The Baby & Toddler Food menus are designed for you to make life feeding your baby/toddler homemade food a little easier. We are not pediatricians, please seek counsel from them on timing, allergies and food sensitivities. These menus are simply designed for ease of parents and not necessarily adhere to dietary guidelines. If you are new and not sure how to get started we have a wonderful series starting with 5 easy steps to get you on your way to once a month cooking. Good luck!

• Below is a linked list of items we have hand selected for this menu. The links below are to the original recipe. We include these so that you can get a look at what you might be preparing and to give these wonderful blog authors some traffic (they work hard to create great recipes). However, to see our freezer cooking adaptions and to alter the servings to meet the needs of your family you will need to VIEW and PRINT the printable Toddler Food 18+ Month February 2012 Recipe Cards.
• Recipes are intended to be used by one baby or toddler on a oamc cooking day. If you are cooking for more than one toddler, download this document or make a copy for your personal use. Then indicate how many toddlers in the yellow box below to automatically adjust information the recipe cards. Do the same thing for the grocery list.
• Having trouble using the Recipe Cards or YELLOW BOX? See this post!

Mini Veggie Frittatas

Breakfasts

• No-Bake Chewy Granola Bars
• Green Supreme Smoothies
• Mini Veggie Frittatas
• Homemade Poptarts

Lunches

• St. Patrick’s Day Green Mac-n-Cheese
• Chicken Pot Pie Bundles
• Roasted Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons
• Football Turnovers
• Chicken Stix
• Spaghetti with Meatballs

Secret Ingredient Fudgy Brownies

Snacks

• Cheddar Coins (aka Healthy Cheez-Its)
• Secret Ingredient Fudgy Brownies
• Balls of Energy

Printable Toddler Food 18+ Month February 2012 Menu

Grocery List

• Included in this spreadsheet you will find a listing of all the items you will need to complete your Toddler Food 18+ Month February 2012 OAMC BIG DAY by area of the grocery store. For more instructions on how to use this, go here.
• Toddler Food 18+ Month February 2012 OAMM Grocery List

Instructions

• These are the step-by-step instructions you will need to quickly and efficiently approach your OAMC BIG DAY. After all, if you are going to be in the kitchen for awhile, you best make the most of your time.
• Toddler Food 18+ Month February 2012 OAMM Instructions

Labels

These customized labels are designed specifically for this menu. They contain the name of the dish and serving instructions for preparing the dish on your serving day. They make preparation of the dishes hassle free and staying to your eating plan a cinch.

These labels are designed to be printed on Avery 8163 or equivalent! Readers who didn’t have labels available suggested just printing them on paper and taping them.

• Toddler Food 18+ Month February 2012 Printable Labels

Pinterest:

Are you a person that likes to see the menus visually? Perhaps you should check out the Toddler Food 18+ Month February 2012 Toddler Food Menu via Pinterest to see the yummy goodness you will be cooking up on this menu. Not sure what Pinterest is all about, check out what Once A Month Mom has to say about it.

Facebook Fan Party:

OAMM Facebook Fan Page Party – February 12th 2012, 9:00 pm – 9:30 pm EST – We will be able to chat via video AND messaging during the event through FACEBOOK! How cool is that? We will be talking about the current month’s menus, answer your burning questions about freezer cooking and have fun getting to know one another. You can also see other past recordings from that tab as well. This is a great way to meet fellow Once A Month Mom’s or get your questions answered as you get started.

Instructions for viewing live-stream:

• Go to the Once A Month Mom Facebook Fan Page.
• Click on the “FB Fan Night” Tab on the left side margin.
• Hit “view live recording” – If I am live streaming it will show you what is happening in progress. If I am not live streaming at the time, you will have the option to click through other videos that I have recorded in the past.
• Enjoy!

