Picky Eater - Arlington Heights,IL

At that age my son didn't eat much meat either. He now is 5 and eats more meat, but it still isn't his favorite. I used to give him things where the meat was hidden. For example, he would eat any sort of noodles so I would give him (mini)meat filled ravioli. I also used to make roll up sandwiches. Put some meat and cut up vegetables on a (whole wheat) tortilla (and anything else like hummus or beans). Then add a little shredded cheese. Roll it up in a paper towel and put in the microwave for about 25 seconds to melt the cheese to keep the tortilla in a rolled up position. Let cool a little and serve. My son would eat it because he didn't realize meat was in it.

I learned from my granddaughter that eggs are no longer considered dairy but fall into the protein group so she is getting protein. You might try adding very small ham or chicken chunks into the scrambled eggs. Try putting a pinch of vanilla into the scambled eggs. The aroma attracts the children. My theory is because it smells like ice cream. Also cut brocolli tips very fine and put in mixture. Cook carrots and dice them up. Also, sometimes kids w/eat fresh cold veggies over cooked ones. I think many eating problems are more impatience and worry of parents. At age 3 you sometimes have to be flexible not only in what she eats but how she eats it. If she'll take a plate of ham chunks, cheese, fruit, veggies and a few crackers and wants to eat it "on the run", let her. This is a phase that will pass. By the way, young children need a lot of carbs and some fat for energy while they are growing and development of their brain.

mixed pureed fruit in w/yogurt or cottage cheese.

Not even tacos! My son loves hummus, peanut butter, most kids at least will eat corn. My son didn't like meat very much at that age. He doesn't like hamburger but eats chicken nuggets and steak, pot roast. Have you introduced her to ketchup? Our kids used to eat veggies raw with ranch dressing. They are older now so they are more willing to eat some veggies. Good luck.

My son likes beans. They are a good source of protein. What have you tried? Some days he will eat something and the next day he wont. Just keep giving her foods. Start with giving her the meat and show her nothing else.. see if she will eat.

My son does not like green beans, but if that is all that is on his plate he will eat them.

Does she like fruits? When my son will not eat his meal, I give him some fruit or veggies. I Will not make a special meal for him. So far we have lucked out.

Just keep offering them!! Kid's taste buds are much more sensitive to new flavors than adult ones are, so things taste much stronger to them.

But you have to really offer new foods continuously, not just a few times. Offer tiny portions, so you're not wasting too much food, and try to offer things that 'go together' like mashed potatoes with some cheese, or broccoli with cheese sauce or mac and cheese with a little ham and broccoli cut up and cooked with it. Take a slice of turkey and roll it up with some shredded carrots, lettuce and a piece of cheese in the middle and make a 'roll up' - more fun than a regular sandwich.
I would NOT recommend 'hiding' the food or trying to disguise it as something else. Then you just teach that it is icky and needs to be 'hidden'. Just keep offering, offering, offering- and make sure you eat it yourself in front of her and give a big YUM YUM everytime you do it! She will want to copy you and eat 'grown up' food eventually. Some things she may turn out to not like- but she needs to really have tried to eat things enough to actually KNOW that.

We always gave my son a very small portion of EVERYTHING we ate- no exceptions. He had to at least TRY one bite of each thing on his plate, and did not get any seconds on things he did like until he had tried everything. He didn't always want to, but in the end he did.

Now, my son will eat almost anything- loves sushi, thai food, curry, all sorts of things. But he will NOT eat cheese cubes or a slice of cheese on a sandwich! It is really the only thing he won't eat, lol. He will eat mac and cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, greek yogurt (which is more 'sour' tasting than american sweetened yogurt) and ravioli or cheese pizza- but not a piece of cheese.

We tried a LOT of different cheeses and tastes before we reached an agreement that he just doesn't like that now. He is almost 10, and since he eats everything else, including veggies with no problems, I don't worry about it. But he always had to try everything on his plate and eat at least one bite of it, when he was small. Good luck!

You don't need meat to be healthy - and eating less meat is good for the planet! I'm not a vegetarian, but my 9yo has been since he was five. Some kids just aren't into meat. Eggs and cheese are good. I haven't met a kid yet who doesn't like refried beans on tacos, so give that a try too.

