I received a comment recently: “It’s so nice to see a glimpse of what your kids eat. Can you share more?” I thought a Kids Eat Real Food (haha KERF!) would make a good blog post. When planning meals, I try to include a mix of different food groups / macronutrients and pick 3-4 different foods creating a mix of proteins, fats, fruit/veg, whole grains, dairy, nuts. I don’t get all of those categories in each meal, but I try to combine a diverse mix of foods. Here are some real kid meals!
Baby Birch
I often show photos of Birch’s EZPZ plate. As his mother, I think he is THE CUTEST when he eats, his little fingers carefully selecting what to then shove in! He’s been a big eater as soon as he figured out how to swallow purees. The boy does a lot of chewing for only having 1.5 teeth! I generally cut his food into strips and bite-size chunks and make sure that everything I serve is mashable between my forefinger and thumb (the strength of baby gums, apparently.) I don’t offer a lot of fibrous foods – things like broccoli stems, bell peppers, greens, green beans or apples unless they’re VERY well cooked. Birch gets most of his vegetables from purees in pouches.
Real Kid Meals: Baby Birch
- Scrambled eggs, sometimes mixed with cheese
- Yogurt pouches
- Baked oatmeal
- Quiche cut into bites
- Banana chunks
- Berries of all kinds, smashed or sliced into strips
- Cooked apples
- Orange segments cut tiny
- Homemade whole wheat muffins
- Breakfast cookies
- Soft granola bars
- French toast and pancakes cut into strips
- Buttered toast in small bits
- Cheerios and puffs
- Sweet potato fries
- Thinly sliced avocado
- An omelet with small veggies and cheese
- Cooked salmon flakes
- Chicken or BBQ pulled into thin strips
- Pasta salad or mac and cheese
- No Bull Burger cut into bites
- Thinly sliced cheese or goat cheese chunks
- Steamed peas
- Applesauce in his popsicle
- Tofu (new!)
- Veggie-based pouches at almost every lunch and dinner (for the nutrients)
- Breastmilk ~3 times a day!
Salmon, avocado, sweet potatoes, apple sauce
Mazen: Age 7
Mazen is neither a picky eater nor an adventurous eater. He would survive off the Standard Kid Diet of pizza and grilled cheese if we let him, but of course we are always offering new things. His reaction to family dinners is very much dependent on his mood and can be very hit or miss.
Real Kid Meals: Mazen aka he says “yes!” when he gets it
- Oatmeal
- Pancakes or waffles
- Toast with butter
- Pizza, which he would eat all day, everyday
- Grilled cheese
- Quesadillas (made with spinach!)
- Spaghetti with meat sauce and parmesan
- Mac and cheese
- Burgers
- Steak
- Avocados/guacamole
- Sweet potato wedges
- BBQ
- PB sandwich (no jelly)
- Chips
- Goldfish
- Cinnamon cereal
- All junk food….of course!
Healthy Foods Mazen Likes, But Less Enthusiastically
- Smoothies
- All green salads with dressing
- Red bell peppers with dip
- Salmon
- Chicken
- Shrimp
- Mussels
- Crab
- Other varieties of noodles (like Asian-style noodles)
- Asparagus
- Broccoli
- Mushrooms
- Lasagna
- Oranges
- Apple Slices with PB
- Bananas (only at bedtime for some reason)
- Milk
- Yogurt (very hit or miss)
- Mangos
- Cantaloupe + pineapple (very hit or miss)
Salmon, potatoes, green beans (kid version on the right!)
Food I Put In Mazen’s Lunch Box
- Peanut butter on whole wheat half sandwich
- Turkey and cheese half sandwich
- Orange slices
- Apple slices
- Mango slices
- Goldfish
- Pepperoni slices
- Yogurt drinks
- Milk box (the shelf stable kind)
- Red peppers
- Dried peas
- A tiny spinach salad with ranch
- Cheese and crackers
- Almonds or trail mix
- Applesauce
- Granola bars
- Anything homemade or leftover I might have on hand, like a mini muffin or leftover pizza
Oranges, Graham Cracker, PB Sandwich, Pea pods, Yogurt drink, Trail mix (for snack)
Mazen’s Bento Luncbox
It’s the Mackenzie lunchbox from Pottery Barn and the Spencer bento that fits inside. I have two bento inserts so one can go in dishwasher 🙂 I like that it’s a higher bento so more square / tall things fit inside – like a fruit cup or a sandwich on its size.
