Kara, here.  This is part two of Megan’s series on feeding toddlers, which originally ran August 2009. 

This is part two in a series on Finger Food for little ones. Earlier, we shared some ideas on what to serve for breakfast and snacks to toddlers who are new to feeding themselves. Today, I wanted to extend the idea into lunch and dinnertime ideas.

Several of you mentioned in the comments that your little ones eat what you eat at mealtime, and I have to agree this is the easiest way to approach meal preparation! I also have to confess that when my oldest was a new eater, she absolutely would not eat meat in any form. (She’s still a reluctant omnivore).

Sometimes patience and a good perspective on the big picture are helpful when approaching how much and what kind of food your new eater is eating. When our second child reached the finger food age, I was better about serving her what the rest of us are eating and not freaking out if she doesn’t eat much. She almost always makes up for it later in the day or throughout the week.  Having said that, sometimes what we are eating just isn’t great for the new eater – particularly those who only have a few teeth!

And don’t we all love to hear what other families are eating for lunch? Lunch is the biggest culprit of food rut blues for me. How many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches can one person eat?

Thoughts on Meals for Little Eaters:

Realistic Portions

Remember that toddlers don’t need a full serving, nor do they even need a half-sized serving in most cases. They have little tummies that fill up quickly! Start small and serve more if they are still hungry.

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Kara, here.  After last week’s series on Homemade Baby Food 101 by Christen, we had a few readers asking about the next step and feeding toddlers.  So, I decided to re-run Megan’s series on Toddler Finger Foods, which originally ran August 2009.  Don’t miss the great suggestions in the comments – and feel free to leave your own thoughts, too.  We’d love to hear what simple breakfasts and snacks are a hit with the toddlers at your house!

Last week’s post on toddler mealtimes elicited some great discussion in the comments.  Several of you asked for ideas on finger foods for your toddlers.  I decided to create a two-part series with some ideas that have worked well in our family, and I hope others will share their toddler favorites as well!

For today, let’s focus on breakfasts and snack time.

Breakfast Ideas for Toddlers

Fresh Fruit

I liked to roll pieces of fruit in dry baby cereal.  This makes it easier for little fingers to successfully pick up the fruit and get it into those sweet little mouths.

Scrambled Eggs

Break up the scrambled eggs into little bite-sized pieces.  I often top scrambled eggs with a little shredded cheese for an extra calcium boost.

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