Toddler and preschooler foods

make a nice creamy pasta for the child, boil the pasta a little more tender, and boil the veg u want to add too, like cubed potato 1/2, cubed carrots 1/2 and 3 to 4 beans also cubed. now get a tsp of butter melt and add 1/2 tsp of maida and mix well and add milk to it, without lumping slowly add just one cube of cheese shredded and a little pepper add less salt if the cheese has it now mix all together, and serve, garnish with coriander if she likes it.

u can also make this with just spinach, cook palak as leaves and then cut them into tiny shreds and add here instead of veg..it would still be creamy.sunkan

Hi kavya

I am not sure if your son likes vegies, as my son does not like the look of them. So this is how I made pasta for him.
Cook all vegs you might want to add in the pressure cooker or just by any other boiling method. Cook pasta as usual (by cooking it in boiling water with added salt and oil). Blend all these vegies, in the belnder with butter. Now mix the cooked pasta and the blended soup and bring them to a boil.
Its healthy and easy. Hope this works for you.

Originally Posted by kavya007

Hi,

I would like to try pasta for my son. Please share your pasta recipes.

Thanks,
Kavya

Hi Kavya, I made this chunky pasta and my son liked it a lot and ate up even the capsicum without any complaints (and he's the type who says veges are bad for his health!). This is not the creamy type so i guess you can also blend it if your son runs away from chunks of veges. And also I buy pasta from organic shops with spinach, beetroot added for the colour and so more wholesome. Now for the sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 of a medium sized onion, chopped finely
2 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped (how fine depends on the child)
1 celery stick, finely chopped
1 red capsicum, seeds removed and finely cubed
salt and pepper to taste
a 400g can of canned tomatoes (whole tomatoes, peeled in their juice), chopped roughly (or substitute with 4-5 fresh tomatoes
briefly blanched in boiling water and skin removed)
little bit of sugar (if the tomatoes are not ripe and upto taste)
1/2 tsp each oregano and thyme (or any dried herb... mixed or whatever you have)
grated cheese to serve
any pasta shape (mine has a craze for maccaroni at the moment)
Heat up the oil, and stir fry the onions and garlic until soft. Add the carrots, celery and stir for 3-4 minutes. Add the capsicum, sprinkle some salt and let it cook for about 4 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, herbs, salt to taste, pepper and sugar and let the sauce cook over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes or until thick (this depends on the juice of the tomatoes). You can add and subtract types of veges. I even added some mushrooms... stir-fried them separately in butter and then added to the sauce. Also I tried crumbled paneer instead of regular cheese. I kept the sauce in fridge for a week without trouble.
Latha

very simple ideas, good for lunch box:
a) cook pasta in boiling water and drain, mix salt and ghee; mix pine nuts or other kind, like cashews. In skillet eat ghee or olive oil and add garlic and the pasta. we can also add mushrooms or other things but is also fine like this. My kids love it.
b) always have some grated parmesan cheese and mix with the cooked pasta
c) some oil in skillet and fry some crushed tofu or paneer; add salt and something that you feel your kid likes like paprika or garlic, etc. Add the cooked pasta
d) the traditional macaronni and cheese cooked in the milk and cheese sauce explained in a previous post
d) pasta with our dal cooked in tomato sauce

hi friends,
my son is 15 months old and can anyone pls suggest me the diet chart for him...and what kind of fruits/vegetables/juices i can offer him..and how much amount.../quantity should i feed him daily

And also what kind of foods i can feed him during night times??

