Help Me "Trick" My Picky Eater

I just made pasta sauce tonight that was really easy and I used my food processor to chop carrots, onion, and peppers so finely that my Picky eater couldn't pick them out :) I used a can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste, a little water, oregano, basil, garlic and browned ground meat and simmered for 45 minutes. You can make big batches and freeze it or learn how to can.
Once you are able to move out, I would just not buy all the stuff that he likes. Easier said than done, who wants to starve their kid but I'm guessing it would work. Good luck.

drinks-strawberry milk, rice milk, lemonade, v-8 fruit juice, smoothies.
dinner- mac-n-cheese, pasta, hot dogs, tacos, breakfast for dinner (pancakes), salad with ranch dressing (start them early), meatloaf. Lots of exercise. I think that the 50th percentile doesn't seem overweight. Is he tall? I think that he will be less picky as he gets older. Good luck.

BTW... The trend I saw when reading the list wasn't exactly FRIED foods (although that's on there) but FOOD YOU EAT WITH YOUR HANDS! Specifically, ones you also take big bites out of (it's hard to "bite" mushy food). <laughing> To me it sounds like instead of a nibbler, you've got someone who REALLY loves food. Just on his own terms!

Possibilities abound.

Sammies
Breakfast sammies or burritos
French Dip (also goes well with fries ;)
Paninis
Hum Bow
Calzones (a sammie that pizza... hmmmm)
- layering spinach on a sammie instead of lettuce! lettuce has almost no nutritional value.

Big bites
Dim Sum (yet to meet a kid who didn't like shu mai)
Sushi (It's worth a try, since it's "big bite" food, as long as you let him use his fingers)
Mini Quiches
Kebabs (trick...one can skewer almost ANYTHING... including salad. Caesar Salad on a Stick is an old favorite in our house)
vietnamese cold eggrolls. (filled with noodles and veggies)

Substituiary Locomotion:
- Turkey burgers
- Home made chicken nuggets (I have to chop most of the chicken up into penny sized pieces and whirl some in the blender -to get it all to stick together- to have these go over. Then dip in egg and coat in panko)
- Mycoprotein Nuggets (aka made out of mushrooms... the brand is QUORN Chik'n nuggets).
- See if it's not just the ranch, but the whole tactile process of "dipping" that's fun. If so, try hummus/ pico de gallo/ guacamole/ fondue/ etc.
- Ditto... pasta and bread are about identical. Perhaps breadsticks dipped in pasta sauce if your wee one hates pasta. (memory; I used to work in an upscale italian restaraunt. This is one thing the employees would ALWAYS do. Get a bowl of "x" sauce, and eat it with soft, yummy, breadsticks. Fast and doesn't need silverware)

The whole milk thing:
Eh. It's soooo possible to get all your needs met without milk. We're a big milk house, but I've taken care of kids who hate it. Either turns out OTHER dairy is fine (yogurt... btw... try yogurt tubes for your hands on eater, cheese, etc.), or they're actually sensitive to either lactose or milk protein, and are "self avoiding". In which case there's rice/almond/soy milk, powders, veggies, and vitamins.

Anyhow... just some thoughts.

