Ideas for a Picky Eater

I have a great recipe for chicken nuggets that would sneak some great veggies in. In a food processer combine 2 cups of cooked chicken, 2 eggs, 8oz frozen spinach (squeezed dry), 1 cup cheddar cheese (you can use what you like). When you get this all combined add enough breadcrumbs to make it easy to form nuggets. Bake at 350 for about 12 to 15 min or until brown. You can also vary this recipe with other cheeses or veggies if you like. My daughter loves these and I really like them also.

Hi L.,
My 7yr old girl is also picky. I have found Fruit to be her best friend and it is so good for her as well. I am happy to see her eat a lot of fruit out of her lunch. All three of my girls were picky eaters. Very frustrating, I know. You just can't go wrong with fruit! It's worth a try. I get mandarin oranges at dollar general for $.50 and large cans of pears and peaches. She just loves them.

All of the foods you mention are fatty and salty. She doesn't shop for herself. Put "healthy" food in front of her. She may throw a fit, but she will eat when she gets hungry enough.

We have a picky eater too, but I don't cater to her. We have some dinnertime rules, and one is to eat at least 2 bites of everything. If she doesn't then she can have it for breakfast. I've only had to give her soup for breakfast once. Sometimes we say "Open your mouth and close your eyes and you will have a big suprise" and feed her, and that sometimes works. Lots of times she sits at the table for a while, and we have to buckle her into her chair. She's 3! Oh well, I know of other moms doing the same thing, so I don't feel too bad about soup for beakfast.

This may sound simple (or silly) but it helped with both my children:
Find ways for your daughter to help you prepare food. I started with my children separating canned biscuits, but you can have her stir food (not hot food, of course), or dump cans/bags of veggies. Both my kids have their own aprons and they know the "wash your hands before you cook" drill. Also, give fun names to your dinners and add fun ingredients--we have "Cowboy Stew" (chili served on top of shell noodles with cheese), "Dora's Fiesta Chicken" (baked chicken with salsa and cheese), "Polka Dot Rice" (rice pilaf with peas), and our favorite is fresh baby trees (broccoli).
When children help in creating a meal they want to try out their creation. And silly names are always a blast!

Hi L.,
like one of the other mom's mentioned, the things she likes are mostly high-fat, fried, processed, and unhealthy--and YOU do the shopping. Her body is so small right now and she needs all kinds of nutrients to help her grow. You won't find those nutrients in chicken fries and hot dogs.

If you take her to the grocery store with you and let her pick out fruits and veggies, she will probably become more interested in them (talk about what colors they are, the texture). Let her hold some carrots, some celery, etc while she is in the cart. She will become familiar with them. If you don't buy unhealthy food, she can't eat it. This is a great time to help her learn HEALTHY eating habits that will hopefully stick with her for a lifetime. Like another mom mentioned, let her help you in the kitchen--let her wash the veggies, make a sandwich, etc. At meals, talk about how milk helps you build strong bones, veggies keep us healthy and help us not get sick, etc.

Although I read that one mom said it can take 3-5 times of introducing a food, it can actually take about 12 times before they will try it or like it! (info form Parent's As Teachers and other research). So, don't give up! Your taste buds adapt to the kinds of food you eat. If she only eats these high-fat, fake foods, that is what she will learn to like. If you continually introduce healthy foods, she will learn to like them. As she gets older, you will have less and less control over what she eats. Right now, you still have a lot of say in it. Start her on the right path and your job in the future will be much easier.

I also believe you are not a short-order chef. If she doesn't want to eat what you have fixed for dinner for EVERYONE then she can eat it the next time she is hungry. If she learns that when she says she doesn't like something she'll get a hot dog instead, she'll never try anything new. And for a little encouragement, I have worked for many years at child development centers with toddlers. At meal times, they know we don't have anything else to give them if they don't want what is on their plate. It is just not an option. Over the years, I have never had a child refuse to eat what we give them and ask for something else. They at least eat something from their plate and we encourage them to try something else. Meal times are not a struggle--even for 8 toddlers at a time. Most of them even eat their veggies!

