Feeding DCKs

[Josiegirl]

Going from feeding 4-6 healthy eaters to 2 little ones 2 yo and under. I can't even make a pizza now, without wasting a lot of food.:confused: I know I could do english muffin pizzas but they won't eat english muffins.
Any suggestions for small servings of popular foods? And it's just me here so leftovers won't get eaten.
Since they both do like a lot of fruits/veggies, I'll serve those and build meals around them. But it's going to get old fast.

[Mike]

First thing I thought of is simple frying meals like omelets and pancakes. I've never yet seen a kid who doesn't like little mini pancakes.

[DaveA]

As for the pizzas, buy the premade crusts & cut with a 4" circle cutter or by hand. I think they freeze pretty well. Or use grand type biscuits and roll them out thin for crusts.

As for the rest find a "cooking for 2" cookbook. I know our library has several. Even if you don't use those recipes you'll get a better idea of proportions for cooking smaller amounts.

[LysesKids]

Going from feeding 4-6 healthy eaters to 2 little ones 2 yo and under. I can't even make a pizza now, without wasting a lot of food.:confused: I know I could do english muffin pizzas but they won't eat english muffins.
Any suggestions for small servings of popular foods? And it's just me here so leftovers won't get eaten.
Since they both do like a lot of fruits/veggies, I'll serve those and build meals around them. But it's going to get old fast.

popular foods here are ethnic meals and all my babes are always under 24 months... we don't do pizza, chick'n nuggets, hotdogs etc. My littles eat Goat curry, Samosas, tamales and the like and have from the start

[Unregistered]

My toddlers like their foods separated on their plates, so I frequently do meals that look like the MyPlate. It's easy to do lots of variety since it's all separate foods. I think they like it because each food is easily recognizable.

[knoxmomof2]

Another vote for foods separated on their plate! My older DC kids would eat some of the more complicated dishes I made, but they have all moved on to school and I currently have kids under 3. They're much more likely to find something they like when it's all separated than if I give them a plate of my delicious ziti (that has all the food groups present), because it's all mixed up and looks strange. 😂

[Josiegirl]

Oh yeh, mixed foods are out. Neither of these 2 dcks like eggs. They'll eat string cheese, yogurt, *some* chicken and hamburger, deli ham and turkey. It's going to be trickier now. But I think building their plate around fruits/veggies will work(I can eat those leftovers )then buy very small amounts of other stuff.

The only dish I can serve mixed is one that has hamburger, corn and brown rice in it. They will both eat that right up. But no mac n cheese, swiss steak, fish, or spaghetti with sauce or tacos or meatballs/loaf.
Upside I only spent $70 at the grocery store yesterday and that included stocking up on some things. And as soon as I get it figured out, lunches should be a snap to make. Lol

[Josiegirl]

Dave, I like your ideas for making pizza, I will definitely have to try them!!

Thanks everybody!

[Unregistered]

Re:spaghetti and other combination dishes. Just serve deconstructed. Not touching or even sauce in separate dish. They can eat separately or combine.

[Ariana]

As Dabe suggested pizz bites. Cut a miffin tin sized round of dough and place it in a muffin tin, top with sauce, cheese, chicken or pepperoni and then bake. You can free them for later! I got this idea from Tasty last week and I am gonna try it for my kids lunch.

I am in the same boat. My SA’s are off to school and my oldest is 2.5 yrs. I will still make some favourites like quesadilla and homemade chicken fingers but really need to branch out a bit more.

[Ariana]

Oh my goodness my spelling in that post is autrocious ::

[rosieteddy]

Once I got over my idea that lunches needed to be different things got easy.Ifound the younger kids just wanted separate foods.Ihad the divided dishes from Walmart,Afruit aveggie protein and carb.Ichose 5 lunches and picked a day that the meal worked.They loved knowing what to expect.Turkey could be rolled with a whole wheat roll,apple slices and veggie sticks.Grilled cheese another day .Pasta with separate chicken veg and fruit.Meatball with pasta and fruit/veg.Your rice dish the other day.My kids never loved pizza and parents usually wanted to order that themselves.

[Homebody]

I have 22 month old that won't eat burritos. So, she gets it deconstructed with shredded cheese and the meat and tortilla all separated.

I agree with the others about keeping it simple and foods separated.

[LysesKids]

I have 22 month old that won't eat burritos. So, she gets it deconstructed with shredded cheese and the meat and tortilla all separated.

I agree with the others about keeping it simple and foods separated.

Why are my babies eating so different from everyone else ... they love mixed & ethnic, but then they started out that way here

[Blackcat31]

Why are my babies eating so different from everyone else ... they love mixed & ethnic, but then they started out that way here

Mine are odd too....

None of them have issues with food mixed so I don't have to worry about keeping things separated. Mine also love veggies so that part is easy.

Potatoes and pasta are NOT favorites here at all and I find most of it will go to waste if I serve it. I tend to stick with other grains instead such as bread sticks, crackers or rice. Especially wild rice.