Need Help with Meal & Snack Ideas for Toddler

Updated on May 14, 2009
N.N. asks from Broken Arrow, OK
12 answers

My 2 1/2 year old seems to be pretty sugar sensitive, as I am myself, and I have a lot of trouble getting her to eat enough foods that don't contain a lot of sugar or that don't turn into sugar during the digestion process (i.e. fruits and other carbs). On the days where I have the most trouble getting her to eat she has frequent meltdowns that are difficult to stop....... today obviously being one of them! Breakfast is definitely the hardest meal to cut the sugar out of, since there's so many sugary things that she's gotten accustomed to having and she's never been a big milk drinker which makes it tougher as well. She won't eat eggs, oatmeal, etc. I've tried to find other things that have more protein and less sugar but it is not easy to find things she likes as she is a pretty picky eater. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated........ I'm at my wits' end!

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L.B.

answers from Fayetteville on

First thing to relieve your mind of is, you don't have to feed her breakfast things at breakfast...or dinner things for dinner...and especially not "snack" things for snacks (at least not the marketed, packaged kinds, anyway).

Pull out an ice cube tray (or get a new one, preferably a BPA-free one from, say, cottonbabies.com or thesoftlanding.com). Stick in any kinds of foods you can think of that are very nutrient-dense. Mashed-up kidney beans in a little honey or molasses. Fine-chopped cooked or raw broccoli in a little salad dressing. Put in some kind of dipping sauce for crackers or thin-sliced chunks of tofu.

Don't worry about protein. The only way to suffer protein deficiency is to not get enough calories. We don't even have an English word for protein deficiency - that is how rare it is in 1st-world countries! Do you know what the word for it is? Kwashiorkor. We get our protein from the same places the animals get it: from plants. Our bodies know how to combine the amino acids from one food that we eat for lunch with the amino acids we eat in a food we have in a juice or snack three hours later (or for dinner or whenever). So scratch another worry off your list!

If you do want to pack a protein punch, try seeds, nuts and nut butters. Obviously, at her age, nuts and seeds still present a choking hazard, so you will want to grind them up or put them through the blender. Make sure to store all nuts, nut butters and ground nuts in the fridge or freezer, or they'll go rancid (especially the ground nuts). You can make these fine-ground nuts a "dipping sauce" of their own. It will be fun for your daughter to "bread" things with them, like wet veggies, say, zucchini.

Instead of oatmeal, try quinoa. Or millet or kamut (you might want to put the kamut through the blender, either before or after cooking, since it's a large grain and presents a choking hazard).

Cook lentils and put them in that nibble tray, too. Or greens, like Swiss chard or collards.

Sweet potatoes are low on the glycemic index, too. Cook them up!

Save yourself a lot of waste by freezing these foods that you cook in ice cube trays. Pull them out per meal/snack and add a little hot water, and they thaw in minutes. Or just stick tehm in the fridge a few hours ahead of time.

The point of the nibble tray is to prevent fights over food by putting the power in her hands, and giving her the choice of what to eat, though you decide on what the options are. She doesn't see it this way, though. She just sees that she gets to choose ;)

Let your daughters see you eating these foods, too, and they'll want to eat what you're eating. Don't let them see you eating things that they can't eat. That isn't fair, anyway! Just make healthy eating and healthy cooking a way of life, and they will accept it sooner than you think (habits such as taste preferences shift pretty quickly).

Also, you can get a juicer ($20 at Wal-Mart) and juice things like leafy greens, celery, carrots, beets, and so on, and maybe add an apple for sweetness or, if that's too much because she is that sensitive, try a little stevia (I have found the KAL brand to be the best-tasting and the best value for the money, with over 1,000 servings per little bottle!).

You can offer this juice as a drink or stick it into popsicle molds (there are BPA-free options for these, as well - http://www.naturemoms.com/blog/2008/07/04/cool-off-with-h...) Or don't even use stevia. Just let her get used to enjoying other flavors besides sweetness, and you might be surprised at how quickly she acclimates.

Finally, I wouldn't even try to make her eat. If she's hungry, she'll eat. If she skips a meal or two (or three or four!), it won't be the end of the world. Honest. Don't become her short-order cook and don't try to force her to eat what she doesn't want. Just try to cook or prepare a big variety of foods, explore together, find what things she likes, and go with that. Keep on experimenting and trying new things.

I got most of these ideas from Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron, and the nibble tray idea from Dr. Sears (don't remember which book - the Discipline Book, I think). Both are highly recommended!

Here's a list of low-glycemic index foods: http://www.nutricoach.net/low_gi_foods.html

L.

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J.A.

answers from Huntsville on

A favorite for my 3 1/2 year old is a shake. In the blender, add plain yogurt, ground nut or seed (you can grind almonds, pecans, flax, stell cut oat,etc.) and a frozen or fresh fruit. These are great in the summer. My daughter eats all kinds of healthy stuff on a hot afternoon and she doesn't even know it! Sometimes I will use a bit of honey, depending on the fruit or vegetable I use. You can be creative and tailor them to your daughter. If banana is a favorite fruit then use this to mask other fruits, vegetables, or grains that you are trying to encourage. Lots of luck.

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A.R.

answers from Tuscaloosa on

I also have a 21/2 year old, and almost 1 year old. I hate the melt downs! If she is this picky I would go head and make sure that she takes a vitamin everyday to get her daily needs. I mix it up with snacks and meals. She wont eat oatmeal, but try letting her sprinkle frozen blueberries or strawbeirries in it. She will feel like she is helping and will pro eat! My 2 year old also loves the gerber ravioli that have spinach and cheese. Good luck, but dont worry too much because if she is really hungry she will eat :-)

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A.J.

answers from Baton Rouge on

You may want to try over the counter custard, apple sauce, etc. as they do not have to be refrigerated and you can give them as treats with school lunch.

