april started with Easter and Spring Break which also means Spring camp! one less snack since little one got early but still lots of goodies. then it’s back to the regular 5 container school day meals with some pictures, notes … Continue reading packing school meals: month 8
march began with a nor’easter but that doesn’t keep us from packing her meals! this month’s school theme is water so you will see some rain and planting. other things to look forward to: Dr. Seuss’s birthday and revisiting childhood … Continue reading packing school meals: month 7
it’s February! so much to learn for a growing child, like this month’s theme: light! to kick it off, the kids went on a walking trip around the neighborhood and observed streets signs. it’s also the month for Lunar New … Continue reading packing school meals: month 6
it’s a new year and back to school! this month’s class theme is transportation so there will be some vehicles in little one’s meals! m added an activity to meals by creating a treasure hunt in some of the dishes. … Continue reading packing school meals: month 5
it’s December! more holidays are coming up and the weather’s getting colder. what meals will we have for little one this month? Continue reading “packing school meals: month 4”
we had a half day this month so fewer meals make different decorating opportunities. there’s also fewer meals for the second half of the month with Thanksgiving break. m’s meals Continue reading packing school meals: month 3 – pt 2
just so we share morning preparations, m and i are trading off days to prep little one’s meals. the days i don’t do it, i miss it but then it gives me more time to get my juices flowing 🙂 Continue reading “packing school meals: month 3 – pt 1”
when your kid tells you that you should mess up the picture you created because she’s scared of bugs … maybe it’s better to make cute pictures? Continue reading “packing school meals: month 2 – pt 2”
it’s month 2 and i’m starting to preplan and think of ideas to make meals fun for both myself and little one. when i grew up, i used to love newspapers that had word jumbles. since little one’s class is working through the alphabet, why not play word jumble with little one with her food? Continue reading “packing school meals: month 2 – pt 1”
after two weeks of just churning them out, i can start to enjoy myself and have fun with the meals. some pictures… some words… but always color and always fruits and veggies. Continue reading “packing school meals: month 1 – pt 2”
it’s back to school! now little one is adjusting to a public school schedule so we’re learning too. school starts earlier and ends earlier. luckily little one’s after school program is in the same room so no awkward transition there. so the meals are: breakfast, lunch, end of school snack and after school snack. Continue reading “packing school meals: month 1 – pt 1 new school”
so my little started a new school! but while previously all students brought in their own lunches and snacks in the previous school, the new school provided 4 meals a day: breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner! unfortunately wheat and eggs are common ingredients in their menu so i will have to pack my little one’s meals. Continue reading “new school, new meal schedule, new system of packing meals”
this month my motto had been to keep things simple. most vegetables are just lightly sautéed with a little olive oil (i.e. boy choy – or – spinach and pepper)and paired with a protein which is just cooked in a pan with its natural oil (i.e. fish (salmon and tilapia fillets, beef patty). Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: going with the flow”
friends have told me how their kids used to be a good eater but then the kid later became a picky eater. i was always afraid that would come true because we’ve been lucky that k has been a really good eater. then last month, k started to say: “no peas” “no pepper” “no corn” consistently. every now and then she’ll say: “no tofu” “no blackberries” – which she normally loves. other times, she’ll be selective and say: “only bok choy”, “only fish” or “only pasta”. if we say “no”, she’d tantrum. what happened my happy eater? Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: beginning of a picky eater?”
this month, i worked on making some more meals that we can eat together, including some breakfast foods like gluten free vegan muffins and crepes – to – crab avocado salad and tacos! meals have begun to be easier to prepare. yay! recipes to some new dishes include: Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: “grown up” dishes”
my goal the past month has been to try to make meals that we can all eat – whether together or not – with leftovers so that it can last a few meals. bi-weekly i’ll make a fish and vegetable fried rice that will last k 2 to 3 meals. monthly i’ll make a batch of garlic free tomato sauce for pasta, pizza or lasagna. i definitely spend less time in the kitchen daily. Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: eating together”
for the past year, it feels more like i’ve been “prepping” food for k instead of actually cooking. i guess i’m thinking in terms of not just letting food speak for itself but actually flavoring food.
