Mommy with toddlers...HELP!

AkBUTLER

Hey mfps, my son just turned two and I need some new meals ideas. He is a very picker eater (just like his mommy) We will usually have cereal, oatmeal, or pancakes for breakfast. For lunch, my only options for him is turkey sandwhich, the kid will eat chips anytimes, spaghetti and meatballs :-/ , chicken nuggets :-/, ready to serve chicken and rice flavored rice, mac n cheese, corn dogs :-/ etc. He also likes fruit cups, animal crackers, grapes etc for snacks. I will usually cook for dinner and he hardly touches what I cook unless its chicken or rice. So he will eat some healthy things. I just dont want to serve him processed junk anymore. I need some ideas. Not only for him, but for me as well. Thanks!

mixmastermolly

I love this cookbook:

http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Baby-Toddler-Cookbook-Lizzie/dp/0789471906

lisaking869

Try the Clean Eating Cookbook for kids!

tessb84

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/home.aspx
They have a section just for picky eaters

callipygianchronicle

Start here: http://www.wholesometoddlerfood.com/

But remember that if you are picky, and are not eating a variety wholesome foods, you can’t expect your child to. I have a three year old and she doesn’t eat a lot, but she eats almost anything. My husband was EXTREMELY picky, and had been since childhood. But after my daughter was born, he made the commitment to start trying new foods and to do his best to keep her from having all the food anxieties he has.

So, I stopped altering his meals (taking out things he doesn’t like, cooking vegetables only for me, etc.). And I have never altered my daughters meals. She eats what we eat, just smaller portions. And before she ate solid foods, I simply pureed what we were eating and she had the exact same thing. But, some nights she protests and refuses to eat. And sometimes she cries. And sometimes my husband is a big baby and does the same thing. But I don’t make something else. And the result is that MOST nights everyone eats a balanced and healthy meal.

jojets49

oh my! he sounds exactly like mine! my son is 6 now and is still incredibly picky. my son refuses to eat meat. so i have to chop up chicken and meats to wear it's almost ground! i'll put in quesdillas, with a side of rice. he'll only eat beans if they're in tostadas covered with cheese. i'll hide the meats with cheese. it took him until he was about 5 to really finally agree to just try something. there came a point where i was giving him chocolate protein shakes loaded with vitamins and minerals with his food and told him it was chocolate milk because he was soo picky that he refused to eat if he didnt like how it looked. so, be patient because you're son may eventually come around and try things on his own when he sees everyone else enjoying it. avoid giving him too many snacks in between and see if that helps.

ChristaS

he sounds like my 3 yr old only yours eats more variety!
I try to mix in some tofu in with what I can since he notices meat peices and it makes things like pasta unedible.
I can coat chicken breast strips in lightly seasoned bread crumbs (which I make myself) he prefers if I do this before I cook it but sometimes its easier to cook it first then cut into strips dip in water (or whatever liquid is on hand) and coat with the bread crumbs. I do the same with fish.
veggies, I try to hide in what I can also I put them through the food processor first. I also give him some on the side but they never get eaten.
Muffins and pancakes are a great place to hide a few veggies, and some extra grains.
and lastly I've resorted to giving him a multi vitamin to make up for what he is lacking.

Thank goodness my 2yr old will atleast try anything and eats most of it!!

Lisa_reds

Oh girl, I feel you!!! I have a 4 1/2 year old, a almost 2 year old, and a 32 year old picky picky picky eaters in my family.

Breakfast - he won't eat any eggs? What about yogurt? Otameal and cereal is great as long as its not that sugary sugary cereal. If he likes fruit, make a BIG batch of pancakes on a day you time time with a ton of bananas, strawberries, blueberries, whatever. Then you can nuke them as you need them in the morning. I have a rule that every meal they have to eat a fruit or veggie. (even if it is bananas... again!)

Lunch - in my house lunch time is processed city. Good for you for getting him to eat turkey sandwhiches. Does he like tuna? You can make your pwn spaghetti and meatballs with wheat noodles (and really add some grated carrots to the sauce to sneak some veggies in him). Chicken nuggets - we can't win with those. I try to get the baked perdue ones but they are more expensive. Healthy food always is. What about quesadillas (tell him in is a thin crunchy grilled cheese) and you can make it on a wheat tortilla

I understand about dinner. If you make dinner and he hardly touches it, it is okay. Let him not eat much for dinner. If he is that hungry, he will eat. Keep offering it though. I try to make kid friendly good. I make my own "chicken fingers" by just breading and pan-frying (with PAM) it. I never have, but you can try to make your own mac and cheese with whole grain pasta. Or I change the names "Orange dessert treat" is mashed sweet potatoes with brown sugar and yummies.

