Meal Time Can Be Stressful

also a big advocate of the jp gummies! my 3yr old LOVES them and he thinks they are like a treat. recently started my 14 mo old on them and she loves them as well. and by the way...they have capsules for adults, too. personally i think the reason my kids love their fruits and veggies is becuase i took the capsules while pregnant and then opened up the capsule and put the powder in their baby food. i think that since they've always had fruits and veggies through the capsule and keep getting them in their gummies, their tastebuds are geared up for them! my son is actually almost a vegetarian...doesn't really like meat at all. so i've got another challenge of getting protein in him. anyway, let me know if you need more info on the juice plus.

A sneaky way I do it is to pour some of the juice from the fruit onto the vegetable. I buy the fruits packed in fruit juice- not syrup. This way she at least gets it into her mouth and decides if she likes it.

If you figure this one out I'll give you a million dollars! My kid is TWO years old and hasn't eaten a vegetable since he was on jarred food...

he'll eat waffles, bacon, toast, crackers (anything crunchy like a cracker for the most part), bean burritoes, quesadillias, just started eating sliced cheese, yogurt, pudding, chicken nuggets, ravioli and pizza. I did make pizza the other day and snuck vegetables in under the cheese... but he didn't KNOWINGLY eat them.

Peas and carrots are for squishing -- green beans are for handing back one at a time saying "BACK" he won't eat hot dogs but knows what they are.... he'll eat pigs in a blanket... eating all the bread around the "pig" and giving the hot dogs back to me in a pile... no eggs... he will eat apples, bananas and he loves peaches and pairs... turned his nose up to any kind of berry or cantaloupe but he WILL drink smoothies so I may start mixing those up with some carrot juice in them.

I did find that V8 makes a drink called Fruision I think..that is supposed to have 1 serving of vegetable and 1 serving of fruit in 8 oz. I have been giving him one of those a day... ?? I tried putting him on Juice Plus gummies -- won't eat them... chewables... they're prettty large so I'm thinking if I cut them into thirds he may be more apt to chew them...

But, I too, like you, have no clue... everyone else has told me that when they're ready they'll eat. Good luck..it's frustrating as all get out!

This is a battle you can not win! My oldest son did not eat dinner 98% of the time between the ages of 18 months and 8 years! At almost 10 there has been a slight improvement.
It will jst become a battle of wills- with you losing and becoming a short order cook. SOme kids even go so far as to hide the food in their cheeks (like a chipmunk" for hours on end.
Make him meals- what ever you and hubby are having. Period. End of story. When meal time is over, it is over. You can affer small snacks in between, but make sure they are fruits or veggies or even the toddler veggie cracker. Granola bars aren't too bad, gold fish.... I'm not say never feed him the things he likes- just make it for lunch or as a part of what you are all eating.
The American Acadamy of Pediatrics has an awesome book on their website AAP.ORG that is called Nutrition and Your Child. It covers every stage of life from birth to teens and talks about portion size (5 green beans= 1 serving for a toddler) and recommended vitamins etc... Or if you are near Old Lake Highlands come on over and borrow mine!

D.
Mom of 4
Pedi RN

Hi J.,
At 15 months, that sounds like a great start. I was getting concerned about their diet, but their Dr. said it's really about what you get them to eat over a week, not each meal. My 3 y/o is in the 97 percentil for his height and weight and my 20 month old is 55th. So she told me to relax and keep introducing new items. Also, they eat what we eat. So I don't make them something different. I try to include two veggies per meal and encourage them (bribe w/ stickers) to try some of each.Veggies they like, shoestring beats, french style green beans, peas & carrots mixed together, and broccoli floretts (sp). I also buy iron kids bread and whole grain waffels.

Even if they don't eat something, try it again the next week. Sometimes it's all about timing.

The only way I can get my daughter to eat her veggies is by mixing them with cheese, like broccoli, rice and cheese. Or, fixing breaded vegetables or tempura-style. Keep offering a variety of vegetables. He may not eat them now, but his taste will change. And, there are some veggies you may never get hime to eat. I remember hating things like asparagus, broccoli, spinach, carrots, greens when I was young, but I love these veggies now. If my mother had stopped offering them, I may never have learned to love them.