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First of all, I would buy only fresh fruit, cut it up in containers for snacks (or baggies); for something "sweet" you could try grilling papaya slices or mango, with either a very light brushing of olive oil and some cinnamon; also the "low fat or no fat" buttery spray is also good for apple slices, or you can just do them sliced and placed in microwave w/cinammon or a salt substitute. I'd ask your Dr. about his craving for salt, since all the pre-made products you mention, minus the watermelon and fruit bites (I believe these are the little pre-made packets? They contain more frutose than fruit). It would be fruit only-plus "make" your own chicken nuggets, with a light dusting of panko bread crumbs, and freeze in baggies (after cooked), it doesn't seem like you need to be worried about his caloric intake, but stop buying the items he craves, substitute. Do not take him grocery shopping with you. Buy fruit juices with no added sugar and no splenda (motts makes apple juice, grape juice, etc.) V8 makes juices I would just begin by diluting w/water and continue a little more each day adding less juice, more water....Popcorn, by itself isn't a bad snack, it's the butter and salt and sometimes sugar added. Buy plain popcorn. Add a salt substitute (sparingly). Increase his exercise. Limit TV. No electric or power cars/trucks. Good old pedal items-bikes, trikes, little tykes cars, etc. Balls or all kinds, for kicking, throwing, and hence, running after. Badmiton is a great game, even during the winter months (the "birdie?" can't really hurt anything-plus sledding is a good activity). Sign him up for some type of exercise, gymnastics class, also play baseball (those plastic balls & bats), cut down on all and eventually eliminate all processed foods (for his health) or at least Limit them. French fries can be made from sweet potatoes, or regular, and sliced in chip or fry style and again (very very sparingly with the salt); nothing wrong with ranch dressing-make your own-lowfat-add light mayo or no-fat mayo and seasonings only that contain No salt. Hamburgers, make with ground turkey breast or chicken breast. Have the butcher grind it. Gatorade diluted w/water is also great. Try as this goes on to have water bottles semi-frozen for a slushy texture. I don't know what gogurt is? Is it yogurt with natural flavor or full of more than 3 ingredients? Read labels. You and your family will have to also change your eating habits. But the real key is limiting his intake of prepared foods, limiting his time Sitting, Eating veggies is great, I would also try mixing light or no-fat mayo w/low salt ketchup. Buy wheat or white bread that is low in fat and carbs, plus ONLY turkey Lite bologna. Do something physical for at least 1/2 hour - 4-8 times a day, the little guys got energy but is used to (i'm guessing) sitting in front of T.V. "Break" the T.V. (unplug)....Karate classes are also great. Passing McDonalds? Tell him you have no money. Crying will pass, but his future health and life span really depend on him building these good habits now. Buy the WII with only active games......movies or T.V. 1/2 -1 hr. a day. Period. There are other things to do, catch butterflies, lightning bugs, dig for worms, the zoo, membership to a Y where they have numerous childrens classes plus most have an indoor pool. I would also "limit" the amount he can douse his veggies in by buying small little round dishes (tiny) that you can get even at the salvation army. Having him eventually "Help" you cook is a way to get him interested in "good" food. Seems like he's hooked on salt, sugar, fried foods, processed foods, etc. Make his own "lunchables" with little cut up chicken, fruit, a little dip, and crackers like "reduced fat" wheat thins or even the bread toasted and cut up. Sorry, but since obesity ran in my family and my husbands, I was a stickler with these things, never allowed the grandparents or family to ever buy a motorized car, Nintendo (my parents actually bought it!) was limited to 15 minutes. Period.....He can also help you "vacumn", "sweep", etc. Instead of parking near a store, walk further, (bonus-you'll be in great shape too!)...Go for walks after lunch & dinner, or some activity. (after about 1/2 hour) walking is fine right away....walk your neighborhood, walk the zoo, walk, run, play. Oh, "fake Pizza", low-fat, high fiber, english muffins, with sauce (no salt, no sugar tomato sauce plus, low fat mozzarella)....add bits of veggies, garlic powder, and a sprinkle of oregano.....I toasted the english muffins, just a bit first - plus he can "make" his own....little cut up chicken, cut up turkey bologna, etc....plus those veggies. A half hour or so before you eat, give him a glass of juice/w water, or his veggies w/dip first.....Will fill up his tummy and naturally limit caloric intake. Good luck! Habits, no matter how old or young we are are difficult to change, stick with it, the crying, or tantrums, will pass. Walk away, or pick him up and take him outside, (stores, house, etc) (our pediatrician gave us this advice) say nothing, just hold him until the tantrum stops. You'd be surprised how they relate that they will not be getting their way-this worked better than any "time out" you can give a 3 year old....Sorry it was sooooo long an answer.

The Sneaky Chef cook book has been a great help to me. It's recipes that can add up to 9 veggies, like their tomato sauce and meatballs. It's pretty much all about puree'ing everything and throwing it in the sauce as well as other foods. My son notices texture quickly so I puree the heck out of carrots, celery and other veggies to a real juice texrure and mix it in to everything, I add the carrot juice to his oj, etc. Also portion control is a big deal. If your son eats chick nuggets and the like, he should be limited to 4 pcs, I would just cut them up to look like more. Ranch dressing low fat is better than all fat. You are going to get posters who tell you, you are the parent if the food wasn't in the house he wouldn't be eating it, blah, blah, blah. Yea and hindsight is 20/20. For me my son started to eat this kind of food when he started FT school. They have chick nuggets, mozzarela sticks, hamburgers, hot dogs, my kiddos first piece of candy was given to him by the pediatricians office, hello??!!. But now that you are aware of the situation take your time, try to add stuff, my son loves sweeter fruits grapes, oranges, strawberries so that could entice your son. If he isn't too active try to engage in running games, like red light green light, freeze tag or a mini race. He'll be fine momma cause you are looking out for him.

