As I have been very public about, H is a terrible eater. A few months after starting baby led weaning, all he wanted to do was eat all the foods! You name it, he ate it, but around a year he just decided food was terrible. So, here we are at 19.5 months old and I’m in the dining room celebrating if he takes a bite or two of anything we put in front of him.
On Monday, he maybe ate a handful of green grapes. That’s it. For the entire day. Its times like these I can’t tell whether still currently breastfeeding him is the right choice, or whether I should be pushing his solids more.
I tried for a few weeks to only let him nurse before naps and bedtime, but it was making everyone cranky. Also, H was still having meltdowns every time I tried to redirect him or tell him “no”, and I am not strong enough to resist the tears, so I gave in and we’re basically back to nursing on demand. The one thing I am still maintaining in my feeble attempt to slightly wean, however, is not letting him nurse until after he’s eaten. I have gotten a lot of flack for not being more strict about his eating habits, but I never want him to have any negative connotations with food, so I choose to do what I can and not make a huge issue out of it, for all our sakes.
With that being said, we have discovered a new meal that H will actually take several bites of, at least 70% of the time we serve it, and its a favorite of mine and Zach’s as well: Stir Fry!
Stir fry is basically the easiest dish ever to cook, because all you need is some type of protein (we love ground turkey or chicken breast) and some veggies, and you’re good to go! Every time we’ve made stir fry it’s a little bit different, because I just use what we have on hand. For dinner tonight I’m throwing in some ground turkey, fresh squash from my mom’s garden, leftover broccoli I need to use up, a little onion and the rest of a bag of frozen mixed veggies, just because.
After a little garlic, soy and teriyaki sauce, and some time on the stove – a delicious and super healthy dinner is served! Half the time I’m put together enough to remember to start our rice cooker earlier in the evening, so I’ll mix in some brown rice as well, but most of the time we enjoy it by itself.
As I mentioned, my stir fry is one of our go-tos if H is in a particularly non-eating mood, and when I pair it with his iMonster eating gear from Nûby, that ups the chances of him eating even more! Like the iMonster plate (that I raved about here), I’m crediting this 3D iMonster feeding bowl with keeping him at the table and having him way more interested in eating.
The bright orange bowl is just as awesome as the plate, and has one big eye that peers out, and two big rows of top and bottom monster teeth. H loves pointing to the eye, saying “eye”, then pointing at my eyes, his eyes, dad’s eyes, etc, and repeating the whole process over again! While he’s spooning applesauce or forking out some of mamas homemade stir fry, he’ll occasionally stop and growl at the monster, touch all its teeth, say “teeth icky, icky teeth”, then point to his own teeth and say “my teeth?”.
There are two bright blue monster feet at the base of the bowl, which keep it surprisingly stable. Even with a Hulk bebe throwing across the rooms more times than I care to recall, every piece of the bowl has remained intact and nothing has chipped, come apart or broken. H is able to carry the bowl around by the feet or the rim really easily so he can do some free range snacking on the go, and loves bringing it with him everywhere!
One of my favorite parts about the bowl is how easy it is to clean! I throw it in the dishwasher a few times a week to get a good deep clean, but for everyday use I just take a little gentle dish soap and hand wash it. We have used ours for cereal and milk, egg scrambles, apple sauce, stir fry, crackers, and so much more, and so far, even with hand washing, I haven’t found a food that doesn’t easily come off!
At under $4 (as of 9/1/15 on Amazon), I am really impressed with how stable and durable it is! I do wish there was a non-slip element to the feet to help keep the bowl more anchored during meal times.
Along with the Monster bowl, everyone loves the awesome iMonsterâ„¢ fork and spoon set, and it’s definitely H’s favorite to use. The brightly colored handles have similar eyes to the bowl, and are topped with cute little monster horns. H has no problems holding onto and keeping a grip on them, and the fork’s points are sharp enough to actually pierce and pick up food, but not so much so that I have to worry about a tornado of a toddler hurting himself with them.
As always, all of the above Nûby™ products are BPA free and easy to clean! Both the 3D Monster Feeding Bowl and Fork and Spoon set are recommended for 18 months and up and will definitely help encourage your picky toddler to actually sit at the table and eat their meals!
