Hello ladies--
I'm a stay at home mom with a 15 month old who is beginning to become a picky eater. Lunches and dinners are becoming more and more challenging. I cook these meals from scratch each day, but my menus are limited by her tastes of late. She'll eat a grill cheese sandwich, a quesadilla, baked sweet potatoe. However, her vegetables tastes are becoming more and more limited. Any ideas or recipes would help...thanks!
And, she is eating people food; she was never a fan of canned baby food or pre-packaged toddler meals. I tried those unsuccessfully.
Why not try to make some cute lil "critters" out of the veggies? mine always prefered the veggies raw as opposed to cooked so it was easy to make "trees", lil designs out of carrots.and eventually they can help! something about cooking their own food makes them want to eat it!
J.
Hi K.,
Our 2 year old has started turning his nose up at most anything green as well...when he was younger, he would eat english peas, green beans and even asparagus! Now, I try to slip in green veggies on him w/out his knowing. Try making a chicken casserole and adding a can of "Veg All" or some fresh veggies. Also, our Logan loves "soup." I make homemade vegetable soup and freeze it for later. That is a good way to get him to eat some peas, carrotts, onion and such. I just chop everything up pretty fine when I add it to the soup. Right now, his favorites are chicken fingers and french fries (imagine that), so we try to do grilled chicken fingers instead of fried...every little things helps.
Hello K.. I have an almost three year old who, for a while would not eat any veggies. I just kept putting them on her plate and making her try them. Just one bite, but she had to at least try them. Now she eats some veggies, like uncooked cauliflower with ranch, sweet corn, and peas. Try sweet corn on the cob if she doesn't mind getting a little messy. My other two year old will literally make a meal of that. Hope this helps you!
I have a 21 month old little girl who is really picky. She takes juice plus gummies which is so very good for her. It is like eating vegetables and fruits...literally. She will eat soups with little cut up vegetables and sometimes I can get her to eat carrots dipped in ketchup. You really should find a distributer of Juice Plus. It is great for the whole family.
K.,
I'm also the mom of an 18 month old and expecting our 2nd this summer! Anyway, my daughter used to eat great and suddenly became very picky, especially with vegetables. The girl wouldn't even eat a white potato. I have finally gotten her to eat broccoli, potatoes and more of a variety by melting a slice of cheese on her vegetables. She gobbles them down first! I still give her a little of whatever we're eating with every meal to encourage her to eat a wider variety, but I usually end up making her chicken nuggets or a hot dog or a grilled cheese along with fruit and vegetables.
From what I've heard this is very normal and a very normal "menu" for toddlers. I hope it helps a little!
Both my kids loved good ole Campbell's veggie soup. I can get both of them to eat anything in a tomoato sauce or tomato base. The veggies are cut up pretty small and coupled with the pasta it was a sure thing.
Another trick is to let your kiddo "dip" the veggies in something. Cooked carrots in ketchup doesn't sound all that great but to a little one it might just be the trick. Other dips we have done are ranch, honey mustard, tartar sce, mayo mixed with anything, etc. Good luck.
Hi K... someone else suggested kraftfoods.com , I agree with them.. not only will it give u suggestions for ur picky eater.. it'll also give u ideas for other meals as well. I LIVE on that site.
Good Luck!
J.
K., I love watching the food network channel and I find that Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger is really helpful. She has a recipe for maccaroni & cheese (using squash) that my son likes. Check her out on the web, she might have some ideas that will help.
Picky eaters are no fun!!! You have to get creative to be sure she's getting the nutrients she needs, and still trying to teach her good habits - in spite of this rough period. It's great that she likes sweet potatoes! Do you use whole wheat bread and tortillas? My very, very favorite for my daughter when she was that age (and sometimes now) is a grilled cheese on whole wheat with cooked, very chopped broccoli cooked into the cheese. You can just get frozen and microwave a tiny handful, then mash it up and put it between the cheese slices. Same for a quesadilla. Of course, she has to like broccoli. Mine always has, but I can't stand it! Edamames are popular with kids - you can find them in the frozen section where health food is. Get the shelled kind and cooked just a bit. They have a good flavor and texture for kids, are easy to pick up, and are packed with protein. All the frozen veggies, especially sliced carrots, are wonderful now because they're so easy to prepare. When she's a little older, you can try a "banana hot dog" - whole wheat hot dog bun with peanut butter and half a banana (sliced long). You really have to trty new things. Does she like cut-up fruit? To save time, the canned fruit cocktail - make sure it's not made with syrup, only juices - is good. There are books and websites with healthy kid-friendly foods. Just do a google search. Just try not to fall into the junk food trap! Once a finicky eater gets a hold of chicken nuggets and pizza and fries, they will (appear to) starve rather than eat something else. This time is sooooooooo important to keep her choices limited to good ones. Our family doctor says that kids will not starve themselves - they will eventually eat. I know it's hard, but keep trying. She'll thank you later!