Try getting the new Motts Medley that has a serving of veges and fruit in every glass. At least then he's getting more nutrients with what he drinks.

Have you tried string cheese? I typically will put green beans, corn, cauliflower, brocolli, or asparagus mixed in with rice, noodles, potatoes or beans. They love the Bush's baked beans. Yes they have sugar in them but they usually will eat the veggie that I cut up and put in it.

Our kids also love cucumbers, sugar snap peas and carrots. As long as they are eating those a little ranch dressing isn't going to hurt. Apples and grapes have less sugar than watermelon or fruit cups too. Try to stay away with fruit cups due to the sweeteners added in most. Stick with fresh fruits. If you are going to have pizza do the Boboli so you can control the ingredients. Our kids like it as much as take out and it's better for them. Plus they love helping make it. Good luck.

I know you said you didn't want parenting advice. But that is what you really need to solve this problem. It won't go away by tricking him. I would read and then print out what I have put below. Give a copy to mom and say this is what needs to be done.

There is a great book by William G Wilkoff, MD called Coping with a Picky Eater that every parent or provider of kids should read and have a copy of. http://www.amazon.com/Coping-Picky-Eater-Perplexed-Parent...

This book has what I call the Picky Eater Plan. I have used this plan with kids that literally threw up at the sight of food and within 2 weeks they were eating normal amounts of everything and trying every food.

First you need to get everyone who deals with the child on board. If you are a provider it's ok to make this the rule at your house and not have the parents follow through but you wont' see as good results as what I described up above.

The plan is to limit the quantities of food you give the kid. When I first start with a child I give them literally ONE bite worth of each food I am serving. The book suggests that every time you feed the kids (breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner) you give all 4 food groups. So, for lunch today I would have given the child one tiny piece of strawberry, one spoonful of applesauce, 3 macaroni noodles with cheese on them, and 2 oz of milk. Only after they ate ALL of what was on their plate would you give them anything else. They can have the same amounts for seconds. If they only want more mac and cheese, they only get 3 noodles then they would have to have more of all the other foods in order to get more than that. If they don't eat, fine. If they don't finish, fine. Don't make a big deal out of it, just make them stay at the table until everyone else is done eating. They don't get more food until they are sat at the next meal and they only get what you serve. When I first do this with a child I don't serve sweets at all. So no animal crackers for snack but rather a carrot for snack. Or one of each of those. I don't make it easy for them to gorge on bad foods in other words. Now if they had a meal where they ate great then I might make the snack be a yummy one cause I know they filled up on good foods.

Even at snacks you have to limit quantities of the good stuff or else they will hold out for snack and just eat those snacky foods. I never give a picky eater the reward of a yummy snack unless they had that great lunch prior to it.

It really is that easy.

He won't starve. At this age as long as he eats the equivalent of one full (toddler serving sizes) healthy meal during a three day period he will be fine. His body will NOT allow him to starve if there is food in front of him. Personally I feel it is a very bad idea to 'trick' your children into things, aren't they supposed to trust their parents?
I was considered a 'picky eater' by my parents, but nothing like the things I hear about!! My parents offered healthy meals and if we (I) didn't eat, we went hungry until the next mealtime. If we finished lunch we were allowed a snack before dinner. This is the same rule I now have for my children, and all 4 of them are healthy and eat relatively well. Food is not (should not be) an issue, so don't make it one. Offer the meal you are having and if he doesn't eat, oh well, there's another meal coming up relatively soon :)

First off, I wouldn't have anything in the house that you don't want him to eat, so get rid of the nuggets, fries, fried chicken, pizza, cheeseburgers, bologna, and anything else on your hit list. (If the rest of the family is eating that stuff, you can't tell him he can't have it.) When he asks for that stuff, say with a sad face, "sorry--we don't have any." Offer what you have, and let it alone. If he's eating fruits and veggies, you're on the right track. Start cutting back on the dressing a little at a time or thin it with a little milk. Give him veggie burgers with cheese on whole wheat buns. Start mixing more water and less juice until he only has enough juice for a taste. Kids will eat whatever is around when they get hungry enough. The most important thing in all this is to model the eating habits you want him to develop.