And also..as this is summer...and too hot season...he is not getting interest in having Breakfast...he wants water always(ofcourse its good for this summer) but im afraiding that is he getting sufficient amount of food??should i feed him forcefully /i should feed him till he demands/i can give him fruit juices in -place of BF??

my query is too long...answers from different members for all my queries atleast one answer is also welcome me....to cheer up.

thanks

hi mommy,

dont worry, even my daughter who is 14 mnths old doesnt have her meals properly sometimes...here is what i give her everyday:

7.00 am: wake up, 6 oz cows milk

9.30 am: 1 boiled egg (both yellow and white), 1 bar weetabix cereal with cow's milk
(or)
1 cheese omlette + 1 slice whole wheat bread with peanut butter and milk

11.00 am: orange juice from half a big orange + water

02.30 pm: 1 cup rice boiled with dhal (toor or moong) and 2 vegetables (any of carrot,cabbage, bhindi, potato, pumpkin, raddish, spinach, beans) and tomato + ghee
(or)
pasta with milk, cheese, salt and pepper
and any fruit (mango, papaya, grapes, avocado)

6.00 pm: 5oz cow's milk + biscuits

8.30 pm: 1 cube plain cheese
1 banana
1 dosa with yoghurt
(or)
1 cup oats with yoghurt


10.30 pm: 6oz cow's milk and some water

hope this is useful for you...i would suggest not to force feed....but maybe you can increase his activity level by engaging him in some outdoor play...so that he'll develop a good appetite...
you may try adding fruit juice to his breakfast cereal so that he'll get interested in it....
one good indicator if they are having enough food is 1 or 2 bowel movements everyday...
at this age i dont think midnight feed is necessary...you can chk with ur ped...

cheers,
vidhya

hi vidhya,
thankyou so much for sharing the diet...
actually i thought only my son is rejecting this....but as a mother...i really sometimes feel as the food had by my son is enough for his tummy or not..

and vidhya one more question...

sometimes he is being constipated...i told this to pedia...but..he didn't consider this seriously....
sometimes...stools will be normal....and sometimes hard....do anyone know tips to reduce this constipation problem...in kids...pls kindly help me..

Originally Posted by vidhya parani

hi mommy,

dont worry, even my daughter who is 14 mnths old doesnt have her meals properly sometimes...here is what i give her everyday:

7.00 am: wake up, 6 oz cows milk

9.30 am: 1 boiled egg (both yellow and white), 1 bar weetabix cereal with cow's milk
(or)
1 cheese omlette + 1 slice whole wheat bread with peanut butter and milk

11.00 am: orange juice from half a big orange + water

02.30 pm: 1 cup rice boiled with dhal (toor or moong) and 2 vegetables (any of carrot,cabbage, bhindi, potato, pumpkin, raddish, spinach, beans) and tomato + ghee
(or)
pasta with milk, cheese, salt and pepper
and any fruit (mango, papaya, grapes, avocado)

6.00 pm: 5oz cow's milk + biscuits

8.30 pm: 1 cube plain cheese
1 banana
1 dosa with yoghurt
(or)
1 cup oats with yoghurt


10.30 pm: 6oz cow's milk and some water

hope this is useful for you...i would suggest not to force feed....but maybe you can increase his activity level by engaging him in some outdoor play...so that he'll develop a good appetite...
you may try adding fruit juice to his breakfast cereal so that he'll get interested in it....
one good indicator if they are having enough food is 1 or 2 bowel movements everyday...
at this age i dont think midnight feed is necessary...you can chk with ur ped...

cheers,
vidhya

Dear friend
Pls visit this thread "what did u feed u r kid today"..u'll get plenty of ideas..
For constipation u can try giving him dates or prunes..but dont over do.As long as he is having bowel movement..dont worry abt that.

hi mrs. ram,

hard stools can be a big problem at times...constipation can lead to loss of appetite and which in turn causes more constipation..this is a vicious cycle...like supriya suggests, u may try dates or prunes...also u can soak a few raisins in hot water for a while and then feed him the raisins and the soaked water..this helps in constipation....here ped. suggest adding prune juice to children's food everyday to stop constipation....banana is also good for this..u can try to add some high fibre food like oats or whole wheat chapatis to his diet..

hi supriya,
thanks so much for telling me these tips...actually i dont want to give medicines to my son....im also looking for natural remedies...and i got from you...thanks so much...

i will check with the thread...what did u feed your kid today from now onwards..

Originally Posted by SupriyaDinesh

Dear friend
Pls visit this thread "what did u feed u r kid today"..u'll get plenty of ideas..
For constipation u can try giving him dates or prunes..but dont over do.As long as he is having bowel movement..dont worry abt that.