Foods for Picky Eaters...

msciccone1
msciccone1 Posts: 288 Member
edited September 21 in Recipes
Hi MFPers :bigsmile:

This is not a question on recipes for myself although I may end up eating them anyway, haha. I have a picky toddler who is almost 4 and can't get her past baked chicken with rice or mac and cheese or peanut butter and jelly or spaghetti hold the meat sauce. She hates red meat and I don't know why :ohwell: . Can you help please cause she can't live off pasta, cheese, peanut butter and chicken, lol.

Thank you!!! :smooched:

Paola

Replies

  • bellastella86
    bellastella86 Posts: 25 Member
    Try introducing new foods by sneaking them into the ones she already loves. We add cauliflower or peas to our mac and cheese. Add different veggies to her pasta, or blend them into her marinara sauce. A read an article that gave great advice, to only allow your kids to eat what's on the table (you're not a short order cook) but it's their choice what to eat. She might just be hungry enough one night to try something new if her favorites aren't available. And when introducing foods makes sure she tries it more than once. It can take a bit for a child to realize they're not afraid of a food. Good luck!
  • marsha73
    marsha73 Posts: 23
    I try to make something new at least once a week. I will have on hand something my daughter does like but I tell her she has to try the "new food" at least one or two bites before she can eat the food she does like. This works for me
  • IbettR
    IbettR Posts: 139 Member
    Great idea, bellastella! :wink: I add broccoli to my little one's mac-n-cheese and now she asks for it. My daughter loves the Kraft cheese that comes in little squares/blocks, so I cut them in half, and cut cherry tomatoes in half, and make her little kabobs. Now she's hooked on tomatoes! I want her to eat salad, and she likes the croutons, so if she wants croutons, she'll have to eat it with the lettuce or tomato! :wink: She doesn't like red meat either, and I actually like that :blushing: so I don't push her to eat it at all. At times, I add small chunks of chicken to her mac-n-cheese. Most importantly, my mother cooks black beans with lots of nice seasonings, salt and pepper for her periodically, and will then puree and strain it, and serve it with a cup of white rice :tongue: yum! I also make her mashed potatoes and offer her gravy for a change in flavor :smile: Hope that helps a little :smile:
  • msciccone1
    msciccone1 Posts: 288 Member
    Yeah definitely try sneaking in and she is so "bad" that she spits out any new flavor. I also don't mind that she doesn't eat red meat because I myself am not a big fan but chicken gets boring every day, hahahaha. I am a big supporter of try it and if you don't like it then we do something else but its getting her to try it but I will keep pushing ladies :wink:
  • needamulligan
    needamulligan Posts: 558 Member
    A friend recently told me that it takes 7 tries to get used to a new food. That makes sense to me because a teacher in elementary school told us that it takes 7 tries to make a new word your own. Don't give up! My youngest was my fussiest. He only liked tiny foods and soups. Weird tiny foods like capers, pimentos and mushrooms! I discovered later that it was a texture issue for him. He preferred soft foods over crunchy. Soups are simple to make and you can add chopped up pieces of meat and veggies. It's hard to object to something that can't be identified! Sometimes, you just have to be sneaky!
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    How sad is it that the only way I can relate to sneaking veggies into mac & cheese is because I do this to my boyfriend? Eep! I made a pasta with chicken, Ragu alfredo sauce and threw stir-fry vegetables in it and he loooved it.
  • FabiolaEnvy♥
    FabiolaEnvy♥ Posts: 730
    have you tried turkey ground?
    also you can find healthy snacks as in chips like the sensible portion. its veggies and their baked. i know you can find them at costco. i dont know where else but you can try to find them.

    usually when i make mac and cheese i would put broccoli it actually taste good, and if you like just lightly butter the broccoli. that might have been the reason why i love broccoli so much. and i love it without the butter. (make sure you use the unsalted one) and lightly salt it :) its great :)

    i have basically lived off of pasta myself. i couldnt go a day without pasta when i was a little girl. try to play around with the pasta. like chicken Alfredo, parmigiana chicken and pasta, the sauce i personally loved was the Ragu. :) (unless you make your homemade sauce) have a side of veggie like carrots or broccoli. just try here and there. :)
    if not, you gotta make a juicer that can put fruits in it, and then add veggies that way :)
    that usually helped me

    hope that helps :)
  • chocolateandvodka
    chocolateandvodka Posts: 1,850 Member
    have i mentioned that this is my most favorite topic ever????!?!?!?!? first - I AM JUST LIKE YOUR DAUGHTER! i never grew out of the picky stage and to this day the only red meat i will eat is ground beef on rare occasions.
    small suggestions: try not just chicken, but seafood like shrimp or tilapia and turkey ground or baked. what about mixing new foods with foods she already eats? i.e. apples and peanut butter (maybe she'll react better if the apple is peeled?)
    tilapia with rice, or cheese on potatoes?

    check out my blog archives for some picky eater recipe suggestions. i started compiling them in April and every one is picky eater approved. hope this helps! :) P.S. even hubby likes these recipes! so they're good for you too.

    edit: btw pushing is good for some kids but not all. to this day i would rather go hungry than eat certain foods and no, it isn't just because i'm spoiled. i actually hosted a sleepover for a bunch of little girls and one of them brought a veggie tray. just on a whim i decided to try a food that i have always detested to see if my taste had changed... nope. no carrots for me. :tongue: :sick:
  • msciccone1
    msciccone1 Posts: 288 Member
    have i mentioned that this is my most favorite topic ever????!?!?!?!? first - I AM JUST LIKE YOUR DAUGHTER! i never grew out of the picky stage and to this day the only red meat i will eat is ground beef on rare occasions.
    small suggestions: try not just chicken, but seafood like shrimp or tilapia and turkey ground or baked. what about mixing new foods with foods she already eats? i.e. apples and peanut butter (maybe she'll react better if the apple is peeled?)
    tilapia with rice, or cheese on potatoes?

    check out my blog archives for some picky eater recipe suggestions. i started compiling them in April and every one is picky eater approved. hope this helps! :) P.S. even hubby likes these recipes! so they're good for you too.

    edit: btw pushing is good for some kids but not all. to this day i would rather go hungry than eat certain foods and no, it isn't just because i'm spoiled. i actually hosted a sleepover for a bunch of little girls and one of them brought a veggie tray. just on a whim i decided to try a food that i have always detested to see if my taste had changed... nope. no carrots for me. :tongue: :sick:

    I enjoyed reading your post, thanks! Its actually funny because I am a very picky eater but have learned to eat most veggies at this point but still can't do cabbage :sick: . I just feel like a bad mom for not making her eat enough veggies and variety of food but I think there isn't much I can do. The more I try the more she gets to crying stage over anxiety of what will be in front of her. All I can do is try and if not then eventually she will turn into the person she is supposed to turn into. I know I did just fine, hahahaha.
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