Meal Examples for 4 Year Old

My kids, ages 2 and 5 will eat
-Crab Legs (King Crab Legs only for children)
-Halibut from the BBQ, its a lot milder without that fishy taste
-Pork Chops (a lot more tender than a steak)
-Sausage (I have a great kilbasa recipe, let me know if you want it)

The first steak my kids got was filet mignon. My parents only bought cheap steaks for us kids when I was growing up and I did not learn to enjoy steak until I was an adult and discovered that not all steak was a broiled T-bone.

Good Luck!
~N.

P.S. I don't feed my children tuna. They say its okay in small amounts, but I don't think its worth the risk.

Have you checked out weelicious.com? Toddler recipes, feeding advice and more. There's usually no set amount of food that a 3-5 year old should be eating because every little one is different. You should just try to make sure your son is getting plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and protein. If he doesn't like fish and meat, you could try chicken, seiten, tofu, tempeh or eggs for protein.

My 4 year old twins are fabulous eaters, so your son would probably not like my recipes, but here is what my guys eat in a typical day.

1-2 bowls (fairly large) of cereal for breakfast. Cheerios, Kix, Kashi go lean crunch, shredded wheat, puffins, shredded spoonfuls, Annies cereals to name a few. Or about a cup to a cup and 1/2 of regular old oatmeal. No sugar, not the packets just regular oatmeal. I add milk to it instead of water, since my kids dont drink milk. and to the oatmeal I add about a quarter cup of frozen blueberries.

Snack. string cheese, 1/2 to a full apple, 6 crackers like wheat thins. or a granola bar, we like Kashi granola bars. Or a cup of plain yogurt with blueberries or whatever fresh fruit i have on hand. Sometimes i carry with me single serving containers of Horizon, Silk (soy) or goat milk yogurt for when we are on the go.

Lunch: a whole almond butter and fruit spread (no sugar homemade jam) sandwich, on whole grain bread. peas (sugar snap or regular), carrots or bell pepper strips. Small handful of Annies chedder bunny crackers. Hummus to dip veggies if I have it on hand.

Box of raisens for afternoon snack. Or a string cheese if they didnt have one earlier. Or a fruit different than earlier fruit.

Dinner: my kids eat it all. 4 Broccoli florettes, salmon with tomatoes and wilted spinach, 1/4 cup of brown rice. Or chicken breast with salad about 1 cup in measure. Salad would contain shredded carrot, avocado, onion, spinach, red leaf lettuce, walnuts or almonds, dried cranberries, tomatoes. They like all kinds of dressings but I mainly use vinegrette kinds.

Thats it, a typical day of meals for my boys. They are big eaters I know, but are not large kids. 41 inches I think and just hovering at 40 lbs. OH, and NO dessert, unless it is a special occasion.

http://www.browniepointsblog.com/2005/09/22/chocolate-pea...

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/ricefried/r/basicfriedric...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v372/purple1girl1/IMG_0... ( its green now not blue but its the one we use.)

http://southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotsausagerecipes/r...

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=3...

Also let the child help make the food they tend to want to eat it more if they help with the preparing. Just get creative and sneaky with your meat I chop up those vegetarian protein hot dogs? Life smart I think. And add it to fried rice and other things to try and get my 2 yr old to eat more better stuff. Also simple healthy snacks they can help them self's with like yogurt and baby carrots and hummus and celery sticks make in the am put on a plate in fridge with peanut butter I use the heather kind its best for us all! We also keep cheese sticks or cheese I cut up in the morning in plastic bags where kiddos can reach. Also I make home made trail mix for outings I pack in snack bags I use banana chips with sugar but I get the ones with the little bit of sugar not the ones that have like 40 G of sugar more like 16g. Also raisins and pretzels without salt from the health food store and the healthy store m&m's and some peanuts. :) I also leave cups with ice water or ice and juice (putting ice is a good way to ensure your child is getting their water for the day.) in the fridge for them to help them self's. Just think EASY!

I also ask them what they want for dinner if they say pizza I make pita pizza with canned hunts garlic tomato sauce and shredded mozzarella and peperoni or turkey peperoni. And bake 350 for 15 mins for 2. I use a pizza pan too.

I hope this helps just remember EASY.

Hi L.,
Can your son tell you why he doesn't like meat and fish? Is it taste or consistency? Depending on his answer you may still be able to give him meat and fish in a different way. For example he may not like hamburger but maybe he'll eat sliced roast beef on a sandwhich. I won't eat cooked fish but I eat sushi. So if you can figure out the source of the problem you may be able to work around it and offer other choices.

My son is five and he eats everything but here are some things he likes that may appeal to your son:

1)hardboiled eggs and scrambled eggs. He likes the eggs scrambed with salami but you can also scramble with other things.
2) Avocado (he'll even eat guacamole)
3) Edamame (you can buy them shelled and frozen so you can just thaw them) - they're a great source of protein and fun to eat
4) Chick peas - he loves to play games with them when he eats them. He'll eat them in a salad with lettuce, cherry tomatos and croutons. He also loves Humus.
5)Quesadilla and tacos - we buy soft tortillas and put in some cheese and a little chicken and tomato and bake them in the oven. He eats them with sour cream, chips and salsa.
6) Pasta with meat sauce - you may be able to get meat in that way. Or buy meat ravioli. You can't taste the meat with the sauce on it.
7) Whole Foods 365 brand Tuna Fish. It's the best Tuna we've ever tasted - mix it up with lots of mayo and let your son dip chips or crackers in it. It doesn't taste like fish.
8)Breaded chicken breast or breaded veal (you can bake or fry)
9) Sauces - my son loves to dip his food - he likes Olive oil, balsamic, ranch dressing, ketchup, BBQ sauce...
10)Yogurt - he likes the drinkable yogurt and the one that somes in the tube
11)Cottage cheese or muenster cheese - on a toasted english muffin

I don't cook so I don't have any recipes to give you but I hope this helps you somewhat. Don't stress too much about it! He'll eventually start eating more things. You can always supplement with a multivitamin if you are worried he's not getting enough nutrition (we take Flintsones Complete every day). You just have to keep trying and eventually he'll start eating new things. And sometimes just let him eat what he wants. As good as my son eats sometimes he just wants cheetohs and string cheese.

