Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
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not enough protein
Mountaineers
member
My 16mo old will not eat the protein choices i give him. Any ideas on any others. I havent given peanut butter yet. I make him black bean and chicken roll ups. He will only eat a bite or two and thats it. He wont eat beans by themselves. He wont eat the beef in veggie beef soup. He spits chicken out. The gerber meals I try to give him he will eat the mashed potatoes or rice but when he feels the texture of the meat he spits it right out. He wont eat the soft chicken sticks or turkey sticks. Can I give him protein baby shakes?
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Re: not enough protein
My DD is also picky with meats, but here's what she will eat in the protein department. Also it usually takes mulitple exposures for her to finally eat a new food.
- eggs
- beans (sometimes)
- hummus on toast
- finely shredded chicken mixed with apple sauce or pasta sauce (I usually put cooked chicken breasts in the blender for a few second then freeze single servings)
- ham (i buy the low sodium nitrate free kind)
- avocado (i think this is a protein source?)
- nut & soy butters
- cooked tofu cubes
- sometimes stewed beef (finely cut up)
- sometimes chicken fingers if she can "dip" them in something (e.g. yogurt, pureed fruit or veg)
- cheese and greek yogurt
- starting to eat bit of ground beef mixed with sauce or rice
I would be hesitant to give a baby an adult protein shake....
It just occurred to me this weekend the reason LO won't eat very many meats and veggies is because he can't chew them enough where he feels comfortable swallowing...maybe that's the case here. We just gave him PB last weekend and he loves (albeit very messy). He also likes eggs, and mashed beans. He'll eat shredded beef or chicken, I think because they're smaller softer pieces.
Have you tried hummus or greek yogurt?
Oh and my little guy likes meatloaf...because it's easy to eat.
They don't need a lot of protein, and it doesn't have to be in the form of meat.
Nuts/seeds (you could start with almond butter or sunflower seed butter if you don't want to try peanut butter yet) are good.
Beans are good. (Leave the chicken out and see if he'll eat them. My daughter prefers them whole, not mashed. She LOVED hummus when she was your LO's age.)
Lentils are good.
Cheese/yogurt/milk is good if he can tolerate dairy.
And whole grains are good too - brown rice, oatmeal, quinoa.
And I found that just giving her the grilled chicken we were having, cut up, and ketchup to dip it in was all she needed.
MisN - you are a GREAT cook for your lo. You gave me tons if ideas!!!
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PgAL and PAL always welcome...Mine loves hummus, quacamole, cheese in any form, yogurt, almond butter, meatballs or meatloaf (turkey or beef), tuna (in the form of macaroni and t or t. melts), rotisserie or roasted chicken, chicken nuggets (I buy "healthy" ones or make them) and fish sticks.
He used to eat steak, ham, and pork but refuses now.