What about some kind of rewards system - if you try it then you can ... whatever. I tried that with my son and at first I thought it wasn't working at all. He would eat half a bite of a veggie and say he hated it. after like the third time trying the same food, he would actually eat a few bites, and then eat even more. It can't hurt. Good luck and keep me posted.

melph3

have you tried making homemade chicken nuggets? My two-year old loves it.
cut chicken breasts into small cubes
roll it around in breading/ bread crumbs with seasoning
lightly spray the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil
bake for 35-45 minutes at 350.
*you can always serve it to him with ketchup, honey, mustard.
toddlers usually like simple sides for dinner
*yogurt with berries
*apple slices/ mandarin orange sections
*cooked carrots
My toddler went through a phase where he didn't eat anything for dinner. The dr, suggested he drink his calories, SMOOTHIE!
To make a yummy smoothie
*add orange juice 8oz
*vanilla or strawberry yogurt 1 cup
*milk 1/2 cup
*ice 2-3 handfuls
*berries/mango/bananas
Then, blend.( This makes quite a bit, enough for the whole family to enjoy...or to make popsicles.)
( a lady told me she puts raw spinach in hers and her kid liked it...I haven't tried that though)
The measurments are approximate, use the taste test to see if it needs more/less of an ingriedient.
Hope you can find something that works.

Jacquelyn913

I like making sandwiches, like pbj, grilled cheese or lunch meats. He loves just peices of ham and shredded cheese, and the occasional green bean. Plus leftovers from the night before, have you tried showing him how much you enjoy the food he doesnt. I usually take a bite of whatever he doesnt want to eat, smile and try to act really happy about what I just ate, that usually does the trick to get him to eat it. Loll. I try not to feed him much canned food, even though it is quick and easy.

ajbeans

This might sound a little nuts, but kids can only be as picky as you allow them to be. My kids had gotten to the point that they wouldn't eat anything but toast, peanut butter sandwiches, fish sticks, and fries. Ridiculous. Oh, and chips and junk, of course. So I put my foot down, and what I serve them, they eat. They have to try everything I give them. I serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with one snack between each meals (so two snacks). If they don't eat their lunch, when they tell me they're hungry later they get it for a snack. And if I serve something for dinner and they refuse to try it, they have it for breakfast.

That sounds horrible, I know. And I felt horrible when I instituted it, but I was at the end of my rope and they weren't eating enough. But it only took one time of my son (just turned 3) having to eat dinner for breakfast, and they willingly try everything now. They don't love everything, and if they hate it, that's ok. But they do try it without a fuss. They don't have to clean their plates, but they have to make an honest attempt at eating their meals, and they have to eat protein for at least two meals in the day (this was a real struggle for us).

If you don't want to be mean, find a way to set ground rules, something you're comfortable with. Offer a variety of foods, and model good eating behavior by eating those foods yourself. Since they're so young they really do need snacks between meals, but make sure they're not relying on those snacks to get them through the day (my kids were skipping meals and then wanting their snacks right away).

dawny17

My kids also love the home made nuggets...I just cut up boneless chicken breast into bite size pieces and use shake 'n bake.
Another one of our favorite snacks is frozen yogurt. Individual size yogurts, then i just stick a popsickle stick through the foil or plastic top and stick them in the freezer. Our Favorite is French toast squares. I make french toast with whole wheat bread (can't see what color the bread is so they don't know if its white or whole wheat) Sprinkle icing sugar on them and cut them with a pizza cutter into small squares....mmmmmm good you could even use cookie cutters to make special shapes. Get you child to help then it become their food and they'll have a greater chance of trying it. And if he sees you trying foods he will too!

BOGmama2010

I think you've gotten some good ideas. Sometimes it just takes time. My 3 year old was very picky when he was 2 and gradually over time he has gotten to the point where he will stand in the kitchen and take baby carrots out of the bag and dip it in hummus and actually eat the whole carrot! Score! He's still picky about some things (won't eat bananas, likes his cookies, pasta LOVER, cheese fanatic, PBJ connosieur, etc.) but he is opening up more and more to the healthy things. I do give him PBJ, but only 2 times a week. I will give him cheese once a day at lunch. We have pasta on Sundays only (spaghetti Sundays), etc.

The most important thing is to model how you want him to eat. Period. But, make it fun too. I like to do muffin tin meals. I have a half muffin tin (6 spots instead of 12) and I put my silicone muffin cups in each one. I'll fill one with a veggie, one with a fruit, one with his cheese, two with a sandwich, one with dip for his veggie. You get the idea. It keeps the food separated (LOL) and it's not a huge amount of food since each cup holds what? I think 1/4 cup of food each.

