Pickiest Toddler on the Block
Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 5:29PM
I was a PAINFULLY picky eater, so I guess I had this coming to me. My one-time chowhound has now resolved to only eat crackers, raisins, nuts and blueberries (and of course cookies, French fries and pizza, should they be offered). He won’t even eat cheese. I can’t wrap my head around the fact that my own spawn is shunning the best food on the planet.
Snowcones are healthy right?
I’m trying to remain calm about it. I keep offering him healthy options and try not to get frustrated when he’ll eat 1/10 of what I give him. I’m pretty sure that this is his way of asserting control in his little world and I’m working on giving up a little control on my end.
I just wish he wasn’t so darn skinny to start with. If it weren’t for his cloth diapers, his pants would fall down around his ankles! I know he must be getting enough between his milk and the random amalgam of snacks he chomps through the day, but I’m working on some strategies to up his nutrient intake. Number one in this plan is smoothies!
Smoothies to the Rescue?
On Tuesday, I talked up Jamba Juice to him all day and told him that we were going there for dinner with Daddy. We gave him a smoothie in his own cup and were very dramatic about how much we were enjoying our smoothies. He took the bait! He drank probably a quarter of the regular size smoothie, which seems like a lot for a little guy.
Phase two started yesterday with smoothie making at home. It was messy, but we enjoyed a nice berry smoothie for a snack (complete with yogurt!). Today, I’m going to try slipping in some of my magic green drink to up the veggie and probiotic quotient.
Wish me luck on the smoothie endeavor. I’m pretty sure he’ll like them for about a week and then be totally over it, but there’s always hope!
Reader Comments (13)
Also, try making it with almond milk instead of regular milk - it's much higher in protein! My 3yo went on a meat strike for a while and we found there are lots of foods that we could sneak in, to help keep him nourished and growing. And almond milk (or coconut milk!) is a GREAT one!
My BEST tip - add extra virgin olive oil to the smoothies! He won't notice, and it will load him up with calories and good fat. SCORE! :-) That is how I've kept my vegetarian-eating daughter who can only drink oat milk (which is low fat, unfortunately) way above average in weight. Extra virgin olive oil in EVERYTHING! haha
My picky little lady also loves a yummy smoothie! We have "special" straw sippy cups and are for smoothies-only. That helps to make them extra special AND (mommy bonus) keeps everything contained quite well. We use frozen fruit (that we freeze ourselves) so that we don't have to use ice and then use a low sugar juice base and Greek yogurt. Then - I put the extra (think big batch!) in freezer-safe storage cups that have airtight lids. That way I am able to put a frozen smoothie (sans the yogurt which is added right before eating) in the fridge the night before and it is ready to eat in the morning. Yum! I would also like to add some greens so that we aren't doing fruit-only smoothies. You'll have to let us know if you have success!!
My picky little lady also loves a yummy smoothie! We have "special" straw sippy cups and are for smoothies-only. That helps to make them extra special AND (mommy bonus) keeps everything contained quite well. We use frozen fruit (that we freeze ourselves) so that we don't have to use ice and then use a low sugar juice base and Greek yogurt. Then - I put the extra (think big batch!) in freezer-safe storage cups that have airtight lids. That way I am able to put a frozen smoothie (sans the yogurt which is added right before eating) in the fridge the night before and it is ready to eat in the morning. Yum! I would also like to add some greens so that we aren't doing fruit-only smoothies. You'll have to let us know if you have success!!
My picky little lady also loves a yummy smoothie! We have "special" straw sippy cups and are for smoothies-only. That helps to make them extra special AND (mommy bonus) keeps everything contained quite well. We use frozen fruit (that we freeze ourselves) so that we don't have to use ice and then use a low sugar juice base and Greek yogurt. Then - I put the extra (think big batch!) in freezer-safe storage cups that have airtight lids. That way I am able to put a frozen smoothie (sans the yogurt which is added right before eating) in the fridge the night before and it is ready to eat in the morning. Yum! I would also like to add some greens so that we aren't doing fruit-only smoothies. You'll have to let us know if you have success!!
