Show Us Your Life Fridays - What do you feed your kids?

I'm doing something new today and linking up with Kelly at Kelly's Korner - one of my favorite blogs! Feeding Dresden is quite the task in itself - he just does not have a huge appetite and he's so picky, so getting new ideas on what to try with him is something I'm always looking for help with.

For breakfast, most days, we have success with eggs - SMOTHERED in ketchup - and last week he even started eating two whole eggs. That was so exciting for us because of mister's bird-like appetite. Other mornings we try instant oatmeal, but often times he's not real thrilled about that. It's really a question of "What will happen with breakfast/lunch/dinner today?" every morning. You just have to wait and be surprised. That's half the fun, right?! :-D

Foods I've tried, and succeeded fairly regularly with are:

• Avocados/guacamole (and I let him eat it by sucking it off of a chip, so I think he likes that salty taste, too, lol).
• Bananas (but boy will NOT eat any other fruits. So frustrating. We were at a playdate the other week and this little girl was eating strawberries. I was SO envious of her mom!)
• CHEESE! He LOVES cheese - especially Gouda (so sophisticated, I know! ;-) )
• Chicken noodle soup, though we strain most of the broth out so he can just get to the good stuff
• Cooked carrots
• Green beans (sometimes)
• Chicken nuggets - I was at my wits end with the no meat/protein thing, so I just had to go there, after having success with some Chic-fil-a chicken one day while we were out.
• Pizza - but mostly just the crust and maybe some of the cheese - no other toppings better be on the pizza, lol.
• Rice - we buy those instant Uncle Ben's packets with the different flavors, and because he never eats more than like a half cup at a time, they last for a few lunches/lunch-dinners, and he really loves them. One day I thought I would be clever and sneak some egg in for protein and tried to talk him into "Fried Rice", but he was NOT amused with my cleverness and refused to eat it. Oh well, I had to try!
• Bread - he loves Raisin "toeht", as he calls toast, and pretty much any kind of bread. A lot of times that's the way I get him to eat pasta or stew, by dipping the bread in it.
• Cereal - some of the "healthy" Kashi ones he will eat as snacks, and cheerios too.
• Ice cream - BIG surprise! I like to sometimes think of milk shakes as protein shakes for him, and let's face it, he's so flippin' tiny, he could use some fat on those little bones. You never have to force this boy to eat sugar (he takes after his mama!)

Thinking about the seriousness of heart-health. Ha!

So, we are often stuck in the "what can I feed you today?" rut, and I feel bad because I want him to eat so healthy, and be well-rounded. But I'm also really trying not to stress about it and I don't force him to try things; I figure when he's older there will be plenty of time for those "No Thank You Helpings" (you know, when your mom would ask "Would you like to try these brussel sprouts?" and you say "No, thank you" in your most polite voice and she would say, "Too bad, try them anyway." Haha.)

What, doesn't everyone's child hold their spoons like this? He cracks me up.

I can't wait to read other peoples lists and suggestions of what they try with their toddlers, especially the picky ones!

Happy Friday! Let's pray that this snow/ice starts to melt - I need to get OUT of this HOUSE!!!

Love,

Cassie