Mealtime battle - fussy kids, please help!

[Haven]

mia--GREAT post.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I didn''t read all the replies so I might be repeating...I wanted to say that I am a really picky eater so I can relate to your daughter. It isn''t about disobeying. She probably really doesn''t like the way things taste. That being said my 13 month old will eat any baby food I give her but is hit or miss with table foods. I understand your frustration b/c I feel like I fall back on things I KNOW she will eat herself (like pasta and cheese) but aren''t the best. I still give her baby food (fruit and veggies) at every meal to balance things out. There are a couple of cookbooks out that gives you ideas (like putting baby food carrots in pasta sauce, spinach in brownies...) you could give that a shot. Does she take a vitamin? What does your pedi say? I agree you CANNOT force her to eat something but you can try to trick her

 

[steph72276]

Hmmm, I think it is tough because I feel like you have to start from the very beginning putting all sorts of fruits and veggies on their plate. It would be hard to change their habits at 11 or even 8. I have a rule with my 4 year old that he has to at least try 1 big bite of the veggies I cook and if he doesn''t like them, he doesn''t have to eat anymore. I know he doesn''t like green beans, but I still put a little scoop on his plate everytime we have it and he has to eat at least 1 bite. Suddenly, he decided he does like them.
I haven''t read through all the posts, so some of the suggestions might have already been made. I would look into buying or renting from your local library Jessica Seinfield''s book Deceptively Delicious. It teaches you how to sneak veggies into dishes like mac and cheese and muffins and meatballs. Also, get your kids in the kitchen cooking with you. They will be more likely to eat it if they help make it. Hope this helps a little and good luck!

 

[pixie1216]

have any of your kids, especially the older ones tried having salad yet? you can put a lot of things into a salad that they may not eat otherwise, such as beans, boiled eggs, grilled chicken, cheese shreds, seeds(sunflower),etc. think of what you see in a salad bar. plus raw spinach leaves. maybe have a salad bar night, put the toppings out for each kid to make his/her own salad. don't forget the dressing, that would probably help a lot. remember we all need some form of fat in our diets. i love making dressing with the seven seas italian, add water, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil, season packet and shake. when i was a kid, i loved thousand island dressing. you can make that yourself too. ummmm,now i want a big salad!! i have also been told dairy can be very constipating. if you need to limit dairy, and don't want to do juice, i'm sure you don't want to do soda, maybe try flavored seltzer water. it gives the "fizz" of soda, has good flavors, and is only water!

as far as hiding ingredients in food, well that will only work if the child eats the food! i tried seinfeld's recipe for mac and cheese with pureed squash, the recipe was good, but useless since my son didn't eat any of it!