My little boy is P.I.C.K.Y. It's frustrating to make meals for him. I have talked to lots of my mommy friends who have children of similar ages, and it seems to be a consensus: preschoolers are hard to feed. My guy has about 5 things he will eat on a regular basis: chicken nuggets (I at least try and buy the least nastied-out ones), grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese...okay, that's 3 things. More often than not he'll eat what I make for dinner; he loves mashed potatoes and gravy (which he seems to think is rice...who cares if he eats it, right?!?), and he'll eat pretty much anything if it has "dip" on it. Thankfully, he also likes fruits: apples, applesauce, pears, blueberries, oranges, bananas. I cannot get him to eat veggies. If it's green, it's a no-go. I'm tired of coercing him to eat! Do any of you have suggestions on how to help my boy be more adventurous with his foods? There's only so far I can go in trying to disguise healthy stuff in the foods he likes!
I need to add a few things about my boy: he has GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease). He's had it since he was 2 months old. It's hereditary. And he's medicated. However, I still have to take into account the acidity of his foods. Secondly, he can't have peanuts (neither can his sister - hooray for allergies!).
4 comments:
Kayla is a very picky eater as well. She wouldn't eat veggies at all for several months. My mother finally got her to eat some peas. They were frozen and we were putting them in a pot to cook them and we all sat around eating frozen peas. She didn't think that it was a vegetable, just something fun to eat.
The other thing we did was get baby carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and celery, and dip them in ranch dressing. We all did it as a family and sat around acting like it was just something fun to do.
Also, sometimes corn on the cob is more fun to eat than the regular frozen or canned stuff.
We did the same as Dena, we would take little raw veggies and dipped them in dressing. My 3 yr old is a picky eater as well. You beat me to this post! My pediatrician told me not to worry at this point. As long as he's getting his dairy and is healthy, then don't fret. Easier said than done, right?
I will say this, the only time my 3 yr old eats something new, is if his older cousins are eating it. Weird. Good luck. I say, stick to what your child knows, for now.
you can also try pureeing veggies and adding them to the foods he will eat. Puree squash and add it to the mash tators or mac-n-cheese. he will be none the wiser. :) You can pretty much puree any veggie and add it to various things.
Googeling how to puree veggies will probably be your best bet and their are most likely lots of recipe's on how to hide said veggies in more picky eater friendly foods.
good luck
A lady told me once she puts spinach in smoothies. Enough to get vitamins, but not enough that he'll eat it. My mother-in-law makes zucchini brownies that are actually really tasty. I read an article once that said veggie pieces are boring, but if you make them into a game, then maybe they'll be more exciting.
Here are some of my ideas: Make a tic tac toe board using carrot spears and play with olives and cucumber slices. Have B. use veggie pieces to make a face on his plate and then let him eat it. See if he can construct a pyramid out of cauliflower pieces, then let him eat it.
I'm the same way with dip. I think it makes all veggies better!! So I can't fault him for that. I'd say let him have dip, but you can make it healthier if you serve him homemade ranch using fat free milk and plain yogurt instead of mayo.
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