Test Cooks

Each month we have some wonderful volunteers who “test” out the menu prior to publication. They do an amazing job of helping to eliminate confusion and mistakes. They may not catch everything but they sure do catch A LOT! If you are interested in test cooking, feel free to volunteer. Here is a little bit about this month’s test cooks:

• Jennifer Jordan – I’m an RN married to an Air Force dentist living in San Antonio TX. I’ve taken some time off work to be at home with my 2 year old son. Since staying at home, I’ve turned to cooking and baking as my nap time hobbies and enjoy trying new recipes and new ingredients!
• Kelli Sanders – I am wife, working mama to 4, and a quilter. School, sports, and church activities keep us very busy. High school sports and rec league sports keep us running during dinner time, so I am on the hunt for simplifying meal times. I love the ‘thaw, heat and eat’ approach… it gives me more time to spend with the kids, and more quilting time is never a bad thing! Happy MOM is the key to life, right!

Get Started

Are you new to Once A Month Mom or once a month cooking (oamc) in general? If so, you might want to spend a few minutes (or hours) on the Get Started Series. If you are in a real hurry to catch on we have written some simple steps for getting started. Welcome!

If you are feeling abundantly blessed and generous feel free to donate. And if this time frame doesn’t match up with your child, please check out our other baby and toddler food menus.

• Included in this spreadsheet you will find a listing of all the items you will need to complete your Toddler Food 18+ Month  February 2012 Once A Month (OAMC) Mom BIG DAY. You can make a copy of this list and customize it for yourself and your family or use it as is.
• Printable Toddler Food 18+ Month  February 2012 Grocery List

Having trouble using the Grocery List or YELLOW BOX? See this post!

Google Document of Instructions – TODDLER FOOD 18+ Month February 2012 OAMM Menu

Instructions

Meat used:

• Boneless, skinless chicken breast – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Chicken Pot Pie Bundles, Chicken Stix)
• Canned tuna (St. Patrick’s Day Green Mac-n-Cheese)
• Lean ground beef – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Football Turnovers, Spaghetti with Meatballs)

Thaw (in refrigerator)

• Boneless, skinless chicken breast – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Chicken Pot Pie Bundles, Chicken Stix)
• Lean ground beef – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Football Turnovers, Spaghetti with Meatballs)

Night Before:

• Optional (but HIGHLY recommended) – chop up all vegetables. (See Chopping Amounts sheet on Recipe Cards)
• SEE STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS BELOW

Day of:

Google Document of Instructions – WHOLE FOODS February 2012 OAMM Menu

Instructions

• Bacon – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly, (Cider Stuffed Pork Chops, Chicken Asparagus Black Bean Enchiladas)
• Chicken, boneless - it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly , (Cream of Chicken Soup)
• Chicken, boneless - it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly , (Chicken Asparagus Black Bean Enchiladas)
• Flank Steak – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Flank Steak with Chimichurri)
• Italian Sausage – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Turkey Brown Rice Casserole)
• Pork Chops – Cannot be frozen beforehand (Cider Sauced Stuffed Pork Chops, Ranch House Slow Cooker Pork Chops)

• Bacon – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly, (Cider Stuffed Pork Chops, Chicken Asparagus Black Bean Enchiladas)
• Chicken, boneless - it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly , (Chicken Asparagus Black Bean Enchiladas)
• Italian Sausage – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Turkey Brown Rice Casserole)

• Place in chicken for (Cream of Chicken Soup) in  slow cooker and add 3 cups of water and cook for approximately 8 hours on low or until chicken is cooked through.
• Optional (but HIGHLY recommended) – chop up all vegetables. (See Chopping Amounts sheet on Recipe Cards)
• SEE STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS BELOW

Day of:

Toddler 12-18 Month Menu

• Included below are the menu items that we will be preparing as part of our Once A Month Cooking (OAMC) BIG DAY. In the printable Toddler Food 12-18 Month January 2012 Recipe Cards you can adjust the number of servings to accommodate the number of toddlers that you are cooking for. The recipes linked below are ONLY for the single batch, to see the amounts we are making on the OAMC BIG DAY you will need to visit the printable Toddler Food 12-18 Month January 2012 Recipe Cards.
• Having trouble using the Recipe Cards or YELLOW BOX? See this post!

