When Freddie was a baby, I did the whole Annabel Karmel thing, but since having Sasha, such a meal plan didn't always fit in with our family, and whilst lots of her recipes are great, some of them do take aaaaages to make, which is tricky when you have a couple of little people clinging to your leg and vying for your attention any chance they can. I also feel uneasy, for the most part, of giving the little ones too many convenience frozen foods (ready meals, boak!), much preferring home cooked fare, but at the same time realistic that on occasion it's ok to do so- balance is key (see fish fingers, below!). I know lots of people also say that their kids eat what they eat, which is brilliant, and we do this as much as possible. Trouble is, Adam and I are on a bit of a low carb health kick at the moment, and rocket salads and prawn stir frys aren't always toddler/baby friendly and easy for them to eat, and especially unsuitable when they need more carbs than us. So... this means I need to be able to whip up meals for them that are healthy but also easy for me to prep, as otherwise it's a bit of a slog cooking two lots of lunches/dinners every day.
Most of these meals are pretty easy to make, heck, there are even fish fingers and spaghetti on toast featured here, as well as many, many homemade, nutritious goodies. Anything which takes longer to make, I try and make sure that portions can be frozen as well, so it makes all the time and effort worthwhile, and you can whip something out of the freezer at a moment's notice, or at least, earlier on in the day. Nothing worse than going through the ballache of making a detailed, sometimes expensive meal, and having it lobbed all over the floor, AND THAT'S IT. At least if you can freeze some, you can try again another day.
As I mentioned earlier, don't take these plans as gospel, but these are what I use, and my children are (touch wood) fighting fit on them. If you take something from them, then that's great. :-) I will be using them here for myself to make sure I don't repeat something too often, and I can look back on a weekly basis and see what i've cooked for them- there is always a danger of pulling out tuna in tom sauce and pasta too often!
If I can link to a recipe, I will.
I never add salt to meals, and only sugar if necessary.
I always go for low salt options for things like baked beans. I generally use small pasta shapes- I really like the Tesco 'Goodness' range, as they do great 'animal' and 'universe' shaped oatmeal dried pasta, plus some 'Goodness' pasta sauces which are quick and easy to use. I'm not being sponsored by them by the way, I just like this range for the children!
These meal plans are only Mon-Fri, as we are often out and about on weekends, or like the option of being spontaneous, so I never bother buying in specifically. If we are in on a Saturday or Sunday, we tend to use up stuff in the fridge, or I pluck a meal I've made from the freezer. I find meal planning a godsend from a food shopping point of view- we get online delivery, so I plan, then order on a Sunday night, to be delivered first thing Monday morning, so I know then I have everything I need for the week.
Freddie and Sasha often get healthy snacks of fruit, cheese, rice cakes, plus the odd biscuit between meals, depending on what time they've eaten previously, and how well they ate.
I found that nearly all the meals have been suitable for Sasha since she turned about 8 months, despite having no teeth then, as I would really mash up the cooked meals, and she could handle gumming (then eating) finger foods like toast. I tended, and still do tend, to bung a lot of stuff on her tray and let her get on with it!
These posts come at a time when I think i'm finding my blogging feet, and perhaps looking to focus more on being at home with young children, but making it as fun and hassle-free as possible, sharing cool stuff I've discovered, or how to be more organised. After all, it's my main job at the moment, what I do best (ask my friends how anal I can be when it comes to tidiness and organisation!).
I'd LOVE other bloggers to get involved with this, and show their meal plans too. I've Googled 'toddler meal plans' several times, and there actually aren't that many places to get inspiration, so the more, the merrier.
Right, let's do this!
WEEK ONE:
Monday
|
Tuesday
|
Wednesday
|
Thursday
|
Friday
|
|
Breakfast
|
Porridge with fruit pot & sliced banana.
|
Shreddies with full fat milk.
Blueberries & strawberries.
|
Peanut butter on wholemeal toast & sliced banana.
Cup of milk.
|
Porridge with raisins.
Fruit pot.
|
Fruit loaf with butter.
Sliced banana.
Mango.
Cup of milk.
|
Lunch
|
Dairylea stir-in pasta, with broccoli and salmon.
Yoghurt.
|
Tinned mackerel in tomato sauce, with steamed carrots, parsnips and
broccoli.
Peach rice pudding fruit pot.
|
Mini chicken, tomato and sweet potato pies* with peas.
Yoghurt.
|
Leek, cheese and mushroom omelette.
Yoghurt.
Sliced tinned pears (leftover from yesterday)
|
Cauilflower cheese* with tuna and peas stirred in.
Homemade banana muffin.
Clementine.
|
Tea
|
Scrambled eggs & baked beans with toast bites.
Fresh mango.
|
Grated cheese & carrot sandwiches. Toddler crisps.
Grapes.
Yoghurt.
|
Tuna mayo mini pittas. Cucumber and carrot sticks.
Babybell.
Sliced tinned pears (in juice)
|
Hummous on toast. Cheese sticks. Cherry tomatoes, cucumber sticks.
Homemade rice pudding.
|
Homemade vegetable soup. *
Bread & butter.
Yoghurt.
|
*Means meal can be frozen/come from my freezer