Wanna know more about the cups you see with H’s meals? Click here to learn more about why I love our Wash or Tossâ„¢ Straw Cups, and here to learn more about the Nûby No-Spillâ„¢ Insulated Cool Sipper!
The Nûby No-Spillâ„¢ Insulated Cool Sipper and I have become best friends. The patented no spill insulated cup has been the first we’ve come across and used that actually keeps his water cool on long drives, bike rides, park play dates, etc! Because it’s insulated, the Cool Sipper also doesn’t ‘sweat’, which means I don’t have to worry about H or his car seat getting wet, nor do I have to worry about water rings on our wooden furniture! One of the coolest things about the cup, though, is the ‘Clik-It’ lid. Thanks to the No-Spill Clik-It lid, I can hear (and see!) the telltale ‘click’ so I don’t have to worry about whether the top is on properly or whether the cup will leak or spill! As we start thinking about transitioning to open cups as H gets older, this is the perfect cup for him. It’s a Step 4, so it’s recommended for 18 months and up, but I don’t see any reason why a younger toddler wouldn’t be able to use it either. The wide and super soft rim took H a few times to fully catch on to using properly, but now he loves it! There’s also no valve in the Cool Sipper, so these might be the easiest cups ever to rinse clean, which is huge for us. You can find these cups at Amazon, Walmart, and Big Lots.
Make sure to follow along with Nûby™ to keep in the loop about all their awesome new products, sales and giveaways: Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest, and you can find all the iMonster products on Amazon here.
Does your toddler have a favorite dinner that you know they’ll always eat? I’d love to get more meal ideas from you!
Disclaimer: This link contains affiliate links, and I was sent these awesome Nûby products for free as a part of the Nuby Parent Blogger program in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
That bowl is so cute!! Good to know its dishwasher safe. I was lucky not to have a picky eater until our son was 3. At that point he basically hated anything and everything I made! He loved stirfry and pasta. Especially ravioli. He loves when I make pasta carbonara but I think it's because of the bacon! Also breakfast for dinner is usually a hit he loves scrambled eggs!
These are great suggestions. My 1 year old loved stir fry when we went to Hu Hot, but I don't usually make it at home, so I will have to. She is liking scrambled eggs right now, and we mix in veggies and protein as well.
I love that bib and I will definitely check out those wipes! My (almost) 2 year old would love this stir fry! What a great dinner idea!
sounds like the perfect meal for the whole family 🙂
Your son is just too cute for words! Glad he's liking the stir fry, I love stir fry. By the way, the bowl and cup is a great idea.
Hahaha I love that last picture where he's just taking a handful of food and stuffing it in his mouth! So cute!
Stir fry are such a great way to get veggies in for kids! This one looks great!
Stir Fry is awesome, one of my favorite meals. Happy you found something your little one enjoys!
My twins used to be such good eaters, and most of the time still are, but my oldest is still a struggle. Now that he's in school, he hardly eats all day. Luckily, he's starving when he gets home and I can cram some food in him, but eating challenges are so hard. I'm going to have to try the stir fry and see if I can get them all to eat.
I'm pretty sure both of my kids haven't eaten a vegetable in over a year! (ok, may be a slight exaggeration!) This is great and your bowls/utensils are adorable!!
I love the bowls and must share your post with my daughter!
How cute…. I had stir fry Today for dinner… I love it
So cute! I love stir fries as an instant veggie packed meal. We love them!
Aww look at that cute thing! Looks like he's really happy with it, he's even eating with his hands.
Stir fry and tacos are a big favorite in our house hold. I have never been a picky eater with taste, but I do have some texture issues. Those bowls are very cute!!
This sounds perfect for messy eaters. My son definitely fit into that category when he was little.
That looks delicious. He must really like the food because he tried to put it all in his mouth. So cute!
So happy that you got the perfect stir fry for baby! Baby does look happy!
I loved how Asian his choice of food is hahaha. Way to go dear! As for the monster bowl and fork, I think my ten year old son would love the fork though I'm sure he will only use it at home. I hope you get your feeding groove with your son. Don't listen to flak. You know what is best for your son.
What a cute boy!!!!! mysocalledchaos sent me!
It looks delicious
Italia Caruso