How Can I Add More Protein to My 4 1/2 Year Olds Diet?

my daughter has boughts where she does not eat meat or want anything to do with it! i give her protein shakes and she has no idea! Spiru-tein has a chocolate flavor, it is found at any health food or vitamin store, if you make it in the blender, it tastes just like chocolate milk! my daughter has one every day, the only thing is you can only give a child a half serving.good luck!

Edamame.. my 3 yr old daughter loves them, except we call them green ones at my house. Just buy the frozen bags, they come organic too, and boil them for about 5-6 min, drain and add sea salt on them. She puts the pod in her mouth and pulls the soy bean out and eats them like chips :) they are full of protein! There is an organic brand that has sponge bob on the bag, but they are individual sized and you can put them in his lunch box frozen and it will thaw by lunch time

My oldest is the same way. Always very picky about meat. One thing that I do is get shredded chicken and mix it with a little barbecue sauce and throw it on a sandwich with a pickle for lunch she loves that. I also give her those ready to eat HEB low sodium meatballs with a little marinara sauce. If he doesn't eat breakfast at school you could give him a half of a whole wheat bagel with Peanut butter, or Cashew butter on in. Will he eat egg? I always keep boiled eggs on hand for my oldest to snack on. My youngest won't touch them. good luck

A., I noticed you said your son loves PB&J and obviously his school will not allow that. Well, my daughter is actually allergic to peanuts however, we use an "alternative" to peanut butter called "SUN BUTTER". You can purchase sun butter at Kroger (in the health food section) and also at HEB. I used to have to order it online so I am soooo excited to now find it in the stores. Anyway, it tastes, smells and looks JUST LIKE peanut butter. Your son will not know the difference. I can say that because I am also allergic to peanut butter but eat this instead and really like it. You can clear it through the school (I have done this as well) so there are no concerns. It is all sunflower seed based. Good luck.

Just some ideas:
eggs in the morn?
chicken salad?
yogurt and cottage cheese are packed I think
Peanut butter is a good source (maybe get a more natural one lower in sugar)
would he do tortilla wraps of any sort for lunch? My little 2yo loves them. (like the grilled chk ones from McD)
Hope you get lots more ideas!

A. -
I actually met w/ a nutrientist just a few weeks ago for the same thing (I should have just asked MamaSource - ha!) I was talking to her because I believe he is sugar sensative and has difficulty sitting still for long periods of time. And since he just started Kinder ... I needed help! Her is her recommendation: Supplements: Multivitamins, Omega-3s, & Natural Calm for Kids found at People's Pharmacy. Then focus on high protein / low sugar snacks and meals: 1-2 ozs protein at each meal / snack = 1oz turkey (can buy cubed turkey & ham at HEB) = 7gm protein, 2Tbsp peanet butter, 1oz cheese etc. Eliminate artificial colorings, preservatives and added sugar. Here are some of her snack ideas:
* 2 graham crackers w/ 1/2 cup milk or 1T PB
* 1 Nature Valley "Chewy Granola" bar
* 6 whole grain crackers w/ 1oz cheese
* Apple & string cheese
* 1/2 pita bread w/ cheese & pizza sauce
* Whole Grain toast w/ 1 T PB and Banana
She also gave me ideas of protein powder and flax seeds in shakes (which I haven't started making, but need to )

GOOD LUCK

Eggs in the morning. If he is not fond of eggs, try breakfast burritos, or mini frittatas (I like to mix different things in there like cheese and spinach and bake for about 10 minutes in a mini muffin pan). My son really likes fried eggs over easy where he can dip his toast in the yolk.
Beans are an excellent source of protein. It would be difficult to send a soup, probably, to school, but you could make black bean dip and send him with veggies or crackers. Also, chickpeas are a good source, so hummus would be excellent. I've also had excellent pinto bean dips. If he likes to dip veggies or crackers, he might enjoy that.

Milk has protein, so that would be a great drink for him at lunch. It really is too bad about the nuts, because peanut butter is a great source of protein. Being PG and nursing, I keep nuts in my diaper bag for a quick fix when I'm hungry. I also would have suggested cheese, but if he hates it....Even though he doesn't like cheese, does he eat mac and cheese? You could even make the higher protein pastas and cheese for him.
Good luck!

