Toddler Menu ~ A sample menu and a "How to" for creating your own!

It's Monday again, and with the advent of a new week, I bring you our toddler menu! :) Find the rest of them here. I've got to tell you that I've been struggling to keep our grocery budget on budget these past few weeks and I'm not even sure why. I was also struggling for ideas this week, so I too visited my past week's menus and put together this weeks schedule of meals! :)

1. start with dinners: I try to assess what we already have on hand (sometimes even which meals I skipped from last weeks plan). I then go through the sales ad for our grocery store and pull out any coupons I have as well. I try to choose a favorite or two of my husbands and then fill in with variety. (i.e. he is going to be excited about the steak and meatballs this week... then I filled in with other things like pizza and fish... usually there would be a chicken meal in there too.)
2. fill in the day time meals to create balance: Once I know everything we are eating for dinners... right down to the side dishes, I can fill in the rest of each day. I take a look at which veggies I'm serving and whether there is bread, or more or less protein in a given meal. I then spread out the rest of the "food pyramid" across the day and week.

This does take some time, and it isn't always easy, but I find that with practice it is getting easier. Keep a handy reference of what your little one needs to eat and how much of it so you can compare... eventually this will be second nature. :)

I hope this helps you to create your own menu... but if it's just easier to follow mine, here it is. :) Enjoy!

Want a printable copy??? Email me at babychaser (at) gmail.com.

For more family dinner ideas, try MPM!

Labels: Nutrition for Toddlers, Toddler Menus

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 2:31 PM