Fish fingers, chicken nuggets etc ok for 13 month old?

[Gigi]

I'm thinking of things that DD can have for dinner and wondered if things like fish fingers, chicken nuggets, crumbed vegetable fingers and things like that are ok for a 13 month old? She always steels our hot chips so would a plate of chips and fish fingers be ok for her age sometimes?

Dannielleabella
i ate nothing but weebix and iced coffee at one stage, PND was so bad i was incapable of putting together the most basic meal. So yeah, we all feel guilty about food in the box from supermarket, but if it keeps you alive, it's better than nothing. Sometimes you just do what you do, to get thru.

One thing at supermarket you can give your child guilt free, is the Rafferty's Garden vegies in the tube. NO additives or preservatives. They also make meal stuff. So much healthier than the baby tins and jars stuff.

making it all yourself, from scratch, of course that's the ideal, but in my case, it was just about survival.

we are all just doing the best we can

i like reading belly belly, cos it inspires me, to aim for more than i can currently manage, but we are not all at the same place.

i am buying "homestyle" individual veggie quiches for my two year old's dinner, at the Woollies Deli section (2.40 each) becuase i don't make them from scratch myself. But learning to make a quiche is a goal of mine.

i wanted to show you my support. *in my clumsy way)

[Nadine216]

:yeahthat:

I can't see the wrong in giving your child that. Sure, sure preservatives, artificial colors, sodium and favours etc I get that, I really do. But it's not like you are going to give only fish fingers morning, noon and night for 17 weeks!!!!!

making it all yourself, from scratch, of course that's the ideal, but in my case, it was just about survival.

Yes it's ideal to make it yourself, but even though we are all superwoman inside, does not make that you can do EVERYTHING yourself. You do what you can with the time you have. Full stop.

I have only recently started to make stuff myself.

I'm sure she'll enjoy her fish fingers. (better than no fish at all)

ETA - dd loves her hot chips .. blown cold off course, but goes nuts dipping them in tomatosauce (storebought) and then feeding herself.

[danniellabella]

I work full time and have done since DD was 4 months old...I don't have time to make things myself. I'm just after a quick simple thing that she can have that's the same as what we're having rather than giving her something different.

[Sammiejane]

Dannielleabella
i am buying "homestyle" individual veggie quiches for my two year old's dinner, at the Woollies Deli section (2.40 each) becuase i don't make them from scratch myself. But learning to make a quiche is a goal of mine.

I personally dont give MJ fish fingers or nuggets, however in saying this, if we have fish and chips (occasionally) MJ will share my fish that has been grilled and she has some of the chips, we ask for them to be unsalted, chips come out for me and MJ and then DH salts the rest.
Once in a while isnt going to be halmful, however these things (personally) i would use as an emergency, but even then i have some homemade food that i will just defrost in the m.wave and she has that with pasta.

Gigi - i learnt to cook Quiche after having MJ... i needed something that was quick easy and cheap - i can give you step by steps for a very very simple yet tasty quiche.
We had it for dinner tonight and MJ is taking some to FDC tomorrow for her lunch - great cold.

Danni, i know that you probably resort to the frozen stuff as you are working full time and the last thing that you want to do is cook a meal, but if on a day off you load the freezer up, then there is always something there that is just as quick as Fast food.

Last saturday we had Snitznels (sp) we bought some Veal already tenderised and thinned and some chichen breasts that we tenderised ourselves, coated them in crumb and then cooked them up. We also bought enough so that we have 6 others in the freezer so that we can have it another night. MJ has a fillet done the same way, just cut into fingers once cooked.

Dont know if this has helped...

[Lulu]

DB, I really hear you on that. It can be so exhausting and facing the kitchen at the end of the day KILLS!

You can get away with fast foods, but making them yourself is sooo easy, I promise! A quiche is EASY to make and they freeze well. I make 3 in a day and freeze 2.
Own chicken nuggets - bash some chicken breasts flatter cut them into chunks or strips, dunk them in flour, then egg wash then into a mixture of breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, pepper and a dash of cayenne pepper. Then freeze. They will be ready to chuck in the oven just like the bought ones!

IF (and it is soooooo worth it), you can score a couple of hours without bubs (hubby can take her out) on the weekend, you can make a few batches of nuggets and some quiches, portions of spag bol sauce etc. It is sooo much cheaper and the peace of mind that comes from knowing there is always food ready when you can't be arsed is priceless!

I HATE preparation, esp when I am tired, but if you add 10 more mins to do double the quantities, its worth its weight in peas and carrots. Speaking of which, steaming frozen vegies take about 5 mins and bubs will love feeding herself with beans and carrots.