Mini Cheese Scones

Breakfasts

• Mini Cheese Scones
• Peach Raspberry Muffins
• Blueberry Granola Pancakes
• French Toast Squares

Lunches

• Cheesy Potato Soup
• Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
• White Chicken Chili
• Sweet Potato & Ham Burgers
• Cheesy Tuna Mac
• Fish Stix

Toddler-ific Pizza Snack Cups

Snacks

• Pizza Snack Cups
• Cheese Twists
• Frozen Yogurt Fruit Cups

Printable Toddler Food 12-18 Month January 2012 Menu

Grocery List

• Included in this spreadsheet you will find a listing of all the items you will need to complete your January 2012 once a month cooking (OAMC) toddler food BIG DAY. For more instructions on how to use this, go here.
• Toddler Food 12-18 Month January 2012 OAMM Grocery List

Instructions

• These are the step-by-step instructions you will need to quickly and efficiently approach your once a month cooking (OAMC) baby food BIG DAY!
• Toddler Food 12-18 Month January 2012 OAMM Instructions

Labels

These customized labels are designed specifically for the January 2012 Once A Month Mom Menu. They contain not only the name of the dish but also the serving instructions for preparing the dish on your serving day. They make preparation of the dishes hassle free.

These labels are designed to be printed on Avery 8163 or equivalent! Readers who didn’t have labels available suggested just printing them on paper and taping them.

• Toddler Food 12-18 Month January 2012 Printable Labels

Pinterest:

Grocery List

• Included in this spreadsheet you will find a listing of all the items you will need to complete your TODDLER FOOD 12-18 Month January 2012 Once A Month (OAMC) Mom BIG DAY. You can make a copy of this list and customize it for yourself and your family or use it as is. For more instructions on how to use this, go here.
• Printable TODDLER FOOD 12-18 Month January 2012 Grocery List

Having trouble using the Grocery List or YELLOW BOX? See this post!

Google Document of Instructions – TODDLER FOOD 12-18 Month January 2012 OAMM Menu

Instructions

Meat used:

• Cooked chicken – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (White Chicken Chili)
• Cooked ham – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Sweet Potato and Ham Burgers)
• Fresh tilapia fillets (Fish Stix)
• Ground beef – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Pizza Snack Cups)

Thaw (in refrigerator)

• Cooked chicken – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (White Chicken Chili)
• Cooked ham – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Sweet Potato and Ham Burgers)
• Ground beef – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Pizza Snack Cups)

Night Before:

• Optional (but HIGHLY recommended) – chop up all vegetables. (See Chopping Amounts sheet on Recipe Cards)
• SEE STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS BELOW

Day of:

WHOLE FOODS January 2012 Instructions

Instructions

• Beef, ground – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly, (Beef Chimichangas)
• Chicken, boneless - it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly  DO NOT THAW, (Cilantro Lime Chicken, Buttermilk Herb Chicken)
• Chicken, boneless - it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly , (Buffalo BBQ Pulled Chicken, BBQ Quesadillas, BBQ Chicken Pizza)
• Flank Steak – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly DO NOT THAW (Best Flank Steak Ever)
• Turkey, ground – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Spaghetti Pie)

• Beef, ground – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly, (Beef Chimichangas)
• Turkey, ground – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Spaghetti Pie)

• Place in chicken for (Buffalo BBQ Pulled Chicken, BBQ Quesadillas, BBQ Chicken Pizza) in  slow cooker and add 3 cups of water and cook for approximately 8 hours on low or until chicken is cooked through.
• Optional (but HIGHLY recommended) – chop up all vegetables. (See Chopping Amounts sheet on Recipe Cards)
• SEE STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS BELOW

Day of:

It has been a looonnnngggg, loooonnnnggg time since we have had a baby food menu around these parts. I am so glad to be able to bring you one this month. This one is actually a repeat of one that is already posted on the site but that one doesn’t have a grocery list, recipe cards or instructions. It needed some work!

