Hellobee Boards

maybe tackle one meal at a time so that it's not overwhelming? for instance breakfast is usually easy. how about eggs? i have a super duper easy steamed egg recipe coming up.

you can also make pancakes and sneak in tons of veggies in there like pumpkin, squash, carrot, and they freeze well so all you have to do is batch cook them and microwave or toss them in a pan with some butter. you can prepare french toast the same way -- it freezes super well.

try green smoothies to get in more veggies. a trick i use is to put it in a reusable pouch (like those squeeze pouches you buy). but charlie actually loves green smoothies and will drink it from a cup.

bacon is another easy one if you cook it in the oven.

then try tackling another meal. instead of a gerber meal for dinner, he could eat what you're eating. i cook a lot of simple dinners to accommodate the kids. i batch cook soups and freeze them into individual portions so i always have them on hand because the kids love soup. i bake salmon -- just toss some seasonings and bake. i bake veggies -- just salt and pepper and olive oil (sweet potatoes are usually a hit with most kids). olive loves baked carrots w/ salt and paprika.

it doesn't take long to prepare a lot of the healthier foods if you slowly work them into your routine. just don't try to overwhelm yourself by making a ton of changes at once.

My LO gets sweet potatoes almost every lunch because it's sooo easy. I usually just microwave one sweet potato and it's usually enough for 2-3 servings. Just toss a little cinnamon on top and you'll probably end up having some for yourself too!

I've just recently been introduced to this site and my son's been loving it.

http://nurturebaby.com/recipes/

We just made the Gobble Me Up Turkey, added some kale, and then didn't puree it since he doesn't need it pureed (it was like a stew), and he loved it.

Here's some of the things that made it a lot easier for me to feed #1 once #2 came along:

Most grocery stores sell pre-cut fruit and veggies. It's a little more expensive, but it makes healthier eating as convenient as pre-packaged foods.

Greek yogurt and fruit/veggie puree pouches are pre-packaged foods I don't mind giving the kids for snacks, and they're very handy as a side dish, when I don't have time to make a bunch of extra stuff.

I also make big batches of staples in our house (like mac and cheese or sweet potato burritos). The kids probably eat mac and cheese once or twice a week, but I have frozen containers of it in the freezer that are just as easy to make as a pre-packaged meal.

Also, give yourself a break. when my second was born, DD ate a lot of Beefaroni and fruit pouches, lol, but as DS has gotten older, it's become a lot easier to go back to healthier eating. The phase where your second is a newborn doesn't last for very long, and it will get much easier, very quickly.

@NaturallyCathy: Its great to let them try and play with lots of textures, colors, and temperatures!!! My daughter is crazy that she will eat peas frozen but not cooked, she will eat eggs fried but not scrambled, just silly stuff like that.

She loves to go bring us the Goldfish but we push for her to eat something healthy.

@NaturallyCathy: The recipe for sweet potato burritos:

http://www.allrecipes.com/Recipe/Addictive-Sweet-Potato-Burritos/Detail.aspx

This recipe makes a ton of burritos. Even with the kids eating them a couple times a week, and DH taking them to work, one batch lasts a whole month!

It's hard to balance two; it did get a lot easier for me around 8-10 weeks, though, so I bet you start seeing a real improvement very soon.

Eta: You are so not lazy! Like I said, my first lived off of Beefaroni and fruit pouches for the first few months of DS's life. Taking care of a toddler and newborn is hard work. Just surviving day in and day out is a huge accomplishment!

DS (10.5 months) loves broccoli sautéed in sesame oil, garlic and a splash of soy sauce. I make a bunch and use it for 2 or 3 days for us and him. Also frozen peas and corn can be defrosted in a Pyrex cup and hot tap water in minutes. He also loves cooked carrots.
For dairy DS loves greek yogurt, cheese (especially cream cheese, mozzarella and havarti) and cottage cheese - all have pretty high protein amounts.
Meats he eats well are chicken, sausage, eggs (I scramble with bacon bits), stew beef, ground turkey.
Starches I use a lot are bagels, sweet potato/butternut squash steamed with cinnamon, crackers, toast, Cheerios.

I don't do bentos (yet!) but here are DS's meals yesterday, I think they were pretty simple - he still nurses.
Breakfast - Greek yogurt, fresh pear pieces, Cheerios
Lunch - breakfast sausage, thawed frozen peas, mozzarella cheese cubes.
Snack - banana, puffs
Dinner - turkey meat loaf (made with grated zucchini, carrots and cheese), broccoli, mashed white potatoes. Prune purée and then an apple baby cookie.

LO will eat beans (pretty much any kind- black, kidney, cannellini, garbanzo) and black olives straight out of the can, so that's an easy one- open a can, divide into a couple containers, stick some in the fridge. LO also loves hummus- he'll eat it with a spoon, or will also eat it off pita bread or carrot chips. Yogurt, cottage cheese, regular cheese= all easy. LO loves meatballs and sausage- we buy it all frozen, and then it's just a matter of microwaving for a minute or two and then cutting them up.

I wish my son would eat this well...he doesn't want to try anything, so we're stuck on the same few things over and over. He's growing well and everyone thinks he is a year older than what he actually is, but I'd love to be able to give him more variety.

I'll have to read this thread later.

@NaturallyCathy: That's awesome! Great work, mama!