I love hearing what other moms feed their kids. This is not only because discussing the details of what the girls ate bores David to tears, but because I love seeing how other moms do it, day in and day out. While I love making fun kid-specific food like these broccoli cheddar quinoa bites, these corndog bites or even these cauliflower mini pizza bites, honestly, the majority of the time, our meals aren’t that cutesy or fun. So I thought I’d show you a 3 day diary of what my kids ate in real life. Prepare to be underwhelmed.
For reference, my kids are 4 years old (Hailey) and 21 months (Kaitlyn).
DAY ONE
Breakfast: smoothie containing frozen banana, coconut water, orange juice, spinach, frozen berries, frozen mango, avocado oil and chia seeds.
Both girls demolish their smoothies.
Lunch: Greek quinoa salad with cucumber, kalamata olives, grape tomatoes and feta with a Greek dressing, applesauce, crackers and hummus.
Hailey eats half her quinoa, all her applesauce and all her crackers. Kaitlyn eats everything.
Snack: Yogurt and energy oat bites each.
Hailey finishes all her (regular) yogurt and 2 oat bites. Kaitlyn eats a bite or two of her coconut yogurt and 2 oat bites.
Dinner: Lemon herb halibut, loaded mashed potatoes, asparagus and bread.
Both girls eat everything except the potatoes. Neither one likes them. Hailey eats another full slice of bread.
DAY TWO
Breakfast: Smoothie requested again. This time it contains frozen banana, peanut butter, dark cocoa powder, spinach, unsweetened almond milk and a date.
Both girls drink the whole thing.
Lunch: Kaitlyn takes a packed lunch of two oat bites, Glutino animal crackers, carrots, grape tomatoes and apple.
She never eats well at “school,” so I try to put in small, snacky things. Still, she comes home with only the tomatoes eaten and a slice of apple has a bite out of it. Once we get home though, she eats both oat bites, one animal cracker, one carrot and another bite of apple.
Hailey has leftover mac ‘n cheese, veggies and ranch dip and crackers.
She eats all the crackers, half the mac and cheese, all the celery and two carrots.
Dinner: Mom’s spaghetti recipe over wagon wheels with broccoli.
Hailey asks for “my favorite dressing” (that’s what she calls it) to dip her broccoli in (so Kaitlyn wants it too), then they both lick their plates clean.
DAY THREE
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with spinach, banana and toast.
The spinach isn’t typical, but it was my weak spin on green eggs and ham for Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Hailey eats half her eggs and all her toast and banana. Kaitlyn eats one bite of eggs, the interior of her toast (leaves the crust) and all her banana, plus half of mine.
Lunch: Our morning runs longer than anticipated so we grab smoothies at Clean Juice. Hailey opts for simple: oranges, strawberries, coconut water and honey.
They both drink the entire thing.
Snack: Unpictured, but they both eat an oat ball and half a larabar.
Dinner: Simple tuna fish salad, crackers, apple slices, veggies and ranch dip.
I don’t actually know how much they ate because I was at a Girls on the Run meeting, but typically they both like the tuna salad!
And that’s it!
I told you, not super exciting or diverse, but it’s a real snap shot of what meals look like around here. Tonight we are having roasted purple cauliflower and that would have been a lot more fun to picture, but c’est la vie.
What are some foods that typically stay on repeat at your house?
Which ones get switched up?
What is your family’s favorite meal?
I try to switch up the fruit and vegetable each week, so where we have apples in this example, next week it may be kiwi or mandarin oranges that go all week. Same with vegetables.
Liz says
Where did you get Kaitlyn’s bento lunch box?
My kids love oatmeal cooked stovetop with cinnamon and honey or peanut butter and banana stirred in.
Love the variety!
Brittany Dixon says
Her lunchbox is from here: http://www.planetbox.com/
Be warned, they are kind of pricey, but so durable and easy to clean. PlanetBox holds sales every so often too, for up to 30% off I think, so that helps with the cost!
Kate says
Isn’t it great to talk about kids’ food?!? Although my husband would disagree, too. 😉
We often have hard boiled eggs and fruit for breakfast because it’s easily prepped.
Since the weather is still really wintery (abysmal i.m.o.), we are still cooking miso ramen on a weekly basis. Another regular favorite is curry – and probably my son’s (14 months) favorite meal ever.