Progress Not Perfection
The last thing I want to do is put a lot of effort into lunches that don’t get eaten. While I wish I were one of those moms with the gourmet bento boxes packed with sushi or soup in a thermos, I just didn’t get that kind of eater. That’s ok though – we moms are all doing the best we can!
Sometimes he buys!
Mazen also loves to buy his lunch and does so about 50% of the time. I love not having to pack his lunch on those days, but I’ve seen enough of his school lunches to know that his packed lunches are a bit healthier (not that the school doesn’t offer healthy things, but of course he’s not loading up on the vegetable sides!) I am OK with him eating a burger and tater tots with mayo for lunch if he’s eating well at home for breakfast and dinner.
Please share your kid food wins and struggles!
More Real Kid Meals Ideas:
- 10 Healthy Packaged Foods For Kids
- What My Three Year Old Eats (from when M was 3)
- Baby Feeding: Solid Food + Favorites
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
Your kids eat such a healthy diet! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Granny says
It’s so hard to know anymore what is healthy or good for kids..I’m a great grandmother that has two of my kids in the mornings..I’ve gone to toast with real butter and raw honey and vitamin fortified whole white milk..sometimes waffles or pancakes but no sugar or anything sweet in the mix..I also put eggs in my mix..it’s topped with honey or I’m bad a low sugar fake maple syrup..
Valerie says
I was like Mazen when I was little in that I would only eat peanut butter sandwiches, too! 🙂 I was pretty old before I realized certain jelly/jam made all the difference (strawberry, blackraspberry, raspberry)!
Cyndi says
My grandson asks for a “Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich with no Jelly”, my granddaughter wants “Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich with no Bread” Very specific but matches their tastes (which may change of course) I was one of those weird children who didn’t like peanut butter or chocolate; still not my favorite flavors and I only like jams or preserves, no jelly please.
Laura says
I appreciate your balanced perspective so much! My kids are 7 and 5, and our school provides lunch everyday — kids can’t pack unless there is a medical/sensory need. I have to remember that if breakfast and dinner are more in line with how I want to feed my family, then the occasional lunch of junk won’t hurt them AND will probably keep them from feeling totally deprived of what it feels like everyone else eats ALL THE TIME.
KathEats says
Wow that’s interesting they require buying. I also remind myself that if Mazen doesn’t want the veggies I serve half the time he’s probably not going to eat them at school either, so I just need to work on him at home first!
Ellen says
That’s interesting — do you know why buying is mandatory? And is it public or private school?
I can’t imagine our town reacting well if we were told the kids had to buy. 😛
Karen says
You are permitted to send pb to school! Where I live peanut butter and essentially all foods made with nuts have been banned due to the potential deadly impact of food allergies.
KathEats says
Yes at the public schools. We could t have any nuts or nut products at the preschools.
Brigid says
I think your kids are great eaters!!! My oldest does not eat one fruit or vegetable and he is 18! As soon as veggies and fruits changed from baby food into more textured consistency he would gag and throw them right up. Funny though, he went off to college and went to a fraternity event that served chicken sandwiches that had lettuce on them. He actually ate it without taking the lettuce off. That was a big win! Figure some lucky girl will get him to eat more eventually! My other two aren’t so bad but my youngest is by far the best with variety.
KathEats says
Haha!! Yay lettuce!
Elizabeth says
My children are all pretty good eaters. I feel like our main struggles have to do with schedules. My middle daughter never wants breakfast before school; she just isn’t hungry then (I can relate!). My youngest just started preschool and for some reason won’t eat her lunch at school, no matter what I pack. I think it may be because they eat early? Or maybe she is just distracted. In any case she always basically eats lunch when she gets home.
Beth says
My one year old still won’t eat any food. We try with her several times a day, all different foods, finger foods and purées. It’s disheartening, but I know she’ll get there one day. In the meantime, she’s a healthy height and weight and is running around everywhere, so I try not to stress :).