Also, an excellent book to read is "If It's Not Food, Don't Eat It" by Kelly Hayford C.N.C. I started reading this book after my husband had cancer last summer (age 26) and it talks about all the unhealthy additives, artificial colorings and flavorings, preservatives, and chemicals that are in todays food of the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.). It's entertaining and very informative. It will help you have a healthier lifestyle and will effect the way you feel (more energy, less fatigue, less illnesses). As someone else mentioned, I also have the book "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfield. It is a great book, but just remember that in addition to "hiding" healthy food, you have to continually introduce it as a healthy side dish or snack to your child.
Hope this helps (sorry so long) and best wishes. Let me know if you have any more questions on nutrition, I have a lot of info on it.

When my daughter started eating foods I made everything homemade. I was lucky enough at the time to be a stay at home mom and had the time to do this. My mother bought me a wonderful book called "First Meals". It was wonderful! Everything from babyfood to age progression meals. I try to stay away from the processed foods even now. My now 8 year old will eat anything I put in front of her. She loves Sushi and soy beans, fresh fish, fruits and veggies. I am blessed. I know this may sound horrible, but maybe you shouldn't give her a choice as to whether she will try it or not. Being a picky eater will only get worse. She may think she is in control. If you give her a nutritious meal that is not unusual and she refuses to eat, then don't give her anything else. She will get hungry enough to try it.

My son is almost 3 and goes through phases. I worried about fruits & veggies until I discovered V-8 Fusion. My son LOVES the strawberry-banana and likes others, too. Not to sound like a commercial, but there is a half cup of fruit & a half cup of veggies in an 8 ounce glass. Not a permanent solution, but it sure helps!!!

I found that my boys were very visual eaters. If they thought it looked wierd, they wouldn't even try it. I tried to make things interesting visually. Example...celery with peanut butter in the center. I put raisins on the peanut butter so the boys could eat the bugs...as long as your daughter gets a variety of foods, I wouldn't worry too much right now....

Hi, L.!
I am a 49 year-old grandmother of 3 and mother of 3. I had three very picky eaters as they were growing up. I was the health nut with junk food junkies (as was there step-dad).

It seems that you little girl is choosing pretty healthy foods for her age. Peanut butter is a great source of protein and if you spread it on whole grain bread, you've got the grains covered, too. Grilled cheese, the same way. Cheese is the protein. As far as vegetables. The best approach I leared was making food fun.
Bugs 0n a log were fun for my kids. Spread peanut butter (or any other nut butters) on a celery stick and decorate with raisins or cranberries.

Heart shaped pancakes were popular, as were cheese and crackers and carrot sticks.

I hope this helps a little. Most pediatricians will tell you not to worry. They will eat when they are hungry and keep introducing healthy options. It helps to get buy-in from the family, too.

Good luck, my friend.
Mimi Kat

Go to parenting.com and check out their recipes. They even have a way to sneak spinach into brownies!

I have a 9 year old that has been this way since he was an infant. Evaluate what they eat in terms of nutrition, bake rather than fry, avoid drive through food and let it go. If she will eat fruit push bigger portions of that and smaller of the fries (have to eat all of this apple before you can have any chicken nuggets). School has been a wonderful thing as my son will eat new things because of peer pressure. I took him to a specialist once, kept a log of everything he ate & she couldn't figure out why we were there. I have re-evaluate that on a regular basis and found somethings where I needed to push more of something and cut back portions of others. He is a small kid & will probably always be but I refuse to force him to eat. I have seen him go 3 days without eating because I was going to make him try something new. It wasn't worth it to me. Good LUCK! It is a challenge! I wont pack a lunch anymore as he eats a good break fast & has a snack at school & home. I end up packing snacks for all the kids in his class when I know they are having something he wont eat. (I don't want him singled out) but I still make him sit through lunch with the same food as everyone else.

Have you seen the book Deceptively Delicious? There are some great ideas on how to sneak nutritious food into your picker toddlers diet.

My 3 and 1/2 year old daughter was extremely picky and it all started about 20-24 months. She is getting better as she gets older. We have added 12-15 more items since this time last year. Consider at this age she is just starting to become assertive with having an opinion on likes and dislikes. I would not force her to eat anything...she will eventually try it when it is on her own terms. My pediatrician suggested to allow her to make choices, but only offer her what you are comfortable with her having.

My oldest loves "Mac n cheese". So, I pretty much make mac n cheese everyday but add stuff in it, it tuna, meatballs(which you can hide shredded veggies in if you home make them), we also love breaded zuccini (sp). Both my kids love the petitie vegetables which I ofcourse add to the mac and cheese. I have a niece that loved shredded zuccini, carrots and other vegetables fried together in little patties. You can make a bunch ahead of time and then freeze them then simply heat up. I know I will be reading your results to try and get some ideas for myself as well :) Good luck

I like chicken nugget idea.