This menu is perfect for the fall as you are working to introduce foods to your baby. Please note that you will need to follow pediatrician guidelines for feeding your baby. We don’t provide information on how to feed your baby, just the tools for when you begin to.

Enjoy! And look for many more menus to come in the future.

**Please note there is a Once A Month Mom Holiday eCookbook Blowout Sale on Wednesday, November 2nd starting at 9:30 Eastern Standard Time. Don’t miss out.

I hope you enjoy these meals as much as our early readers/cooks have. If you are new and not sure how to get started, read here. For frequently asked questions visit here. And there are several other helpful links under the Helpful Hints/Resources section below to help you on your cooking journey. Good luck!

• Included below are the menu items that we will be preparing as part of our Once A Month Cooking (OAMC) BIG DAY. In the printable 9-12 Month FALL 2011 Recipe Cards you can adjust the number of servings to accommodate the number of people that you are cooking for. The recipes linked below are ONLY for the single batch, to see the amounts we are making on the OAMC BIG DAY you will need to visit the printable 9-12 Month FALL 2011 Recipe Cards.
• Having trouble using the Recipe Cards or YELLOW BOX? See this post!

9-12 Month Fall Baby Food Menu

Vegetables

• Spinach and Parsnips
• Cheesy Tomato and Cauliflower Puree
• Peas Puree
• Sweet Potato Puree
• Carrot Puree
• Green Bean Puree

Fruits

• Apple, Pear, Kiwi Puree
• Peach, Apple and Strawberry Puree
• Blueberry Puree
• Avocado Puree
• Banana Puree

Meats

• Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Apples
• Chicken and Veggies II
• Beef and Veggies
• Ham, Pineapple, Peach and Apple Puree

Printable 9-12 Month FALL 2011 Recipe Cards

Grocery List

• Included in this spreadsheet you will find a listing of all the items you will need to complete your Baby Food 9-12 Month FALL 2011 once a month cooking (OAMC) baby food BIG DAY. For more instructions on how to use this, go here.
• Baby Food 9-12 Month FALL 2011 OAMM Grocery List

Instructions

• These are the step-by-step instructions you will need to quickly and efficiently approach your once a month cooking (OAMC) baby food BIG DAY!
• Baby Food 9-12 Month FALL 2011 OAMM Instructions

Labels

These customized labels are designed specifically for the Baby Food 9-12 Month FALL 2011 Once A Month Mom Menu. They contain not only the name of the dish but also the serving instructions for preparing the dish on your serving day. They make preparation of the dishes hassle free.

These labels are designed to be printed on Avery 8163 or equivalent! Readers who didn’t have labels available suggested just printing them on paper and taping them.

• BABY FOOD 9-12 Month FALL Printable Labels

Grocery List

• Included in this spreadsheet you will find a listing of all the items you will need to complete your BABY FOOD 9-12 Month FALL 2011 Once A Month (OAMC) Mom BIG DAY. You can make a copy of this list and customize it for yourself and your family or use it as is. For more instructions on how to use this, go here.
• Printable BABY FOOD 9-12 Month FALL 2011 Grocery List

Having trouble using the Grocery List or YELLOW BOX? See this post!

