Butter those Noodles..

Would they eat whole wheat pasta?It has a decent amount of calories but it can also have some valuable nutrients.

Do they like mashed potatoes? You could give them mashed califlower with the potatoes they would never know. They would be getting veggies too !

Sometime ago Rachel Ray had on her show kids that don't like veggies. I thought a great idea that some parents are doing and I tried it also. Cook the veggies and then blend them and add to foods like spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, soups etc. but not so much that it would change the color. My boys never even picked up on the veggies had been added.

sweet potato pancakes
avocado chocolate pudding
zucchini muffins

When my son was in that age range me basically didn't eat meat, well except for the finest cuts, like bacon, sausage and chicken nuggets. We did get him to eat edamame beans, which we buy shelled and frozen and heat up and slather with butter and pepper. They are a great source of protein and a very mild, nutty flavor. Now he really eats a variety of foods but we spent a lot of time introducing foods. We also give him at dinner time a salad plate with raw fruit and veggies arranged like a face. then when he is done with that we give him his vegetable. then when he is done with that we give him whatever meat or fish we're having. then last we give him the starch (especially if its buttered egg noodles). If it's a starch he doesn't like as much I'll give him that with the protein. But when he was 3 - 4 we didn't have the ordered approach I described, but we often made him edamame and had him also try whatever meat we had. Good luck, keep at it, I know it is frustrating.

I'm a mom that needs to be on MFP to lose that pesky baby weight that's been on for too long. I have 2 little boys (3 & 4 years old). They both are borderline too skinny according to my pediatrician and also according to her, I could stand to "butter their noodles". Honestly, I do feed them all the time, but they are both super picky eaters and really only want to eat breakfast and snack foods. The 3 year old has decided on his own to become a vegetarian (not out of principle, but just doesn't like the taste of meat anymore) and now the 4 year old has decided that he's allergic to anything green (except money) and will make himself throw up before eating anything like green beans or broccoli. SOOOOOO... I'm wondering if anyone has any great KID-FRIENDLY, but healthy recipes they'd like to share where the whole family can eat and I can add on a little something for the skinny ones.

You have gotten some great advice already, especially the helping with preparing the food, my kids love to do this (they are 9 and 12 now). Another thing I did was when we went to the grocery store once a week, I had them each pick one thing from the produce section for them to try that week. That was a lot of fun, and we all got to try stuff we had never had before.

But your post just made me smile and remember those younger years, and the stuff they come up with is hilarious. Those years fly by fast, so remember these precious and funny moments. Good luck momma

Smoothies but tell your kids that they are shakes. You can make any kind they like from peanut butter and chocolate to banana strawberry. Put some good fats in there like coconut oil and you can also put different flavored protein powders in to give your vegetarian son some protein. You can process oats in the food processor to add some bulk, chia seeds, all kinds of nut butters, just use your and their imaginations. One of two of those a day and they should gain some weight.