As long as you keep offering her other foods she will hopefully grow out of the pickiness. I think it is also helpful to get kids excited about food.

My kids responded by presenting foods in fun ways - using cookie cutters to make shapes out of sandwiches, fruit, even vegetables if it is the right kind. You can also make fruit or vegetables into any kind of animal. I had my son help me cook really basic things (cornbread) since he was one years old. Even small kids can help sort food, mix, measure, pour, or snap beans, asparagus, etc. If you can involve kids in food preparation it also helps the preparation time that much easier since they aren't acting up for your attention. It is great for fostering counting skills as well.

I did candlelight dinners with my kids (my husband comes home late from work so it was just us). I would talk in a fancy voice and act like a waiter. I had friends who did dinners where the kids served them as if they were in a restaurant(probably have to wait at least one more year). Indoor or outdoor picnics are fun! Small kids can help with some parts of setting the table. I also noticed that they liked to sample all the fruit at the farmer's market because they were in chunks on little toothpicks so I started doing that as well (watching to make sure we disposed of the toothpicks right away). I have also introduced chopsticks at some meals which they also found interesting.

Involving kids in appropriate choices can help - should we have green beans or tomatoes tonight; cantoloupe or kiwi. It is not unusual for kids to not want to try things right away. The key is to continue offering healthy foods and limiting the nonhealthy items and lead by example. It is also important to not become a short order cook. It's more work on you and it doesn't teach children that they can't always eat what they want.

As long as your daughter is healthy she is not going to starve if she doesn't eat a full balanced meal each time she eats. I would include some items kids like at a meal as well as new things. I tell my kids that we like to eat all different colors of food. If they want more of one thing they have to eat some of the other first. I nicely tell them if they aren't hungry enough to at least try one fruit or vegetable than they must not be hungry enough to eat that extra helping of macaroni. I think it is important to think about what they appropriate portion for a small child is and only offer that much of that kind of food so they don't fill up on that type. I found myself giving huge portions of one food and then they weren't hungry for other things.

My son is 5 and has been very picky since about one. I fed him a huge variety of fruits and vegetables before that. For the last year he is gradually starting to be open to more things. It was a long process. He is very strong-willed so I also tried not to make it a battle. I did use the line that he wasn't getting more of what he liked until he tried the vegetables. Sometimes he would eat it and sometimes he would walk away from the table. Either way, he is still healthy and growing. Luckily my 3 year old daughter eats anything.

Good luck - keep offering things.

COnsistency in placing it in front of her. SHe won't starve so if she doesn't eat, tell her that's all for dinner. Eventually she'll give in. I think a lot of picky eaters don't like TEXTURE versus taste. Honestly, I battled a long time with both of my kids. I wasn't consistent and I think that's why the pickiness lasted as long as it did. FINALLY, for both of them, 5 seemed to be the magic number...they started eating...LOTS OF THINGS...now my son will eat Cauliflower with cheese sauce on it. I figured if they eat something with ketchup or cheese, it doesn't diminish the good thing underneath it!

IF she likes chicken nuggets, try fish sticks...if she likes pizza, try pasta with meat sauce and grate some carrots into the sauce. Does she like ground turkey...that was a staple for me for years...I make a meatloaf where I grind up carrots and onions and peppers and mix that into the ground turkey and make a meatloaf with it. It is light and tastes wonderful! THe kids don't know the difference.

I think the biggest worry is...they'll starve...or...there's not enough variety. Don't worry...supplement with a multi-vitamin if you are REALLY concerned and continue to introduce things to her. It may take a while but she WILL try things and she WILL enjoy them!

Good luck

Here, Hear, Christine G. You buy her food and it is important for her to learn to eat well. I started talking to my daughters right away about healthy food, hopefully in a healthy way. I let her pick foods at the grocery store, but at almost 4 she's only had hot dogs a couple of times and never had chicken nuggets. We LOVE pizza, and she loves to help make it, but we make it ourselves and make it with lots of veggies and whole wheat crust. Just think of each ingredient you put in and whether it could be made healthier (turkey peperoni?) Also, Dr. Sears has some great suggestions for picky eaters on his website. The nibble tray worked great for my older daughter to help her try things. It doesn't have to be meals or nothing. She also tended to eat better while I was preparing food, so I'd give her the fresh veggies that go in our meal. Both my girls LOVE steamed broccoli and red peppers. Try new things together, find things you like...