so this month i focused on adding flavoring and cooking tools – i.e. oil, butter, vinegar, turmeric and yeast. with these ingredients we were able to make some fun dishes: Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: cooking instead of prepping food”
with k’s daycare added a cooking class to her schedule, it has been quite a learning experience. baking has been especially challenging – one wrong ingredient and the flavor, texture, etc is off. since a lot of times the cooking for k’s daycare … Continue reading baby feeding schedule: relearning about cooking
k started to feed herself with the feeding spoon, though not entirely independently yet. we scoop the food and she holds the spoon with food into her mouth, takes it out and hands the spoon back to us herself.
we didn’t start thinking about the next step of self-feeding yet. but as k’s daycare was growing in number of students, they thought the toddlers could learn to eat some of their meals independently with a fork. Continue reading “self-feeding: starting the fork”
with k’s allergies i have been preparing all her meals myself. since it has been mostly fruits and vegetables, it has been manageable. at her daycare though they only have 2 meal times. so i had to adjust her meal schedules to accommodate an early lunch and a snack. they originally asked for a dry snack but since they understood her allergy situation, we have been able to just provide some cut up fruit and vegetables. Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: “wet” snacks and the search for “dry” snacks”
since k was over 1, i wanted to see what the average amount of calories a child her age should eat and i found choosemyplate.gov that shows food types and amount of foods to eat. unfortunately the earliest food group examples and quantity they provide are for ages 2 to 5 but i use it to devise a meal plan: 3 meals and 2 snacks – and – make sure to include all food types in her daily diet: fruit, vegetable, grain, protein and dairy. Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: adding snacks and more allergies”
during month seven of solids, k turned one! a milestone for this is that k starts cow milk! since we had to supplement with formula it was a huge financial cost. now that k can drink cow milk, the cost was a noticeable saving. until babies turn 2, k needs fat for brain development so we started k on organic whole fat milk. Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: cow milk and a severe allergy”
on the sixth month of solids, we upped k’s meals to 4 times a day. we also added some new colors in her diet including red with tomatoes, bell pepper and beets; white with turnip and cauliflower; and purple with blueberries. k continues to have a great appetite!
for her daily staple, she has: Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: 4 meals a day and more colors”
at month five of solids, k continues to enjoy new foods. we’ve been very lucky that despite her allergies, she still has a growing repertoire of foods she can eat. also, k is a great eat so she continues to eat all of the new and old foods we’ve introduced her to.
as in our diets, it is important to eat a “food rainbow”: Continue reading “baby feeding schedule: eating a rainbow”
we hadn’t anticipated feeding baby formula but when we needed to supplement, we received ready-made formula from the hospital and pediatrician. i had also read that you should not give your baby water to drink because it would be harsh for the his/her stomach. so even though we knew if you buy powder it would be cheaper, we went to the extreme in not wanting to go through the worry about mixing power and water. our concerns about mixing water in infant formula is a valid concern as over watering may cause water intoxication *see note 1. with the little sleep we were having, could we make a mistake? yes, especially considering how much baby ate during that time! after the infant milk only stage, we focused on preparing solids and forgotten about drinking water. Continue reading “introducing drinking water”
at month three, k has definitely increased her food repertoire with new vegetables: zucchini, parsnip and; fruits: apple and banana; and another grain: quinoa. i often mix her bowls with a variety of vegetables and/or vegetables and sometimes some grain. portions have been 3 to 4 tablespoons and she has been eating it all so we’ve definitely been lucky that she’s such a good eater!
Continue reading “feeding schedule: food frequency, portions up plus drinking water!”
it’s been 2 months since we started k on solids. some days have been good where she would eat all of the food but some days she was pickier and would have either a few bites or just half of the meal. over all it has been a good start.
so far we have introduced k to vegetables (green beans, white potatoes, avocado, butternut squash, sweet potato / yam and carrots) and one grain (oat bran). like most new eaters she loves the starchy foods and the orange color vegetables. she also enjoys oat bran and tolerates the green vegetables, although mostly when they are mixed with other vegetables. Continue reading “feeding schedule: solids 3 times a day”
