my little one. She loves it.... the lentils, chicken, veggies, etc., are all soft and tender and cut into bite sized pieces so they are easy for her to eat and very healthy too!

2) Yogurt, Cottage Cheeese, String Cheese are their favorites.

3) Scrambled eggs with cheese and ham mixed in (I realize you may not have introduced eggs yet, but when you do, this is quick and easy for any time of the day.)

4) Frozen waffles with cream cheese on top. I buy the Van's multigran waffles. Sometimes I put jam on them as well.

Hope this helps! Happy 2010 :)

-Stephanie J.; 1/06/2010 1:51 PM
Pretty Personal Gifts said...: Pancakes and cheerios were a big hit in my house.

Sorry you are snowed in! Up here in NY 2-3 inches is a dusting and we barely notice it. When it hits 6-10 then we start to cancel school. Let's just hope you don't get an ices storm. They scare me! No one should be laughing at your snow regardless of where they live though!

Good luck with everything!; 1/06/2010 2:01 PM
KatiebugandBrayBray'smomma said...: My 2 year old eats frozen blueberry pancakes and waffles like they are going out of style. He has since he could eat them. I keep a box of each in the fridge. He goes through it in 2 days.He eats them like a cookie. PB and J are good and you can use cookie cutters to make cool shape sandwiches. Pasta is also always good and you can put veggies with it and it is good.Eggs are ALSO AN AMAZING THING AND VERSATILE. quiche IS LOVED BY BOTH OF MY KIDS AND EASY TO MAKE . I HOPE THIS HELPS.; 1/06/2010 2:03 PM
KatiebugandBrayBray'smomma said...: My 2 year old eats frozen blueberry pancakes and waffles like they are going out of style. He has since he could eat them. I keep a box of each in the fridge. He goes through it in 2 days.He eats them like a cookie. PB and J are good and you can use cookie cutters to make cool shape sandwiches. Pasta is also always good and you can put veggies with it and it is good.Eggs are ALSO AN AMAZING THING AND VERSATILE. quiche IS LOVED BY BOTH OF MY KIDS AND EASY TO MAKE . I HOPE THIS HELPS.; 1/06/2010 2:04 PM
Superchikk said...: One thing my son started eating pretty early that surprised me was rice. He loves it! If it has a little sauce of some sort on it, it's a little easier for him to pick up. But he was using a spoon pretty well by 1yr too. We also do a lot of pasta - elbow maccaroni or rotini (I used to cut them in half), and melt some shredded cheese over it.; 1/06/2010 2:08 PM
Kim said...: She is just absolutely Adorable!!!; 1/06/2010 2:12 PM
Blair said...: BEETS BEETS BEETS!! Fresh are best, but tedious to peel and roast. You can always buy canned (whole) and either cut them up into bite sized pieces. If you're too nervous about her ability to chew, puree them. They're sweet and so good for her. Also sweet potatoes are a big hit and very nutritious. MOST IMPORTANTLY, try branching out with atypical fruits and veggies, even with spices you put on meats and fishes. It's important to introduce these flavors young, and it will train Harper not to be a picky eater later on!!!; 1/06/2010 2:28 PM
Ashley said...: my kids always liked avocados (and still do now with a little lime juice and salt) and bits of waffles. In the spring, I grow peas and we all love to eat them right out of the pods.; 1/06/2010 2:42 PM
Kim said...: My son is three, I honestly can't remember what I served him when he was one but it was somewhat of a variety. The only thing he couldn't do was dairy so we couldn't do cottage cheese, yogurt, cheese, or milk. We didn't do peanut butter either until he was two.

Within the last year I was starting to feel like I was getting in a rut with what I served so I re-organized the way I plan my meals. I meal plan for two week time periods (based on pay day) so I typed up a schedule that would help me to have variety but be consistent. For instance, every Monday we have some sort of egg dish for breakfast, every Tuesday it's some type of oatmeal, Wednesday it's smoothies, Thursday it's pancakes or waffles, Friday it's cereal with fruit. My main item stays consistent but what I actually make gets changed up. It helps me know I'm serving my family the variety they need but it makes meal planning so much easier. I do the same thing for lunch and dinner. Monday fish, Tuesday chicken, Wednesday beef, Thursday pasta, etc.

