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Munchkin Meals: 23 Months

I am SO excited to blogging today from the comfort of my living room. Yup, that’s right … my Internet is fixed! Chris and I were getting a bit snappy after a week without it so I am pretty thrilled. Talk about first world problems, no? It’s nice to unplug but when you have work to do and homework to complete online it can test anyone’s patience.

To celebrate, today is another round of Munchkin Meals with Brittany over at A Healthy Slice of Life. Emmalyne is 23 months (!!!!) now and her birthday is right around the corner. Her eats have changed quite a bit since I first started linking up when she was 7 months old. For one, her palate is pickier. I know this is a common stage in toddler-hood and she still eats a varied, balanced, and healthy diet but it is enough to drive a mom crazy!

Breakfast is usually around 7:30-8AM most mornings. Em gets up at 7:30 and immediately asks for “milky” which she enjoys while watching a cartoon to give herself time to really wake up. She is just like Chris and I in that she needs some space in the morning before she becomes her cheery self 😉 When she is ready she runs to her chair at the kitchen table and I serve her breakfast.

I try to give Em a couple different options at breakfast because now it’s one of the hardest meals to get her to eat. This was eggs scrambled with spinach and mushrooms, fresh fruit, organic Applegate low-sodium bacon, and Stonyfield organic strawberry yogurt.

Our mornings are often filled with errands and a trip to the gym. Em has a snack of dried cereal and a fruit leather most mornings with some water in her sippy. I start getting lunch ready around 11:45 so she is eating between 12-12:15PM.

Lunch was low-sodium turkey breast rolls, string cheese, apple slices, strawberries, and avocados. She is still a major fan of avocados and could easily eat a pint of strawberries a day if I let her. She is a fiend!

For dinners Emmalyne gets whatever we are having. Every so often I make her a separate plate if I know for a fact she won’t eat something but for the most part I just adapt our adult dishes. During the week she and I eat dinner together between 6-6:30PM. If Chris is able to get home from work he joins us. If not, he eats later. On the weekends we always eat together as a family.

Look familiar? It’s the same dinner from my WIAW post yesterday Roasted potatoes, grilled corn on the cob, and organic apply sausages grilled to perfection by Chris.

Even though Em doesn’t always eat everything on her plate I keep offering her new foods and tastes hoping to please her palate.

For moms, did your LO go through a picky eating phase? When did they get over it?

If you’re not a mom, were you a picky eater? I sure was. I lived on PB sandwiches and mac-n-cheese for years. HA.

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>>>PS – There’s still time to enter my #BestSummerMoments giveaway! You can enter HERE.

Munchkin Meals: 22 Months

It has been awhile since I linked up with Brittany at A Healthy Slice of Life for Munchkin Meals so I am excited to be back on board today :

So the last few months I have been offering Em the same foods as before but her palate has been a little pickier. While I know it’s totally normal for toddlers to go through periods of pickiness, it has been a little frustrating feeling like we were wasting food. But more on that in a minute!

BREAKFAST

So like I said, Em has been particularly picky lately. Only recently has she started eating eggs again so I try to sneak some veggies in there with them! Her scrambled eggs had spinach and mushrooms in there. I can always count on her eating a fruit and a Chobani yogurt is quickly becoming a standard part of her breakfasts. She loves those things! I also gave her a mini version of my oatmeal from yesterday.

LUNCH

Lunch is a bit trickier. Some days she eats a lot, others she doesn’t eat at all. I have taken to keeping her lunch plate in the fridge if she doesn’t eat much and offering it again after nap time. Sometimes this results in her munching a little bit more. Again, fruit is the first to go and she still loves avocado. Emmalyne is also pretty obsessed with the Applegate chicken nuggets.

DINNER

Dinner is whatever we eat … simple as that. Some meals are more successful than others. She loves crock-pot lasagna but isn’t a huge fan of fish any more. I just go with the flow!

Overall I am just trying to keep getting a balanced amount of food in the toddler. If we go running the morning I make enough smoothie for both of us and make sure to add spinach. When I juice she will happily suck down a green juice so I know that she is getting some veggies in her diet. In order to help make sure she is getting her necessary nutrients I have also started giving her a L’il Critters Complete Multivitamin. They are a gummy vitamin that doesn’t use artificial colors etc. and it helps ease my mind to think she is lacking things in her diet.

Here’s to hoping my voracious eater comes back soon! Until then I am just going with the flow

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18 Months: Munchkin Meals

I can’t believe it’s Thursday already! I love short weeks 😉 Yesterday I shared my daily eats with What I Ate Wednesday and today I am linking up with my girl Brittany over at A Healthy Slice of Life for Munchkin Meals! Brittany started this link-up just about a year ago when both are girls were getting started on Baby Led Weaning. Sometimes it’s easy to get stuck in a food rut when feeding your tot. Munchkin Meals is a great way to get some new ideas for your kiddo!

BREAKFAST

Breakfast is pretty easy around here. Some of Em’s favorites are scrambled eggs, homemade whole wheat waffles, pancakes, fruit, and baked apple cinnamon oatmeal. Easy peasy and ready fast!