I have found that an easy way to get veggies in is through Carrot Cake and Zucchini Bread. I have healthy recipes for toddlers, and I add fruit, wheat germ, whole wheat flour, and all organic ingredients when possible.

I make the Carrot Cake in a pan that will give me an inch high 'cake', then I frost it with sugar free cream cheese icing, and cut it into strips about an inch wide. I double wrap each strip in wax paper, then place them in a freezer bag and freeze them. I pull them out, peel back the wax paper, and my daughter eats them frozen. She LOVES them!

As for the Zucchini Bread, I hear it freezes well, but I will never know, because I LOVE IT so much that it never makes it to the freezer. (Just in case you don't know zuc. bread, it is a sweet, but healthful bread-tastes more like a heavy cake.)

The carrot cake and icing recipes are in "What to Expect The First Year" book. www.allrecipes.com has the zucchini bread recipes. Look for one with pineapple in it.

Hope that helps!
Sherri

I think veggies are hard for most little ones. Once they get to taste fruit and other better tasting things, I think its just hard to go back to that. (I can understand) I've noticed that my little guy eats things in spurts and then will change. Like for a couple of weeks he'll like broccoli and not carrots and then he'll change to no veggies at all and then change back. Also, some would disagree,but I put some butter and even a little salt on stuff that I give my son if he won't eat it otherwise. I mean, how much can a little butter hurt. He needs dairy anyway and at least he's eating the veggie. I say buttered veggie better than no veggie. I could also recommend for a small change, getting some wheat germ to put in his yogurt since he does it that. Wheat germ is very healthy and my son doesn't even notice it. It even helps thicken it a little so its easier to feed them. Also, you could get the health food store version of froot loops, just to ensure a little more nutrition. Also, I think that if he likes fruit, load him up on fruit until he is more into veggies. There are soo many fruits that are in season now that are absolutely delicious and nutritious. Peaches are especially wonderful this season. Maybe it won't stress him out to much to try new fruits. I have been using the book "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron as a source for info. for my 12 month old ever since he was born. I absolutely love it. She gets a little "over the top" with some of her ideas, but over all, I don't think I have ever referenced a book more than this one. She has lots and lots of ideas for making foods that are quick and healthy and appealing to kids. I couldn't get my guy to eat cheese for some reason. I am trying to wean him from the breast, so I was concerned he wasn't getting enough calcium. Well, she has great recipies that get the stuff in there that they need, its just really well disguised with other stuff that they are likely to like. For example, to get my guy to eat spinach I am going to make spinach hors doeuvres which are little balls of spinach mixed with bread crumbs, parsley, egg and milk. AS a working mom, I'm sure you feel like it would be impossible to cook anything and it may turn out to be too much. However, I have found that cooking stuff for one afternoon and freezing it, usually leaves me with a lot of food. Anyway, sorry to be so wordy. Hope it helps.

Does he like spaghetti with sauce? If so, you can shred some carrots and zucchini into the sauce. He'll never know what hit him. If he likes applesauce, you can mix some mashed or pureed sweet potato in with it. Same with yogurt...mix some pureed sweet potato in (it sounds gross, but kids don't know the difference).

I'd try to stop giving him Ramen...the sodium content is sooo high. And the trans fat in breaded chicken (I'm assuming you mean like chicken strips or chicken nuggets) is really high. Yogurt is good. Froot Loops is really high in sugar, though...so is corn. :(

I wonder if you could talk to a nutritionist or dietician for ideas. What if you make broccoli and melt cheese on it? My 10-month old loves steamed broccoli. You could also try making the presentation more fun. If you have introduced him to peanut butter and he isn't allergic, you could do ants on a log (celery smeared with peanut butter and dotted with raisins). The peanut butter is fatty, but it has good fats.

It isn't a veggie, but avocado is high in good fats. You could try giving him avocado cubes.

Good luck!

This may not be the healthiest option out there, but it is a good trick that works with my 19 month old son: If I give him a small amount of ketchup, he will eat anything he can dip in it--any raw vegetables, baked or grilled chicken, whole grain toast, baked potato etc. Now that he has tried some of these things with the ketchup, he will eat some of them without it.

Good luck! I am learning alot from other responses to your request.

