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Help me feed my kids...

johnandkristinjohnandkristin
in Cincinnati Babies

I don't know what to feed my kids. Seriously. I feel like I give them crap all.day.long. I need to change their diet. The only good thing is I give them fresh fruit at every meal. They also take a multi-vitamin everyday. I'm tired of all the processed junk!

My problem is that Jack is the pickiest eater, ever. He will not touch any vegetables...none. He likes fruit, but only certain fruits...he won't eat cantaloupe, apples, watermelon (who doesn't like watermelon?). Even his staple fruits, he'll only eat sometimes. Ex. He usually eats grapes and blueberries, but sometimes the skin bothers him and he won't eat it. He also has a nut allergy, so he can't have peanut butter, nutella, etc. 

Annabelle will pretty much eat anything. Thank the Lord.

I've been wanting to make better choices for all of us. I just feel overwhelmed!

Does anyone have any healthy kid-friendly recipes, or even any ideas to help me make some better choices? 

TIA!

Photos taken by Becky Thompson
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Re: Help me feed my kids...

  • JLPT830JLPT830 member

    I like the weelicious website.  She has some good recipes and also ways to make things from scratch you would otherwise buy way over processed.  For example...I am hoping to try her fruit leather recipe soon (think fruit roll-ups). 

    When I plan our dinners it will always consist of the main part, a starch of some sort, and a veggie and/or fruit.  My DH is horrible at eating veggies and this way I know for sure he's at least getting one serving a day.  When I make lunch for DS....I follow the same rule of thumb....main part, a fruit, and a veggie.  At breakfast he typically has a fruit as well.  At snack time I try to get another serving of fruit or veggie or dairy in as well. 

    My DS loves dried fruit, so instead of fruit snacks, he eats dried cherries, cranberries, and apricots.  Has your DS tried dry fruit?  Would he eat the smoothies that everyone is always talking about?  Mine doesn't like to drink a smoothie, but I'm thinking of making them into popsicles. 

    If you are trying to overhaul your eating habits, I think you have to start small and everyone has to follow it.  I am trying to change us over to a less processed family as well.  I'm taking baby steps.  We have just started making large batches of marinara sauce and freezing it instead of using a jar of sauce.  (The recipe is delish BTW, and has veggies in it!) Once you find things your family likes you could freeze meals and still have that convenience factor.  That's usually my problem....I don't have the time to prepare things the way I would like and sometimes it's just more convenient to have something processed. 

    My DS went through a really picky phase and we found that consistency was key.  If I knew we were having something new or something he tended not to eat, I made sure the sides were something he liked so he wouldn't starve.  We have always had the policy that you eat what is served and Mom isn't a short order cook.  DS has to try a bite of whatever, but he's allowed to spit it out if he doesn't like it.  He now eats several things that he used to turn his nose up at, because we always encourage him to try.  We also use bribery.....but we bribe him with fruit!  Ha!  "Eat a bite of chicken and you can have another strawberry."  :-)  

    Anyway....I feel like this response is all over the place.  Just know you aren't alone in your feelings and your picky LOs.  Heck, it took me almost 7 years of marriage to get DH to eat seafood and salad...it can be done!
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  • bellevuebride07bellevuebride07
    I struggle with the same thing all the time.  Leo is a very picky eater as well.  He does like quesadillas though, maybe give them a try.  I can usually add some chicken in them, and get them to eat some protein that way.  Leo has always refused veggies as well.  We started giving him carrot sticks at every meal adn eventually he started eating them.  I think it helped to see us eating them too.  I also try to add spinach to a lot of our dinners.  Spinach, zucchini, squash, carrots are all pretty easy to hide in red sauce, casseroles etc.  

    I'm really interested in what others have to say.  Our family could definitely stand to eat healthier since my work out plan isn't going so well.
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  • Ttimes3Ttimes3
    imageJLPT830:

    When I plan our dinners it will always consist of the main part, a starch of some sort, and a veggie and/or fruit.  When I make lunch for DS....I follow the same rule of thumb....main part, a fruit, and a veggie.  At breakfast he typically has a fruit as well.  At snack time I try to get another serving of fruit or veggie or dairy in as well. 