LUNCH

For some reason lunch is my most difficult meal to do for Em. From the top:

Tuna sandwich, bananas, and veggie straws

Chicken salad sandwich, roasted carrots and sweet potatoes, grapes

Applegate chicken nuggets, peas and apples

Leftover roasted chicken, roasted veggies, and bananas

Mac’n’Cheese and fruit

I’ve found that leftovers make for great lunches the next week. Also having a variety of fruits and frozen vegetables on hand helps also. I don’t know why lunch perplexes me sometimes be it does!

DINNER

Em nearly always eats whatever we are having for dinner. It makes dinner time super easy! From the top:

Crock pot pot roast with sweet potatoes

Brown rice Mexican mix – black beans, cheese, tomatoes, avocado, shredded chicken, taco seasoning

Chicken tortilla soup, bananas, veggie straws

Salmon and roasted veggies

There you have it! Emmalyne’s eats at 18 months

What’s your favorite lunch for your kiddo or yourself?

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March Munchkin Meals: 17 Months

I love sharing my eats with you on What I Ate Wednesday because then I can also check out the other posts for some new ideas. Similarly, I love linking up with Brittany for Munchkin Meals because I get some new ideas for toddler meals! Feeding a toddler isn’t hard … but having a variety of foods can be. This is Em’s 17 month edition of Munchkin Meals!

BREAKFAST

Breakfast is pretty standard around here. Eggs, fruit, homemade whole wheat waffles, or baked oatmeal (recipe coming SOON I promise). Oatmeal if for days where we have to be out the door early and I need an option that takes 30 seconds. Perfect!

LUNCH

Quinoa sautéed with spinach, tomatoes, and turkey. Grapes on the side.

Applegate chicken nuggets, clementine, and left over roasted veggies.

Quinoa with peas, turkey, and spinach with clementines.

Low sodium, nitrate free turkey, clementines, leftover roasted veggies

Leftover creamy mushroom chicken, blueberries, and peas.

The biggest thing with lunch for me is that I have things on hand. I make quinoa during my Sunday prep so I have it on hand all week. I always make extra roasted veggies for easy lunch options. Lunch takes me less than 5 minutes to prep which is great when Em gets hangry.

DINNER

For dinner, Em eats what we eat. In this case it was chicken with roasted veggies and grilled pork chops.

SNACKS

Snacks are whatever is on hand. We have been loving smoothies lately. Em also sucks down green juices like there’s no tomorrow. Sometimes it’s Gold Fish crackers.

Overall I try to get Em a balanced diet throughout the day. I also try to add variety to the kinds of fruits and veggies she eats. Overall I am lucky that I have a really good eater who loves her healthy foods! Don’t forget to check out the other posts in the link-up!

Like what you see? Make sure to subscribe to my feed! I would love to hear from you on Facebook or Twitter! Need a daily dose of Emmalyne? Find us on Instagram!

Munchkin Meals – 16 Months {Giveaway}

I love my blog friends, or blends. I am lucky enough to count them among my real friends. One of my favorite blends is Brittany from A Healthy Slice of Life. I love linking up every month with her Munchkin Meals series. If you are a mom and haven’t check it out yet, you need to! It’s a great way to get some new ideas for what to feed our munchkins I can’t believe that it’s time for our 16-month edition …. eek! Lucky for me, Em is an outstanding eater and will pretty much eat everything I put in front of her. She’s my little garbage disposal 😉

BREAKFAST

Egg and spinach scramble with fresh fruit

Baked apple cinnamon oatmeal

Whole wheat homemade waffles

LUNCH

Low sodium, nitrate free deli turkey, string cheese, oranges, veggies

Applegate farms chicken nuggets, peas, fruit

Quinoa and chicken, avocado, fruit

Turkey, berries, avocado, and veggie straws, Applegate farms turkey hot dog

Chicken tortilla soup, oranges, lentils

Quinoa and veggies, fruit

DINNER

Chicken and sweet potatoes

Chicken, banana, and veggies

Turkey meatloaf muffins and roasted veggies

Roasted chicken and veggies

Chicken tortilla soup and veggies

Wild salmon and veggies

For snacks, one new edition to our line up is The Little Green Pouch. This reusable pouch is not only environmentally friendly, it is also cost effective. Em loves yogurt and apple sauce pouches but the yogurt can be a pain to spoon feed her and I don’t always have time to clean up the destruction of letting her use a spoon. Enter the little green pouch. I simple add a little water to Greek yogurt (love Chobani Champions) and fill the pouch! Em sucks them down like no tomorrow.

Here is my method for filling them:

The Little Green Pouch is fantastic for baby food purees if you decide to go that route (we did baby led weaning) or for toddlers who love their independence and pouches! The Little Green Pouch is giving away a set to one lucky reader of Food, Fitness, and Family. Enter via the Rafflecopter widget below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway will close at midnight on February 10 with the winner announced on the blog Monday, February 11. Easy peasy! Thanks Brittany for hosting another awesome Munchkin Meals. Can’t wait to see what everyone linked up 😉

What was your favorite snack as a kid? I loved snacking on cereal out of the box. Heck, I still do!

Like what you see? Make sure to subscribe to my feed! I would love to hear from you on Facebook or Twitter! Need a daily dose of Emmalyne? Find us on Instagram!