Super Picky Eater

Children can hold three things over us as their parents. Toilet training, grades in school, and thirdly...what they eat. It sounds more like a control issue besides what she really likes and dislikes. When I used to make spaghetti sauce I used to put red lentils in it and even carrots. I wouldn't worry too much. My pedi used to say that children need to eat one good meal a day. Bribing with ice cream puts her in control. Good luck...

This may sound ridiculous, but it worked for my friend and her super picky daughter! She cuts out pictures of Dora and the princesses and tapes them to things like green beans, peas, etc., whatever her daughter wouldn't eat, and tells her they eat it too! It may be overboard, but at 4 they don't know what's best for them yet but you do! :)
See if you can find some sticker sheets with a character she likes and put them on the things you are making, like a package of chicken or a bag of carrots or potatoes. Remind her while it's cooking that (insert character name) eats this also and if he/she/it likes it, it must be good! And if she truly doesn't like it, at least she will have tried. Good luck!

Ah yes...the "tan food" child. Not one other color in the mix. That was my son as well. Try mixing pureed butternut squash in with the mac & cheese, and/or adding some "good cheese" to the boxed mix. Start small and work your way up. You can buy the squash in the frozen section and just cut off a piece with a warm, sharp knife, then melt it in with the cheese. When I steamed vegetables for us (broccoli, spinach, beans etc.), I drained off that green water into a pitcher, cooled it, and froze it either in freezer containers or ice cube trays. Then I used it for anything that absorbed all the water (rice, couscous). Don't waste it on pasta where all the water isn't absorbed.

I also put all kinds of stuff in pancakes and French toast. I used protein powder and soy milk powder in both, and I used really "holey" bread for the FT so it would absorb a lot more in the nooks & crannies. I put cinnamon on top - he liked that. Then I added cinnamon to the batter or sprinkled it on while the toast was cooking. Pretty soon "cinnamon brown" toast covered up the fact that I was using whole grain bread. I like Nature's Promise Flax & Grain from Stop & Shop - lots of holes! In the pancakes, I was even more relentless - finely chopped broccoli (I know it's weird but he ate it!) and anything else I could chop up, plus wheat germ and flax meal. I also put a lot of great things in lasagna - don't know if your child will eat that yet but there's a lot you can do with spinach and tofu and cottage cheese in there!

You could also try falafel - my son ate that, surprisingly - I guess because it was tan! I used the mix (you might have to go to the health food section of the market) but cut the spiciness with added wheat germ, flax meal (ground flax seeds), even whole wheat bread crumbs plus extra "veggie water" as described above. I fried them up quickly in canola oil or light olive oil (or a mix) just to crisp them up, and then finished them in the oven.

Have you tried giving her things to dip in other things? Kids sometimes like that. Carrot strings instead of carrot sticks make chewing easier. Make a light cream cheese dip by microwaving it briefly to soften it. You can try ranch dressing too. There's also a dip you can make with whipped cream or whipped topping, instant pudding (lemon, raspberry, whatever she might like) and milk. It's good for dipping fruit. Maybe fruit chunks on skewers or fancy toothpicks would interest her? Or even let her dip it in chocolate? A small amount helps get the fruit in!

I have heard many times that it takes an average of 10 times for a child to try a new food that is introduced and for them to develop a taste for it.

In the last few years I found a great children's supplement that comes in a vanilla or chocolate flavor - mix with any liquid including water - makes up for all the missing nutrients in food. If you are interested I can help you with that.

Meantime, you are doing the right thing, introducing her to foods and not making special meals. You can't make her eat but it sounds like she is learning good manners. Stick with it!

Not sure about fool proof recipes but I do have a solution. Our bodies crave what we eat so if one is not eating fruits and veggies we won't crave them. I use JuicePlus+ for my family and it has helped without problems. they are fruits and veggies in a gummie form that kids take every day. I used this for my 16 yr son who now grabs the carrot sticks instead of the chips.
visit www.cynthiamembracesjuiceplus.com and let me know if I can answer any questions. Also due to the fiber in fruits and veggies this helps with regularity. Cyndi

My daughter is also a very picky eater She how ever wont eat anything that has meet in it at all we recently just started hot dogs and she wont even do that most of the time. It is no meat none. She eats cottage cheese some times grilled cheese and ceral with milk drinks milk like it is going out of style and wont ever try anything new. We have to hold her mouth open to get her to try new things, Which I really dont like to do.. my Husband trys hard to get her to eat new things but to no aveil.
Anyhow when you get some advise I would love to hear it if you want to share.

My son dips everything in applesauce. I try not to make him special meals, either. I used to make the stuff you listed for my oldest son (mac-n-cheese, hot dogs, grilled cheese, or chicken nuggets) and he ended up getting really sick from all of that. My whole family got a 24 hour stomach virus one summer and he had it for a whole week-- the doctor asked me what he normally eats and was shocked and said no wonder his little body couldn't fight off the virus! After that, we had him drink an Ensure every single day for over a year. Now he's older and understands he needs to eat better. Back to my 3.5 year old-- like I said-- he dips nearly everything in applesauce. I stopped buying chicken nuggets because my husband said they showed on the Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution show how they make them-- he said they basically take off the breasts and other useful meat, then stick the remains (bones and all!!) into a grinder, then add stuff to it to make it mold into a nugget shape, then batter it and deep fry it. Nasty!! I will put just 2-3 pieces of pork or chicken or whatever we are having for dinner on his plate and he'll dip it in applesauce and eat it. If that's all he eats for dinner that day, fine. But sometime's he'll ask for more. He doesn't eat any vegetables, but he loves fruit-- bananas and watermelon especially. You can peel and cut up an apple and let her dip it in honey. Also, cut up watermelon in small pieces and let her eat it with a toothpick.