    If I knew we were having something new or something he tended not to eat, I made sure the sides were something he liked so he wouldn't starve.  We have always had the policy that you eat what is served and Mom isn't a short order cook.  DS has to try a bite of whatever, but he's allowed to spit it out if he doesn't like it.  He now eats several things that he used to turn his nose up at, because we always encourage him to try.  We also use bribery.....but we bribe him with fruit!  Ha!  "Eat a bite of chicken and you can have another strawberry."  :-)  

    Pretty much all of this holds true with us, too. In general, J gets a fresh fruit with breakfast, (most of the time, even if it's just warmed from frozen) a veggie with lunch, and another veggie with dinner (plus, more often times than not, another fruit as a "dessert"). Even though it goes against much of what we prescribe to, as it relates to feeding behaviors, we oftentimes cheer (and otherwise act a fool/make a big deal of it) when J voluntarily tries new foods.

    ETA: Jersey recommended some books on eating (by Ellyn Satter), which helped me to put some of my related concerns in perspective.

    Here's a fairly concise article on the topic, which summarizes a few of Satter's key points. You can also read more about her basic theories/principles on eating on her website.

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  • kyfirewifekyfirewife member

    Does Jack like to dip foods?

    One tip I've heard is making their veggies (or whatever they won't eat) dippable so it's more "fun".

    Plus maybe if they're cut differently & served to him in a way he's not used to he won't catch on to what you're up to Wink

    GL!

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  • adamsbabbleadamsbabble member

    Ava is also a picky (and light) eater, and her pedi said to try to just focus on her eating at least one serving from each food group each day rather than worrying about how much she's eating at each meal.  For example, she usually eats cereal or a waffle or pancake with fresh fruit for breakfast, so that takes care of one serving of whole grain and fruit for the day.  If she eats more whole grain or fruit (which she usually does), we look at it as just a bonus.  At lunch, she usually takes care of her protein serving and since she usually eats a yogurt for snack, she usually gets a second 'bonus' serving of protein each day.  By the time dinner rolls around, it's usually just the veggies that I have to check off. 

    On the subject of veggies- she really only has 1 or 2 veggies she likes (so I make those a lot).  Sometimes she eats them and sometimes she doesn't.  It's her choice to eat them or not.  I encourage her to eat them, but I don't make her.  I used to try to, but I've come to terms with the fact that I can't make her if she doesn't want to and bribing or forcing her to doesn't really send the right message about food.  The important thing is to just keep offering them and know that if they choose not to eat them, they are getting plenty of nutrients through the rest of her food and their vitamins. 

    Another thing I do is try to make the most of snack times.  I offer yogurt, string cheese, fruit, dried fruit or goldfish to dip in hummus as snacks--not cookies, crackers, chips, fruit snacks, etc. (unless it's a special occasion).  Toddlers get a good percentage of their daily calories and nutrients from snack time, so I think it's important to make every calorie there count.  Snack time is a time that it's usually pretty easy to get LO's to eat without having to beg or bribe them to do it, so make the most of it.

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  • JenRose05JenRose05 member
    I love doing customized "quesadillas", super easy. Whole wheat tortilla with cheese and toppings zapped in the microwave. Sometimes its black beans and fresh cilantro, most of the times its hummus. B has nut allergies as well so we always have sunflower seed spread from trader joes in to do "ants on a log" (celery with SB and raisins on top), fruit, whole wheat crackers, orange slices, yogurt, cheese sticks, hard boiled egg, rolled deli meats, carrots with sour cream for dipping, cottage cheese, jasmine rice, tri colored pasta with a tiny bit of cheese sprinkled on top
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  • johnandkristinjohnandkristin

    Okay, sorry this is late, but thank you everyone for the great responses. There is a lot of useful information here!  Smile

    Photos taken by Becky Thompson
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