Jess,

I feel the same way! I feel like they are always eating the same things...here a few things you didn't mention:

How about oatmeal? (I use 1 packet of flavored Quaker mixed with 1/2 cup plain Quaker so it is not too sugary - they love it)

-mashed potatoes?
-smiley face french fries?
-rice pudding?
-mac & cheese?

P.S. The pic of your boys is so cute! What a great shot!!

I feel the same way so I have been experimenting recently.

They like

avocados (their personal favorite)
manderine oranges
black olives
hummos
tofu
chicken pot pie
spaghetti
sweet potastoes(poke with a fork several times and nuke for 3-5 minutes)
black eyed peas
casseroles
last night I gave them chicken soup compliments of my MIL(it had big beans, corn, celery, carrots, hunks of chikens in a tomato base) they loved it.

Tonight we are trying Indian food. Very mild chana masala with chick peas (they will probably poop alot) ohwell, I want them to try all types of foods from a young age.

Kim

http://lilypie.com>

Yep, pretty much the same thing all the time. I have started giving them canned pinto beans cooked with a little garlic. They really like those. They have always liked garden peas so I have them in the rotation too.

Wendy
Mom to trips born 6/29/2007 @ 35w1d
Jack 5 lb 3 oz
Estelle 5 lb 7 oz
Clara 4 lb 9 oz

I don't think you are alone in this area! Most of my friends with kids always tell me that is how it is in their house too! As for us, breakfast is almost always one of three things (pancakes, oatmeal, or cereal bars) and a fruit. Lunch is grilled turkey, grilled cheese, chicken nuggest, pb and j, or mac and cheese...along with fruit and veggie. Dinner is whatever I make that night.

It does seem monotonous, I totally agree. I try to build in a lot of variety with dinner. For me, having them eat pretty much the same thing each week makes grocery shopping really easy! I just plan out my 4-5 dinners and then pick up my other staples that we use every week.

The cereal bars are a good suggestion for breakfast. I buy the nutrigrain apple cinnamon kind. It is a great quick breakfast.

Mommy to Eli, Cara, and Brady 4/24/07 born at 34 weeks and Allison Elizabeth (surprise!) born 11/6/08

Read about my son's battle with Neuroblastoma at stepsforbrady.blogspot.com

Some of my guys favorites are:

Breakfast- Bananas (can't get enough), yogurt, applesauce, oatmeal, whole grain waffles, pancakes, kiwi. They eat what we eat.

Lunch- Spaghetti w/meatballs, ham and cheese, applesauce, taco meat with wheat tortilla and cheese, mixed veggies

Dinner- my guys eat the same stuff for as lunch. They love chicken noodle soup, sauteed spinach, mac and cheese with peas.

Basically, anything I fix the rest of my family they eat too. The only stuff right now now they are not eating is peanut butter, eggs (can only eat the yolk right now), and honey.

Oh, I forgot, they love cottage cheese with pineapple. HTH!

Tanya
Mom/Dad to:

Brenden 12/05
Ethan, Zayne, and Tristan - 2/13/2008
http://vatriplets.blogspot.com

Yes! I feel like that all the time and I feel worse after reading the responses here because mine aren't getting nearly as varied a diet. For breakfast it's toast and cereal, lunch is usually grilled cheese, fruit, yogurt, ham slices, and sometimes egg. Dinner is the best meal as regard variety because they eat what we eat.

Fiona

Ds 4

DS, DD, DD 2

DS 1

Hey Jess --

Here are some more ideas for you!

Breakfast:
Sugar free oatmeal or Cream of Wheat made with whole milk
Toast squares with cream cheese and/or all-fruit spread
Pieces of fruit/grain bars
Banana bread
Mini blueberry muffins
Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal

Lunch & Dinner Entrees:
Cottage cheese (with or without baby food fruit)
Diced meatballs with gravy to dip in
Tofu chunks with low sodium soy sauce on top
Whole wheat pasta wheels with butter and cheese
Pieces of Salmon
Corn Meal Mush slices with syrup
Toasted Wheat Thins with hummus
Mini Beef Tacos
Mini Cheese and Broccoli Quiches
Popcorn Shrimp
Fish Sticks
Meatloaf
Mac & Cheese
Hebrew National hot dogs

Veggies:
Peas and Carrots
Broccoli with cheese melted on top
Baked Beans
Sweet potato fries, waffle fries
Veggie Bites (broccoli or corn)
Mashed four cheese potatoes
TGIF Fried Green Beans
Corn

Snacks:
Gerber fruit strips or fruit snacks
Smartfood Popcorn
Animal Crackers
Craisins or Raisins
Pretzel Sticks
Chex Mix (I add cheerios to it, too)
Nilla Wafers
Tricuits and Wheat Thins
Ritz Crackers
Oyster Crackers
Golden Grahams cereal
Gerber Yogurt Melts
Banana Chips
Sugar Free Pudding Cups and applesauce cups (great for learning spoons)

Jessica
http://lilypie.com>

Hey Jess! As you can tell your not the only one. LOL Like I said the other day it's hard coming up with new things until they get more teeth and start using utensils. Here are some of the boys favorites, maybe this will give you some ideas.

