Meal Ideas for 18 Mo Old

When my son was little his doctor told me to make up a platter of finger food that I was what I wanted him to be eating. So I put veggies, meats, etc on the plate and kept in constantly filled and in the refrigerator. My son was allowed to eat from this platter at any time of the day and could eat as much as he wanted. Then we sat down for dinner or any other meal he would sit at the table with us but not have to eat unless he wanted to. It helped him learn that mealtime was also social time. Food and eating no longer was an issue and I knew he was eating healthy sine I prepared what went on the platter. When he got older if he didn't like what was for dinner he would ask if he could have a veggie platter. Since I always kept veggies ready it was no problem. He is now 28 and will eat almost anything, including brussel sprouts.

Like yours mine has his moments with food...we do a lot of the following:

- Casseroles (box of rice, fresh veggies and ground turkey or chicken)
- Stir Fry
- Crock Pot (pot roast, chicken, stews)
- Homemade mini Pizza (pita bread or english muffins)
- meatballs and pasta
- grilled cheese
- pita sandwiches with turkey or tuna

I like to find inspiration from every day meals...I also, subscribe to Rachel Ray's website, kraft.com, bettycrocker.com and now, Martha Stewarts...they all have great ideas for fun and fast recipes.

WOW... your son sounds like a mirror of my son. My son loves Chicken & cheese ravioli's from costco. He also loves hot dogs. Neither of these are super for him however in a pinch they always work. i also find that sometimes if i interact with him when he eats that he will try new foods and sometimes he still wants me to feed him. Also, there is a cook book by Jerry Seinfeld's wife that a friend of mine has and the few recipes that I tried from her cookbook were great. She has great ways of hiding veggies in food and kids are none the wiser. I find some of it hard only cause of my limited time as a full time working single mom. :)

I discovered that my 18 month old wasn't a picky eater, she was just an independent eater. She refuses to let me feed her and will only eat if she has control of the fork, spoon, etc. Same goes with water....she only will drink it out of a big girl cup. I would definitely try the other moms suggestions about hiding the veggies (you can get tons of veggies into spaghetti sauce) and also try letting him feed himself if you don't already do that. I just strip my daughter down to her diaper and wipe her down (and the floor :o) when she's done. good luck!

Great question! One of the things that has really worked for my picky 17 month old is smoothies! I throw in fruit, yogurt, milk and then sometimes veggies, flax seed, etc. It is a great way to get her veggies in (she hates veggies) and she loves the smoothies. She also loves scrambled eggs which I can throw all sorts of stuff in too.

I am looking forward to seeing others answers too!

My 17 month old is actually less picky than my 3 year old! Here are some meals that they both like:

Sloppy Joe's (homemade), Baked Penne, Chicken/Baked Beans/Brown Rice, Meatloaf, Meatballs

I love the site wholesometoddlermeals.com I also got this amazing turkey meatloaf recipe I thought off the website but now I don't see it. I'll cut and paste here and hopefully it comes through. My 16month old loves it with a little mac and cheese on the side. My husband and I love it too!

Turkey Meatloaf with Hidden Spinach
1 1/4 pounds ground turkey
1 cup spaghetti sauce, divided
1/2 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 eggs slightly beaten
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
3/4 cup low-fat shredded Mozzarella cheese
Mix the ground turkey, 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce, bread crumbs, onion, eggs, Parmesan cheese in medium bowl. Put half of turkey mixture into a loaf baking pan. Create a "trench" as you will be adding the spinach to it! Leave about 1–inch trench in the center of mixture and about 1-inch on all sides.__Mix the spinach and Mozzarella cheese together then transfer and fill the Trench_Fill the trench with the remaining meat mixture__Bake about 45 to 50 minutes in a 350°F preheated oven to Then spoon the remaining spaghetti sauce over meat loaf. Bake the meatloaf for about 15 minutes more. Let stand 10 minutes.

SERVE WITH: Brown Rice and Squash or Orzo with Tomato & Parmesan

Enjoy!

