Feeding Picky 18 Month Old

Hi,

I have a 6 year old boy and twin boys who just turned two. My firstborn was very picky and unfortunately, I gave in to him at an early age. That led to horrible eating habits. Finally, I had to say, this is what you're getting to eat. You can choose to eat it or not. At first, he missed a few meals, but once he got the idea, he started eating.

So with my twins, I had a new strategy. I don't give in to them. If they eat, fine. If they don't eat, I don't go forage in the kitchen for something for them to eat. One is a better eater than the other. But again, I don't give in to whether he decides to eat or not. If they are truly hungry, they will eat.

So here are some ideas I feed my little ones (by the way, I'm pretty strict about giving them healthy stuff). Hummus, avocados, and applesauce (I make my own with cinnamon, butter and xylitol instead of sugar). They love rice. I get the organic medley of rice at Costco and cook it in Imagine chicken broth. You can add stir fry veggies and or chicken to the rice. They also love lentils. They are pretty easy to cook. I cook them in chicken broth and add carrots and celery. With the rice and lentils, you can cook a bunch and then freeze what you don't use immediately. They love sweet potatoes. You can either bake them in the oven or peel them, cut them up and place them in a baking dish with olive oil and bake at 350 or 400 for 30 to 40 minutes depending upon how big the pieces are. They love fried eggs - I fry them in olive oil and butter. Don't be afraid to give the little ones fats. We all need them. Fats carry fat soluble vitamins to the body. Oatmeal is great. I soak it overnight in 1 cup water and two spoonfulls of plain yogurt. Then, I cook it in an additional cup of water. The soaking breaks down the outer part of the oatmeal and makes it easier to digest. Plus, it really cuts down on the cooking time. Sometimes, I add fruit to the oatmeal or if I don't add fruit, I add cinnamon. Again, I cook a big pot so that there's enough left over for the next day or two or you can freeze it. Lastly, I offer them cheese and fresh fruit. I do different fruits and cheeses on differents days. And I also give them plain yogurt. I don't give them flavored yogurt because it has a ton of sugar in it.

I would be careful about the peanut butter. First, the little ones can choke on it. Or they could develop a peanut allergy. And a lot of people don't know this, but peanuts contain a carcinogenic mold called aflatoxin which isn't so good for the kids.

I hope this helps and good luck!

I've seen some fun sites on the internet on how to make meals fun for little ones. Make what your serving cute and fun. Like a pancake with blue berries for eyes and a smile. It's good she likes fruit. Work with that. I'd give her lots of fruit and offer her other foods to try. That way if she doesn't like the new food she still eat well with lots of vitamins from those fruit. Make sure she has lots of variety with the fruit.

Hang in there and just keep offering things. Pickiness is a very common and developmentally-appropriate stage for toddlers - they're becoming more independent and asserting that independence at the table - instead of just accepting whatever's offered, *they* want to decide when to try something, and it might not be until after they've seen it for 10 consecutive meals LOL. Nutritionist Ellyn Satter describes this much better than I ever could in her book "Child of Mine, Feeding With Love and Good Sense"

18 mos is still very young, please don't worry that your 'picky' girl is setting up a lifetime eating pattern now. One of my twins was always more adventurous than her sister when it came to trying things and gradually her sister became more willing to try a greater variety of foods also. The main thing you want to *avoid* is getting into a rut of offering *only* the foods you know she'll eat, because chances are good that she'll tire of those and then you feel even *more* stressed b/c she hasn't opened up to new things *and* she isn't eating the old things. It's very common for a toddler to have to see a new food item even 10 times before deciding to try it and it might take another 10 tries before the child decides to take more than just a bite. Keep offering a variety of healthy choices - doesn't have to be anything fancy, really - and try to maintain healthy eating choices for yourself and chances are good that she'll come around over time. good luck!

I have a picky eater too! I thought it would go away but he is now my 4 year old picky eater. You have to tfy this stuff called Amazing Grass for kids. We get it in chocolate flavor and mix it with almond vanilla milk. He loves it and it has all kinds of fruits and veggies. just go to amazinggrass.com. Hope he likes it.

Updated

I have a picky eater too! I thought it would go away but he is now my 4 year old picky eater. You have to tfy this stuff called Amazing Grass for kids. We get it in chocolate flavor and mix it with almond vanilla milk. He loves it and it has all kinds of fruits and veggies. just go to amazinggrass.com. Hope he likes it.