My picky little lady also loves a yummy smoothie! We have "special" straw sippy cups and are for smoothies-only. That helps to make them extra special AND (mommy bonus) keeps everything contained quite well. We use frozen fruit (that we freeze ourselves) so that we don't have to use ice and then use a low sugar juice base and Greek yogurt. Then - I put the extra (think big batch!) in freezer-safe storage cups that have airtight lids. That way I am able to put a frozen smoothie (sans the yogurt which is added right before eating) in the fridge the night before and it is ready to eat in the morning. Yum! I would also like to add some greens so that we aren't doing fruit-only smoothies. You'll have to let us know if you have success!!
Have you tried the "green mustache" smoothie?? Banana (plus whatever other fruit is on hand), yogurt, apple juice, and a big ole handful of spinach or greens! It blends right down and tastes as yummy as ever. Word of caution, though... not sure what the nutrition solution is but it seems one boy that I cared for was SO into smoothies (sweet, easy to suck down--what's not to love?) that he was even LESS interested in trying other (savory) things....
Grampy says that Nic likes spicy foods so give him a batch of Hot Wings and sweet potato fry's. That should put some meat on his bones. He'll never grow up to be a line backer on smoothies and Kale.
I'm having the same issue with my little guy -- 18 months old. He is practically a vegetarian; he will only eat very well-hidden meat and gets most of his protein from peanut butter, cheese, and yogurt. He'll turn his nose up at food he previously liked every few days or so; this makes his limited repertoire even more limited! He will drink smoothies, though, which I usually make with plain yogurt, frozen berries, and a banana, so maybe I should try to throw in some green stuff too -- good idea -- and switch to Greek yogurt for more protein. And, he's skinny as well -- he'd fallen to the 5th percentile in weight at his appointment yesterday (he was 7.5 before), and the cloth diapers are totally the only thing holding his pants up. If you learn any more tricks, please share them!!!
Love the ideas of almond milk, Greek yogurt and olive oil! I'll definitely try beefing up his smoothies with these. Thanks for the tips!
Yesterday was day 3 of smoothies and he's still into them. Hopefully he keeps it up.
Another tip: We don't have a good straw sippy cup, so I've just been using a straw with a cup. I noticed that he bites down on a regular straw and it makes it hard to get the smoothie up. So, I ordered some stainless steel straws. Bonus is that they are reusable and plastic free! http://mightynest.com/blog/stainless-steel-and-glass-drinking-straws
I am so glad to see this topic come up, as our toddler is currently in a mac & cheese- and peanut butter & jelly-only phase. We tried giving him prepackaged nutritional shakes for a while, but they are made for adults and are very expensive. I have tossed around the idea of making my own, but I guess I just didn't know where to start as far as recipes go. I am going to try the ideas in the comments and also, thank you for the link for the stainless steel straws, didn't even know there was such a thing!
I was surprised at how upsetting it can be to have a picky toddler. Mostly I was surprised at how personally I took it. I put so much effort into making baby food - partly to make sure this didn't happen. I felt like a failure. But I had to remind myself that patience was key and if I expressed frustration, mealtime would not be pleasant for him and that would hinder my goal of having him eat even further. So I took a deep breath and am keeping at it with a positive attitude. I figured Miles really wants independence when it comes to food more than anything else. Giving him more control with utensils has helped and smoothies are also a big saver! I tried the Babypote and that worked great too! This morning I put this banana smoothie in the Babypote and was thrilled to get so many calories into him!
http://thischickcooks.blogspot.com/2011/08/peanut-butter-banana-smoothie-recipe.html
Mommy and Daddy loved it too!
Also, I have those straws. They are great! I just have to keep him from yanking it out of the drink and flinging it around.