Brittany Dixon says
I meant to boil eggs this week but never got to it- love boiled eggs. Do you have a recipe for your curry? I’d love to switch up our routine and make some!
Kate says
Well, mostly I just wing it. 😉
I always start with minced onions, garlic, and ginger because they add a ton of flavor. In terms of veggies I use what I have on hand, often some combination of broccoli, cauliflower, bellpepper, zucchini, and eggplant. As a protein source I use either red lentils, tofu, or shrimp. And if I’m feeling particularly adventurous I add a little bit of fruit like oranges or mango shortly before the dish is done.
Bets says
I never would have thought to feed my daughter tuna salad, what a good idea! Is there a certain age I should wait to introduce it? Also how old were the girls when they could drink smoothies? I think my daughter would have a hard time getting it out of a soppy cup
Brittany Dixon says
I started with smoothies around 11 or 12 months I think? Possibly earlier but my memory isn’t the best 😉 As for tuna fish, it’s always best to check with your ped, but I think I started with small bits of it around 9/10 months.
Heather says
Yes! These are hands down my favorite type of posts! Thank you 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
YAY! Glad you like them 🙂
Melissa @ Freeing Imperfections says
I love this post! My daughter just started solids a few months ago but so far eats everything. I’ll definitely save this post for later to reference for some ideas when she’s older.
I get that some kids are just picky, but I think it’s so funny how people claim kids only eat mac n cheese and chicken nuggets…when that’s all they’ve ever really offered them. My mom claims that we “didn’t like fish” and the only fish she ever gave me as a kid were really nasty frozen fish sticks. Gross! I’m so glad to be introducing Claire to so many foods. So far she will literally eat ANYTHING and I love it!
Brittany Dixon says
Ah, love it when kids gobble up everything- such a fun phase! I think I got the mentality of saying no to “kid food” from my mom, because she would serve us whatever they ate growing up and it worked. At 4 my favorite food was an artichoke- ha! Keep up the good food mama! 🙂
Ashley says
Great post to help get out of the kids food rut. I was just wondering what brand of crackers your kids eat? My kids would live off of crackers if I’d let them…… Always looking for “healthier” options.
Brittany Dixon says
I usually get the Annie’s bunny pretzels, but these are Kashi’s crackers. I like them because they are hearty and can withstand the “enthusiastic” dipping of a toddler 😉
Heather says
Love these posts! My kids are in a major food rut right now (they both tend to follow each other’s lead, so if one won’t eat something neither will the other). My kids would eat homemade mac and cheese and Earth’s Best little meatballs every day if they could. Otherwise they love yogurt, applesauce and apples and really all fruit, mandarin oranges (which also help with the occasional tummy issue) and typical “kid” food. We still try and offer them new foods and new twists on foods they usually eat, but it’s hit or miss. Because they are both boycotting veggies, I’m going to try and start making smoothies again to get some greens in, and maybe see about adding some purreed squash and things to mac and cheese when we have it.
Brittany Dixon says
We love mandarin oranges here too! I call them toddler crack- ha. The girls have hit phases of being touch and o with veggies, but I’ve found if I stay consistent (even if it’s just putting 1 or 2 on their plate) they usually come back around. Good luck- I know it’s so frustrating!
Kat says
Thank you SO much for this post. My daughter is a few months younger than Kaitlyn and her eating habits are all over the place. Your blog seems to be the most realistic spot for ideas of what other kids eat/what other kids give their toddlers. I made your oat PB bites last night and my daughter gobbled them up this morning. Not sure why it took me so long to make them for her. I eat stuff like that on a daily basis! Also when did Kaitlyn start eating raw veggies? My daughter is pretty particular about veggie textures–no skin for example. She’s got a ton of teeth includeing molars so I think she could chew raw carrots but I’m a little nervous.
Brittany Dixon says
Thank you for the kind words Kat! I have been giving Kaitlyn raw veggies for a long time- starting with red pepper strips to chew on around 7 or 8 months. We usually roast or steam most veggies (like broccoli) but we do raw carrots and celery fairly often. She definitely eats more and more quickly if they are cooked though!
Cassie says
I love the ideas! And also knowing that sometimes simple is best.
Stephanie says
Where did you get the Mickey Mouse plates in the top picture? My 2year old would love one of those!
Brittany Dixon says
They are my niece’s plate but I text my SIL to ask and she said Walmart! I couldn’t find the exact ones online, but maybe in store?
