We did it!!

At Emma's 3 year appointment she FINALLY made it on the growth chart. It's been a very, very long journey and to say that it feels good is an understatement. My baby girl has finally done it, no more FTT!!!!!

On the go

When you're trying to feed your child a high calorie diet, snacks can be very challenging. Most easy snacks aren't high calorie AND easy to transport. Below is a list of snacks we find easy to travel with and aren't too nutritionally lacking.

• Cliff Z bar - 120 calories, 2.5g fat, 3g protein

• Cliff Twisted Fruit - 70 calories

• Cereal

Can be kind of messy to transport, but we use these reusable snack bags. They're super easy for Emma to use and they're very easy to clean.

Some Cereal Options:

Kix – (1 ¼ cup) 110 calories, 1g fat, 2g protein

Trix – (1 cup) 120 calories, 1.5g fat, 1g protein

Cheerios – (1 cup) 100 calories, 2g fat, 3g protein

Fruit Cheerios – (3/4 cup) 100 calories, 1.5g fat, 1g protein

Yogurt burst cheerios (3/4 cup) 120 calories, 1.5g fat, 2g protein

Chex (rice) (1 cup)- 100 calories, 0 fat, 2g protein

Wheat Chex (3/4 cup) – 160 calories, 1g fat, 5g protein

Quaker Granola (the oats and honey variety does not have corn) (1/2 cup) – 210 calories, 6g fat, 5g protein

• Granola Bars

Nature Valley – 90 calories, 3g fat, 2g protein

Quaker – 100 calories, 3g fat, 1g protein

• Dried Fruit

Raisins (1/2 cup) 217 calories, 0 fat, 2g protein

Apricots (1/2 cup) – 157 calories, 0 fat, 2g protein

Apples (1/2 cup) – 104 calories, 0 fat, 0 protein

Cranberries (1/3 cup) – 140 calories, 0 fat, 0 protein

• Popcorn

Oil Popped (1 cup) – 55 calories, 3g fat, 1g protein

• Squeezable packets

GoGo Applesauce – 60 calories, 0 fat, 0 protein

Revolution Foods Mashup Strawberry Banana – 60 calories, 0 fat, 1g protein

Peter Rabbit Fruit Pouches Apple Grape – 80 calories, 0 fat, 0 protein

• Crackers

http://www.latejuly.com/late_july_organic_snacks/2008/01/our-bite-size-c.html

Cheddar bunnies snack packs – 140 calories, 6g fat, 3g protein

Graham bunnies snack packs – 120 calories, 4g fat, 2g protein

Protein

I've heard from many friends that getting their children to eat meat is always a challenge and they're wondering about alternative protein sources. I've thrown together a list of non-meat protein sources. If your child has good dairy intake, chances are that protein isn't something that you need to worry about. A typical toddler only needs 16 grams of protein a day, which you can find in 2 cups of whole milk. However it's always ideal to feed your toddler a varied diet so that they are getting their nutrients from a variety of different sources.

Description	Serving Size	Grams of Protein
Veggie burger	1 patty	Varies
Tempeh	1 cup	31
Soybeans, mature cooked, boiled, without salt	1 cup	22
Beans, White beans, mature seeds, canned	1 cup	19
Lentils, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt	1 cup	18
Cornmeal, degermed, enriched, yellow	1 cup	17
Wheat flour, whole-grain	1 cup	16
Wheat flour, white, bread, enriched	137	16
Oat bran, raw	1 cup	16
Beans, Navy beans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt	1 cup	16
Beans, Kidney beans, red, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt	1 cup	15
Beans, black, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt	1 cup	15
Buckwheat flour, whole-groat	1 cup	15
Beans, Lima beans, large, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt	1 cup	15
Beans, Cowpeas (blackeyed), immature seeds, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	1 cup	14
Beans, Pinto beans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt	1 cup	14
Beans, Kidney beans, red, mature seeds, canned	1 cup	13
Beans, Cowpeas, common (blackeyes, crowder, southern), mature seeds,	1 cup	13
Beans, baked, canned, with pork and tomato sauce	1 cup	13
Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached	1 cup	13
Beans, baked, canned, plain or vegetarian	1 cup	12
Beans, Lima beans, large, mature seeds, canned	1 cup	12
Bulgur, dry	1 cup	12
Quinoa, cooked	1 cup	11
Cornmeal, whole-grain, yellow	1 cup	10
Peas, green, canned, regular pack, drained solids	1 cup	8
Spaghetti, whole-wheat, cooked	1 cup	7
Oat bran, cooked	1 cup	7
Spaghetti, cooked, enriched, without added salt	1 cup	7
Tofu, firm, prepared with calcium sulfate and magnesium chloride	1/4 block	7
Spinach, canned, drained solids	1 cup	6
Spinach, frozen, chopped or leaf, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	1 cup	6
Buckwheat groats, roasted, cooked	1 cup	6
Bulgur, cooked	1 cup	6
Peas, edible-podded, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	1 cup	6
Spinach, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	1 cup	5
Asparagus, frozen, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	1 cup	5
Beans, Cowpeas (Blackeyed), immature seeds, boiled, without salt	1 cup	5
Peas, edible-podded, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	1 cup	5
Corn, sweet, yellow, canned, vacuum pack, regular pack	1 cup	5
Potato, baked, flesh and skin, without salt	1 potato	5
Rice, brown, long-grain, cooked	195	5
Whole wheat bread	2 slices	5
Broccoli, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt	1 cup	5
Corn, sweet, yellow, frozen, kernels cut off cob, boiled, drained, without salt	1 cup	5

