Hi-
My son is 26 months. He is a terrible eater. I am constantly trying to find ways to get him to eat. I mentioned this problem to my pediatrician and was told "that's what two year olds do" He's on the lower end of the scale as far as weight is concerned. I am looking for advice as to what I can give/make him that is healthy and also will help him put on weight. He also has issues with texture of food as well. He will not eat mashed potatoes, oatmeal, etc. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
If you want him to gain, you'll have to give him high fat food, but healthy fats. Things like eggs, avacado, olives, coconut, etc...
One thing that really helped me was a cookbook called "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld. It calls for you to puree a lot of veggies and "hide" them in cooked foods. I have tried quite a few recipes and we've all liked them! Its worth the investment. Good luck!
I tell my son everything is chicken as this seems to make it edible
Chicken nuggets,
mac N Cheese
Rice,french fries
stews- crockpot meals,
cookies, goldfish crackers,
Ketchup
ICE pops and ice cream ( Klondike bars )for the summer( eaten outside as them are very messy LOL)
eggs and toast for breakfast - I make omlets and use the shredded carrots to hide a veggie in there or spinach
broccoli i hide in a quiche
( super easy to make takes MINUTES email me if you want the recipe)
Cereals- special K with strawberries, lucky charms for a snack
Dole Fruit cups
Thin sliced apples with fat free carmel dipping sauce OR NOT
Carrots if your child doesn't choke
pinapple strawberries
veggies are harder for me, so i always tend to hide them in eggs.
But cover them in cheese and they might like them.
also cheese on eggs is good.
Grilled cheese sandwiches,
Turkey and cheese panini ( just spread a little butter on the outside of the sandwich and stick into a George foreman grill)
cut into triangles
and sauces LIKE ceasar salad dressing, ranch dressing, ketchup, steak sauce, vinegar--- I let my picky eater dip foods in sauces after they build an appetite you can slowly remove them.
Pasta.soups,and breads.
Hope this gives you some ideas.
M
Hi K.,
My best advice to you is to make eating fun. Cut food into different shapes and put a variety of foods on his plate. (ie different colors, shapes, textures) You can even arrange the food on his plate to look like a face. My daughter loves when I use cookie cutters on her pancakes and sandwiches. You can use holiday shapes or just basic circles and hearts. Don't give up on a food. Just because he didn't like something on Monday doesn't mean he won't like it on Weds.
Sometimes kids prefer to eat food off of someone else's plate. Let him see what you're eating and make it sound really good. "Mmmmm"
Good luck and don't put too much pressure on your son. He won't let himself starve.
My son is still not a very good eater at 3.5. He's just not very interested in food....so I give him what he likes best whenever he isn't very hungry....and push other healthy stuff on him when he's actually asking for food.
He finally ate his first scrambled eggs at 24 months because I asked him to help me beat the eggs and then I let him drop the bits of cheese on it. After that we decorated each bite size chunks with a dollop of ketchup. These days he ask for them often.
I still have to let him play with his cars or play-do while I hand feed him but at least he's eating!
The other thing he asks for is "Yellow bread (Martin's Whole wheat potato bread) with peanut butter and Nutella (chocolate spread) or Yellow bread with butter and cinamon/sugar. Crust off, of course. Sometimes I shape the sandwiches with the cookie cutters.
Broccoli and baby carrots he eats them always dipped in mayo -they taste much sweeter that way and add some calories and fat to his diet.
He started eating pancakes as soon as I started decorating them with sprinkles and shaped them like worms and letters (he has no idea that I make them with whole wheat flour, bran, flaxseed, 2 eggs, 2 mashed bananas and a lot of olive oil)Pure maple syrup also added an extra incentive. He won't touch the cheap syrup now.
He's also discovered that he likes miso soup (japanese) and any clear soup that I make that has pastina on it, like star-shaped or the alphabet pastina.
Sometimes he eats Edamame (green soy beans) if I let him solve math riddles with them. He's learning addition and subtraction that way!
Anyway. My ex-stepson was a HORRIBLE eater until he turned 10 but my son is already getting a bit better....so don't lose hope!He'll eventually come around.
And, FYI, I also struggle with keeping my weight up, so my healthy trick these days is to add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to my oatbran cereal in the morning (after cooking it) and that adds at least 200 calories to my diet.
If your son likes mashed bananas try adding some oil to them...
L., Mom to Nickey, 3.5