Karleyyy

It may seem mean but just don't give him those things, and prepare healthy food. If you give it to him and he doesn't eat it than that is that. When he is hungry he will eat, it's tough love but he'll learn to eat that food. Other things you might try...

Fruit/Vegetable smoothie! I will take yogurt, applesauce, milk, and blend it up. Then I puree some green beans and carrots and mix them in there, and give it to my 2 year old daughter Kai as a treat- when really I am giving her healthy stuff. :] If you want to make a not-so-healthy thing healthy, look for ways to put vegetables in it. Sometimes I will give Kai a grilled cheese with broccoli in the cheese.

Kids this age love dips, so maybe try and see if he will eat green beans and ranch dip?

If he likes processed foods, look for the homemade healthy versions. Does he like french fries? Make homemade sweet potato fries!

If he likes mac-n-cheese, mix it with some broccoli.

One thing that I like to make for Kai is hummus wraps- hummus is really good for you in moderation, and it tastes awesome.

As for a family thing, I just made Shepherd's Pie and that was one of my favorite things growing up. There are a lot of variations online, so you can add in green beans and other veggies and I don't even notice them.

A good healthy snack that my daughter loves is frozen grapes. Tastes like popsicles!

What I have learned though, is if you don't give your kids those things, they can't miss or want them! Hope this helps.

reikichris

I have 19-month old twin girls. They thankfully will eat a wide variety of foods. Here are a few of the breakfast and lunch examples:

Breakfast:
• Omelet with cheddar and ham
• Egg white omelet with feta or cheddar and either spinach or asparagus
• Toast with peanut butter and bananas
• Bagel with Cream Cheese
• Pancakes w/ a little syrup
• Apple Nutri-Grain Bars

Lunch:
• Tofu sauteed in low sodium soy sauce and a little butter
• Kids yogurt and some fruit
• Hummus and Cucumber sandwich on Sara Lee's 9-grain thins
• Black Bean and Chick Pea Salad with Zesty Lemon Pepper Tuna
• Salami Sandwich with Cheese and Mustard
• Endamame with Rotini Tricolored Pasta, a butter and Parmesan
• Endamame and Jasmine Rice (rolled in balls. much cleaner
• Homemade Split Pea Soup

Probably an odd assortment of foods, but maybe there will be something in there that will work for your little one.

Lisa_reds

Ok so after I posted that long message with 'great' ideas. My kids are eating ellios, great value frozen chicken fingers, and canned corn. Maybe I should stop offering advice and reading the posts instead. LOL

loriefolk

My kids also love the home made nuggets...I just cut up boneless chicken breast into bite size pieces and use shake 'n bake.
Another one of our favorite snacks is frozen yogurt. Individual size yogurts, then i just stick a popsickle stick through the foil or plastic top and stick them in the freezer. Our Favorite is French toast squares. I make french toast with whole wheat bread (can't see what color the bread is so they don't know if its white or whole wheat) Sprinkle icing sugar on them and cut them with a pizza cutter into small squares....mmmmmm good you could even use cookie cutters to make special shapes. Get you child to help then it become their food and they'll have a greater chance of trying it. And if he sees you trying foods he will too!

I loved your reply! Thanks for all the tips! The cookie cutter idea is GREAT for my 2 boys

Harshberger24

I have a toddler as well.. glad you got so many responses. I could use the help as well.

chrysnel

Try the Clean Eating Cookbook for kids!

I agree with this one! The chicken nuggets are fabulous! And so easy!

When my son was around 2, I really tried to get him to eat more veggies (he loves fruit, so that was never an issue!) - it was a struggle at first, and he never really ate them, but I kept offering them to him, and now he loves sweet peppers, carrots, sugar snap peas, and celery, to name a few! Also, we never ever buy white bread - it's always been either whole grain or sprouted grain - I only ever buy sprouted grain bread now, and he loves it! It can be a tough go, sometimes, but if you persist and only offer healthy foods, with the odd treat now and then, your kids will learn to love these foods

bayba792

It was hard when I changed to whole foods, I don't buy any processed foods. I get them to eat more fresh fruits and veggies. I make a dip for their apples that is 1 cup greek yogurt (nonfat), 1/3 organic peanut butter, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and organic sugar (to taste) mix well. I slice up the apple and let them dip. I also make them smoothies with organic frozen blueberries, strawberries, and non fat greek yogurt. I buy organic fruit strips from trader joes and organic cereal. They eat organic oatmeal with cinnamon and organic sugar. There are a lot of choices you just have to get creative.

mrscates

My almost 2 year old eats what I eat...sorry. No advice here =/