I often get asked a lot about what Elle likes to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks so today I thought I would share. We try to keep it healthy for the most part, but she does love her carbs like the rest of us! When we were first starting solids I shared some eating habits and products we like in this post, but Elle is a bit older now and her meals have evolved.

I should probably start by saying that thankfully Elle is not a picky eater. She loves trying new foods and usually always needs a bite of whatever I’m eating {even if it’s salad!}. When I do have time to cook, she eats whatever I’m making for dinner or at least a deconstructed version. When I just don’t have the time OR when we have a babysitter and plans, I love serving Elle meals from Nurture Life. You might have heard me talk about this brand before in this post or this post AND I’ve mentioned it quite a bit on Instagram Stories.

Nurture Life is a nutritious meal delivery service for babies, toddlers, and kids. They use fresh organic ingredients {which I love!} and create healthy versions of kids favorites.  All meals are made-to-order and crafted to fit your child’s nutritional needs based on his or her stage of development.

We’ve actually tried a few different meal delivery services and our favorite by far is Nurture Life. You can hand select all of your meals with a menu that changes weekly so that your kids can experience a variety of tastes to expand their palates.

I love all of Nuture Life’s well-balanced healthy options and am also a fan of the fact that they’re easy to freeze and have on hand when you’re in a pinch. Whenever we have date night, I just take one out of the freezer and thankfully know that Elle will be having a delicious and healthy dinner that night. We rely on Nuture Life meals usually 1-3 times a week. Interested in trying out Nurture Life for yourself? Use code SAMANTHA for $30 OFF your first order.

Elle usually eats all of her meals in her highchair. She usually has a morning snack and afternoon snack depending the day. Snacks are either eaten on-the-go or at the coffee table after she wakes up from her nap. We love these snack cups a lot because their easy to travel with and help minimalize the mess.

One thing we are currently struggling with at the moment is the throwing of food and plates. Elle feels the need to throw her food and/or plate when I believe she is full or done eating. I would rather her let me know another way, but it’s a work in progress. We do love using these plates specifically because they are weighted and stay on the highchair easily. We also use these plates, which I have talked a lot about in this post. Both have different compartments for the variety of foods she is eating at each meal.

Besides Nuture Life meals {which we usually like to use for dinner}, I’m going to break down what Elle eats in a week. I’m only giving 6 options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner because we tend to eat out a few times a week. I’m also giving some snack ideas as well.

So let’s get started…

BREAKFAST

Obviously I’m staring with the most important meal of the day. Elle usually likes to eat breakfast right when she wakes up. She really loves fruit and more specifically strawberries and blueberries so I always try to add those. We also always serve her whole milk accompanied by the following:

1. Yogurt + Multigrain Joe O’s {from Trader Joes} + Banana
2. 3 Ingredient Pancakes {1 egg, 1 banana, pinch of cinnamon} + Strawberries + Blueberries
3. Oatmeal with Banana + Strawberries + Blueberries
4. Scrambled Eggs + Avocado + Strawberries + Banana
5. Organic Silver Dollar Pancakes {from Trader Joes} + Blueberries + Strawberries
6. Multigrain Toaster Waffle {from Trader Joes} + Bananas + Strawberries

Other Breakfast Ideas: bagel + cream cheese, peanut butter toast, cinnamon + butter toast, cream of wheat, blueberry muffins, and chocolate chip banana bread.

LUNCH

Elle usually eats lunch around 11-11:30 and loves a colorful assortment of options. Since Elle doesn’t drink that much Whole Milk we were told to add more cheese/dairy to her diet and this usually occurs during lunch time. She also recently has become obsessed with dips and dipping chips and veggies in hummus and a spinach + kale dip I found at Trader Joe’s. Here are a few examples of what she likes to eat:

1. 1. Shredded Rotisserie Chicken {or Turkey} + Organic String Cheese + Avocado + Strawberries
   2. Cheese and/or Chicken Quesadillas + Avocado + Tortilla Chips
   3. Pita + Hummus + Spinach/Kale Dip {from Trader Joe’s} + Carrots + Strawberries
   4. Toasted Cheese with Mozzarella + Clementine + Strawberries
   5. Organic String Cheese + Carrots + Hummus + Avocado + Strawberries
   6. Pita Pizza + Carrots + Blueberries

Other Lunch Ideas: Peanut Butter + Jelly Sandwich, Nurture Life Meals, Sliced Turkey or other Deli Meat, Almond Butter Sandwich and Soup {so messy!!}.

DINNER

Elle usually eats dinner around 5PM. She loves pasta, beef, chicken, peas, broccoli, carrots, rice, shrimp, pizza…actually basically everything besides salmon. Ideally I cook a healthy meal {if I have time} and she eats it or at least a deconstructed version. Here are some examples of what her dinner looks like:

1. Chicken Burrito {deconstructed} + Avocado + Corn Tortilla Chips
2. Buttered Pasta + Broccoli + Clementine
3. Nurture Life Meal: Chicken Bites + String Beans + Smashed Yams
4. Cheeseburger + Sweet Potato Fries + Avocado
5. Pasta {Turkey Lasagna} + Peas + Broccoli
6. Nurture Life Meal: Chicken Meatballs + Pasta + Cauliflower + Broccoli

Other Dinner Ideas: Rotisserie Chicken, Baked Chicken, Macaroni and Cheese, Pasta with Tomato Sauce, Roasted Carrots, Spinach Tortellini, Ravioli, BBQ Chicken, Steak, Shrimp, Turkey Burgers, Spaghetti and Meatballs {so messy!}, and Turkey Meatloaf.

SNACKS

Kids LOVE snacks! Am I right? Elle usually needs both a morning snack as well as an afternoon snack. We are obsessed with these snack cups which totally help her make way less of a mess.

For snacks we usually rotate the following: Organic String Cheese, Multigrain Joe O’s, Whole Foods Cheese Crackers {in the shape of ducks}, Organic Vanilla Animal Crackers, Sliced Apples, Clementines, Craisins, Carrot Sticks and Edemame.

Now onto some more pics of Elle eating…

So there you have it. What Elle likes to eat on a weekly basis. Hopefully this post was helpful in giving you some more toddler friendly meal ideas. I try to make things simple, colorful, and healthy for the most part. I also try to provide a variety of textures and flavors so things don’t get too boring. I stick with what I know my kid loves {strawberries, avocados, and cheese at the moment} and rely on the help of Nurture Life when I just don’t have the time. Interested in trying out Nurture Life for yourself? Use code SAMANTHA for $30 OFF your first order.

A lot of the products we use at mealtime are listed in this post, but a few of our favorites include these plates, these utensils, these bibs, these snack cups, and we have this highchair.

Also if you’re interested in more toddler friendly posts then make sure to check out my Motherhood tab HERE.

HAVE ANY OTHER TODDLER MEAL IDEAS? I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR!

This post is in partnership with Nurture Life, a company that both Elle and I love. As always, all opinions are our own. Thank you for supporting brands that make GCG possible!