A.,
Maybe you should focus on the meals you have at home in trying to balance the diet. Lunchbox food is so hard to make wholesome! My boys take PB& J every day. If it was outlawed at their school I don't know what I'd feed them! :)
And lunchmeat is so bad for kids, I'm glad you are seeking other sources. Every form of processed meat (sausage, lunchmeat, hot dogs, salami, pepperoni) is full of chemicals to make it taste good because the animal product in it is beyond recognition. Yuck. Don't eat it yourself and don't give it to your children. Natural fresh meat for dinner and nuts or nut butter for breakfast will give him a good start and end to the day. Yogurt is good, too. I buy the tubes and send them frozen and by lunchtime they have thawed out. No spoon or bowl needed! If you are concerned about additives look for the yogurt without artificial colors or flavors. I'm always looking for new lunchbox ideas, too...can't wait to see what other moms say!
P. (7,5,&3 year old boys)

We live by whole wheat noodles (Kroger's brand) - inexpensive and very very healthy - can eat alone, hot, cold, with sauce - use red, white or we like Paul Newman's low fat ginger sesame salad dressing - good on noodles, meats, veggies - a much better alternative than ranch! Also, cheese, milk, eggs, vegtables, beans, peas.

Have fun in the ktichen!

Boiled eggs? There are alot of foods out there now that are carb friendly. I live off of green beans and protien. I think it is still healthy for him to be getting good carbs at this age too. Trying wheat bread. If he is a healthy weight then I wouldnt worry about it too much. I have insuillin resistance so thats where my thinking is comming from. Potatoes, rice, white bread all change to sugars in your body quickly. Orange juice too. But some of the things that turn quick he will be needing to get the vitamens he needs. Ask your pedi before you get too carried away. Hope you get lots of good tips. Also at this age they dont really care if they have pb and j every day almost...at least I did not! Veggies blanched would stay yummy and they dont need to be warmed. They also make wheat tortillas.

Hi A.: I give my daughter 2 smoothies each day. I make them myself with 3 cartons of yogurt and add enough milk to make it drinkable; roughly yogurt + milk should equal 2 1/4 cups. I pour the whole thing into a strainer because she doesn't like the fruit chunks. Anyway, 3 cartons of yogurt equate to 15 grams of protein (5 grams in each carton). She drinks just over a cup first thing in the morning... in front of Tigger & Pooh cartoons... That's +7 grams of protein. They the other smoothie right after she wakes up from her afternoon nap (if on weekend) or as soon as she gets home from daycare... That's another +7 grams of protein.

I personally avoid giving her soy protein because I'm not sure about the possible estrogen effect.

Hi A.,
Congrats on recognizing the sugar resulting behaviors. I use soy protein powder. The brand I am now using is by Spring Valley, Vanilla flavor. Two scoops add 20grams of protien. I make fruit smoothies in the blender to milk, juice, any fruit fresh or frozen. If it is room temp, adding a couple ice cubes makes it cold. I like the consistency better when a banana is added to the mix. Try using the vanilla so that when your son begins to feel better he won't associate the improvement with chocolate. :)
You and the little one can enjoy this also.
Be well, C.

hi A.,,
oatmeal is great ,,or the quacker breakfast bars..you ban also try the lil lunch dinners with cheese meat juice in them
good luck L.

You have listed lots of great protien sources. Why not send him to school with some beef jerky or a granola bar and then give him a peanutbutter based snack when he gets home?
Will he eat egg salad or chicken salad? Those make good luch sandwiches also. Have you tried salad rollups? Some children will eat some things in a tortilla that they wouldn't eat on bread.
Beans are a good source of protien also, in soups, spread on a tortilla, or even baked beans.
Eggs, hard boiled, deviled or scrambled. Turkey bacon is good also.
Carnation Instant Breakfast is a great source also, and it tastes like chocolate, vanilla or strawberry milk and really fills you up.
Hope that helps. You can always suppliment with Flintstone vitamins also.

A.,
I totally understand about the protien and sugar! I have a little one who loves PBJ's, but all the sugar in the jelly/jam had me concerned. I can't refuse her the sandwich(because somedays that is all she will eat) so I have started substituting the low sugar jelly/jam variety. She can't tell the difference and she still loves her pb's. I know you said your son does not like cheese, but there is a brand of soft cheese that my little girl loves, it is pretty mild and more fun than anything for the kiddo's to eat. It is the Laughing Cow brand(you will find it in the deli section at HEB) and it is the little light bites. My little girls love these sqares and they often find them in the bottom of their lunch box as a "surprise". I hope this helps.

If he eats green veggies send him with broccoli or greener lettuce.Parsley is great too. Years ago when I was worried about protein, that is what our pedi told us to do.