Don't know if this helps, but . . .; 1/06/2010 2:50 PM
Joscelyn said...: I work at a Mother's Day Out and I teach the one year olds. My Moms send the Toddler meals that Gerber has, as well as mini lunchables, vienna sausages, uncrustables (for older ones), pasta pickups, & the veggies that are in the little packages (they are at walmart).
There are more I just can't remember them now.; 1/06/2010 2:58 PM
Kyetra said...: Taft is 19 months old. For breakfast he loves eggs and cheese. I usually make him an omelete using one egg and a slice of cheese. I cut it up and he loves it. He also likes mixed fruit fruit cups. I just buy a big can and give him 1/2 at breakfast. Pancakes are also good. He likes deli meat. Turkey, chicken, and roast beef, they are healthy and easy to eat. I just break up the slices. He will eat 2-3 slices with any meal. Peas and carrots, mac and cheese, sliced cheese, tri colored rotini with butter, and Ritz crackers are favs too. He will not let me feed him anything with a spoon or fork and likes to play with one but not eat with it.; 1/06/2010 3:24 PM
Unknown said...: I know that the "rules" as far as foods that can cause an allergy and such are always changing, but for dinner my kids have always been served what we're having unless it was on a list of foods we needed to wait on. At one year, I was doing lots of soy butter sandwiches, leftovers, bagels and cream cheese, or tortellini.; 1/06/2010 3:49 PM
Cori said...: My little one is 15 months old and I find that I'm in a rut with meals too. I feel like I feed her the same things. I'll have to watch this post for some ideas. ;); 1/06/2010 4:44 PM
Jennifer said...: Someone may have suggested this already but how about scrambled eggs? Another thing we fed our girls at that age was steamed broccoli, rice (even now when we go to eat Mexican, that is one of their favorites!), and all kinds of fruit - blueberries were and are still a big hit!
Happy Birthday to your sweet girl!
Both my girls have birthdays next week, too!; 1/06/2010 6:19 PM
Kathleen said...: Totally off topic but your pretty daughter looks so much like Scott's mother in these pictures. Does your mother-in-law have baby pictures of herself?; 1/06/2010 7:23 PM
Unknown said...: Yes, it does crack me up that you're "snowed in" with only 2-3 inches! I live in VT, where we just received 33 (yes, 33!) inches Sat-Sun, and we didn't even have a delayed school opening on Monday! We know how to deal with snow up here. :)

Glad you're having fun planning Harper's 1st birthday. My "baby" boy was born on January 16th, 1996, and will turn 14 the same day Harper turns 1! Hard to believe it's gone so fast--enjoy every minute!

Linda; 1/06/2010 7:36 PM
Nutty Mom said...: Our old pediatrician always told us to not even bother with baby food, just feed them whatever we're eating. I really took that to heart with Peanut and it worked out SO WELL. She doesn't eat "kid foods" (chicken nuggets and mac and cheese), and people are always surprised with the "grown up" palate she has at the age of 2. I followed the same advice for Donut and it's still working great. I never have to order them a kids meal anywhere we go, they just share with me, and at home I only make one meal. Here's the kicker....neither of them had a tooth until well after 14 months. But they still managed to chew and eat anything I gave them.

So I would encourage you to just feed her whatever you're eating, she'll figure it out :); 1/06/2010 9:13 PM
Kimberly said...: I'm sure you've gotten loads of ideas but something that's really helped me with our 13 month old is making our own "trail mix" for him to snack on in between meals. I put gold fish, cheerios, mixed dried fruit, baby puffs, yogurt melts, etc. and mix them all up in a large jar and it's also GREAT to take with you on the go! Enjoy!; 1/06/2010 9:51 PM
Scott, Ashley & Emma Paige said...: I have a 13 month old and one of her favorites is Lunchables pepperoni pizza! Its easy to take on the go! She eats the Dora yogurts (I believe I checked this against the baby yogurts and this had even less sugar), waffles without syrup, microwaveable pancakes, bananas, hot dogs, applesauce....at one year old, we pretty much started giving her anything we were eating.; 1/06/2010 11:05 PM
Kristen said...: Kelly! I love some of these suggestions! I just fed my 10 month old daughter something great today that I wanted to share. I got it at a Kroger in the organic section - they were Pot Stickers, chicken and vegetable. SO easy to make - just pop in some water and boil for 8 minutes. And I just buy the canned peaches and pears that come in their own juice (rather than syrup) and she's got a great, balanced diet of meat, bread (the pocket of the pot sticker), veggie and fruit! And they're delicious. :) LingLing brand All Natural Pot Stickers. YUM! I also buy the Green Giant "steamers" in individual sizes as a side veggie for her. I'm all about ease! :) GL!; 1/07/2010 12:45 PM
The Pelhams said...: Feed what you are eating. I am a mother of 3, #4 on the way. All of my kids were weaned from nursing around 1 and started eating whatever we ate around 9-10 months. Spaghetti, steak, hamburger, casseroles. Spaghetti, I would put some in a bowl mix it up, cut the noodles with a fork into smaller pieces and let them go to town! Undress her and put a tablecloth on the floor if you want easy clean up!!:) That was probably their favorite and still is! As long as you cut everything into tiny pieces so she doesn't choke, there is no reason she can't eat what you do! Unless of course there are too many foods she hasn't been introduced to yet, but sounds like she has had about everything. My 18 month old loves enchiladas!; 1/07/2010 5:30 PM
Angie said...: I saw that you already had a zillion comments, but thought I'd throw this out there because they saved my life...and that is Nutri Grain bars. I buy the Walmart brand because they are a little softer and even better are the Sunbelt brand...they are soooo good. But I love them because they are filling and go anywhere. Sometimes breakfast at our house will be a Nutrigrain bar, a banana and some milk if I don't feel like cooking. Anyway...this is my first comment on your blog...it's been fun to read. Praise the lord on taking care of your sweet baby. Don't ya just love having a baby girl?; 1/08/2010 2:51 PM

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