Andrea says
My daughter was the same! She’d suck on things but never ate purées or substantial amounts of solid food. Eventually she started eating! Probably around 15 months?
Melanie G says
My almost 7 yo has eaten the same repertoire of foods since she started eating solids pretty much. While I like that she eats fruits and veggies well, it can be a struggle when she basically wants everything raw with NO sauce of any kind and very little seasoning. Going out to eat with her is a challenge for this reason. Other than French fries or a cheese quesadilla, maybe buttered pasta, there’s pretty much nothing on a menu she’ll eat. No pizza, no “combined” dishes of any kinds (aka lasagna, pasta with peas, etc) She doesn’t even like chocolate chip cookies or oatmeal raisin (even though she likes choc chips and raisins on their own)!
Peanut butter
Bell/sweet mini peppers
Raw Brussels sprouts
Raw okra (???)
Peas
Corn
Sometimes carrots
Almost any bean/legume
Eggs
Bacon
Certain crackers (Teiscuits or Wheat Thins)
Certain bread with crusts removed
Campbell’s chicken soup (holy sodium)
Pasta with a little butter
Berries of any kind
Plums
Pineapple
Nectarine/peach
Protein is a challenge for us so we rely a lot on eggs, yogurt/ Fairlife milk, edamame and peanut butter.
Overall I can’t complain, I suppose. I was a SUPER picky eater as a kid and I shudder when I think of the childhood diet I had growing up in the 80s. Let’s just say I consumed hot dogs more than once a day for several years in a row. :(((
So she’s off to a better start than I was!!
Libby says
My daughter Hazel is the same age as Mazen and I think she eats about the same as him — not picky/not adventurous. For some reason it seems she is pickier at dinnertime, and I get frustrated, but really she’s doing fine and I have to remind myself to let it go. She eats a lot of vegetables. Sometimes the vegetable is the ONLY thing she’ll eat from her dinner plate. She has a major sweet tooth (her 4 yr old brother could care less about treats). Both of my kids take a packed lunch every day – and I’m not super creative when packing, but I always try to have at least one veggie, one fruit and something crunchy. Two things I have never bought for them are cereal or juice. They’ve had them both, obviously, at other people’s houses etc. but I have never bought either for them. I figure eventually they will ask for cereal and I’m fine with it — I just figured I wouldn’t buy until they asked. 🙂
KathEats says
Cereal is our new favorite breakfast! It sure is easy on the parent. I’m mostly happy hes eating before school because he doesn’t have a big appetite for breakfast.
The Many Thoughts of a Reader says
My 8 year old is pretty adventurous and always has been. The only things I can tell you she does NOT like are cucumbers in vinegar (hahaha the face when she tried this!!!), meatballs (but will eat them when served them), and is iffy on yogurt. So I will take all of this as a win. When she was younger she wasn’t much of a meat eater, but neither am I. She has always loved sweet potatoes, applesauce, berries, colored peppers and eggs. The funny thing about her is that she also loves salt and vinegar chips, but apparently cucumbers and vinegar are just too much!
Kelli says
Love this! So many great ideas! I can’t believe birch only has 1.5 teeth lol Kal has 6 already and we’ve paid for every single one of them with long long teething nights because they all came in one right after another after another ha ha
KathEats says
6!!! WOW!
Laura says
My almost 4 year old has been a great eater until about two months ago when she started to get picky saying she didn’t want sauce on her pasta and not liking veggies she previously liked. It seemed to come out of the blue. She’s still a pretty good eater, just a little pickier and quicker to say she doesn’t like something before trying it.
Both kids are in daycare and I used to send all of their food as the food the daycare serves is very processed with a lot of canned fruits/veggies. Once they reached the toddler room and realized they had different food, they refused to eat the delicious food I was sending and only wanted the daycare food. Broke my heart! I know they’re still eating what we prefer for meals at home though so I’ll survive.
Julie says
The canned fruits and veggies still have plenty of nutrients – don’t be afraid of them…and they are so much softer/easier to chew on toddler teeth. I’d call it a win if they eat them!