My second son was very picky about veggies. I more or less followed the "Child of Mine" book idea about offering but not pushing, and now at age 5 he does eat a variety of vegetables and fruits. I can't say he loves them, but he will eat small portions. But it took, honestly, years of offering and him not being interested. You just have to keep healthy stuff on the table and offer it when the child really is hungry, and don't let them see that it stresses you out if they don't eat it.

Most kids will eat veggies and dip if you offer them as a snack - carrots and cucumbers seem to go over well with most of the playdates my kids have over. I've also heard that some kids like to eat frozen veggies, like peas, but my kids definitely did not. You can make purees and put them in all sorts of things - if she likes spaghetti sauce, you can grate zucchini or carrots into the sauce - it pretty much vanishes. We've had some luck with crustless broccoli quiche but my kids both like broccoli (but neither likes peas - kids are weird.)

For the carbs, choose whole wheat bread and whole grain products whenever you can. My kids like whole grain toaster waffles, and prefer whole wheat bread because that's what they're used to. We also buy whole grain pasta. Mine aren't crazy about brown rice, but you can try that too. Now is the time to get her used to some healthier options for the foods she does like, and later you can add more. I'd like to have fewer grains and more veggies in their diet, but there's a limit to what I can do - I figure I'm doing my job if I introduce foods and offer the healthiest things I can (given limits of time and money.)

Today we're having a homemade veggie soup that has some canned beans and a little bit of pasta in it. The pasta is to persuade the kids to eat it! Wish me luck.

There is a great book by William G Wilkoff, MD called Coping with a Picky Eater that every parent or provider of kids should read and have a copy of. http://www.amazon.com/Coping-Picky-Eater-Perplexed-Parent...

This book has what I call the Picky Eater Plan. I have used this plan with kids that literally threw up at the sight of food and within 2 weeks they were eating normal amounts of everything and trying every food.

First you need to get everyone who deals with the child on board. If you are a provider it's ok to make this the rule at your house and not have the parents follow through but you wont' see as good results as what I described up above.

The plan is to limit the quantities of food you give the kid. When I first start with a child I give them literally ONE bite worth of each food I am serving. The book suggests that every time you feed the kids (breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner) you give all 4 food groups. So, for lunch today I would have given the child one tiny piece of strawberry, one spoonful of applesauce, 3 macaroni noodles with cheese on them, and 2 oz of milk. Only after they ate ALL of what was on their plate would you give them anything else. They can have the same amounts for seconds. If they only want more mac and cheese, they only get 3 noodles then they would have to have more of all the other foods in order to get more than that. If they don't eat, fine. If they don't finish, fine. Don't make a big deal out of it, just make them stay at the table until everyone else is done eating. They don't get more food until they are sat at the next meal and they only get what you serve. When I first do this with a child I don't serve sweets at all. So no animal crackers for snack but rather a carrot for snack. Or one of each of those. I don't make it easy for them to gorge on bad foods in other words. Now if they had a meal where they ate great then I might make the snack be a yummy one cause I know they filled up on good foods.

Even at snacks you have to limit quantities of the good stuff or else they will hold out for snack and just eat those snacky foods. I never give a picky eater the reward of a yummy snack unless they had that great lunch prior to it.

It really is that easy.

My son (nearly two) is not a huge carnivore but I have found that he likes "soft meats"- a lot of stuff in the crockpot (like roast chicken, roast or slow cooked pork) and ground meat in stuff (chili, etc.). In the Jessica Seinfeld book she actually purees the meat in like beef stew and stuff. I havne't had to try that but it might work for you. Also, cottage cheese is really high in protein. I have a friend who is a vegetarian and her doctor told her that is was a really good meat sub when she was pregnant. good luck!

My youngest also never liked meat. He would eat chicken, and pork chops because we told him it was chicken. My 2 nieces would never eat meat either. First of all I would make sure that she gets a multivitamin everyday. Other protein sources like peanut butter, beans, and diary are good. Eggs are also a good source of protein, and you can use Eggbeaters so that there is less cholesterol. Maybe check out the Pediasure drinks. I would talk to her pediatrician? Good Luck