Google Document of Instructions – BABY FOOD 9-12 Month FALL 2011 OAMM Menu

Instructions

Meat used:

• Chicken, boneless – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Apples, Chicken and Veggies II).
• Lean Beef – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Beef and Veggies)
• Cubed Ham – precooked (Ham, Pineapple, Peach and Apple Puree)

Thaw (in refrigerator)

• Chicken, boneless – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Apples, Chicken and Veggies II).
• Lean Beef – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Beef and Veggies)

Night Before:

• Optional (but HIGHLY recommended) – chop up all vegetables. (See Chopping Amounts sheet on Recipe Cards)
• SEE STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS BELOW

Day of:

Google Document of Instructions – WHOLE FOODS November 2011 OAMM Menu

Instructions

• Chicken, boneless – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly , (Cranberry Roast Chicken)
• Chicken – Cannot be frozen beforehand (Chicken Parmesan)
• Bacon – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly , (Bacon Mac)
• Beef Chuck Roast – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly ,(Crock Pot French Dip)
• Beef Round Roast – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly , (Beef Bourginon)
• Italian Sausage  – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Tahoe Brunch)
• Prosciutto – cannot be frozen beforehand. (Tomato Basil Panini)

• Bacon – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly , (Bacon Mac)
• Beef Round Roast – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly , (Beef Bourginon)
• Italian Sausage – it can be frozen beforehand if handled properly (Tahoe Brunch)

• Place Rice (Burlattas) into crockpot, add 2 cups water for each cup of rice, butter the sides of the crockpot and cook for 4-6 hours on low and keep warm.
• Optional (but HIGHLY recommended) – chop up all vegetables. (See Chopping Amounts sheet on Recipe Cards)
• SEE STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS BELOW

Day of:

I love the whole idea of once a month cooking, but I never seem to have a full day to dedicate to the process. Having meals on hand every night would be nice, although I do love the break spending time in the kitchen gives me each day. Instead, I settle for having dinner on hand once in awhile when I just don’t know what else to cook. By tweaking a few recipes here and there or spending a few extra minutes when putting away the groceries, I can save myself a lot of time throughout the month.

One of the simplest strategies is to double the recipe when you cook something that freezes well. It is just as easy to mix two pounds of meat as it is one so you can freeze a second meatloaf for another night. Pasta sauce and soups take over an hour to simmer, but it doesn’t take 2 hours to simmer twice as much! Spend a few extra minutes layering a second lasagna or diving your soup for the freezer and not only will you have dinner for another night, but you’ll save yourself a lot of cooking time.

Another, simple strategy is to season your meats before you store them. Add marinade to chicken breasts, shape hamburgers and season your roast. When you move them to the fridge for cooking, the meats will marinade as they thaw. These quick, easy preparations can be done when you get home from the grocery store rather than at night when you are struggling to get dinner on the table. You can even prep ingredients for your meals.

Did you chop a whole onion, when the recipe only called for half? Onions and many other produce items freeze very well with no additional preparation. Store it in a freezer safe container for the next time you need half an onion. I often buy ground beef in bulk but rather than dividing the raw meat, I cook it all at once and freeze 1 pound packages. Think about how many casseroles and other recipes start with “Brown 1 pound ground beef.” Your first step is already done. That can go a long way towards getting dinner on the table quickly.

Even if you don’t have entire meals waiting in the freezer.

About Heather

Heather Sokol is the founder of Inexpensively.com and has been featured in the Chicago and the Indianapolis Star. She has also appeared on CBS Nightly News and as a weekly contributor to Fox59 Morning News. She is the married mother of three beautiful, active girls who have created in her a Montessori mom, Scout mom, allergy  mom and avid coupon clipper. She shares her deals and tips at Inexpensively.com and reports progress on learning to be a grown-up at JustHeather.com.

About Inexpensively

The Inexpensively network provides a whole lifestyle concept for savings.   We compile weekly lists for grocery store deals, suggest ideas on living your life for less, offer tips on finding the best savings and encourage our community to be charitable even on a budget.  We connect a network of individuals from around the country to provide families with the most up to date and accurate savings tools in their own communities.  In short, we encourage families to maximize their budgets so they can use some of their savings to help improve their neighborhood.

I can’t even begin to count how many times I have made a list of all the meals my family likes to eat, broken it down into ingredients and planned to make several of those meals ahead of time. I can, however, tell you how many times I’ve made a month’s worth of meals in one day to put in my freezer, and that is zero.

