Feeding a young child enough protein?

My five-year-old daughter does not like to eat to eat meat (chicken, beef, or pork) because she says it takes too long to chew. Yeah, she doesn’t like chewing. On the other hand, she has no problems with beans, lentils, or other grains. So, she ends up eating a lot of rice and some kind of stewed bean most nights. I also try to “mask” the protein within the meal; for example, I take the fish and “flake it” real small, stir it with her beans and she doesn’t even notice it. I also give her vanilla Greek yogurt (cause is the only one she likes), chicken nuggets, string cheese, and scrambled eggs (and yes with her rice and beans.) When she gets really picky, and starts to cry that she doesn’t like it, I ask her to close her eyes and just taste it once; it works every time! She ends up eating most of her meal without a problem because now she knows that it’s about the taste and not the “look” of the meal.

Your little guy sounds just like my 3 1/2 year old. Since he's my 2nd. I've learned to quit stressing over "what" he does and doesn't eat. I still get a nagging thought in my head sometimes, but I squash it. His Dr says he's healthy... so I don't stress it. He pretty much eats PB&J every day for at least 1 meal. If he could he'd eat cheese every hour on the hour. He's what I know about him. He eats better when he PICKS what's on his plate (I give him the choices to choose from). he eats better when he helps make his plate. And believe me I know what a time sucker it is. But I try to give him at least 2 meals a day where he gets to do these things. For dinner. I make my kids a "version" of what we are having. So if we are having spaghetti w/ meat sauce I make my oldest plate without the sauce (don't ask she's weird too ) and his without large chunks of hamburger. I try to be sure the hamburger is finally mashed or he will throw a fit and tell me he doesn't like hamburger. Sometimes I make a meal for us I can't do this with. So those nights it's something they can make like PB&J or whatever I have planned. And sometimes it all backfires and he refuses to eat any of it. So I refuse to give him anything to eat until the next meal. Cause he is a stubborn little bird and will go all day without eating just because he's testing me. And I just put his plate in the fridge and let him know it's there any time he wants it, but that's all there is. And he's just stubborn enough not to eat it. hahahaha!!! Kids can not control a lot of things, but anything they can put in their bodies is something they CAN control, so they do. I give them a limited amount of time to eat because an hour and 1/2 will not get any more in their bellies than 30 minutes will. If they honestly will eat they'll do it quickly. And I don't have a set time, it honestly depends on them. Sometimes they honestly eat in 20 minutes, sometimes they honestly take an hour with no playing. Once the playing starts I give them 1 reminder to eat and not play. After that meal time is over. Every kid is different and you might have a lot more on your hands than just the normal pickiness because of your family situation (2 households for him). Find healthy options for the things he does like (there are tricks to make plain yogurt taste better without sugar) and find a way to get him to agree to TRY what you're eating. I require 1 bite before I make something else, but I always have a backup plan for the times they won't or end up not liking it And I smother lots of things with a serving of cheese to mask it Good luck

http://www.heartspring.net/list_of_vegetarian_protein_foods.html

here is a list of high protein foods besides meat...Maybe there are some foods he likes on here

Hello, shininglight.

Your stepson does not sound "weird" to me at all. In fact, he seems to be a wonderfully healthy eater as of right now. Fat and sugar are acquired (and addictive) tastes that are hard to reverse once started. By eating healthy carbs (i.e. sugars) like broccoli, his brain and body can function really well.

Some other things to consider:

1 cup of broccoli has 5.1% RDA (recommended daily allowance) of protein (and that's likely an adult recommendation) along with a TON of other good benefits:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=9

Also, it is extremely rare for Americans to be protein deficient:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/498112-how-common-is-protein-deficiency/

Also, doctor's actually know very little about nutrition:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/16/health/16chen.html

If you have concerns you may want to get some recommendations from a nutritionist, specifically one that specialized in pediatric nutrition.

Here an interesting site I just found that may give you more educated answers than what you'd find in a forum:

http://www.healthychildren.org/english/healthy-living/nutrition/Pages/default.aspx

Best to you!

9thChakra

Cooking for a family with different nutritional needs is so complicated... His dad complains that the food is too high in some macronutrient, usually fat(make your own damn food if you're not happy with it), but if it's higher in protein due to the addition of meat, his son won't eat it, and I can't eat the pasta/bread-based dishes that they both can. >.<

I eat a plant-based diet and my husband does not. Most of my meals that I prepare are made up of a grain (usually brown rice or quinoa), a veggie protein (black beans or chickpeas usually), vegetables, and then a piece of meat for my husband. That way my husband feels like he is getting a non-vegetarian meal and I am more than satisfied with my meal. These meals can be quick to prepare too--frozen brown rice, a can of black beans, frozen vegetables and 2 sausages. With a meal like the one I described, your whole family should be happy because they can choose the foods that they would like to eat.