Here's the Dr. Sears website.
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T030800.asp

PS. This is really hard for me, but everything I read says DON"T bribe her to eat (you can't have dessert until you eat all of your veggies). It seems to be true. I've made dessert seperate from dinner, and certainly not an every night thing (plus I make my own goodies with lots of wholesome ingredients hidden in them).

I agree with what everyone else has said. I told my children from the time they were little, this isn't a restaurant. So I wouldn't cook something else for them. I made dinner, put it on the table, when they said "Gross!" My husband & I would eat & say, "Mmmm. This is SO good!" I didn't make them eat. I did (& still do for the grandbabies) make things eye appealing to children as much as possible. They all love whole wheat pancakes because I shape them into whatever they want & always make their initials so they will know which plate is theirs. I made some suggestions to my daughter in law who was struggling with boredom from the same old thing every day for lunch, because it was "all they would eat". I said have THEM make lunch sometimes. Put it all in bowls & let them do their own. Put the bread on the table & the lunch meat, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes & let them put it together. Yes it will be a mess. Isn't it always anyway when they are done eating? Or put crackers, cheese, tuna, etc all in separate bowls & let them make their own. Or put ranch dressing on the table with cut up vegetables & let them eat what they like. It's amazing the way kids will eat things that they "don't like" when they can have that independence of deciding what they want. So much when they are little is just them figuring out where their boundaries are & where they fit in. As the years progressed & my children were getting older, we changed the rules & said they had to try 1 bite. We could reason with them & tell them how their taste buds change so often, blah, blah, blah. So what they didn't like before, they may very well like now. I also still sneak vegetables into things though. They love spaghetti & you can pack meatballs with ANYTHING. I'm making homemade ravioli this weekend for my 5 yr old grandson & yes it will have fresh spinach & carrots..chopped so fine he'll never know! I love the food processor! When my husband & I were first married (33 yrs ago) he hated the smell of broccoli cooking in the house, but slowly he started tasting it & now it's his favorite vegetable. So you can even teach older "kids" to like things. Even with him, I just didn't make a big deal about it, but I would still make it for myself. And there WILL be things that your children will NEVER like. That's fine. I still don't like okra. I didn't like fish until recently. But now at 53 yrs old I am starting to like SOME fish/seafood. I just keep trying it every time I get a chance, without having to eat the whole plate of it! They are just little adults.

You may have tried this idea already, but I'll throw it out just in case. I have a 14 month old who is getting picking with his eating. His pediatrician suggested we dip his cooked veggies in ranch dressing or maybe a cheese dip, then feed it to him. A 2yr old is going to be more independent with eating, I'm sure. However, if she will let you feed this to her or maybe teach her to dip, it just may work.
Best of luck!

I can only tell you what worked for us, but we were lucky because our kids did not have low-weight issues. We figured the kids would be more prone to eat if they were hungry enough. So, at the age of table eating, we offered them whatever the family was having for dinner. If they didn't like it or complained, they were welcome to not eat - their choice. We also had the one-bite rule where they had to try at least a bite of something before they turned it down. We also tied this to gratitude, teaching them to say thank you even if they didn't like everything presented, thus honoring the feelings of whomever prepares food for them. Our kids are now 8, 10, and 12 and none are picky eaters. That doesn't mean they like everything everyday. As they got old enough to make PB&J's, we allowed them to make their own as an alternative. We found that eating is one of the few things kids can control in their lives. We set down our boundaries and then let them have choices within those boundaries. Again, I would not advise this if a DR has been concerned about maintaining a healthy weight. We found that the key to opening their little minds came from expressing their freedom by choosing to go to bed hungry. It didn't take much - and we weren't running around like cooks at a restaurant catering to their limited menu items.

tell her she can't have anything to eat until she is done with what you give her or take toy's away and she can't play until she eat's those veggie's you will probably have a hard time for a while but let her know you are serious.

If she will eat spaghetti, you could puree veggies in the blender and mix it with the sauce. She will never know. Also, it doesn't sound like she is starving. You could try giving her what everyone else eats for dinner. If she is hungry enough, she will eat it. That may sound a bit mean and it will take some time to get her to the point where she will eat other foods, but she will learn.