We went through a big corn phase at our house. Keep in mind that it is summer and WE ALL eat less when it is so hot. Feed him the stuff he will eat, yogurt, corn, apples, bananas, etc.. and don't sweat the small stuff. He will begin to eat more and more as he gets older. There are some nights when my 2 year old only eats yogurt, cheese cubes and grapes. He just had his 2 year check up and is perfect. Another thing to consider is what and how much he is eating at daycare. If he is eating most of the meals there and they are decent I wouldn't worry too much!

I have 4 kids & they all have been through some food phase or another. We always offer them the food we have cooked for the meal. It's on their plate whether they eat or not. Then there's a little of what their fave is at the moment. They never go hungry & eventually start to eat the other stuff on their plate too. Especially if mommy or daddy or one of their big sisters is making a big deal about how yummy it is! But we never force them to eat anything. Everybody has their own pace with things. Even adults have their likses & dislikes.

How wonderful that you are concerned about establishing healthy eating habits at such a young age. First piece of advice a seasoned mom gave me: You will never win a battle over food.
Second piece: The child will NOT starve himself.
I know it's hard, but we went through the picky eating thing for a while with my daughter (3yrs) and I swore we wouldn't go down that road with my second child (16 mo old boy).
You can simply put nutritious food in front of him at regular times (breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner). If he eats, hooray, if he doesn't eat, his next oportunity is at the next meal/snack. You might also find out what and when he eats at daycare. If he's getting a late snack, he just might not be hungry for dinner until late. When we came to our senses about our daughter's diet, she was closer to age 2. We picked a weekend and started sticking to our guns at breakfast -- she picked over it, didn't eat, then came whining for food an hour later, but I didn't give in. She ate a little at lunch, but still complained about what was on her plate. At dinner, she cleaned every crumb off her plate. Also, I've read that it takes about 2 weeks to introduce a new food. If you want him to eat broccoli, simply put it on his plate (just a bite or two) without saying anything. He'll probably play with it or shove it aside. That's fine. Keep putting it on there for about 2 weeks. If there are no other options (like fruit loops), he'll eventually eat what's in front of him. You must constantly remind yourself 1)that he will not starve himself, and 2) not to get into the habit of whipping out some chicken nuggets or salt-loaded, sugar-loaded alternative every time he turns his nose up at a meal. He's no dummy! He knows if he waits long enough, or whines enough, something better will come his way. I know it's doubly hard when you're working and you want to have a peaceful meal when you get home in the evenings. In fact, that's the reason our daughter's diet went downhill for a while. Some things I've figured out about getting my kids to actually enjoy their vegetables: Go organic. I bought some organic broccoli on sale once, steamed it like I regularly do, and my kids ate it like it was candy. I took a bite myself to see what was so exciting and it was pretty yummy! We'll never go back to the regular stuff! Same thing with organic baby carrots (you'll have to chop them for a toddler). Before I tried organic, we'd let them dip their broccoli in ranch or vinigrette dressing. Also, about nutrition, I worked for the American Heart Association for 5 years. I read a lot of research on nutrition and disease processes and basically learned that heart disease is a pediatric problem (and you could say the same thing about cancer, diabetes, etc.). Your child's diet for the first 12 years or so of life are what builds his body up to handle the rest of life's battle with aging an illness. I just read a great book called "Disease Proof Your Child" by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. that can be a real eye-opener for parents! Start reading labels. You'd be amazed at the junk we put in our kids (and ourselves!).

You don't mention whether you're letting him mostly feed himself, but my boys loved frozen peas. They could pick them up themselves and they can't be mushed :) They're also fun to play with. As others have suggested, give him some variety and try to serve him foods similar to what the rest of the family is eating. We always did that with my boys and they were never picky eaters and never really ate typical kid's meals. They also went through phases where they weren't as hungry and didn't eat what I would consider a complete meal or just wanted one thing like bananas. We didn't make a big deal about it.

I love April's response-sounds just like my 14mo. Ugh. This is hard. But my advice is to just pug along and KEEP TRYING! In fact, today my son ate his first veggie (knowingly) since jarred food...green beans. BUT he only likes them room temp from the can (a friend told me to try this b/c all I had tried was the frozen or fresh steamed ones). So I am discovering that yes, frozen and steamed veggies are preferrable, but some veggies out of a can (if that's all they'll eat is better than none)!
R.