Stephanie says
Thanks so much, I’ll go take a look!
Katie @ Mom to Mom Nutrition says
These are such great ideas— the simpler the better in my book! I try to rotate so my boys do not get the same thing two days in a row. Lots of grilled cheese, hummus and crackers, tuna, etc. at lunch. Breakfast my husband always makes a smoothie and then I do the grain [toast, english muffins, muffins] and dinner is always a toss up. I’ve been so tired lately we’ve relied heavily on breakfast foods for dinner for the whole fam!
Christine says
My favorite type of post! My 16 month old still only has 2 teeth on the bottom (I saw a 3rd popping up last night, finally!) and 4 on the top so I’m afraid to give him carrots or celery yet. Do you think he needs his molars for those? I was thinking I could probably soften the carrots with a quick boil.
Right now we have banana, pears, apples, blueberries and raspberries on fruit rotation. He also has a love for olives! Other go to’s are cheese and yogurt. As for veggies, he seems to be hit or miss but doesn’t have any favorites. He’ll eat peas, cauli rice, potatoe, etc but only from my plate 😉 If its on his place he has no interest, little stinker. I also wish he would eat bread and crackers but for whatever reason he doesn’t like them.
We also have eggs, mac n cheese, and flatbread pizza on rotation for him right now. I did get him to eat tuna (from my plate) and he took a bite of salmon last night! He’s a work in progress…
Brittany Dixon says
Haha, love that he will only eat those veggies from your plate- too funny!
As for the carrots, she takes a while to chew them up, but wants them to be the same as her sisters, so I just let her go at it. I think shredded carrots are a great way to serve them for toddler age if you don’t want to boil of cook them.
Stacy K. says
I love this post! Thank you for making me feel like I don’t need to make my kids meals so complicated. We do a lot of tasting plates for my (3 and 1 yo) I will have to make your oat balls this weekend. We have been relying too much on the “fig” bars you can get at Costco for breakfast in the car during our commute. Those would be a healthier alternative.
Brittany Dixon says
Oh I love the sound of tasting plates! I think it makes it so much fun (and honestly how I prefer to eat myself)- small bites of everything. Great idea!
Courtney @ Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life says
Gahhhh, I wish my Lucas would eat half the foods in this post! Such great variety…but he has gotten into such a phase that he’ll barely touch anything new we try to put in front of him. I don’t know what else to do to get him to try new things…bribery doesn’t even work!! 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
Those phases are so frustrating when you just want to scream EAT, KID! Haha 🙂 I’m pretty old school in my approach in that I put serve whatever I made for dinner and that’s that. Though that sounds tough, I always make sure there is at least one thing on the plate I know they will like! We certainly have ups and downs with foods too though. They’re frustrating but if I stick to my guns, then they eventually come back around.
janene says
Siiiiiiiigh, I am in the same boat as Courtney. Getting my 2 year old to eat vegetables is a chore. She has no problems with the smoothies, but giving it to her regularly is a no go. I want her to develop good habits from an early age, as I know it sets the tone for when she gets older.
Some of these ideas you listed are pretty good and I think she might try some of them, so I am going to give them a try and won’t give up
Larissa says
I loved this post. I’m a mom to a seven month old so this is such great info to keep in mind for later on! Love your blog 🙂
Julie says
Wow, I think you do a great job of giving them a wide variety & covering all the basic food groups! Loved your take on green eggs & ham! 😉 I wonder why Hailey isn’t eating well at school… Do you think it may be because she’s distracted w/ everything going on around her? Glad that they send home what she doesn’t eat so that you can get an idea of what she did eat & offer her what’s left when she gets home.
Ha ha maybe David would be more interested in talking about kids’ meals if he were the one having to come up w/ new ideas all the time! 😉
Brittany Dixon says
It’s Kaitlyn that doesn’t eat well at school and I think it’s because there are 8 crazy toddlers trying to eat at the same time (poor teachers!) K is easily distracted and if the focus isn’t on eating, then she’d rather play 🙂
And YES, I think you’re so right- it’s a lot more interesting when you’re the one having to come up with the food all the time- haha!
Bridget says
These are great ideas! Are you eating versions of all these meals? My 2.5 yro pretty much eats what I eat.. Excluding breakfast since I can only stomach toast and coffee. Her usuals are plain yogurt with fruit mixed in (generally berries, mangoes, bananas, sometimes applesauce or cooked apples) or scrambled eggs with spinach.