My son is the same way-and there are no fool proof recipes, it all depends on his mood. I was the same way as a child. I turned out ok-waitressing in my late teens cured me of my pickyness.
From personal experience- it was not about control. I do not get into power struggles with son. I serve him what ever I have made for dinner and if he does not eat it, he will be hungry. He has to learn natural consequences. The bigest mistake my mom made with me was preparing me a seperate meal every night.
Anyway, just wanted to let you know I can relate! and Thank Heaven for V8 FUSION! That stuff is great!

A couple thoughts come to mind - 1 - is that you need to make sure the quality of what she eats is excellent and the second is that you need to be sneaky. If she loves grilled cheese - make sure it's on excellent quality 100% whole wheat bread and try sneaking a slice of tomato or a piece of turkey in the middle. If she'll eat pasta - make sure it's whole wheat and blend pureed vegetables into the sauce. I would use a juicer to juice the fresh veggies and fruits she needs and plain yogurt, cottage cheese, tofu, etc... can be added to these juice and smoothies. Also, do you let her help prepare food? My kids are much more likely to eat something they had a hand in making.
Chicken nuggets and fish sticks should be home made. Make them in large batches and freeze. She'll get used to it even if it's not what she wants initially.
If boxed mac and cheese happens - get the healthy kind and throw in a little frozen spinach or peas. And I think one of the most important thing is that you need to remember to educate her and set limits. My daughter just turned 5 and she knows what is a carb what is a protein choice and what is a special treat. If the good foods aren't eaten - the junk foods (which include boxed mac and cheese) - are absolutely not allowed. No exceptions. Nutrition is very important and it's important that we as the parents set limits, set a good example - and are willing to give a little tough love to get them there.
My kids are picky too, but there is no compromises when it comes to eating the good foods before the foods they would choose first. At 4 - you can communicate with her and explain this to her. It's much harder when they are young and you just want something in their belly, but - the time has come and she is old enough not to be catered to.
So, have a good conversation with her, explain it to her, and ask her to help plan a grocery list and a menu. Then stay firm. No sweets or junk food meals period. A good day of eating is a great time to bake some oatmeal cookies as a reward. Then put them in the freezer until another great day of eating!

Best of luck in this situation :)

I hav a daughter like this so I know all about the headaches this causes. She won't try new things. I and others have encouraged her so much, but she, 5 years now, sniffs it and turns up her nse. There's no talking her into it. She does well with protiens and milk but veggies and fruits are hard. I make a veggie fritter (eggs, flour, cheese, mashed up veggies) that she usually eats. If it goes over well, you can add parsely and onions - two other things my daughter also sneers at. Other than that, keep going with the foods your child likes. Praise her a lot for eating a good meal. Mine doesn't like juice much but I give her a small cucumber everyday just to make sure she eats at least one vegetable.

Sounds like you are doing everything the books tell us to do with a picky eater. I can offer you my two fool proof and successful "recipes."

Plain whole milk yogart (I get the european kind that is smooth) in a cuisanart with fruit. This weekend I used a mango, a few cherries and a peach (with skin on).

The other recipe is sticky rice with bite size pieces of fish (butter fish or salmon--something fatty) and bitesize pieces of avocado. I use a little soy sauce and toasted seasame seeds on top.

My sons could live on these two meals.

I've managed to get the kids to like broccoli by cooking it well and adding a little olive oil and salt. My eldest pretends he is a plant eating dinosaur. Ketchup is also a lifesaver in my family!

Good luck. I think all kids have their own issues. Neither one of mine will eat cheese of any sort.

My picky eater will drink Bolthouse Farms blueberry juice which is made from fruits and vegetables and has quite a bit of fiber. It's thicker than the Frusion and is expensive, but it might be worth a try. She also recently discovered she likes regular V-8 juice.
She used to like homemade smoothies but gave them up a while ago. She just tried the Stonyfield prepared smoothies though and likes them. I suspect they don't have as much fruit in them as I'd put, but there is some and at least the yougurt is good.
Some less nutritious, but not entirely junk food options: sweet potato fries (homemade or frozen), SnapPeas (snacks made from peas in the produce aisle), freeze dried fruits.
Also, nuts, eggs (scrambled, hard boiled, egg salad), frozen yogurt sticks (so it's like a popsicle), sliced apples w/ cinnamon sugar.
You could try sliced fruit w/ Nutella. (My daughter would just lick off the Nutella.)
Good luck,
J.

My 3.5 year old son sounds exactly like your daughter! I struggle with meal times. I make a sweet potato soup that he loves. I will send the recipe to you. I give him the super food green smoothie from Odwalla and I got a vegan protein powder at Whole Foods, which I add in small amounts into banana smoothies. I found he likes almonds, unsalted and those are good for him. Good luck!