Quarantined With a Toddler: What My Toddler Eats in a Day

Junior enjoys breakfast of crispy baked turkey bacon, mango & blackberries, and a fried egg

So, I have an 18 month old.  And my 18 month old eats like a teenage football player.  I always knew he enjoyed eating.  I mean, he is my kid.  There’s an ongoing joke where I feed him an entire meal, my husband comes home from work, Junior runs up to him, sits on his lap, and proceeds to eat half of the food on my husband’s plate.  My husband looks at me in disbelief, and I say “I promise I feed him.” … Repeat daily …

And all of this is amplified now that we’re in the house around the clock with social distancing.  I figured this would be a cool time to share what Junior eats in a day =)

Breakfast
Junior is still breastfeeding, so we usually breastfeed and cuddle in my bed after he wakes for about an hour.  After we make up our beds and get dressed, we head downstairs and prep breakfast.  This seems to be Junior’s favorite meal of the day and he eats best first thing in the morning.  So I make sure it’s good and hearty.  I make sure he has some sort of protein and fruit.  He likes scrambled or fried eggs, breakfast sausage or turkey bacon, and a small fruit salad.  Junior really likes Seedless California Easy Peel Mandarins, blackberries, and blueberries.  Every now and then, I’ll include Kodiak Cakes Homestyle Protein Packed Frozen Power Waffles or Power Flapjacks with a tiny bit of maple syrup to dip for fun.

Here, Junior has half of a chicken empanada, scrambled eggs, “Cuties” mandarins & blackberries

Snack
Mid morning, Junior and I enjoy a small snack.  He really likes Chobani Vanilla Blended Nonfat Greek Yogurt or another piece of fruit.

Yummy Chobani Vanilla Greek Yogurt

Lunch
After some practical life activities, outside play, or skill focused play (see Quarantined With a Toddler: DITL), it’s time for lunch! I serve Junior a protein, veggie or fruit or apple sauce, and a crispy snack or tots.

Chicken fingers, sliced rainbow carrots, black grape halves, veggies straws

Snack
Junior’s afternoon snack is usually some sort of crispy snack, like Harvest Snaps Lightly Salted Green Pea Crisps or Sensible Portions Sea Salt Garden Veggie Straws.  I also make sure Junior gets water with each meal and throughout the day.

Dinner
One really nice thing about the shelter in place order is that we get to spend more time with each other, especially during meals.  On this day, Junior ate a couple of servings of barbecue chicken, baked sweet potato with cheese shreds, and corn.

Pro Tip
Junior went through a phase where he refused to eat veggies and even most fruit.  So I found this brand of chicken nuggets and meatballs that have veggies hidden in them, and they are really tasty!
Kidfresh Mighty Meaty Frozen Chicken Meatballs
Kidfresh Super Duper Frozen Chicken Nuggets

It may seem like a never ending cycle of preparing meals, but I try to be mindful as I do the prepping, practicing gratitude for the opportunity to provide for my kid every step of the way.

Introducing Table Food to Baby

At Junior’s 9 month check, his doctor advised us to stop the purees, and start feeding Junior what we eat at each meal, with the exception of shell fish and honey. Shell fish because of the risk of allergy, and honey because of the risk of botulism. So we dived in head first, and Junior took to the seasoned, savory foods without hesitation. He kind of looked at us like we had been holding out.

On a typical weekend, I cook breakfast, prep lunch, and cook dinner for us to all eat together. During the week, I cook every other day with enough left overs for lunch and dinner the days between. I try to make each meal as balanced as I can.

An example of what I pack for daycare:
1. Whole Grain Pancake & Scrambled Eggs
2. Quinoa & Salmon
3. Steamed Apples
I now send puff snacks as well

A typical breakfast includes protein, like eggs or turkey kielbasa, whole grain pancakes or oatmeal, and fruit. Oh, and coffee for the grown ups. I start Junior’s day with breast milk before we head downstairs to prep breakfast. While I’m prepping the breakfast, I’ve been giving him a piece of fruit, or banana & peanut butter.

Banana & Peanut Butter

I separate the food on Junior’s highchair table and let him pick up the pieces as he chooses. His pincher maneuver has gotten precise, and he gets most of the food in his mouth.

Here we have Whole Grain Pancakes, Steamed Pears, and Scrambled Eggs

We play hang out until Junior takes a nap around 10am for 1-2 hours. At about noon we start to prep lunch. It usually consists of whatever we ate for dinner the night before. Some sort of protein in the form of fish, chicken, or turkey, a veggie, and a whole grain. Sometimes we’ll also have a piece of fruit.

Here, Junior enjoys Turkey Meatballs, Baked Sweet Potatoes, and Steamed Spinach

After lunch, we get outside for a bit. Then Junior takes another nap anywhere from 2-4pm. Between lunch and dinner, he also breastfeeds on demand, and has a snack of fruit or snack puffs.

Purple Carrot & Blueberry Snack Puffs

Junior working on a Fresh Strawberry

Then for dinner, Junior has whatever we’re having, cut up into bite-sized pieces. Again, usually a protein as fish, turkey, or chicken, a whole grain, & veggie.

Junior enjoys Brown Rice, Asparagus, Salmon, & Cherries

Junior loves eating with us, and his curiosity makes mealtime so much fun! When we’re out, I find something simple I can cut up easily at the table for him to eat right along with us.

Arroz con Pollo & Plantains from one of our favorite restaurants

He’s still breastfeeding, but we have eliminated night feedings. If he breastfeeds more frequently than every 3-4 hours, it’s mostly for comfort. He’s also drinking about 10oz of water each day.

Teething Snacks

Junior is now eating three meals a day in addition to breast milk. In my search for ways to relieve his teething discomfort, I found these cute snacks that are healthy, but also provide a harder texture that helps your baby teething. The Baby Mum-Mum Rice Rusks have been a hit!

The Baby Mum-Mum Rice Rusks are a rice cracker that is easy for baby to grasp and easily dissolves in the mouth. The harder consistency allows them to get the hang of chewing, while giving some relief to their tender gums.

Baby Mum-Mum Rice Rusks are available in different flavors, like banana, vegetable, apple & pumpkin, carrot & sweet potato, blueberry & goji. We started with the apple & pumpkin flavor, and Junior (and Mommy) loves them! His pediatrician approves too!

The ingredients are natural with no additives, sweeteners, or salt. There’s two crackers per individual pack, 24 total per box. All are non-GMO certified, and some flavors are certified organic.

I feel confident in giving Junior this fun snack and don’t have to worry about much of a mess when he’s done.

Over the next week or so, I’m going to start incorporating baby-led weening foods in the form of steamed pieces of veggies and fruits because Junior has been showing more interest in the food on our plates and different textures. I’ll be sure to bring you along!