How to get my toddler to eat healthy???

tissyazd

Ok, so the main reason my hubby and I are trying to eat better and lose weight is so my daughter grows up eating healthy food and has 2 healthy parents. So my daughter (20 stubborn months old and definitely starting her terrible twos!!) does not eat a lot compared to other kids her age. I swear she would go allllll day and not eat if I didn't make her! Here's the weird but awesome thing--some of her favorite foods include many different types of fruits and veggies (corn, peas, asparagus, cucumber, cherries, watermelon, bananas, grapes, oranges, etc.) I have no problem getting her to eat those things. She also drinks a lot (but still under the max recommended) of milk. Although, she will only drink it with a little strawberry nesquik. So, our problems include getting this child to eat any other food except for the dreaded chicken nuggets and mac and cheese. I can only get her to eat fruits and veggies!!! Sounds crazy, but true! Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions of what to do? I tried grilled chicken and she just spits it out. I tried not giving her anything else and she holds out until we give her something she likes (ex. corn-lol!) She is at a healthy weight, so this may not be as big of a problem as I am making it out to be, but I want her to eat healthy with us!! I feel like if I ban chicken nuggets, she'll never get any meat/protein in her. Oh, she won't eat cheese by itself either!!

Allibaba

I would just try a variety of different things until you find something she likes, or try feeding her what you two are eating, sometimes they want to feel a part of things. It is good that she likes veggies and fruit though. Oh and maybe you can make homemade chicken nuggets, they are pretty easy to make and you can add spices into the breadcrumbs (maybe for you and not for her) and that makes it super tasty too. I like to make my own dipping sauce to go along as well.

Becky_Boop

Could you make healthier versions of the foods she likes, rather than chicken nuggets chunks of chicken breast grilled with breadcrumbs. Or introduce new foods with the concept of eating like a "grown up" and making her "big and strong". It seemed to work with my nephiew...

melodyg

My little boy seemed to never eat as a toddler either. I was happy if he got in one good meal a day (he's 4 now and I'm still happy if he gets in one good meal a day!). I think the key is just to keep offering healthy options, and it does sound like she likes some healthy foods. You can also make homemade chicken nuggets -- just dip chicken breast chunks in milk or egg white and roll in bread crumbs or a mix of bread crumbs/parmesan cheese. I wonder if she would eat that kind? Also, my little boy would rather drink calories than eat them as well... our ped suggested cutting back on milk in hopes he would eat a little more food. Milk can really fill kids up, especially as a toddler when they are drinking the whole milk! I do think that she is probably fine if she is at a healthy weight for her age/height. Just keep offering healthy choices! Also, beans are a great source of protein if she will eat those... or peanut butter if she can have it (I can't remember if that is one that you wait until after age 1 or after age 2 to start eating)

jrich1

I need this too.... I dont think my 3yo has eaten anything in weeks

smuehlbauer

I know from a realy early age my parents started feeding me what ever they ate.
I guess I really didn't have a choice.
ha!
:ohwell:
I say cook heatlhy for her as you would for your self and husband with in reason of course.
If your having chicken, and if she can eat/chew chicken, she get's chicken too. Not nuggets. But maybe still give her a dipper of FF Ranch if she needs it.....
And maybe try other protiens, like tofu, eggs or beans. She might like em, and they're good for you too...
(Man, would I totally be a mean mom! haahaa)

hiddensecant

If she's at a healthy weight then she seems to be picking the right amount of foods and the right kinds of foods all by herself. My suggestion is to let her.

Don't worry about the protein. There's plenty in what she's eating right now (veggies, milk, and fruit).

LittleMissAngi

I have the same problem!

However my son won't eat any veggies! He LOVES fruit!

He doesn't like chicken, except for chicken nuggets. He will eat fish sticks all day if I let him. So trying to get him to eat meat is difficult.

My husband managed to find a turkey dish, that my son LOVES!

basically ground turkey with rice and tomatoes. My husband uses the Uncle Ben's garden vegetable rice...

I can send you the recipe if you want. Just send me a message.

tissyazd

I know from a realy early age my parents started feeding me what ever they ate.
I guess I really didn't have a choice.
ha!
:ohwell:
I say cook heatlhy for her as you would for your self and husband with in reason of course.
If your having chicken, and if she can eat/chew chicken, she get's chicken too. Not nuggets. But maybe still give her a dipper of FF Ranch if she needs it.....
And maybe try other protiens, like tofu, eggs or beans. She might like em, and they're good for you too...
(Man, would I totally be a mean mom! haahaa)

LOL! I said beforehand how strict I was going to be, and then I got all soft! Thanks for the ideas, though. I did try eggs and beans and they were shut down. I will try the ff ranch tho!

