Any moms of toddlers or little kids?

clynn637

Are there any moms of little ones here? What healthy foods do you find that they enjoy? Do you have any tips for convincing a threenager to eat veggies? My one-year-old seems to love hummus, but the three-year-old won't even try it.

Help?

cwolfman13

Not a mom, but when my kids were babies we made our own baby food and served lots of veggies...at about age 2-3 they stopped liking any of that. They're 10 and 13 now and really we haven't forced the issue where veggies are concerned. We let them eat things like pizza pockets and chicken nuggets, but they also eat healthy things like chicken, steak, ground beef, etc and they like their fruit and you can get pretty much the same nutrition from fruit as you can veg. The biggest thing with my kids at the moment is getting them sufficient calories for their needs. They're both growing (obviously) and very active in life and also sports and eat like horses...from that standpoint, a salad won't do them much good.

I personally didn't really start liking vegies until I was in my late teens/early twenties. And there's actually a scientific explanation as to why kids aren't terribly fond of many of them. Children typically have hyperpalates and a strong sense of taste and many vegetables taste very bitter to them and from an evolutionary standpoint, bitter = danger and poison. I never ate my veggies as a kid...I love veggies now...they'll grow into it.

OpheliaCooter

Not a mom but I’ve existed around toddlers and maybe you should try mixing different things together to improve taste and/or texture. My niece loved chocolate chia power balls.
Might just be presentation in general as well. Maybe cut some veggies in fun shapes or made to look like a cartoon character they like.
I remember someone saying when they referred to green beans as ninja turtle fries all of a sudden their kid was into them.
Hummus might be a texture they don’t like and something that looks like mush is understandably undesirable. I love hummus personally. Perhaps serve it already added to a food item like a sandwich wrap. Used as a condiment rather than a dip.
At the end of the day everyone has different preferences. Me and my brother would trade broccoli parts and egg parts with each other. He liked just broccoli tops and the yolk while I liked the stems and egg whites.
We also ate a ton of carrots because of bugs bunny so finding a cartoon that will influence healthy eating is an idea.

TwitchyMagee

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Not a mom, but when my kids were babies we made our own baby food and served lots of veggies...at about age 2-3 they stopped liking any of that. They're 10 and 13 now and really we haven't forced the issue where veggies are concerned. We let them eat things like pizza pockets and chicken nuggets, but they also eat healthy things like chicken, steak, ground beef, etc and they like their fruit and you can get pretty much the same nutrition from fruit as you can veg. The biggest thing with my kids at the moment is getting them sufficient calories for their needs. They're both growing (obviously) and very active in life and also sports and eat like horses...from that standpoint, a salad won't do them much good.

I personally didn't really start liking vegies until I was in my late teens/early twenties. And there's actually a scientific explanation as to why kids aren't terribly fond of many of them. Children typically have hyperpalates and a strong sense of taste and many vegetables taste very bitter to them and from an evolutionary standpoint, bitter = danger and poison. I never ate my veggies as a kid...I love veggies now...they'll grow into it.

Yup

I have three teenagers. They were toddlers once

I’ll try to make sure there is always a green option available at meals but I do not micromanage what my kids are putting in their mouths.

I do try to encourage adventurous eating by exposing them to other cultures etc. and by letting them cook weird things that they find on the Internet

clynn637

I guess I just get a little frustrated because some of my family members (who are caregivers for my kids at least twice/week) will just let them eat nothing but ravioli, mac and cheese, pizza, etc. and not even try to feed them anything else. I want my babies to grow up healthy like I didn't. I know the major struggles I faced as an overweight kid, and I don't want that for them.

TwitchyMagee

clynn637 wrote: »

I guess I just get a little frustrated because some of my family members (who are caregivers for my kids at least twice/week) will just let them eat nothing but ravioli, mac and cheese, pizza, etc. and not even try to feed them anything else. I want my babies to grow up healthy like I didn't. I know the major struggles I faced as an overweight kid, and I don't want that for them.

most of the time you are their primary caregiver and they will overtime learn your habits. There are some things beyond your control and it’s not worth getting frustrated about.


Eta: I remember the struggle and you have my sympathy. If I can give you a glimpse down the road… My three boys are all interested in Fitness in their own ways and do their best to eat healthfully not so much because we’ve been perfect but because I have modeled the importance to them. It is so rewarding to me that they come to me and ask me about balanced diet and fitness

clynn637

TwitchyMagee wrote: »

Eta: I remember the struggle and you have my sympathy. If I can give you a glimpse down the road… My three boys are all interested in Fitness in their own ways and do their best to eat healthfully not so much because we’ve been perfect but because I have modeled the importance to them. It is so rewarding to me that they come to me and ask me about balanced diet and fitness

I think this what I needed to "hear" today. Thank you.