how much meat does your toddler eat?

lilydeven · September 2011

i have a 19month old and he doesn't eat much meat. At most he will eat some chicken, but on rare occasion. He won't eat beef. I worry about his protein intake, although I give him lentils, beans, quinoa, and leafy greens. Any ideas as to how to make him eat more meat? TIA.

Ruby_Soho · September 2011

What about mince? If you make bolognaise or something will he eat that? Is it just steak or chop type meat he won't eat? There's a bunch of stuff you can make with mince if he'll eat that.

amykins1283 · September 2011

Not much. He picks around it when it's in spaghetti sauce and stuff. The other week we were excited when he ate 1/2 a kids turkey and cheese sandwich from Firehouse subs. We just give him milk, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, and beans at home a lot. He does, though, eat the meat at daycare from what I can tell.

melody921 · September 2011

Hardly any. He will eat a meatball, I suspect because of the sauce since he loves tomatoes. Occasionally, he'll eat a little chicken, but generally, he's just not a real big meat eater. I give him beans, peanut butter and dairy to make up for the protein.

lilydeven · September 2011

Ruby_Soho:
What about mince? If you make bolognaise or something will he eat that? Is it just steak or chop type meat he won't eat? There's a bunch of stuff you can make with mince if he'll eat that.

you mean like ground up meat? we did try once and he ate it, mixed up with rice. I just wanted him to eat like big pieces you know? i guess i'll have to try to get ground up meat for him!

lilydeven · September 2011

melody921:
Hardly any. He will eat a meatball, I suspect because of the sauce since he loves tomatoes. Occasionally, he'll eat a little chicken, but generally, he's just not a real big meat eater. I give him beans, peanut butter and dairy to make up for the protein.

my LO also eats dairy, he loves yogurt and some cheese. I'll try peanut butter.

BostonLove11 · September 2011

My son eats quite a bit of meat but it has to be ground up. For example, he loves meatballs, turkey loaf, burgers (turkey and regular), chicken dogs and sometimes lunchmeat from whole foods (organice, antibiotic free). He doesn't like regular chicken, pork, or steak because it is too chewy for him.

Teagiedo · September 2011

My son actually would eat meat for lunch and dinner. That is what he prefers

wierd right

mandapie · September 2011

The only way I can get my DS to eat meat anymore is in a quesadilla. Even then I have to put it in the food processor and mix it good with the cheese before I put it in the tortilla (I found these really good whole wheat ones that he loves). Other than that he's boycotting all meat!! He used to eat everything I put in front of him, bits of tender steak, meatballs, teryaki chicken... not anymore. But he gets protein from the dairy he eats and he'll eat PB on crackers so I'm not too worried. I may bring it up at the pedi next time.

law8296 · September 2011

Varies- like almost everything with toddlers. We offer meat every day; he usually will eat the standard- chicken or meatballs; mild fish. He has also eaten pot roast, mojo pork. However, if he ate pot roast last month and I cook it today- it's not a guarantee that he'll eat it today. I'm going to play around more with tofu and perfect my skills with cooking it so it tastes good- such a good alternative.

He takes a multivitamin with added iron because his hemoglobin was low at two doctor's visits- but at his 18month check up a couple weeks ago it was fine.

If it's protein intake you're worried about- looks like you're offering some great options.

ASmallWonder · September 2011

Not much and pretty much no red meat at all. I figured out he'll eat turkey meatballs if I let him dip them in ranch and he'll eat chicken quesadillas. He did eat a burger once but that's only because Grampy was eating it and Aiden was jealous and wanted what someone else had, solely because someone else had it

JulySpark05 · September 2011

Teagiedo:
My son actually would eat meat for lunch and dinner. That is what he prefers

wierd right

This is my DD too! lol

bride2bee2008 · September 2011

My son would eat a whole rotisserie chicken if I let him. My husband called me once and asked if there was such thing as "too much chicken".

He eats meat typically at lunch and dinner. Usually it's about 4-6 oz of meat a day. I have no idea if this is a lot or not. It's a large hand full of chicken and maybe 3 or 4 meatballs worth

nealbl · September 2011

Oh man my LO is a little carnivore! She loves meat. Turkey dogs, steak, hamburger, chicken she will eat it.

Try Turkey Cheddar Dogs(Johnsonville brand). they are very yummy!

Or If he likes beans try to shred up some meat adn mix it in with the beans.

You can always shred up ham in green beans or chicken in mac and cheese!

MrsWindyCity · September 2011

Not a whole lot. He's definitely getting better at it, though. I've found that he loves bbq sauce (I make it homemade, it takes like 10 minutes), which helps. Also, he will eat a whole meatball if you give it to him. When I used to break it up, he'd throw it all over the floor but for some reason if it's a whole meatball or a small hamburger patty, he'll usually eat it. He's weird. :P

What about fish and shrimp? DS loves both of those. I have a couple fish recipes in my blog that he really loves - the fish sticks (which I make big batches of and freeze) and the herb-breaded one.

You can also do Greek yogurt for more protein. That said, I read recently that they don't need much protein - maybe something like 20g and if your DS is drinking 2 cups of milk, that's a huge chunk of the 20g.

ETA: he will also eat it if I stick it in a quesadilla, and he likes lunchmeat. I'm not crazy about it because of the sodium, but I'll give it to him every so often.

superned · September 2011

If you're giving him alternative protein sources, I don't think you really need to worry. I usually only serve meat once or twice a week and DD rarely eats it (though I hear she'll eat anything they serve at child care, which includes meat at every lunch). She loves beans, cheese, tofu, etc. She had her iron checked recently and it was excellent.

Jenelle101 · September 2011

Well I'm a vegetarian so my DD doesn't get as much meat as maybe the average toddler. My husband eats meat, but because I don't, our meals are mainly vegetarian. When my husband does eat meat, he will give some to her, but it's only about twice a week. My DD eats plenty of beans, cheese and peanut butter. Maybe your LO isn't much of a meat eater.... I would try more beans.

If you're worked about it, ask your pediatrician. I bet he is getting more protein than you think. Remember, there are other sources of protein. Does he drink milk? Eat cheese?

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