Rachel says
Thank you for this! My 11 month old daughter seems to eat similarly to Birch. She really likes to eat, which is a win! But she goes to daycare and I am feeling like we’re in a bit of a food rut. I want to pack more adventurous foods and textures but am worried about not being able to supervise her eating, and also, you’re not really supposed to send anything that they haven’t already had before which seems to limit our options when we’re rushing to prepare her meals in the morning. I definitely need to get better at food prepping and make ahead meals like muffins, frittatas, casseroles etc. But I am happy to see that you’re also using pouches as a source of vegetables! I’ve been doing the same (and feeling slightly guilty about it) since so many veggies are fibrous as you’ve described, and I haven’t fully embraced BLW (started with a mix of BLW and purees because I’m so afraid of choking). But this makes me feel better about it! Thank you so much for the inspiration!
KathEats says
Don’t feel guilty! You’re doing a great job : )
Becky says
My daughter packs as well, and frankly, it’s a relief!!
Sara E Wright says
I love regional references to foods in ways that are different than what we hear in the Pacific Northwest. Your listed “BBQ” under Mazen’s list sounds so unfamiliar to me, to use “BBQ” as a a food rather than an activity.
KathEats says
Haha! Yes in the south BBQ is pulled pork!!
Erin Edwards says
Hi Kath! I love your lunch container for Mazen, mind sharing which brand/where you bought it? I purchased that gorgeous Swig wine class you used at the beach & have just been loving it.
Thanks!
Erin
KathEats says
It’s the Mackenzie lunchbox from Pottery Barn and the Spencer bento that fits inside. I have two bento inserts so one can go in dishwasher 🙂
Steph says
Oooh! Where did you get Mazen’s bentou-style lunchbox??
KathEats says
Hi! It’s the Mackenzie lunchbox from Pottery Barn and the Spencer bento that fits inside. I have two bento inserts so one can go in dishwasher 🙂
Lindsey says
Link to Mazen’s lunch box, please? I’ve been looking for one that size/number of compartments!
KathEats says
I like that it’s tall so it can fit more things (like a sandwich turned up). It’s the Mackenzie lunchbox from Pottery Barn and the Spencer bento that fits inside. I have two bento inserts so one can go in dishwasher 🙂
Rebecca Eaton says
omg I wish my little vegans could take nuts to school, thats fantastic! Love Birch’s little plate, I’ve been staining my little ones tray just putting food on it, need to take a peak at find a plate/bowl that would stick to it instead
Hunter says
Wow, both of your boys eat such great, healthy diets!! I guess that’s what happens when your mom is an RD! 🙂 Is Birch still nursing or having formula several times a day? It seems like he eats so much solid food! Be careful with the protein, at his age he shouldn’t be having more than 10-12g per day (I’m an infant feeding therapist :)) but it’s so awesome that he eats so many great, healthy foods already!! So fun to read about what other kids eat, although I’m probably more excited about it, since I’m so used to working with kids who are SO picky and have so many food aversions. 🙂
KathEats says
He’s nursing 2-3 times a day (morning, sometimes middle, night). Good to know about the protein!
Hunter says
Oh that’s good that he’s still nursing 3 times a day too! Babies need around 24oz of breastmilk or formula a day up until 12 months, and it didn’t seem like he was getting that much with eating so many solids 🙂
KathEats says
I don’t know how much he’s getting because can’t see inside the breasts ( 🙂 ), but hopefully enough! He’s 50% for weight so no concerns there.
Rebecca Polson says
Hi Kath,
Love this post. I am a Chef over a School Nutrition program with 72 sites around our city and am always interested in what kids are eating at home. I would love to partner with you on a blog post of food served in schools. Check out my instagram @ChefRebeccaK12.
Rachel says
Thank you! 🙂
Julie says
Hi Kath,
I have a 6 month old and we are just starting solids. Can you explain why you don’t do “fibrous foods” unless they are well cooked? Feeding a baby is so confusing! Aren’t sweet potatoes fibrous?
KathEats says
I mean things that are harder to mash with gums due to insoluble fiber. Like celery or broccoli stalks.