What about water flavored with packets of Tru-Lemon (or Tru-Orange or Tru-Lime)? Milk is not a necessary drink (my husband and son dont drink it either) as long as they get their calcium from other sources, ie broccoli and yogurt and orange juice, etc.

Why is gogurt ok and not yogurt? because gogurt is frozen? If so, get little cups and freeze regular yogurt with a popsicle stick.

I dont see the evil in ranch dressing but yes, moderation in all things, and watch out for the HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) in some dressings (a lot of foods actually, but some dressings dont have it and some do.) is it possible to slightly dilute ranch dressing?

Can you make your own chicken nuggets / chicken strips? Make up a bunch and put in the freezer for eating as needed. French fries is another food you can make at home, (not the McD style obviously) by slicing and baking the potatoes strips/wedges "fries".
My family eats a lot of homemade pizzas. yum. (send me your email if you want a good dough recipe) We put spaghetti sauce on and put anything we want on it.

Watermelon's great, fruit bites are great, just introduce variety. sandwiches are good - can you vary the bologna so it's ham or turkey sometimes? If not, buy good quality bologna, at least you'll feel a little better about what's going in him. What about other stuff in the sandwich like lettuce or relish or etc?

No cooked veggies - they're actually better/more nutritious when they're raw so this is not such a big deal. I've heard some families have kids that go big for roasted veggies(ie broccoli & cauliflower) I wonder about that. Not sure of the texture but sounds like it's tasty.

Good luck.

It is okay that he only eats chicken nuggets and hamburgers, they are a source of protein. Good thing watermelon is loaded with water.

So he is getting fruit and protein, try a fruit smoothie and sneak some greens in there.

Try broccoli (small trees) and salt and butter. Try sweet potato fries, they are sweet and look like french fries.

Try diluting the juice he likes. Start out with just a little and then add more and more water. When he is four he will understand better and maybe you can do an exchange like a bite of veggies for a bit of yummies.

Wow! Alot of great advice! The only thing I would add to this is, I have a VERY picky 3 y/o daughter, that eats barely anything. The one thing I can always count on her having is smoothies. If you google fruit & veggie smoothies online, there are some awesome recipes. You can add pretty much anything to them and they still taste great. If you want a quick smoothie, Yoplait has the fruit smoothie's in the frozen section that you just add skim milk too. I toss in 1 cup cooked carrots & tofu to the blender as well and thats how my little one gets her veggies. :) I would not really consider this tricking her, its just 'enhancing' the smoothie. Also, don't trick your son. Kids are sooo smart they figure it out & then won't touch whatever your serving. My daughter was in Feeding Therapy for almost a year, and they couldn't get her to eat either. Now.. she tries new things when she feels like it, doesn't have the 'ideal' diet, but we're working on it. They have to feel comfortable at the dinner table & not pressured. Hope this helps & good luck! Your really not alone, lots of picky 3 y/o's out there!

I suggest just do the best you can by limiting "portions" on the bad stuff and having vegies and fruit available to his hearts content. He won't starve to death. Slowly decrease the juice in his water so that there isn't much in there.

Cheeseburgers.......okay, but not too big and be sure to buy the leanest meat possible. Use low fat cheese.

Can you make chicken nuggets yourself so that you can be sure it is cooked in olive oil with white meat? I put a little olive oil in a pan and cook strips of white meat that have been dipped in egg white and italian bread crumbs. My kids love this and it's pretty healthy. The other way they like it (probably even better) is to bake the chicken after it's been dipped in the egg white and italian bread crumbs. Pour Good Seasons Italian dressing over it before baking it in the oven on 350 degrees for an hour or so. My kids just love this! You can lightly cover with foil while baking, but if he likes crispy remove the foil for 1/2 the time.

If you would like the suggestion for a good multivitamin let me know, but i think this phase will pass. Just do your best to make what he does like as healthy as possible while limiting portions of higher calorie foods.

Take him for a walk with you every day to exercise, but don't let him know you think he is a little chubby. He is too young to have to worry about that. He sounds adorable and perfect to me!

Bake your potatoes after slicing them like french fries and rolling them in a little olive oil. Mock french fries and much healthier.