At 18 mo my son didn't really like foods mixed. He wanted separate "finger" foods so casseroles were out.
I thought of all the fast foods kids like and then made them myself so they were healthier. Chicken strips breaded with corn meal so there's a vegetable, french fries, apples, hamburger patties(Hide some mashed up veggie in the patties).

He also ate a lot of foods that seem different than you might think like black beans, avocados, zucchini, pea pods.

WIC taught me that it is more important that he eat veggies no matter what I had to do to them or put on them so that he would eat them-broccoli and cheese, anything covered in ranch dressing. He actually needs the fat and dairy for brain development so pile it on.

Make everything exciting. All the foods suddenly had new names-broccoli was "little trees", cut up hot dogs were "pig noses", fish pieces were "alligator toes", rice was "baby caterpillars", beans were "frog ears". You get the idea. He still calls them this-it's great to see his friends faces when I announce we're having alligator toes and baby caterpillars for dinner.

Even if he only eats the same thing over and over at this point it is more important that he eats (like one of the other posts said, how much he eats will vary from meal to meal, day to day, and week to week). After about 2 1/2 I started adding variety so he learned to enjoy more things.
Good Luck

Mariette, for some inspirational ideas...you'll love these 2 websites (my favorites):

http://weelicious.com/

AND http://wholesomebabyfood.com/

DELICIOUSLY YUMMY!!!

ENJOY!!! : )))

LOL,
L. (MAMA to 16 month old Dylan Orion....29 September 2007). : )))

I would continue to try to give your son foods that you think he "doesn't like". Although it doesn't make sense, studies have shown that if you provide healthy options for kids and they're hungry, they will eat. Have you tried any of the recipes on weelicious? Just be patient. Between teething, distractions, colds and more, there's a lot for kids to take in and sometimes food is the last on their list.-www.weelicious.com

Hi, I have a 13 mo. old little boy. He's never been too picky, but sometimes he does get into moods where he refuses normal meals. I always hide the really healthy things in other things he's accustomed to eating. My son loves rice, so I'll make rice and put it into a sauce pan with some cooked chicken, peas, and chopped broccoli. I saute everything for a few minutes so that the flavors have a chance to meld and then I serve it. I've found when my son is in a picky mood, if I chop things up very small and hide them, he doesn't even know they are there. Also, I pare a strong flavor that he does like with another strong one that he doesn't. Also, my son likes yogurt, so I always keep a favorite flavor around, because it's a good meal solution when he won't eat before bed. (This keeps him from waking up hungry at 2am.) Cottage cheese also works for him. Good Luck with your little sweatheart!

IT's not so much the food, but their diet in general. They balance their diet over 2-3 days. Some days are not hungry and won't eat much for a couple days in a row, then all of a sudden eat a ton. Has to do with their growth rate, teething...When they're hungry they'll eat.

Does he like avocadoes? My son absolutely loved avocado with some lemon or lime juice and a touch of sea salt and pepper. They are portable, easy to eat with a spoon, and very nutritious... All the best fats and nutrients to support their forming brains.

My daughter is the worst eater. In fact we call her the worlds youngest anorexic. She goes all day sometimes on an egg and an apple slice with maybe some juice and milk to fill her. What she loves to eat (when she's eating) is french toast. Just some eggs, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. dip the bread in the mix until it's really soggy and then cook in a pan on the lowest setting. Sometimes after it has been cooking for a minute I pour more of the mix on the top so that whatever bites she does take might have a little more protien or whatever in them. cook until it's done and then cut. I found that cutting little squares and giving her one of those granimals kid forks made it more fun and she eats more. Also she loves yogurt in a bowl (of course by her self) I lay a towel over her lap and then a bib cause even now at 2 years she's messy... Also they have at costco some dinosaur chicken nuggets. She has always eaten them and since you bake them they've been beeter in my mind then nuggets from McDonalds. She likes a peanut butter sandwich (without the jelly which I think is sort of gross but she won't eat it if I put jelly). Also she'll eat anything that I cut a hot dog into. In fact anything with a noodle (spaghetti, lipton pasta sides, ramen) I can get her to eat it if I put in a hot dog... Good luck. I know that a picky eater can be tough.