Need Help with What to Feed My 3 Year Old.

I've been mixing in vegetables, etc. with things I know she already likes. For example, adding little pieces of broccoli into mac and cheese, blueberries into pancakes, etc... It seems to be working?

It's not easy, I know. My first son was great about trying new things so of course I thought it was my superior parenting ;-) (just kidding) and now my second son (who is now 3, almost 4) would live on milk and crackers. Very hard to even get him to try anything new.

You might want to check out Child of Mine, the book by Ellyn Satter. I found it was more information than I needed, but I like her general idea that parents decide what is offered and when, and children decide what to eat and how much. In general I've found that when I keep offering something - like 10 times or more - the kids will try it. Eventually. My firstborn now eats salad!! (he's 7.)

Another point - snacks can be deadly to mealtime appetite. Kids do need snacks, but they also need to have some time to build up an appetite before dinner. If dinner is running late, I try to be disciplined and only offer raw veggies and dip, or cut up apples, and the kids do eat it. Also, milk. I had to stop providing milk before dinner because my second son would not eat anything after he had some milk in his tummy.

We allow our daughters to choose breakfast (cereal, waffles, oatmeal, toast)...as long as a fruit is included. They also choose lunch (big pretzels that you bake, cheese sticks, wheat thins, begals, sandwiches, cottage cheese) and again fruit and veggie included. As for dinner...what ever is served you eat. I do allow them to pick on occasion the main course and sides. We atually stop serving 2 sides...we now do a meat or main dish and veggie. Occasionally we will have potatoes or sweet potatoes too. They are only allowed dessert after dinner...their only junk food all day, but they must eat dinner...trying everything on their plate.
Now our 3 yr old fought us on this and did not eat dinner for almost a year straight. The Dr. told us to hold out or else we'd be short order cooks. She now will even eat asparagus tops, spinach ect...
Good Luck! I just bought that book Jerry Seinfeld's wife wrote about hiding veggies in things. Have not used it yet b/c we just had a baby.

This is so hard! My 2 1/2 yo son is picky too, whereas my 6 yo daughter is not. I definitely limit snacks and try to keep those a bit more "scheduled". I find that if we are sitting down for a meal, I give him fruit or vegies first while he is hungry and then offer the other stuff after. That way I know that he at least gets a little of the good stuff! It could be worse, most of what you have listed aren't that bad and especially pizza has several food groups in it. Hang in there, this too shall pass!

Get the book
Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food
by Jessica Seinfeld

Saw her on a few different talk shows lately and even Dr. Oz (of Reader's Digest and Oprah fame) loves her ideas!! Mostly you don't change what she eats, just the ingredients you make the food with :)
Good Luck!

Dear M.,

I have a daycare child that is picky. At home he will not eat anything but doritos for his parents but at my house he eats different things. I buy cheese whiz and put a little bit on corn and green beans. I also make these tortia pizza's that he absoultly loves. I take tortia soft shells and put a little bit of either pizza or spaghetti sauce on it and then I either put pepporni or ham on it then put shredded cheese and microwave for 30-60 sec then I take each side and fold it over. We also make them without the sauce and with ham lunch meat and cheese.

Another trick that I do is put food that the child loves on a plate and food that he might not care. I only put very small amounts of each. And then when they eat the food that they love and want more, I say "You eat 3 bites of so/so food and then I will give you more mac n cheese." Keep doing this and eventually they will learn to eat it with out arguments. I have learned that some kids just don't like certain foods and some kids know that they have a stronger will power and that the parent will give in and give them there favorite food to them if they either throw a fit or refuse to eat. Good luck with this. I have a couple of other food ideas if you want to email me.
B.

I have found to add vegetables with ranch dip is a great snack..grilled cheese is a crowd pleaser at my house with a 2 yrold & 5 yr old.pb&j is a healthy snack or lunch, my bf cuts the kids sandwiches in finger size & they will try about anything that way. I also let them help with lunch time.getting them involved works well

I also have a picky eater and although I do encourage him to try new things, our doctor reminded us that it's more important for a diet to be balanced than varied. Does your daughter eat fruits and veggies? If she likes mac and cheese, have you ever made a cheese risotto? Dominick's has a really good parmesan risotto in a box. It's super easy. You can mix peas and corn into it, too. It's one of the few things my son loves.

My sister has always been a picky eater so at meal times, my mom had the rule that you had to eat at least 3 out of 5 things. There was always a meat, two veggies or a veggie and a roll, a starch and a jar of applesauce. Even if she didn't always choose the protein or lots of veggies, everything she ate was healthy and eventually she got what she needed. She also felt like she was making the choice of what to eat, rather than having it forced on her.

I am NOT a picky eater and I have to say my son's palate frustrates me. But I have to believe that he'll grow out of it as long as I keep offering him foods and praising him for trying new things.

Good luck to you!

Have you tried letting her make dinner with you? My second one, she's 2-1/2, is a little bit of a picky eater, but if she makes it she will eat it. It also helps if Daddy says "Wow, this chicken is the best you've ever made." and then you can say it was your daughter's help, she must be the secret ingredient. Also, serve her what ever you are having for dinner, don't make her a separate meal and then NO snacks after dinner if she doesn't eat. It's hard when they came asking for food, but you have stay strong, they won't starve. You can keep her dinner and give her a second chance to at least take a couple of bites, that way you both win. Just don't make it a huge battle, I let my girls know that it is their choice and I don't harp on them to eat b/c they already know if they aren't hungry for dinner, they aren't hungry for treats. I also have a rule they must take at least one bite ( chewed & swallowed) even if they don't like it.

I have been using V8 in our spaghetti sauce. It tastes really good and is a good substitute for vegetables. We also make sweet potato fries. Cut up a sweet potato into fry shapes, mix them in a bowl with cinnamon, vegetable oil and nutmeg. Cook on a cookie sheet at 425 for about 35 minutes stirring or flipping occasionally.
Also, try Jessica Seinfeld's new book Deceptively Delicious for ways to hide vegetables in everyday food.

We have a 3.5 yo and what seems to help with her is letting her be involved in grocery shopping and meal prep. Letting her help measure, stir, pour, sprinkle (cheese on pizza, spices into a dish), etc. but also helping to pick out new/interesting foods in the store and smell / taste things while we're cooking -- she wants to taste EVERYTHING when we're cooking. . .even flour.

You can always try to hide as much as you can in the foods that she likes -- mix in peas or chicken with her mac 'n cheese, do veggie pizzas, maybe dessert pizzas with fresh fruit? Our daughter's also very "nosy" right now, so if I slice up an apple to eat, she wants to know what I'm eating, if she can have some, etc. You could also experiment with different temperatures and textures (my daughter hates raw carrots but loves them roasted).

And if you can't get her to branch out right now, don't worry -- this phase will eventually pass!

Good luck,
Aimee

We just try to have our 2 1/2 yr. old daughter do what we are doing. The other night I didn't put broccoli on her plate but she saw ME eating some & asked for it. She ended up eating quite a bit! I always have some things on hand that I know she likes as back up, different cheeses, flavored yogurts, FRUIT. I think when they feel like a part of the "grown-ups" that pleases some kids!