What's for Lunch? Learning to Feed My Toddler

Today, Anna ate a leftover slice of cheese pizza and lima beans. Not your usual combo? Well, she loved it.

A few weeks back a fellow toddler mom and I were discussing what to feed these little ones. Face it, we run out of ideas weekly and enter the food ruts constantly. Add in toddler "assertiveness" and table time is turning tricky.

My sweet girl, who once downed cooked carrots and brown sugar butternut squash and steamed green beans, now will not touch the stuff. Essentially her veggie intake now consists of anything sweet potato and most beans (except green beans). She loves limas, pintos, peas, black beans, kidney beans, and so forth. I do not have any great ideas about luring her to love broccoli and brussel sprouts and carrots and even mashed potatoes. My take is that I keep making it with our meals and I keep putting it on her plate and maybe one day, she will eat it. Maybe.

So for you other mothers, here is what Anna is eating this week. Oh, and no judging.

Tuesday: banana and milk for breakfast / leftover cheese pizza and lima beans for lunch / pasta and chicken in parmesan and spinach sauce with corn and cauliflower in the sauce, which she picked out
Wednesday: yogurt and blueberries for breakfast / avocado, cheese, and pretzels for lunch / crock pot chicken and green beans (we made a "deal" for her to eat 10 beans)
Thursday: banana for breakfast / leftover chicken and green beans (which I am happy to report she ate with less fuss) for lunch / half an avocado and sweet potato tater tots for dinner
Friday: yogurt and blueberries / avocado, pretzels, applesauce, and gingersnaps (packed lunch for school) / fish and chips for dinner
Saturday: bacon, eggs, and whole wheat toast for breakfast / leftover limas and sweet potato tots / cheese pizza and berries (strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries mix)

As you might guess, blueberries and avocados were on sale at the grocery store. :-) Also, Anna has a snack between lunch and dinner since we don't eat dinner until 6 or 6:30. So it's usually a piece of fruit (apple or berries or orange) or a grain, like Annie's Bunnies or pretzels. So far, Anna doesn't like sweets, except for gingersnaps. Thus, I'm not fighting the sweet treat battle as of yet.

I'd be DELIGHTED to learn what your little one eats. New ideas are always welcome. And if you have ideas about incorporating veggies into Anna's diet, I'm ALL EARS. Or eyes because you'll likely type it, not say it. :-)