What’s that saying about a paved road and some good intentions and something?

Honestly, Once a Month Cooking is overwhelming to me. I’ve done the research, I’ve collected recipes, I’ve made my lists, I’ve even bought a package of about 50 foil pans (thank you, Sam’s Club). But when it comes down to picking a day to devote to cooking, I just can’t pull the trigger.

However, cooking a bunch of food every once in a while? That I can do.

So here are the top 10 steps to giving up on perfect and cooking a lot of stuff in one day to have later down the road.

1. Recruit your husband (or daughter or neighbor or mail man) to grill up a bunch of chicken. For me, “a bunch” was two bags of boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
2. Buy and/or thaw 10 lbs. hamburger. Count them, because if you get halfway into your cooking and then realize you can only account for 9 lbs., well, I’m just saying you might get confused.
3. Remember that you only have one big pan, so plan your cooking accordingly. Non-meat items first, unless you really want to scrub the meat bits off in between rounds.
4. Chop up a bunch of onions. Do not attempt to photograph this activity, unless you a) are a professional or b) don’t mind having a shadow over the bottom half of your pictures.
5. Make one recipe of cheesy potato casserole and split between two pans. Wonder why the recipe insists that you fold the hashbrowns and cheese into the soup and sour cream mixture. I say if I wanted to fold, I’d be doing laundry, right?
6. Take a moment to note that it’s best not to do this cooking project late at night in the middle of the week all by yourself. I’m not saying you and a partner have to spend an entire Saturday doing this. But traveling the gamut of emotions, from gung-ho to determined to slaphappy (see #5) to dog tired, might be better saved for a project like painting the bathroom or organizing your collection of CDs and DVDs.
7. Brown 3 lbs. of hamburger at a time (twice). Add onion, garlic and basil. Portion 5 lbs. into 1-lb. plastic containers.
8. Boil water and add a box of pasta in your other pot that’s not really big enough but will have to do for tonight. Add remaining pound hamburger and spaghetti sauce. Pour into two pans.
9. Chop and slice the chicken. Portion as you’d like into plastic bags. Double bag it if you’re too cheap to buy actual freezer bags.
10. Brown 2 lbs. hamburger and add taco seasoning. Put last remaining pound of hamburger back into the fridge to use later.

If you add my husband’s grilling time to the time I spent on this project, it’s a total of less than three hours. And here’s what I got out of it:

• 2 pans baked pasta (I’ll just need to add mozzarella and bake for 30 minutes.)
• 2 pans cheesy potatoes (It’s nice to have a side dish other than corn or baked potatoes at the ready.)
• 2 lbs. taco meat
• 5 lbs. seasoned ground beef to use for spaghetti, pizza or sloppy joes
• 1 bag of sliced grilled chicken for fajitas
• 1 bag of chopped grilled chicken for pizza
• 1 bag of grilled chicken halves for my daughter’s dinners

That’s about a dozen meals, plus leftovers. And once I use that last pound of hamburger to make some mini meatloaves for my daughter, I’ll have at least that many healthy meals for her, too.

Did I accomplish everything I put on the list this time? Um, no. For one, I didn’t bake a single muffin, even though I was totally prepared.

And for two, I didn’t make chicken spaghetti, macaroni and cheese or cheesy chicken casserole. Maybe next time. Because while spending three hours doesn’t yield a full meals for a month, it makes dinnertime at our house a lot easier. And who doesn’t like easier?

And let’s be honest here. If I have chopped up grilled chicken just a microwave minute away, then I don’t really have an excuse for eating half a bag of tortilla chips with Velveeta and salsa and calling it dinner, now do I?

Not that I would do that, of course…

Mary blogs about an imperfect life at Giving Up on Perfect. She talks about family, faith, books, diet-friendly and fiber-filled foods like granola bars and nachos, celebrity look-alikes and chick flicks. You know, the important stuff.