I know you didn't want recipes but you can eat really well AND really fast! xoxoxoxo

[sunshine_sieben]

Danniellabella, as I mentioned, i don't think giving a 13 month old fish fingers and chicken nuggets occasionally is going to harm them. So don't feel guilty about it
(and just so everybody knows, i never meant to imply that I'm super-woman. The mountains of washing in the laundry clearly show that I am not. But I have always enjoyed cooking. It's cleaning that I neglect. And DD never liked any of those "baby foods", not Rafferty's Garden either. So I didn't have the option of not making it myself.)

I don't know what you and your DH eat most nights, but at 13 months, your child should be able to eat most table foods. We love steak and salad for example. I just cut the steak for DD up quite small. Same with cucumber and tomato. Maybe add some cheese.
Lasagne can be cut up, too. Most pastas will be fine, actually. The larger ones like bow-ties can be cut into smaller bits.
Stir-frys should be fine, too.
Meatballs are great, too. Or Rissoles. You can get a bag of mixed frozen veges and serve some of that on the side.
Baked Beans. Sometimes I add a fried egg to that for some extra nutrients.
minestrone soup is also a good one
If you get a roast chicken, she can eat some of that meat, too.
Sides could include some chopped up beetroot (from a can), frozen peas and corn, tomatoes, cooked carrot, potato or sweet potato pieces, pureed spinach (i like to add some garlic and cream)

I don't know what kind of foods your daughter has been used to so far. Obviously, if it has been pretty pureed, introduce the chunky stuff slowly and with caution. But even without molars, kids can eat that type of food, as long as it's soft-ish and the pieces are small.

Just trying to think of some more table foods your daughter can share. Whether you make these things or buy them ready made is up to you.
And i totally agree, it is sooo much easier if your child can eat the same foods that you are eating. I also found that DD ate a lot more when having dinneer WITH us. So we try to do that most nights. Of course it doesn't always work out (some nights DH and I don't eat until 9pm), but she's definitely much more interested in her food (and in trying new things) when she's not eating alone.

Sasa

[Nadine216]

OH heck no, hun, sorry ... I did not mean it like that!!!! I only mean that we are ALLL superwoman, some of us just are plain lazy (that is me sticking my hand up here) and some of us are really, really busy!!

[Nadine216]

Just to add

I hated that phase where I had to make three meals (me - diet, DH - fatty and DD - kidsmeal)
It does get better. ATM we all eat the same

[sunshine_sieben]

I would say, most of us are really, really busy.
And count me in on the laziness. As I said, cleaning is not my strength. I wish I could be a good housekeeper, but I'm not. As long as it's not a serious health hazard, I'm happy - lol.

By the way, i do totally take my hat off to mums like DB who work full time. DH and I have our own business but these days I only really do the books. And I can only imagine how hard it is when you come home from a long day's work and you want to spend some time with your kids. But at the same time, there are dinners to be made, lunches to be packed, clothes to be washed, kitchens to be cleaned. Then it's finally the weekend but I'm sure there's still more housework waiting.Oh, and you might want to spend some time with your spouse, too. And then there are friends and family. I honestly don't know how you do it. and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.
Sasa

[danniellabella]

By the way, i do totally take my hat off to mums like DB who work full time. DH and I have our own business but these days I only really do the books. And I can only imagine how hard it is when you come home from a long day's work and you want to spend some time with your kids. But at the same time, there are dinners to be made, lunches to be packed, clothes to be washed, kitchens to be cleaned. Then it's finally the weekend but I'm sure there's still more housework waiting.Oh, and you might want to spend some time with your spouse, too. And then there are friends and family. I honestly don't know how you do it. and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.
Sasa

Yep, my nights are busy.
I get home and usually because DD is so clingy because she hasn't seen me all day I just give her tinned baby food rather than making her wait while I cook and getting annoyed with her because she's grabbing my legs and getting too close to the oven, besides, often we eat dinner at 6:30 or 7 or 7:30 and DD is hungry for dinner as soon as we get home from daycare at 5:45 because I've asked the day care lady to not give her any food after 4:30pm so I can give her dinner and spend some time with her. She has her bath at about 7pm and I try to get her into bed by 7:30/8pm. Then I have to get the washing hung out, pack her bag for daycare the next day, pack my gym bag (I have a gym at work so I go at lunch time everyday), make sure DH's shirt is ironed, unload the dishwasher from the night before and load the dirty dishes and run the thing, have a shower, have some idea of what I want to wear the next day, do a bit of cleaning, catch up on the forums and facebook, try to squeeze in a bit of reading, usually that's done during a toilet trip...my 5 mins alone