Dilute the ranch dressing and be glad he eats any vegies! Again......just worry about portions. Give him a certain amount and when he finishes it......that's it. The only other option is plain vegies and fruit.

fries taste delicious and at 3 he has no concept of healthy eating or his weight or anything else regarding his health. So if those kind of foods are around him, it is likely that he just won't eat anything else. The only way to really deal with this is to cut out and make unavailable all the items that he shouldn't eat. I would enlist your doctor's support. I would get the doctor to give you some literature on all the things that will happen to your child if he continues down this path - early death, high blood pressure, much higher likelihood of disability, diabetes, higher likelihood of depression, joint problems, higher incidence of many cancers. Then I would give this to your family members and if necessary cry and ask them to help you get your son on the right path so that he isn't at such a heightened risk for early death and disability. It will take a little while but if you keep all this bad food out of sight, he will eventually start eating the good stuff. It will be hard and there will be melt downs and tantrums and other stuff but in the end, it will be worth it. Good Luck.

First, I will tell you that this is a very "picky eater" age, so don't worry too much about him. Otherwise I just have a couple of suggestions. Costco carries a frozen chicken nugget, its Kirlkland brand and shaped like Mickey Mouse. I like the idea of home made ones too, not always possible. Anyway they have no fillers and the ingredient list is like 6 things. And the actually taste very good, my kids like them best in microwave (yuk, but they don't come out rubbery). And you mention fruit bites, not sure what those are (maybe fruit snacks? the ones shaped like characters and stuff?), Archer Farms (target house brand) has some that are 100% fruit and they are DELICIOUS! Also fruit bars that are organic, no sugar, and equally awesome (keep them in my purse all the time). Stoneyfield farms has a yo-kids yogurt that comes in the tube, just like gogurt, except its organic, no artificial flavors or colors and less sugar. More expensive but no much and for us its totally worth it.
have you tried turkey or chicken burgers instead of beef? Using cheddar cheese instead of American? Or really any cheese other than American (processed cheese food, not actually cheese in most cases)
Something we have started doing,is buying frozen berries (no sugar added) and blending them up with a little yogurt for smoothies. Very filling, hides some dairy in there for a kid who won't drink milk ( thank goodness a !/2 tsp of Ovaltine fixed that for my kids, but doesn't work with all), and can easily be called breakfast. I even put a little squirt of whipped cream on top. My guys (3 and 5) absolutely love this and they are so sure its as good as a milkshake.
I know these aren't recipes like you asked, but they are some suggestions that might help you reduce calories and make what he will eat a little more beneficial. I have found these things very helpful while still being practical for a busy household.
I don't know how many kids you have, but if this guy is your first, I can tell you that my 5 y/o gained 15lbs from age 3-4, then caught up by growing 9 inches, after the fact. He also had a picky phase at this age, now his FAVORITE foods a salmon ( or any kind of grilled fish) tomatoes, sugar snap peas, and any fruit known to man or beast. Our 3 y/o would eat chicken nuggets and fruit for every meal. Even though he loves carrots, snap peas, corn, pasta, cheese, cucumbers etc. and neither of them will eat cooked veggies except corn on the cob.
hope this helps a little!

Jessica Seinfeld has a cookbook that has some "healthified" kid foods in it. Might be able to convince grandma to give those a try. Best wishes!

It is definitely hard to try to convince a 3 year old to eat something he doesn't want but I think it's great that you are concerned about his health & wanting to make changes at age 3. I waited too long with my daughter & it's hard. Anyway, I don't have any recipes but just some ideas that might help. I don't have big juice drinkers at my house but I have seen a lot of commercials lately for juices that still taste like fruit but have veggies in them; I think Motts was one of them. You said he likes fruit which is great. This may be hard when Grandma is feeding him but when you are, maybe try gradually increasing the fruit portion & decreasing the french fry portion or even tell him you "ran out" of fries so he will just have to eat extra fruit to fill up. You could try the burgers cut up, without the bun, to lower the amount of carbs he is getting & use low fat cheese. If he will eat it, try using the whole grain bread. My daughter noticed the difference right away on that one so if he's picky, that might not work. If you aren't already, you could buy the light bologna or the light ranch dressing (fat free is even better if he'll eat it but I know I can't stand the taste of that myself!). I don't know much healthwise about the flavored waters but that might be an option for a drink. Making sure he gets plenty of physical activity, if you can, should help him too and may keep the weight off even if he isn't eating quite as healthy as you would like with Grandma. And keep in mind that he is only 3. Even though it bothers us to eat the same things over & over, it doesn't seem to bother our little ones. I'm not sure if it's as much of a comfort to them as a regular daily routine but they definitely seem OK with it. As he gets older he may start trying things that he wants nothing to do with now, especially once he gets in school & sees what other kids are eating for lunch. You could maybe ask the pediatrician about the milk; as long as he is getting enough calcium, it may not matter so much if he doesn't want to drink the milk. I didn't like milk much as a child but once I went off to college I swore the milk there tasted better and have liked it ever since. I also bought a little book sized magazine at the grocery store checkout. It was by Taste of Home & it was called something like "Healthy Foods Kids will Eat". There are a lot of easy recipes in there that "hide" the healthy foods such as shredded or pureed vegetables, etc. that go into other foods. They do have a website - I believe it is tasteofhome.com so you may be able to get some ideas there. GOOD LUCK!!