Oh goodness, have I ever walked in your shoes. My son is still a carboholic but we are better with our protein these days. How about scrambled or boiled eggs? My son wouldn't touch a boiled egg until I convinced him that a boy in one of his favorite books ate boiled eggs for dinner. He tried it one day and he's okay now. I'll boil 5 or 6 eggs and put them in the refrigerator. Convinient protein. I'll also make him breakfast tacos (he loves them!). Scrambled eggs keep in the refrigerator well too. You can make a few days worth at once. I'll also stuff a english muffin with scrambled eggs and call it a "Mommy McMuffin." Another thing I'll do is make him parfait with plain (non-sweetened) yogurt, cut up strawberries and granola on top (I buy it by the pound in the HEB bins). I know you mentioned he doesn't like cheese but will he eat mac and cheese? If so, put a lot of cheese in it and boiled chicken. They sell great little thermos mugs he can take in his lunch box. Good luck.

Strawberries have protein. My child loves them and that's how we get some protein in her! Please share your results with me. I run into the same problem. If my child eats hots dogs, I make sure they are beef only.

Good luck!

Can you get him to eat an egg before school? My daughter used to eat everything, but at 18 months became very picky all of a sudden (she's almost 4), but one thing she WILL eat is boiled eggs (yolks removed). With a little ice pack, you can put them in a lunch, or have them already ready for breakfast.

Another idea (if you can use an ice pack) is to have rotisserie chicken for dinner one night and pack leftover in his lunch, either plain (in a little cup) or on bread.

I have given up finding enough variety that doesn't have to be refrigerated. With an ice pack, I can pack most things, even cold chicken nuggets. She doesn't mind them cold.

My kids (1 1/2 and 3 1/2) love chicken salad. They like to eat it with multigrain saltine crackers insead of on bread! You can be creative with add ins. My kids like olives, or sweet relish, or grapes added in with the chicken. They like canned chicken as much as fresh. I also use light mayo. Hope this helps!!!

I think the only thing you can do right now is focus on providing the protein at home. One thing that you mentioned is that he likes chicken...you can get roasted chicken lunch meat, just tell him it is chicken.

For a long term fix...I know it is impossible to force your son to eat anything at his age(I have a barely three of my own) but i bet he is very manipulatable! There are three books for you to consider. The first is the good old "Green Eggs and Ham." Read the book and in the morning, put a splash of blue or green food coloring in scrambled eggs and give him a piece of ham. He may just like the novelty of it enough to try it. Maybe do this on a weekend so you can read the book first and not have to rush to get out the door. The other is "Bread and Jam for Francis." It is a cute one about picky Francis not wanting to try new food, only bread and jam. For a week, her Mother makes only that for her for all three meals. Eventually, as she is told she can't have what the other family members are eating, she wants more and more to have what they do. "Best Friends for Francis" is good too, her friend Albert makes a heck of a lunch for himself which includes olives, sandwich, and a hard boiled egg. Again, maybe you can read the book and ask your son if he would like to try one of the items in Albert's lunch. Kids like to emulate other people too. Ask your son what the other kids at school have for lunch, maybe he would agree to try something they have. Also, if he is hungry enough, in a different setting where he can't manipulate you (pre-school) he may just go ahead and eat what you pack him without thinking too much about it. Good luck!

Hmm where to start there are so many things. Meatloaf is one. The leftovers can be reheated or made into a sandwich. Chicken or turkey can be made in to sandwiches as strips or mix with mayo/mircle whip to make a salad type sandwich. Breakfast can include eggs. You can start buying the higher protien cereals and not the sugary ones. Just look at the labels when you go shopping. I would start slipping it into his meals and not bombard him with it all at once. Good Luck!