Also you can fix treats at home. You may want to pulverize vitamins and mix it in the cups.

You can purchase the banana custurd and mix it with a crushed banana.

Good Luck God Bless

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S.A.

answers from Jonesboro on

We live out of town and mornings were hectic at our house and I wanted to offer my kids something less sugary before school. I have found that my children will eat stuff like pizza rolls, cheese sticks, or chicken nuggets. I can throw them in the oven and grab them as we go out the door.

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L.

answers from Mobile on

Hi N.,

I agree with Liev. Don't worry about breakfast foods. Mine will sometimes pick PB&J for breakfast (natural PB, whole grain bread). You could use bananas instead of jelly or just PB thinly spread on toast. Cheese might be another good option (though I know that some anti-dairy folks out there may disagree!). I wouldn't worry so much about sugars from natural sources like fruit or whole-grain carbs. I think the whole anti-carb thing is so unbalanced and unnatural! If you aren't totally anti-carb, you might try plain yoghurt w/a little fresh fruit, too.

Good luck!
L.

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N.S.

answers from Baton Rouge on

A friend of mine sent this recipe to me just today so I figured I would pass it on to you!

Owen just helped me make these great granola bars. I sent them to my friend, Torie and then thought I should share them with everybody!!! No more packaged granola bars for us. These are great!!!

I just made the best granola bars...thought I'd share.


Playgroup Granola Bars

2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ (i did 1/4 cup wheat germ and 1/4 cup flax meal)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup of brown sugar (the recipe said 3/4 cup of brown sugar but I knew that would be WAY too much)
3/4 cup of raisins (i did 1/4 cup of raisins, 1/4 cup of dried cherries and 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips)
3/4 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of honey (i used local)
1 egg beaten (I used 2 eggs because I also added 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts. next time I'll add sunflower seeds too)
1/2 cup of canola or coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

Worth a try maybe! Good Luck!

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L.H.

answers from Enid on

I agree with others who have said to try any type of foods for breakfast. Just because its breakfast, doesn't mean she can't eat foods you would normally serve at lunch or dinner. Also, try the cookbook Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. She has a lot of really good ideas for helping your kids eat healthy, sneaking in vegetables without them knowing and cutting out sugar. Good luck!

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S.G.

answers from Monroe on

Do you think, she would like avocado or tofu?

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L.S.

answers from New Orleans on

Do not buy what you don't want her to eat. She will not starv herself, be consitant and persistant with this change and the tantrums will stop. Remember sugar from fuits and veggies are NOT used the same in the body as sugar from carbs or prossed foods. Do not be fooled by fake veggies like corn and potatoes. If you can make it into bread your body processes it like bread.

Cucumber slices, Ants on a log can be a meal (celery, peanut butter & rasisns), frozen grapes, strawberries, pineapple, apples, pears, carrot sticks, cooked carrot slices, broccoli, cualiflower, snap peas,green peas,red pepper or green pepper slices, baked zuccini or eggplant

Protiens: lima beans, green beans, almonds, almond butter, peanuts, peanut butter, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, eddamomie(sp?), hummus, turkey pepperonie, feta,goat cheese on a spoon, deli meats & cheeses (Chedder, swiss,chicken, turkey, ham)Boar's Head brand has versions approoved by the American Heart Association.

Use a 1" cookie cutter to make ham & cheese stars or hearts she may want them if they are more fun, you can do the same with some fruits just slice the fruit into 1/4" slices first.

A sustitue for fries is sliced turnips. they require some cooking and prep but are a great delicious swap. if you would like the recipie let me know.
All of the recipies I use are simple, quick, heart healthy, and use no more than one pan and one mixing bowl.
good luck
L.
____@____.com

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G.B.

answers from Tulsa on

Here are some of my favorite places to get inspired for food. My local library has most of them and I just made such a path rechecking them out that my husband finally bought all of them, mostly Hastings and Amazon. If you can check them out and take them home you can take your time reading them and seeing if they work for you without the cost of the purchase. Also, use inter library loan if your library doesn't have them, I know all these books can be located.

My 5 yr. old has Geographic Tongue and the Pediatric Dentist says that food tastes and feels different to her. She is the pickiest eater in the world. Each day is a new challenge. One week she'll eat only one thing, the next each time she has it she gags and throws up. I tend to let her tell me what she'll eat when we are out in public and fight my battles at home.

http://www.babycenter.com/preschoolers

"Idiots Guide to Feeding Your Baby and Toddler"

"Baby and Toddler Guide for Dummies"

Taste of Home, both the magazine and website, look in the periodicals section, ours is in the basement along with about 100 other monthly magazines they get each month.

Taste of Home book "Cooking for Kids/Kids Party Foods"

Family Fun, both magazine and http://familyfun.go.com/

"Feed me I'm Yours"

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B.C.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Hi N.,
My son is 16 months old but here are a few creative suggestions. Hope they help!

--Sweet potato fries or cookie cut outs (I know it has sugar, but it is low on the glycemic index)

--Make her a "protein" shake (Ice cream shake: favorite sugar free ice cream, or milk & ice) You can find at health food stores a vegetable protein, not shake just protein powder. It can come with no flavor or with flavor and sprinkle it in her food, it's almost tasteless.

I use Naturade, Veg Protein Booster

Chicken strips either covered or grilled with seasoning like lemon pepper, ms. dash. And make it a game with dipping sauces.

Meat and veggie kabobs- let her pick what to put on it.

Sun Chips (baked chedder, my son loves these)

Goldfish

Soup with protein powder mixed in

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