Meal Supplements

Pediasure or Boost are very popular options for meal replacements or supplements that doctors and nutritionists recommend when children have trouble gaining weight or are poor eaters. If you've ever looked at the ingredient list there is a lot of ingredients that make a lot of moms wonder what exactly they are putting in their child's body. I'm not knocking them at all, they are very convenient and provide great nutrition, however sometimes parents are looking for a more natural option. I've put together a couple options that include more natural ingredients while keeping a good calorie, fat and protein ratio. My recommendation is that if you're using these as a meal replacement (i.e. your child won't eat and they drink instead) you should include a multi-vitamin to make sure they are getting all the vitamins and minerals they need. However, if you're just using it to boost calories then you shouldn't need a vitamin.

Basic Recipe

1 cup whole milk Kefir

1/2 cup banana (approx. a small banana)

2 Tbs Nestle Nido

1/2 Tbs honey

Kefir is more sour than milk, which is why I've added honey. You could also add fruit juice, sugar or anything a little sweeter.

The best part of this recipe is that you can really substitute anything. If you can't find kefir, you can use equal parts milk and yogurt. You could also just use milk or half and half. If your child has a milk allergy you could use coconut milk kefir or any milk substitute that you like.

If your child doesn't like bananas you can use any fruit, you could also forgo the fruit and add a splash of vanilla or chocolate if your child likes that. Again you can also use formula in place of the nido, which would make it a more balanced option if you're using it as a meal replacement.

You'll notice in the nutritional information below that the kefir options appear to have more sugar, but it's unrefined sugar - a mixture of fruit, honey and milk sugars. You'll also notice that there isn't vitamin information for the kefir options, it's because they are listed as adult servings on the package and I didn't want to do the math.

Allergies

I've realized that a lot of my recipes contain items that many kids with common allergies can't have.
Does your child have allergies? If so, to what? And what kind of recipes are you looking for?

Edible Play-dough

If your child is anything like mine, they enjoy eating foods that are "off-limits" more than those that they are supposed to be eating. Emma LOVES to eat play-dough and because we had so many issues with getting her to eat I didn't want to tell her no in fear that she'd stop putting anything in her mouth, so this a great solution.

Obviously you can use any nut butter you like and as much or as little honey. Make sure to use whole milk powder for the most bang for your buck!

EDIBLE PEANUT BUTTER PLAYDOUGH

about 18 oz. of peanut butter
about 6 tbsp. of honey
about 1 1/2 cups of powdered milk

Mix all ingredients well. Add powdered milk until the playdough is workable with your hands. This is a fun recipe for kids to play with and certainly has a yummy taste. Optional: Use raisins, nuts, or candy to decorate. Don't forget to eat!

Mixing it Up

One thing I've learned about toddlers is that you have to mix things up in order to keep them interested.

At a party this weekend I learned a new trick...toothpicks!
Emma thinks that eating food off toothpicks is a ton of fun and will eat much more off of them than she will a fork. Give it a try! Toothpicks come in a ton of fun colors, or have a decoration on the end that kids will really love.

How do you keep mealtime fun?

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