Good luck!

He may be a vegetarian already! I haven't liked meat for as long as I remember. Last I recall was forcing down a hot dog at a kindergarten birthday party to be polite, and being grossed out by it. And also ordering chicken nuggets at McDonalds and only being able to eat one... this is about age 5. I have memories of having to eat chicken sandwiches and swedish meatballs at my best friend's house, to be polite, and hating it. Around age 10 I couldn't fake it anymore and I started telling people I was a vegetarian (not for any animal-loving reason, just don't like the taste and texture).
My parents never forced it, so I never ate any meat at home. I grew up fit as a fiddle anyway, and this was before tofu and all that morningstar and boca stuff was available (which I do eat now as an adult). So I wouldn't stress if he doesn't liek it, try to get his protein in other ways. Maybe it's a phase and he'll decide to start eating it one day.

L.,

I have a six year old similar to your except he has started to like some meat sometimes. I don't have any recipes just some info. When my older children (19, 17 and 17) were little I learned that one of the problems with kids eating habits is that their taste buds are constantly maturing and changing. So what is important is that you are constantly putting new things in front of your son but do not FORCE him to eat anything. My rule is that they have to eat at least one bite of everything on their plate. I have a talk with them about it and tell them how different things will taste different to them so they need to keep on trying at least one bite. It is funny to see their faces when they realize that they like an item that they thought they didn't like. Of course there were times that they refused that one bite but my rule was that they could choose to eat just one bite of everything or they would need to go into their bedroom for the rest of the evening. They would not have family time, any TV or computer. I think each of them disobeyed once but then decided that taking that one bite was not that big of a deal. You decide what punishment there should be but my advice is keeping up the one bite habit.
Oh, and I recently found out about the evils of High Fructose Corn Syrup that is in so many of the foods these days. Please rid your kitchen/pantry of foods sweetened with this sweetner, it is bad stuff. Check online for info. on studies that have been done about this sweetner. Also check your bread. Some put it in to make it soft.

Hope this helps,

Although my son is a total carnivore, he loves tofu as well. It's cheaper than meat so I use it fairly often as a protein substitute. I cut it up and put it in pasta, put it into soups, eggs, etc. My little cousin couldn't stand eating meat so after dinner, my aunt and uncle would make him a tofu shake for "dessert" and put lots of fresh fruits in them. They were actually delicious. I agree about not forcing foods onto them but sneaking in protein like eggs, tofu, nuts, dairy, legumes, soy, etc. is probably your best bet.

My kids (almost 4 and almost 2) will not eat any meat or fish either. That's okay, when they are ready they will. They eat chicken or hot dogs and lots of brown rice and beans for protein. They eat oatmeal or cereal for breakfast usually, turkey/cheese or peanut butter/jelly sandwiches for lunch. My younger one loves tofu believe it or not. she will eat it right out of the package with a little soy sauce on it. Dinner- veggies, rice and beans or chicken or pasta or something like that. I hope this helps!

dous he love veggies try kebobs with lots of veggies and litte bites of meat the meat takes on the flavor of the veggies good stuff my two year old loves it

What about letting him put ketchup or even cake sprinkles on top? I know it sounds gross, but a few sprinkles couldn't hurt if it is getting him the protein he needs. And my daughter HATED steak, until I offered her some A1 sauce, which I assumed she wouldn't like (she's picky) but she actually did, or maybe it was the whole Dipping process. I can't convince my daughter, I either have to trick her, or find some other compromise. She loves fruit and a few vegetables like potatoes with sour cream or steamed broccolli with a dash of salt and butter, and carrot sticks with ranch. I guess it is the "extras" that get her to eat the foods, so you might want to offer out of the blue kind of things, like ham bites he can dip into syrup or honey. Good luck.

Might be your son is more of a vegetarian like my sister's son. He might enjoy beans, rice, etc. more.

I hear ya! My 4 year old is totally my fruit and veggie kid. He used to eat some meat...then he turned 4 and all the sudden decided he doesn't like chicken, salmon, steak - basically, if it's not a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, "he doesn't like it". It's really annoying.

I try to give him cheese and vegetables, pb&j sandwiches on whole grain bread, whole wheat pasta, lots of fruit, granola bars, etc. I asked his doctor and he said, if he doesn't like meat, then try to get other protein in. Fortunately, he likes eggs, especially hard boiled "easter" eggs. He loves peanut butter, etc. From day one though I've always gotten the healthy versions of food....all natural peanut butter, low-fat string cheese, whole grain bread, fresh veggies & fruit. So if you can sneak the healthier stuff in, then I don't think no meat should be much of an issue.

He may just end up being a vegetarian - try to incorporate some vegetarian dishes for your son...most of them incorporate protein somehow.