feeding a toddler

**I must give a disclaimer to this post!  I have no expertise on babies and toddlers, I'm just writing notes on what has been working for us.  Feels like I need to preface that given that everyone has opinions lately :).**

One of the hardest transitions we've had yet was getting off the bottle/formula, and moving Hammond solely onto solid foods (we don't do milk at all, just water).  We had been weaning him off the last few months of his first year, and on his first birthday, he had his very last bottle.  

Possibly even harder than all of that?  Coming up with creative, tasty, and healthy meals!  That he'll eat. :)  I'm totally not that mom that has to feed him all organic, homemade food.  However, I do feel a big sense of responsibility for what goes in him and making sure he gets all the nutrients he needs.  Afterall, I feel pretty crappy when all I eat is junkfood.  I don't want to be the source of that for him.  Anyhow, here are some of our favorite foods that we've tried, broken down into categories...

Breakfast
Eggs - we eat scrambled eggs every morning...all 3 of us!
Toast
Oat Pancakes - we make ours with bananas
Yogurt

Lunch/Dinner 
Veggie Burgers
Turkey/Chicken Burgers
Turkey bites
Smoothies - with lots and lots of spinach thrown in
Grilled chicken 
Farro
Cous cous 
Rice - cooking grains in chicken broth makes all the difference in the world
Dr. Pregur's frozen spinach and potato bites
Chicken & apple sausage
Quinoa mac n' cheese - I added loads of kale
Black Bean & Spinach Enchiladas - add chicken
Turkey Meatloaf


Snacks
Muffins - zucchini, apple + carrot
yogurt (frozen + reg)
Raisins/Craisins/Golden Raisins
Mum-Mums
Oat pancakes
Pretzels
Black bean dip
Squeezable fruit purees

A few things I've learned...

- One week he will love watermelon, and the next he's spitting it out of his mouth like it's cardboard.  Who knows why?  So I make it a point to try things again a few weeks out.

- Teething affects everything (for us), including meals.  He needs softer textured food

when teeth are coming in (guess it makes sense).

- As stated earlier, if I can make him a healthy, homemade meal I'm all over it.  But if it's a busy week, and I find myself pulling stuff out of the freezer for every meal, I don't stress about that either.  For me, it's all about balance.  

- I've had Hammond on a pretty tight schedule since he was about 6 weeks old.  Given that, I can either make sure to feed him on time OR expect a fussy boy.

- Ketchup usually helps him eat anything. :)

- I am now trying really hard to feed him what we eat.  That doesn't work out every meal (sushi?  timing?), but I'm trying and finding it's much easier for me.

- I try to be prepared when we're going to be around other kids with snacks.  If someone's eating, he wants to be eating, too.  So, I always try to have snacks on hand!

All in all, Hammond is a great eater (possibly too good, as he's going to eat us out of house and home with his appetite!).  But new challenges arise all the time.

Any other moms out there that want to share good recipes for toddlers?!  I'd love more ideas!!