Breakfast~
Cinnamon raisin bread toasted with cream cheese
Mushroom and cheese omlet (SP?) brain spaz lol
French toast
Nutrigrain morning bars
and of course the usual pancake and waffles. They love those blueberry muffin tops but I don't buy them too muh anymore because we go through them so fast.

Lunch~
their all time favorite is mac n cheese with diced hot dogs
chicken nuggets
fish sticks
cheese tortilla
ravioli (we buy the huge frozen bag at sams, helps a ton)
salmon
smiley face potatoes
sweet potatoe fries
they love lima beans
butter beans with diced ham (the bags of diced ham come in real handy. adding it to eggs, pasta, etc)

Dinner~
nothing particular, they always eat whatever we eat.
they've had everything from lasagna to barbeque pork.

Snacks~
bananas and lots of them lol
animal cracker
nilla wafers
pudding
oyster crackers
goldfish
cheese
pb sandwich

Also when the boys were younger and still had bottles I made smoothies for snacks and they loved them! HTH, talk to you later!

*MAGGIE*

Mine were 1 on December 11 (born 33 weeks). I have one with 8 teeth and 2 with four teeth. I have come to terms with variety is overrated. Below is what I do...

Breakfast
Kashi Ceral Bar - favorite (they will eat four bar combined along with fruit and ceral)
Toast
Fruit - Fresh, Can or frozen
Yogurt
Cheese slices
Ceral -- any kind

Meats / Protein
Salmon Patties - favorite
Meatballs -- I make huge batches freeze them, Reheat with mushroom soup, spagetti sauce in crockpot, dice and they serve them selves
Any hamburger dish (Sloppy Joes/BBQ/Tater Tot Casserole) - I have to feed with spoon but they love the meat
Any type of Bean -- Kidney bean, black bean, etc I cut them in half and microwave them for 10 seconds. They love them.
Cheese
Hotdogs
Ham - diced super small
Roast -- not too successful with the two with 4 teeth

Veg
Broccoli
Sweet Potatoes - Diced
Squash - Diced
Green Beans
Frozen Peas
Mixed Veg
Corn
White Potatoe - dice, or feed with spoon
Whole Baby Carrots cooked in Crockpot Roast - Favorite

Fruit
Canned Fruit Cocktail
Canned Peaches
Canned Madrain Oranges - Favorite
Fresh Pears - Cut in HUGE chucks - Favorite
Bananas sliced
Frozen Peaches - diced
Fresh grapes - diced
Apples -- diced (only my one with 8 teeth can manage these)
Blueberries - diced (frozen or fresh -- they are messy)

Carbs
Fries
Tater tots - cut in half
pasta - cut up, butter, cheese or in sauce

Fun Food
Graham Crackers
Saltine Crackers
Crackers -- any kind
Gold Fish
Puff Popcorn -- Favorite, Speech therapist suggested for lateral tongue movement
Greber Puffs -- Favorite

We gave up bottles at Christmas (had the flu so it just developed from there at it wasn't planned). Their food consumption has doubled but they sleep so much better. Go to bed at 8 pm which they have always done but now they don't wake up in the middle night. They wake up between 7 -8 am.

It takes me a strong hour to feed the babies. At Lunch and Supper I offer
1 Veg
1 carb or an additional veg
1 protein
2 fruits
Depending how they seem I may offer 1 additonal protein
1 fun food

My kids at 1 year are 19, 20 and 24 lbs -- they have increased their eating since bottles were taken away. The babies are soo much happier since we moved to no bottles and they have adjusted to understanding meals are their food. It was a rough 1st week but once they got the knack of it the food it soo much more filling. I was always offering similiar meals when they were on bottles but the bottles were always their safety net so they depended on them and didn't always focus on eating. Once the bottles were gone the contentment between meals is so much happier as they are full and happy.

Having said all that....I still do a night time bottle especially for my cleft palate girl who is still on 24 calorie formula. It gives me the piece of mind they get one last chance to fill their bellies at night so if I do have to CIO I have no doubt they aren't hungry.

lol reading all of this is making my head spin! I can't imagine mine being able to eat all this stuff less than 6 months away!

Reta

Kipras, Kajus, Rokas born 7/4/ 2008

I too feel that I am feeding them the same thing all the time. If I never see a rotisserie chicken again, it will be too soon!! I feed mine lots of the same things you're feeding yours... some other ideas are red beans and rice (they love it!), raisin bread, various fruits and canned fruit cocktail, meatballs, deli meats (ie roast beef, turkey), broc rice and cheese casserole, baked macaroni, pot roast, cheese quesadillas, canned pumpkin... Sometimes if I am desperate I look through the frozen food aisle at the family size entrees (like those made by Stouffer) and try those. I've gotten them meatloaf and lasagna, which they seemed to like. I can't believe how much they eat, and they are only 18 months old! I also can't believe how much I have to cook now... we used to exist on takeout from Whole Foods, but now I am forced to cook full meals!!
GL!