AshleyPurdy

My daughter is a picky eater. What I found that works is I take her to the grocery store with me and let her pick out what she would eat.

tissyazd

If she's at a healthy weight then she seems to be picking the right amount of foods and the right kinds of foods all by herself. My suggestion is to let her.

Don't worry about the protein. There's plenty in what she's eating right now (veggies, milk, and fruit).

Thanks, this made me feel better! I just feel like a bad mom sometimes for getting her chicken nuggets all the time! I am going to try a few of the suggestions above and try making them myself so that she isn't always eating fried food! Thanks, again!

tissyazd

My daughter is a picky eater. What I found that works is I take her to the grocery store with me and let her pick out what she would eat.

How old was your daughter when she could pick out her own food?

tissyazd

My little boy seemed to never eat as a toddler either. I was happy if he got in one good meal a day (he's 4 now and I'm still happy if he gets in one good meal a day!). I think the key is just to keep offering healthy options, and it does sound like she likes some healthy foods. You can also make homemade chicken nuggets -- just dip chicken breast chunks in milk or egg white and roll in bread crumbs or a mix of bread crumbs/parmesan cheese. I wonder if she would eat that kind? Also, my little boy would rather drink calories than eat them as well... our ped suggested cutting back on milk in hopes he would eat a little more food. Milk can really fill kids up, especially as a toddler when they are drinking the whole milk! I do think that she is probably fine if she is at a healthy weight for her age/height. Just keep offering healthy choices! Also, beans are a great source of protein if she will eat those... or peanut butter if she can have it (I can't remember if that is one that you wait until after age 1 or after age 2 to start eating)

Definitely going to try your recipe for chicken nuggets! Thanks! Oh and she can't have peanut butter yet, not until 3 I did try cutting down on her milk but she is still under the max allowed and then I thought she wasn't getting anything! Very frustrating!! Thanks again for the homemade nugget recipe!!

leasah

You are preaching to the choir....I have three little girls and none of them eat as I had hoped they would. I stressed more about it with my first daughter then a little less with my second and now that my last daughter is 4 I worry even less. Here is where I am with my girls, I do not buy junk except for special occasions, bday partys etc. When I say junk I mean no colas, only a little fruit juice, no chips, cakes, candy. I pack their lunches for school, only use 100%stone ground whole wheat, baked crakers or pretzels. When they were much smaller and we had the nugget issues, I did buy some of the Tyson nuggets that were real chicken to keep at home for occassions when I just was not up for crying at the dinner table. I tried disguising things, offering dips to use, different prep techniques but no luck with the veggies. Greenbeans are the only one that works so every night I make them, and then the veggies I like, ie broccoli, squash, cauliflower so they are always offered a choice.
You mentioned cheese, I had no luck until I found the ones that are shaped like Mickey Mouse.
At the end of the day all you can do is make sure she has healthy options, so try not to beat yourself up too much.

anvy0530

My son has always been a picky eater. I would try everything to get him to eat healthy foods all to no avail. I found a book called the Sneaky Chef (http://www.thesneakychef.com/) that was all about hiding healthy foods in things that kids already like. Some of it required a lot of work (like making vegetable purees to hid in things) but it was totally worth it. I've hidden spinach in brownies and in smoothies (actually, I eat spinach hidden in my smoothies as I don't really like spinach). There are a lot of great ideas and recipes in the book (I think there are 2 other books she has written on the topic of hiding good stuff in kid's food). I'd definitely recommend it because, without it, my child would never have eaten a veggie to save his life. (now that he's 7, he's a much less picky eater)

tissyazd

Could you make healthier versions of the foods she likes, rather than chicken nuggets chunks of chicken breast grilled with breadcrumbs. Or introduce new foods with the concept of eating like a "grown up" and making her "big and strong". It seemed to work with my nephiew...

My stubborn daughter is in a phase where she does the exact opposite of what you want her to do-lol! I will try the grilled chicken with breadcrumbs tho!

Laceylala

From 6mo to 3 yrs old daughter went to a daycare who only basically served 80% processed stuff with fruits and veggies. It took us over 6 months of consistently not buying that stuff and offering her healthier alternatives before she stopped asking for chicken nuggets and fries all the time for dinner and lunch. She always ate whatever I made at dinner at night so we didn't think much of it until we put her in a preschool and had to send her lunches each day. And she's always eaten more fruit and veggies than meats, cheeses and white carb foods, but still. It was quite the challenge to get her to not think about the fried stuff or processed stuff.

