Fostering Healthy Habits

10.14.2019

If you’ve ever cried or wanted to pull out your hair with the frustration of feeding your child, you are not alone! I think one of the more stressful things for parents of tiny humans is making sure they’re eating a nutritious diet. I am always worried about what my kids are consuming or not consuming. Even though I know there are many picky eaters who ate only mac n’ cheese for years turn into balanced adults, I still find myself wondering HOW we’ll get there!

I’m clearly no expert at feeding my kids but I still try new things. While one eats everything (ahhh it’s such a nice change!), the other is very very picky. However, one of the things our pediatrician told us is that it now takes about 50 (yes, fifty!) times for a food to be introduced to a child before they will try it. Obviously, plenty will do that long before you reach 50, OR you could be like us and do it 50+ times and it’s still a no go… But my point is: we keep on trying. One of the things I’ve enjoyed doing lately is making recipes with Charlie. Even though he isn’t eating a lot of them, seeing things mix together and participating in the process makes him more curious about how they will taste! He just really gets turned off by most textures… which is why we’re always switching things up over here!

This month, Walmart‘s baby brand Parent’s Choice is celebrating their 20th anniversary! Parent’s Choice is Walmart’s exclusive baby brand that offers a wide range of baby products that are great quality at a great value.We picked up some feeding supplies including spoons, silicone bowls, plates, and pouches while we were in the store and Charlie was thrilled to open the packages when we got home! He is very independent these days and is excited to be able to do things himself. Including sucking down pouches. I love that we have a backup of healthy options when other meals just don’t go our way!

Together we made a really simple applesauce that I thought I’d share as well as the pumpkin applesauce muffins we ended up making with it since only McKenna and I were willing to eat the sauce (ha).

All you need are a few apples, some cinnamon, water + voila! A delicious applesauce is born. Dice your apples into small bits (we kept the peel but you don’t have to) and throw into a crockpot. Add 1/2 cup of water + a dash of cinnamon. I actually added some pumpkin spice! Cook on high for 6 hours and stir occasionally.

We moved M into the high chair and bought a caddy to attach to our counter since we don’t have a kitchen table for a booster seat. It’s been fun having the kids sit together while they eat. I’m hoping Charlie is inspired by McKenna’s adventurous taste :)

When it comes to feeding C, we always put something we know he’ll eat on his plate plus a few other options. We’ve been told ‘colorful’ is ideal but it doesn’t always go that way. As long as I know he’ll eat something, I’m not too worried about him being hungry. He gets what is served and that’s it. We’re just trying to maintain balance over here and teach him that we can’t always choose what we want for our meals and sometimes, we have to just eat what we’re served! Holding out strong in hopes of inspiring at least touch of another food! Ha!

Do you make recipes with your toddlers? Any favorites? I’d love some new inspiration!