Hi K.,
I think allot of us have one of those picky eaters amongst the crowd. I have one for sure, my son would only eat pbj for ever and now just bread...and pbj cut a specific way. My daughter just chicken, maybe cheese and junk. So I go to www.themommytimes.com (not just for recipes great help for everything) http://www.kraftfoods.com/main.aspx?s=search&m=search... , and http://www.about.com/food/ (type kids in first box exp. kids - or - xxx) I hope this helps it has helped me. Good luck and remember their taste buds change as they grow. A. www.busymomsworkathome.com
Hi K.,
My mother had the same problem with my sisters. She had a rule that we had to eat at least one bite from every dish at the table before we could have dessert. She didn't make it into a battle and she always had something on the table everyone enjoyed. But she didn't stop making veggies or fun, different foods because we whined and complained. Now my sisters eat almost everything. I know it feels like your daughter isn't eating enough to stay healthy, but if you make sure she takes a vitamin she'll be fine. Something that I had to do when my almost two year old was going through a picky stage was put a bite of something she loved, like a peice of fruit or a spoonfull of applesauce in one hand and in the other have a peice of food that I wanted her to eat first. She knew that the 'good stuff' was coming so she'd eat the other so she could get to the stuff she liked. I'd say the most important thing about meal time is don't let it turn into a war. If it becomes a battle then it becomes something that she can control and she will use that constantly. Munchkins want some part of their life that they can control and once they latch onto something it takes a long time to get them to cooperate again. Good luck!
H.
I have a 24 month old and he is a very picky eater. I have had countless days where i would cry because i was so worried about his eating habbits,I was worried he would end up being admitted into the hospital from malnutrition. I have strugled with this with him for awhile now, first i tried baby food fruits and veggies in his sippy and he didnt even know the difference ( my pediatrician said this was fine to try with him) finally i went and bought 10 cases of pediasure i give him 2 a day one in the morning and one at night, i offer him the foods i have fruits veggies and meats and if he doesnt want those then i give him whatever he will eat, let him eat what he wants he will be going through this until he is 4 at least thats what his pediatrician said. he is eating alot better and is gaining some weight, he is healthy and his pediatrician said he is perfect for his age and size and weight.. i feel alot better now that he is eating regularly. here are a few things you can try that my son loves: frozen pizza cut in small pieces, hotdogs, chips, finger foods, grapes, dry cereal, cereal in milk, also he likes those gerber graduates fruit cereal bars apples and bannnas, i give him the cereal bars for snacks and sometimes for breakfast. also i put yogurt in his sippy all the time, i no longer do the baby food thing because he is finally starting to eat on a regular basis, instead hardly ever.i hope this helps, message me back and let me know if this works for you. good luck
Have you tried putting a tomato in her grilled cheese? Stuffing her quesadilla with veggies? My son wouldn't eat anything, and I too stayed home and cooked from scratch all day every day for months! They do go through a spell where they just don't eat, and you just go crazy. I started playing silly games...I would ask him if he wanted to eat worms today??? When he got excited and said yes, i gave him noodles...slowly i added sauce, then meatballs, them mushrooms....tyson make chicken shaped like dino's! cookie cutters for any type of sanwiches...fruit on a stick! make it fun, pretend like you don't care, eat with her! I also watch his cartoons and see what they are eating. tellitubbies eat tubby custard, well i give him yogurt and tell him that it is tubby custard. i put granola, grahm cracker, grapes on top. i serve dried fruit and tell him that it is yummy candy. Asparagus and broccoli are trees, baby carrots with ranch or ceasar. He loves to dip veggies in dressing. I only give a quarter size to dip. Last but not least...NUTRI-PALS. If he wouldn't eat for 2 meals, i gave him a milk shake! good luck