What I did was just offer her the options...she would ask for chicken nuggets, I would say "you can have the chicken nuggets mom made, or a piece of fruit, cheese, vegetable, etc." I always gave her many options. And if she didn't want to eat her dinner that I made, that was okay, but it was either wrapped up on the table until she got hungry or in the fridge. I don't tell her that what I make is healthier or anything because I don't want to her give her a complex about food, I just simply say "these are your options." Now if you put a hamburger and fries and veggies and fruit in front of her, she will go for the good stuff every time.

We now have an issue with her getting up before dinner is done because she wants to play. So the rule is she can get up, but her dinner is taken away and she cannot have any snacks that night. She is ALWAYS hungry after dinner and at the least has another piece of fruit and maybe some crackers before bed...so that didn't even last one time before she got it.


It is never easy and one week of slacking on it can cause a months worth of work to get them back on track that is for sure! I think that as long as they are healthy and getting enough calcium and other nutrients then it really isn't a big deal. My main concern with our daughter right now is just making sure she eats enough food period. She never stops running!

tissyazd

My son has always been a picky eater. I would try everything to get him to eat healthy foods all to no avail. I found a book called the Sneaky Chef (http://www.thesneakychef.com/) that was all about hiding healthy foods in things that kids already like. Some of it required a lot of work (like making vegetable purees to hid in things) but it was totally worth it. I've hidden spinach in brownies and in smoothies (actually, I eat spinach hidden in my smoothies as I don't really like spinach). There are a lot of great ideas and recipes in the book (I think there are 2 other books she has written on the topic of hiding good stuff in kid's food). I'd definitely recommend it because, without it, my child would never have eaten a veggie to save his life. (now that he's 7, he's a much less picky eater)

Did this book have ideas for other foods other than veggies? I have no problem with the veggies, just meat and cheese and maybe grains!

Laceylala

Could you make healthier versions of the foods she likes, rather than chicken nuggets chunks of chicken breast grilled with breadcrumbs. Or introduce new foods with the concept of eating like a "grown up" and making her "big and strong". It seemed to work with my nephiew...

My stubborn daughter is in a phase where she does the exact opposite of what you want her to do-lol! I will try the grilled chicken with breadcrumbs tho!

One thing that really got my daughter to start eating homemade chicken nuggets was that I would pound out the chicken breast really flat with a meat mallet so it was thin before I dredged it in the braedcrumbs and cooked it. Its more tender and thinner like a nugget that way and she seemed to like it more. Something to think about...

tissyazd

You are preaching to the choir....I have three little girls and none of them eat as I had hoped they would. I stressed more about it with my first daughter then a little less with my second and now that my last daughter is 4 I worry even less. Here is where I am with my girls, I do not buy junk except for special occasions, bday partys etc. When I say junk I mean no colas, only a little fruit juice, no chips, cakes, candy. I pack their lunches for school, only use 100%stone ground whole wheat, baked crakers or pretzels. When they were much smaller and we had the nugget issues, I did buy some of the Tyson nuggets that were real chicken to keep at home for occassions when I just was not up for crying at the dinner table. I tried disguising things, offering dips to use, different prep techniques but no luck with the veggies. Greenbeans are the only one that works so every night I make them, and then the veggies I like, ie broccoli, squash, cauliflower so they are always offered a choice.
You mentioned cheese, I had no luck until I found the ones that are shaped like Mickey Mouse.
At the end of the day all you can do is make sure she has healthy options, so try not to beat yourself up too much.

I'll have to look for the Mickey cheese!! Thanks! Oh and I do use the Tyson nuggets, too!

tissyazd

Could you make healthier versions of the foods she likes, rather than chicken nuggets chunks of chicken breast grilled with breadcrumbs. Or introduce new foods with the concept of eating like a "grown up" and making her "big and strong". It seemed to work with my nephiew...

My stubborn daughter is in a phase where she does the exact opposite of what you want her to do-lol! I will try the grilled chicken with breadcrumbs tho!

One thing that really got my daughter to start eating homemade chicken nuggets was that I would pound out the chicken breast really flat with a meat mallet so it was thin before I dredged it in the braedcrumbs and cooked it. Its more tender and thinner like a nugget that way and she seemed to like it more. Something to think about...

Oooh! I so think you are on to something!!! She might have an easier time with the nuggets because they are more tender!!! I will have to try that! Thanks!!