I do a lot of apple gate sausage and sautéed mixed frozen veggies for snack
Brittany Dixon says
Hi Bridget- yes! I’m eating versions of the same meals about 70% of the time (I do more salads/layering of food). I’m a big believer in eating the same thing, though sometimes the girls end up eating our leftovers if David and I wait to eat until after they go to bed.
Alyssa @ renaissancerunnergirl says
I love the little bento box style arrangements for the girls, and honestly I’d be happy eating a lot of their food at age 24…I totally feel like someday I’ll be a mom who just eats the same thing as her kids, and not because they’re eating fancy grown up meals 🙂
Kate says
This was really fun to read! One of the things I look forward to about being a mom is cooking for my kids.
Liz says
Great post! I am seriously in awe that your girls will eat fish. We always give our kiddos some of our dinner (sometimes a deconstructed version) and then also one or two things that I KNOW they’ll eat. Our three year old right now is sooo picky though, it’s infuriating. We did BLW and she used to eat everything. For lunch she seriously only ate three banana slices and a slice of red pepper. Thankfully our 16 month old still eats everything! Favorite foods around here include oatmeal (for the 3 year old, the baby won’t touch it), Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, blueberries, roasted chicken (baby only, the three year old hates all meat), toast, apples, peppers, carrots, and steamed broccoli. And animal crackers, of course 🙂
Josephine sharpe says
We do salmon mornay almost every week, spaghetti bolognese and often a roast chicken and veg and chicken sandwiches for lunch the next day. Broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, peas and corn! Strawberries and plain yoghurt are Regulars on the list. Mandarins my daughter sucks on but refuses to chew them up! We mainly do grilled meat and steamed veg. Arianna is getting better but has an aversion to trying new things or things that are mixed together as in bowl food she gets suspicious about what’s in there!
Your girls might enjoy salmon mornay, I usually use tinned pink salmon or frozen wild salmon in a roux, (like doing Mac and cheese), I add frozen peas and corn to it and serve it over rice or pasta. I’ll link a recipe below if you are interested in trying it, I do the same except I don’t add the dill. It also freezes well in ziplock bags.
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/9751/salmon+mornay
I serve it straight from the stovetop but you can put in a baking dish and top with breadcrumbs and cheese but my daughter dosen’t like it that way.
Liz says
I absolutely love these posts. Your girls eat like rockstars – I am always so impressed at how well they eat!! It makes me think Georgina is way more capable than I give her credit in being- definitely will try some of these ideas like smoothies and “energy bites”
Katie Bearden. says
Your girls are rockstar eaters! How is girls on the run? We have a large triangle girls on the run here in Raleigh and I’ve been considering volunteering to give back and have an outlet besides staying at home. My kids are the same age as your girls.. Are you a coach or just serve on a committee? Trying to figure out sitters, time commitment..
Grace says
Can you share your smoothie recipes – both sound fantastic & I’d love for my little ones to drink them more often. X
Elizabeth says
I love this post. I need inspiration. Somehow I’ve slipped into feeding my kids what they’ll eat which is entirely too much fruit and not enough veggies. Seafood has become nonexistent. This motivates me! Your girls are great eaters.
Sabrina says
I love posts like this.
My kids eat much the same, except they also have treats and eat a million berries each week. How often do your girls have a treat? I’d say my kids have a chocolate chip, homemade cookie, or strawberry frozen greek yogurt bar at least every other day. They just started asking after dinner some nights and I say yes. They also eat more cheese, whether it’s cheese sticks, fresh mozzarella or grilled cheese.
Brittany Dixon says
I’d say they have a treat once or twice a week? Sometimes it’s a sucker or a cookie or random candy they got from a friend or party. Poor kids- I don’t bake very often 😉
Yes, I’ve cut back on cheese because I wasn’t sure if Kaitlyn was having an issue with it and didn’t want H to eat it in front of her. I don’t really think she has an issue with it now though so I might start bringing it back soon!
Robin S. says
What ranch dip do you use? I’m trying to get away from the mix in ranch packets in sour cream.
Brittany Dixon says
This week was a random Ranch/veggie dip that I picked up from the deli section on a whim. Usually I just buy the organic ranch salad dressing from Whole Foods, but would like to try and make my own too. I’ll report back if I find a good recipe!