Hi L.. I read that you have to show a child a food at least 3-5 times before they try it. This sounds so annoying and wasteful, but I started to do it. I'd put some on her plate and some on mine and I'd eat mine and make a big deal about how yummy it was. For the first few days she made me actually remove it from her plate - she was not interested at all. By the end of the week she'd try it. It takes awhile but it's worth it.
I also sneak greens and some fantastic meal replacement shake into her drinks sometimes, just for my own peace of mind that she's getting great nutrition.
Good luck.
From a mom of one stubborn child....to another.
Jeannette

I have picky eaters too and have struggled with things. I always give them vegatables but I give it to them according to their age. ie... If I know my 3yr old doesn't like a particular veggie I give her 3 that she has to eat. 3 peas, 3 green beans etc..... than I up it if she wants more. She has started to like more things that way. I also buy the V8 Fruit Fusion Drink. It tastes like juice and they are getting vegetables that way because they have no clue there are vegatables in it. They particularly like the Strawberry Apple Banana Flavor. It's expensive but as long as I know they are getting a serving of veggies I will spring for it. My kids will also eat more things if they helped in the process of cooking it. There's always the trick of blending a vegetable and using it to saute foods or adding it to ice cream or something to turn in into a drink. They have no clue.
Good Luck----J. C

re: eating- I made the mistake of fixing ravioli all the time for my 1st child. it took forever to get her to eat anything else. now we make her try everything- I try to make at least one item on her plate that she likes- brown rice or steamed rice, peas, etc. we didn't make any special meals for my younger daughter (3) and she eats everything. you just have to keep trying - they say try at least 5 times w/ a new food. try mashed potatos, sweet potato fries, rice,corn. mine just dips everything in ketchup. I had to make a ravioli day-where she could only have it on Mondays- now she rarely eats it. does she like pasta? try whole wheat pasta, parmesan, butter. or spaggetti sauce. you might try the cookbook "Deceptively Delicious"- the chicken nuggets in there have pureed spinach or sweet potato hidden in the egg mixture for dipping). Pizzas- spread spinach puree on the dough or english muffin and then put the sauce over it.cover all the green. "buttered noodles" has 1/2 cup yellow squash puree mixed w/ milk and butter, parmesan. until creamy.
fruit juice- "Naked" juice in the organic area- has 1 1b of fruit per 2 servings. no sugar added. several flavors.

potty training- neither of mine were ready until 3- they just decided one day. we did pull-ups a lot. don't make a big deal out of it. we read a lot of the potty books. they liked the elmo one that flushes. good luck! we did 1 fruit snack for going pee pee and 2 for poo poo. other friends put a toy they wanted on top of the fridge where they could see it. they got it when they were potty trained. summer is a good time to do it when outside. we even kept a small potty outside for emergencies.

I sneak a lot of veggies in my kids' food. I bought that book, Deceptively Delicious (a cook book, and kind of a guide really that helps). I have three kiddos and the first two were all very picky when they were younger, my son, the older one more than my middle child. He is now 6 and eats pretty much anything and has been for the past 1-1/2 yrs. I decided to stop worrying about it with him, but kept putting the foods on his plate. Then I discovered the book and it really helps. I add cauliflower to things like mac-n-cheese, and mashed potatoes. I put broccoli in our spaghetti sauce, and chickpeas to chocolate chip cookies.~In her book she does that but has a different recipe. I use my own recipe and just put 3-4 chickpeas in the cookies. My kids and all of their friends, cousins, aunts, etc. never know the difference. The other foods you have to puree to add them to your foods, but really the kids can't tell. The key is adding foods that are similar in color, or that you know can hide in whatever you are adding it to. I still continue to put veggies on their plate and sometimes they eat them and sometimes they don't.

I realized my kids would eat when they were hungry, so I stopped sweating it. I think my mistake was when I had my son I made him sometime different a lot of times from what we were eating. With my third child I never do that and she eats any and everything! You could easily make your own pizza and add veggies to the sauce, in the book there is a recipe for chicken nuggets that my kids all love. Hope that helps!

This may sound silly, but Disney channel has a short show (five minutes between other shows) called "Captain Carlos." He's "The gaurdian of good nutrition and junk food's worst enemy." Carlos always has the choice between something healthy and some sort of junk food. It shows how his body would respond to both and he chooses the healthy one every time! Anyway, it has helped my kids (5 and 2) to be more aware of nutrition.