I am going to the states this summer and am going to have some toddler meals delivered to my sisters house for DD who will be 14months old at the time. What brands of toddler meals are good? I know she can technically eat what I'm eating, but I find the prepared meals are easier for me to see exactly what she's eating. Should I order them off amazon? Or maybe Target or something? She doesn't do pouches or puffs, so it is really for the prepared meals, veggies and fruits..maybe little biscuits or cookies too!
Oh and does anyone have one of those cloth high chair thingies that you can attach your toddler to a regular chair instead of using a high chair? Any brand recommendations?
We have the Tot Seat and have used it pretty extensively for travel. It doesn't contain her quite as well as a regular high chair but you can't beat the portability and ease of cleaning! www.totseat.com/english/home/
No help on the meals. I tried giving DD this prepared toddler pasta thing once and she took one look at it and threw it on the floor, LOL. If it were me I'd order some pouches as a backup then plan to hit the grocery store once I got here.
I agree with others re: the toddler meals. I think I bought two of them. DS ate them, but then I about died when I saw how much sodium was in one. If you're staying somewhere with access to a fridge/freezer, I'd buy some bags of frozen veggies. Usually have one or two bags open in the freezer. I dump out about 1/4 cup of whatever, add water to the bowl, and heat about 1 min, then dump out the water. When we're out & about, I buy the fruit cups with fruit packed in 100% juice. If we're somewhere with a sink, I just partially open the lid and strain the water out. If we're at a restaurant, I give him a straw and let him drink the juice. Then they're not nearly as messy! You can buy a bag of frozen ravioli and serve in smaller portions over several days, too. You have lots of easy options that'll be almost as easy as the prepared stuff and healthier and cheaper at the same time! Just buy a few of the ziplock take & toss bowls and portion everything out & it's even easier!
Oh and does anyone have one of those cloth high chair thingies that you can attach your toddler to a regular chair instead of using a high chair? Any brand recommendations?
When are you going to the US? I have one that I bought pretty much just for our trip to France in July. You could check it out then, and I will also be able to tell you then if it's worth it or not.
No experience with toddler meals, but if Fresh Direct delivers to the area you are going to, they have great breaded chicken fingers that were a hit with DD when she was a toddler. They also deliver a variety of prepared meals (for adults, but you could look online and see what your DD might like) and stock the whole range of Earth's Best waffles, alphabet cookies, etc. for kids.
The toddler meals are gross...One exception to that are the frozen Plum Organic Mini Pizza/Stuffed Roll Snacks (http://www.plumorganics.com/products#frozen). I also like their Mighty 4 bars (like nutrigrain bars) which are good for a snack or quick breakfast. We find PB&J sandwiches to be great when we travel, and with access to a microwave the single serve veggie cups from Libby's are convenient (sold in canned goods section)
DD is in the age range you posted and I have never tried the toddler meals since it seems like I could easily make the components of the meals myself with way less sodium. Gerber is the only one that I've seen makes actual "meals." Plum has some freezer items which others have already mentioned. Plum also makes a "Baby Hello" series of foods - I bought the dinner and the morning ones and DD rejected both. I don't blame her, I tasted them and they were bland. One prepared thing you could consider buying is soup. Pacific has many different varieties we like. I usually try to feed her the low sodium ones but sometimes we have the regular ones too. I am all about making meal time easier for my toddler but I find I am quite limited in prepared foods I can buy for her. Besides pouches which she looooves, she seems to prefer simple home cooked foods better which makes it difficult to take her anywhere and eat on a whim.
Though this weekend she surprised me and devoured 1/3 of a piece of pizza while we were out and randomly went to a pizzeria. Maybe add pizza to your toddler's menu.
Have wherever you're staying get some beans, frozen fruits and veggies, cheese and/or cottage cheese, and maybe a few other items and make those her meals.
anna7602 , we are going in June, so we will already be back before you get here.
DD eats the toddler meals here all the time and likes them. But the brands aren't the same in the US and the ones online all look like pasta and ravioli... I'm also not too sure what to do about the lack of yoghurt selection there. Here there are tons of good yoghurts that do not have added sugar or artificial sweeteners, like two aisles of different types of yoghurts and puddings.
Anywho, I may bring a few of the toddler meals in my suitcase just so that we have a few on hand and then buy some stuff when I arrive. I will maybe order her oatmeal, diapers, fruit compote, some biscuits, and some other small things to eat to be delivered before I arrive.
We will be staying 2 weeks with my sister and I don't care to spend my vacation cooking. I'm alone with DD and I don't want my sister's dinner time to depend on when DD needs her dinner.
@myblue, for yogurt you won't find as many options but they do exist. My favorite is brown cow (plain, full fat, 6g sugar, none added). Fage and Stonyfield plain Greek are also good. You can get at least one of these brands at whole foods, trader joes, and even more traditional grocery stores.
I do not think it's any easier to heat up a toddler meal vs open a can of black beans and add some corn, for example.
@myblue, for yogurt you won't find as many options but they do exist. My favorite is brown cow (plain, full fat, 6g sugar, none added). Fage and Stonyfield plain Greek are also good. You can get at least one of these brands at whole foods, trader joes, and even more traditional grocery stores.
I do not think it's any easier to heat up a toddler meal vs open a can of black beans and add some corn, for example.
As always, Lolo is wise. Listen to her.
I just want to add that the Whole Foods around us carry imported petit fromage, you know, the fromage frais that comes in yogurt cups, often fed to small kids in France. It's outrageously expensive for what it is, but would get you through a 2-week visit. And, I love Stonyfield yogurts.
Other fast meals are quesadillas in the microwave (add black beans & corn if you want, or left over meat from another meal), tortellini or ravioli and Amy's canned chili or Amy's canned lentil soup. Canned chick peas have always been a hit with DD and when she was younger, she used to eat tofu raw, right out of the package (now she prefers it cooked).
@myblue, for yogurt you won't find as many options but they do exist. My favorite is brown cow (plain, full fat, 6g sugar, none added). Fage and Stonyfield plain Greek are also good. You can get at least one of these brands at whole foods, trader joes, and even more traditional grocery stores.
I do not think it's any easier to heat up a toddler meal vs open a can of black beans and add some corn, for example.
As always, Lolo is wise. Listen to her.
I just want to add that the Whole Foods around us carry imported petit fromage, you know, the fromage frais that comes in yogurt cups, often fed to small kids in France. It's outrageously expensive for what it is, but would get you through a 2-week visit. And, I love Stonyfield yogurts.
Other fast meals are quesadillas in the microwave (add black beans & corn if you want, or left over meat from another meal), tortellini or ravioli and Amy's canned chili or Amy's canned lentil soup. Canned chick peas have always been a hit with DD and when she was younger, she used to eat tofu raw, right out of the package (now she prefers it cooked).
Just pay attention @myblue with Stonyfield because some of them do have lots of added sugar--12g in their plain yogurt for example. Still far better than something like Yoplait with its 26g but still.