Picky eater suggestions

[ides]

O has been a picky eater since about 3yrs. I'm struggling to find things for him to eat and he gets board of things so I can't feed him the same thing over and over.

Right now I'm struggling. With veggies : He used to eat broccoli, green beans, peas, carrots, cucumbers and corn. Right now all he'll eat is carrots. He won't eat greens. With fruit he'll eat berries but they are out of season. He used to eat apples and bananas but will not currently. He won't eat oranges. Once and awhile he'll eat some pear. For most of what he won't eat its a texture thing.

With protein he'll eat cheese and the occasional bean or slice of turkey, sometimes a bite of tofu but it's mostly dairy.

For carbs he'll eat occasionally bread but he won't eat rice. He used to eat pasta but won't lately. He will eat crackers (trisket type).

He'll drink juice and milk occasionally.

Ideas please!!

He's 5

[ladymoreta]

As long as he isn't getting to be underweight, I'd just make sure you're eating the same things you're wanting him to eat, and make sure you're sitting down together during meal time. He can eat or not, but he has to stay sitting until you're done. If he's snacking between meals, I'd cut them down to almost nothing, or re-offer what he refused the previous meal. (This may not work for older kids like O, but it seems to help when mine start to get picky.)

[alison]

Mine is a poor eater, too. But honestly it fluctuates. One week, she won't eat anything except for slices of salami, and the next, she eats everything in sight.

Have you tried smoothies (mix a bit of yogurt, frozen berries, fruit, some orange juice)? That works well for M, especially if you let her operate the "blend" button on the blender.

I have also resorted to making M nachos when she won't eat what I serve for dinner. I put a layer of tortilla chips on a plate, some shredded cheese (sneak in some meat and some teeny tiny bits of whatever veggie we're eating for dinner), and then nuke it for 45 seconds in the microwave until the cheese melts and covers all "offensive things" hidden underneath.

I'm a total short-order cook around here, because of our history of poor eating. I'm beyond the criticism of "if she knows you'll make her what she wants, she won't eat what you make." Um no, my kid has and will starve herself! And raid the refrigerator at 3am. I don't need that.

[MrsK]

K1 is fussy in that he'll only eat "kid" food. Chicken nuggets, pizza, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, sometimes I can work in grilled cheese (but only if it's processed American cheese) or tacos (no lettuce or tomatoes). He won't eat veggies but he's good about most fruits. He'll eat yogurt, mozzarella sticks, sometimes crackers, sometimes baked potatoes (but not sweet potatoes). No on peanut butter but sometimes he'll eat cream cheese. He won't eat pasta, chicken, or anything that appeals to adults. I make dinner for the family and include a fruit as a side. Sometimes he'll just eat the fruit. I've had great luck with the Morningstar frozen chic'n nuggets, veggie burgers, and corn dogs. He doesn't know that they are soy/veggie protein and I feel a little better if I can sneak those in the rotation.

I don't know how he got this way since I'm pretty good about making nutritious meals. K2, on the other hand, luuuuvs chicken, broccoli, edaname . He'll choose grilled chicken over breaded chicken nuggets and enjoys trying new foods. The other day, he was totally grossing K1 out with calamari -- waiving the little tentacles at him and saying, "look, I'm eating an octopus!"

[OrionGrad]

The only way I can get DS to eat green veggies is if I hide them in the mini quiches I make in a muffin tin. They're super easy, and I actually like eating them too. I'll usually include any veggie he's been refusing to eat that week, plus some chicken or ham and a little cheddar cheese.

[SuzySunshine]

My kids don't eat veggies, they will usually try one bite to get a dessert but otherwise forget it. Once in a blue moon they'll find something they like and clean their plate. They'd be fruitatarians if we let them and yes this time of year that gets pricey.

What is it about the texture that he doesn't like? Will he eat things like muffins? Maybe you need to try one of the recipe books that hide good things for them in their food??

My kids are picky too but usually our rule is that they have to eat all of their protein (meat) and at least try everything else if they want a dessert. If they don't, that is fine but they get nothing to eat until the next meal time, this is usually only an issue at dinner which is why we're able to stick to it. They do get a morning and afternoon snack, if they are hungry again between meals they can have cheese or fruit, those are their only "out of schedule" options.

[diggitydot]

Picky eater suggestions

Have you tried making tater tots with other veggies? I made some with broccoli and our three stooges inhaled them like it was their job. Maybe cauliflower ones would be easier with super picky eaters because there's no tell-tale greenery anywhere?

[MrsK]

As for the cost of fruit in winter, try taking the Aldi circular to Walmart. Aldi has good prices for produce but their quality is poor. Walmart is better and they'll price match. We've been eating a lot of pineapple, bananas, pomegranate, apples, clementines, and pears and it has been pretty affordable. Like bananas for 30 cents/lb, pomegranate fo 49 cents each, and pineapple for 2.75 each.

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[HouseofWool]

As for the cost of fruit in winter, try taking the Aldi circular to Walmart. Aldi has good prices for produce but their quality is poor. Walmart is better and they'll price match. We've been eating a lot of pineapple, bananas, pomegranate, apples, clementines, and pears and it has been pretty affordable. Like bananas for 30 cents/lb, pomegranate fo 49 cents each, and pineapple for 2.75 each.

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Genius!

[Vishenka69]

I just spent 30 minutes cutting veal cutlets into fun shapes, frying to the right crunchiness and then doing a dance to convince DD to eat the smallest piece. She also goes through random phases of eating only 5 things. The next month she'll switch a couple but it's always 5-7 items. She won't touch any fruit or veggie or most proteins.

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[ides]

He doesn't mind the color green. Its small bits I think. He'll start to eat then get upset and start to gag then spit it out then refuse to eat it ever again. He's super perceptive to small bits. Up until last year he would actually vomit. Sensitive gag reflex I guess. He will only eat smooth yogurt. The fruit kind he won't touch due to the fruit bits. I've made him fruit smoothies and he liked them until he detected tiny particles. I used the Vitamix blender and didn't notice a thing but he did.

I don't cook/eat meat but tried sliced turkey as he asked for it. He ate it for a few days now won't eat it.

I have started following something my friend here does. He has to have a protein, fruit/veg and carb. I'll give him two choices for each. It is lessening my stress about food choices but he still often won't eat it. He's not under weight and he's very active- guess he just stores his food well. I was feeling very guilty and like a mom failure earlier but I need to just keep going.

Thanks for the suggestions! He won't eat pineapple but will eat mango. Lately I haven't been able to find any that didn't taste like chalk. Maybe I'll let him pick out strange fruits to try at the store. Maybe that will help.

[diggitydot]

Has he tried any puréed veggies? Mashed potatoes?

[Cleave]

Fruit smoothies have worked wonders for our kids. They pick the frozen fruit and pour it into the blender. They help mash it down (with the blender turned off). Recently, they starred adding spinach to the smoothies because they know they're supposed to eat vegetables but they hate the taste of spinach. So, since they can't taste it in the smoothie, so they are happy to put the spinach in too. Good luck!

[ides]

I haven't tried purred veggies. Maybe time to retry mashed potatoes. He didn't like them before, but it was a long time ago.