Toddler Meal Time

Getting our little guy to eat has been somewhat of a challenge for the past few months. His appetite went from eating everything in sight to eating hardly anything and he became extremely picky as well. I know, I know, it is just a faze but wow, it seems like the switch was flipped overnight. Now we find ourselves adding in a quick prayer that he will eat well as we pray for our meal, and praise God over and over when we have a good meal with him.

We have found a few things that work with him. First, he has to be hungry! We have stopped allowing him to snack anywhere near supper time minus a few nibbles on ingredients as the meal is being prepared but even that is watched closely. This also means that on the days that he takes his extremely long naps and doesn't wake up until 4:00pm he doesn't get an afternoon snack at all.

Second, finding out what our little guys favorite foods are. Right now he could be classified as a vegetarian. He much prefers to eat pastas, rice, vegetables, and fruits over any sort of meat. He wouldn't go so far as being a vegan though as he loves his milk (still on whole milk but cutting back on how much he gets per day), cheeses, and yogurt. 

 Happy Meal Times with some of his favorites.

 Helping Mommy make a Zucchini Lasagna, 

sampling the zucchini before it is cooked.

Some of Andrew's favorite foods:

• Yogurt (any flavor, not picky)
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Peas
• Peppers
• Lasagna (one meal we can sneak some meat into his diet)
• Spaghetti (usually eaten without shirt or shorts on right now, less laundry)
• Cheese
• Breads
• Macaroni and Cheese (prefers generic brand over Kraft)
• Grapes
• Pears
• Peaches
• Blueberries
• Tacos, especially with carnitas (usually eats the insides first with a fork and then takes bites out of the tortilla)
• Applesauce

We do our best to plan meals around his likes and dislikes, the good thing everything on list are on Todd and mine's as well. Making sure there is something for him to eat well at every meal takes a few extra minutes in planning (just in case he decides he doesn't want the main meal) but a happy and peaceful meal time is very worth it.