Finger or Other Food That 18 Months Old Like

My son is a *very* picky eater who doesn't like mushy foods. I try to adapt whatever the rest of us are having into a version for him. If we are having lasagna, he gets fancy shapes of noodles, with sauce on the side for dipping. If we're having sandwiches, he gets cinnamon sugar toast with shredded lunch meat and a salad. If we're having fajitas, he gets cheese quesadilla cut in wedges with grilled chicken. If we're having pork chops with mashed potatoes, he gets sliced pork chop with soy sauce to dip it in, and french fries.

I recommend Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron and Petite Appetite.

I just got the Deceptively Delicious cookbook too! It is fabulous. I have a very picky eater too. So far so good. Check it out!

Our kid was great at eating sweet potatoes and other healthy foods then he got it in his head he didnt want that. so i tried deceptively delicious by jessica seignfeild and it works. we make pancakes with sweet potatoes, french toast with bananas, i tried adjusting the chicken nuggets with brocoli and it all fell apart...really needed to stick to the recipe on that one. but she has other great meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and desert where she also mixes veggies in the desert. i also found yo baby 3meals in one its yougart, a fruit and a veggatable in a cup. our son dosent like wet foods ( noodles, veggies ) i found some chips that are freez dried and he will eat the green beans HEB. he likes fruit cups but i dry them with a paper towel first and let him use a fork, again wet foods. my son also loves v8 juice. it comes in a small can and i buy the low sodium kind...with a straw and me holding the can (scared he will cut his finger on that sharp can top ). cereral bars, apple ( i think he liked it because it looked like a ball!) rasins, there is baby snacks packaged in a light blue box that my son loves (ricecakes veggie and sweet potato, bannana cookies). Good luck.

Hi E.,

I don't have alot to offer except that the older kids can be coaxed in to eating all kinds of healthy food when they are put on pizza and pasta with sauce. Also I saw a neat idea on some morning show: Take a just ripe banana and slice it down the middle lenthwise, place peanut butter down the middle , if you want you can sprinkle raisins, soybeans or whatever. You then wrap it snugly with platic wrap placing rubber bands around to hold the wrap in place. FREEZE the nanner till it's hard, take out, unwrap and slice into coins. I tried this right after a wow is was surprisingly different and ymmy.

Thanks for letting me share!
T.

No good recipes but one thing I do is buy (on the sly) baby food veggies and put them in spaghetti sauce and any other thing I can hide them in. Kinda the Jessica Seinfeld idea- but instead of me cooking/pureeing food-I just buy the baby food all smushed up for me. Carrots and squash are great in marinara- my daughter has that "texture" thing where any kind of veggie will make her gag-so even cut up and cooked won't usually work for her. Good luck.

Your house sounds like my house- I serve lots of sandwiches, turkey dogs and fruit and if they get bored I tell them they are welcome to wait until the next meal or have some of what Mommy and Daddy are having. My 9 year old is starting to come around a little. For the 18mos old- I just put a variety of stuff on her tray and when she is hungry she eats and when she isn't she plays. Peanut Butter crackers are a staple for her. There is a cookbook out there called First Foods by Anna Karmel (the name might be off a little) but it was excellent when my boys were little. No it is just a place where they can exercise a little control and I let them if it means we all sit at the table and talk and have an enjoyable time. I know it won't last forever because teenagers can eat and will! Good Luck!

Some easy things I do is buy a block of cheese and Central Mkt Organics oven roasted turkey. I cut them up in cubes and store them in a baggie. Serve with whole wheat crackers. I also freeze whole wheat pitas and freeze pizza sauce and baby food in ice cube trays. Once frozen, put them in a baggie to store in the freezer. I will pull out a cube of pizza sauce and a cube of baby food and defrost in the microwave. Put on the pita and top with mozzarella. Lastly, I will take whatever veggie we are eating for dinner (since my kids reject veggies now) and chop it up until it's practically mush. I mix it in with the sauce so they never see it. Tonight was kale! They never knew they had kale for dinner. Also, try to give him V8, he might drink this. My son loves it because I started on him early. Get the low sodium kind. I will also do fruit smoothies and add frozen broccoli and peas. You can't even taste them! Good luck. I hope this picky phase passes for us too! :) ....oh, start him on fresh avocado now! ...they usually like it when they are young. It's a super food.