my five year old as I posted before is recovering from pneumonia which caused significant lung damage. He has a two year window in which his lung tissue can grow. He will only eat peanut butter sandwhiches,pizza, burgers or chicken nuggets that are bought. We are experiencing some financial strain and can not afford to eat out. What can I do so that he eats healthy home cooked meals. He literally gags at things he does not like. He does drink pediasures but I would feel less stressed if he ate more. When we do eat out I have to make sure that they serve one of his approved items. When I make him a hamburger he will not finish and will take forever to eat it versus I give him a whataburger it's gone in five minutes. I would be less accomodating if I wasn't so concerned about getting enough intake for lung growth.
If he's literally gagging he needs evaluated and treated for sensory and other issues, at this point it sounds like you're dealing with a health issue, NOT a behavioral or parenting issue.
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do you have a good childrens hospital close to you? you could talk to their nutritionists and their occupational therapists. they work wonders. my boys all had/have feeding issues due to their clefting but the nutritionists and OT's really gave us some great advice and helped. will he eat the prepackaged sandwiches from the grocery? they just have that different texture somewhat similar to the fastfood burgers. what about vitamins? I wish I had better advice for you, just keep on trying, maybe take him shopping with you and see if he'll pick out some special items from the store just for him.
I give my kids protein shakes when they need healing after some disease and not eating much. My favorite one is Whey Gourmet brand. Proteins are what you need to build tissue after a damage and kids love the taste.
Will he drink fruit smoothies? Throw frozen fruit (or fresh + ice cubes) into a blender with OJ or milk. Add a scoop of vanilla protein powder (I like Whole Foods store brand...it is about $11 but lasts for a long time), flax seeds and a handful of whatever veggies you have on hand (avocado, carrots, spinach, frozen broccoli, etc.) He won't taste the veggies. My kids also like a banana and peanut butter smoothie with all of the extras. I don't let them see me put the veggies in or they wouldn't drink it.
Walmart makes good fully cooked burger patties that are in the frozen section for $4.87. I add vegetable purees to food (some I make, some are from baby food). For instance, you can mix a carrot puree (carrots don't have much taste and are easy to disguise in food) into the ketchup...
Have you tried the frozen chicken nuggets (I know not the healthiest). My family loves the Banquet kind. Peanut butter sandwiches are pretty good for him so if he will eat those, that is good! What about apples and celery dipped in peanut butter for a snack? Or peanut butter on whole grain crackers?
Another idea make your own pizza, find healthy toppings he would like. Instead of pepperoni maybe try some ham. My son always like the ham and pineapple when he was that age. I buy these ready made pizza crusts at the store, low fat mozzarella and it's pretty economical.
I hope you find some stuff that he will eat, but don't worry that he isn't getting enough variety just feed him what he will eat!
