Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Sauce it Up
A few nights ago we successfully got Ryan to eat vegetables. Adam covered them in butter and garlic salt. He ate more peas in one bite than he's eaten in the last 7 months. (I tried one of the carrots and can say I don't blame him. They were DANG good!) I don't understand how a kid can be SO disinterested in eating, but we have to do all sorts of tricks and distractions to tease something into his mouth. He even suddenly stopped eating scrambled eggs--his standby for the last month. Today I put ketchup on them to tempt him. He ate 3 bites. Adam let him have Honeycomb cereal a few days ago and now no matter where I hide it he seems to be able to find it and wine for it all day. I care about giving him healthy foods, but this week gave in to giving him extra crap. Any advice from some parents of picky toddlers?
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Hunter wouldn't eat anything consistently until I stopped nursing him. I think I let him fill up on mama milk rather than make him try new things. He also became a better eater once he started feeding himself. He can still be picky but does have quite a few things he likes. Hunter likes all fruit; sometimes he likes it presented in different ways, ie cut up rather than whole. He likes cheese products. Hummus. I do bowls of cereal. Hunter loves to have toast and butter. I have found that having something sitting out and letting Hunter approach it when he wants make him more open to trying something new. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteMy doctors advice was as long as he got a few bites of each food group not to worry. She said he will eat when he is hungry so don't stress too much!! (sometimes easier said than done)
ReplyDeleteSometimes kids have more issue with textures than tastes. Try cooking the veggies different ways and maybe he'll like them. I've found that if I just keep giving my kids healthy food, eventually they'll get used to it and eat it. I read that a kid has to taste a food 10 times before he develops a taste for it. When I give my kids new foods I tell them they don't have to eat it, just leave it on their plate. And after a few times they agree to taste it and then even eat it on their own. In general my boys are amazing veggie eaters, (but haven't always been so) So just keep giving it to them. They won't starve if they don't eat it all, but they're learning a lot right now about what to eat - so stick to the healthy stuff and it will be worth it!
ReplyDeleteWe tell Caleb he has to at least lick whatever I give him. It works sometimes. But he is a pretty good eater, so I don't have much good advice. Good luck!
ReplyDeletethis might sound weird, but Miley LOVES veggie burgers. And I love that she loves them! There are mounds of veggies in each one, they take about 1 inute to cook in the microwave, and with ketchup or mustard on them they are a real treat. I cut it into small peices and hand them to her one by one on a fork. Also, does Ryan feed himself often? Some kids eat more when they do it all by themselves. Wish I were more help! Good Luck.
ReplyDeleteyum, honeycomb! sorry I have no advice except to keep asking these questions because I am loving reading everyone's suggestions!
ReplyDeleteps - I guess that isn't really advice either, just a request.
ReplyDeleteSarah, my Brooklyn was really picky when she was little. I worried about it. Then one day I was talking to my Dr and she said when kids are hungry they will eat. I think just keep offering the good stuff and when he won't eat the good stuff don't let it be an option for him to have the "really" good stuff like junk. Also, it seems boring but when I do find something that my kids will eat that is healthy, I keep buying it and offering it even if they eat it everyday. I do try to have a variety but we for sure have "staple" foods that they eat everyday. Good luck!
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