Egg whites are a great source of easily digestible protein. I keep boiled ones and the kids love to peel them. I even let them color them and draw on them with crayons when it is not Easter. And my kids like deviled eggs and like to make them I personally like eggwhites and picante sauce. If you worry about cholesterol it doesn't matter how many cause the cholesterol is not in the whites, only protein. Also protein powder can be used creatively. For essential fatty acids with omega oils I take organic flax seed and grind it up in a coffee grinder until powdered. Then I sprinkle it in all sandwiches, on the mayo or mustard or the PB&J(although we actually use almond butter instead of peanut butter cause I don't think peanuts are good for you and almonds are the top of the list as far at nuts are concerned). I sprinkle it on salads and in soup and in mashed potatoes. I haven't used protein powder that way but I don't see why you couldn't. Get one that is flavor neutral. I use Hemp protein from Whole Foods for protein shakes. I like it better than whey(hydrolyzed or non-hydrolyzed) and I don't use anything soy, it is still questionable. You can take some of these negative comments with a grain of salt if you want cause I don't use a microwave, pesticides, artificial sweeteners, or vaccines either. Protein powder arguments may be only academic when you simply need more proein no matter what. Have you tries sardines or kipper snacks. My kids love both with the tomato or mustard sauce and add picante. I know some people can't stand them but for my kids they will try anything that pawpaw says is cool or they see him eating so that makes it pretty simple for me. They also like 'ants on a log', celery/almond butter/with raisens on top. They make them and that saves me the time. If PB&J is good with him and you for good with that protein then no harm. The sugar can be cut with a 'light' bread that has the same carbs for 2 slices as most breads with 1 slice. Just check the nutrition panel for total carbs and compare. Also Smucker's makes a low sugar strawberry and grape that does not have artificial sweeteners in it. These changes will allow for more PB&J without the more sugar. Cottage cheese is great protein. Don't call it cheese and add fruit. Maybe egg or tuna salad. It should last through the morning without continued refrigeration. I make mine the night before and it is already cold. Recently I have started freezing single bottles of water and using them for the cold pack in their lunch. Everything stays cold while the ice melts and they drink the water at and after lunch.

Good luck, don't worry, kid's taste change all the time.
I hope this helps. I know I can't really relate to the difficulty because my kids will eat anything that I say is good for them. And they like most of it.
God Bless
D.

Soba noodles. They're made from buckwheat flour, and you can usually find them in the Asian section. Lots of protein. They're good plain or with a sauce of your choosing.

Have you tried Edamame? Sounds like he's open for new things. It has a lot of protein in it, easy to boil and have as a side dish or snack and easy to carry.
M. H

I highly recommend a Shaklee Protein shake in the morning along with some 100% whole wheat toast OR the Ezekiel 4:9 bread. Another option I like is yogurt with toast or egg burritos. The Ezekiel 4:9 bread has protein in it as well and no gluten. Good luck!

I like to buy Chick-Fil-A nuggets for my kids' lunches. I usually only do it once a week, but I'll buy a 12-pack the night before and put them in the take-n-toss bowls in the fridge and throw it in the lunch box in the morning. Super easy, and they always eat them up. If you wanted to send them every day, you could buy a small nugget tray and have them for the week. For a cheaper option, I have also put leftover chicken or pork (I just cut it into bite-size cubes) in their lunches.

You could just put an ice pack in his lunch if you are worried about anything spoiling. He shouldn't eat tuna more than once a week b/c of all the mercury in it. Will they let him have sunflower seeds in his lunch? It is a GREAT source of protein too. Just FYI peanut butter has a lot of sugar in it too and I would try one of kinds that is sugar free. You can even try cashew butter and almond butter for variety.

I think it is great that you noticed about him being sensitive to all the sugar. He will do a lot better in school if he can think clearly b/c it can give him brain fog too. You know another reason that he will want more and more of the sugary foods is b/c they are addictive too!!

I also give my kids a fruit smoothie. I put a bag of frozen fruit and 2 eggs (I just clean the outside shell before putting them in b/c that is where all the bad stuff is.), add goatein protein powder (due to cow milk sensitivity), add honey if needed for taste depending on the fruit and 1 T of coconut oil. It tastes good and is good for you w/o sugar and and has protein! :-) I know you can't really send that w/him but he could have it in the morning w/breakfast or when he gets home for a snack.

Also, I just wanted to add that there are a lot of different types of cheese. He may like a different type. Due to the milk sensitivities/allergies in our family, we eat goat milk cheese or sheep milk cheese and it tastes WAY different from the traditional American cheeses. I can get them at HEB or Kroger. My HEB has a lot more selection tho. Of course, you can always try the health food store and you can find something new too!

Blessings,
M.
Mom to 5 Kids
www.4MyChildrenSake.com

You can try fiber one bars! They are yummy! They also have some new fiber one bars that are pop tarts. I know they have super but also some good things as well. Eggs are always good! you could even just do PB and crackers just to get the protein in.

Have you tried Edamame? Very high protein. It's soybeans in the shell. You can find them in the frozen section. You boil for approx 3 minutes. Can be eaten warm, room temp or cold. My grandkids love them. They think Edamame is fun to eat - all you do is put the bean pod to your mouth and pop out the beans. They are bright green.