-Since he likes veggies in dressing, how about introducing him to the idea of other dippers? Honey wheat pretzels dipped in low-fat peanut butter or nut spreads? Crunchy pita chips dipped in hummus? Nacho strips dipped in salsa? Graham crackers dipped in applesauce or creamy cottage cheese?

-Can you make or buy low fat breaded zucchini strips? Sweet potato fries? Those would also be great to dip.

You can make a low fat ranch dressing by blending low fat yogurt with ranch mix.

Soy- and seitan-based products may offer an alternative to bologna sandwiches.

Good luck, R.!

I didn't read all the postings so sorry if this is redundant, but you should get the Jessica Seinfeld cookbook (sorry - I can't remember the title but if you google it, you'll find it). She has recipes for almost all the things your child eats, but with different vegetable puree's snuck inside. Most are pretty good! My daughter is so picky that she wouldn't even go for these but at least I tried. Hopefully you have better luck!

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I didn't read all the postings so sorry if this is redundant, but you should get the Jessica Seinfeld cookbook (sorry - I can't remember the title but if you google it, you'll find it). She has recipes for almost all the things your child eats, but with different vegetable puree's snuck inside. Most are pretty good! My daughter is so picky that she wouldn't even go for these but at least I tried. Hopefully you have better luck!

I totally understand about your mom! I have a mother-in-law who is very similar. However, anything fried can be baked instead. And the foods you mention as his favorites are a-ok calorically if homemade and portion-controlled, so here are some ideas on how they can be made a bit healthier (and hopefully, your mom will see how tasty they are and see how much better she's feeling after eating healthier food, too!)

Potato "fries": cut potatoes into fry-sized wedges (works great with sweet potatoes, too, and those have a TON more vitamins than regular). Drizzle very lightly with olive oil, perhaps a little balsamic vinegar, sea salt, pepper and even a little garlic. Toss it all around and spread it out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 for about 30 min (check them regularly to make sure they're cooked through or conversely, not burned, depending on thickness). You can move them around while baking to ensure even cooking and you're more likely to get more a of "crispness" to them that way. My son loves these!

Chicken nuggets: get the raw chicken tenders available at most grocers. In a bowl, mix 1/4 c. light or fat-free mayonnaise, 1 Tbsp mustard and then whatever seasoning you like (1/2 tsp chili powder for taco flavored tenders, or some dill & parsley for more ranch flavored). Mix the mayo mix and put the tenders in and coat them evenly. Dip in panko crumbs and lay out on a cookie sheet. Bake at 375-400 for 25-35 min or until golden brown and crispy.

For sandwiches, will he eat other meats? I love the Hormel Naturals since they're nitrite and nitrate free (2 big contributors to colon cancer). They've got turkey, ham and salami.

Dairy: I've definitely heard that kids don't NEED milk as long as they're getting fluids and calcium elsewhere. As a kid, I loved squashing strawberries into my milk and then I'd have naturally flavored milk (works really well with blueberries, too!). Stonyfield Farm makes organic yogurt in tubes, so I like giving that to my boy better that Gogurt, since I've convinced myself that organic sugar is better than regular :).

Pizza: doesn't take that much longer to do it yourself. using a Pillsbury refrigerated crust, spread on some spaghetti marinara sauce and then some cut-up cooked chicken (can even buy a whole rotisserie-cooked chicken from the store--WAY better than frying), green peppers, and any other veggie he'll eat. Then sprinkle with low-fat mozzerella cheese. Plus, he can help spread all the toppings and if he's involved with making it, he'll be more likely to want to eat it when it's done. Follow the directions on the dough can and you'll have some tasty pizza.

ranch dressing: if this is the only way he'll eat carrot sticks or celery sticks or any other veggie (raw green beans or thawed-formerly frozen un-cooked green beans, or green pepper spears?), it's better for him to get the veggies than to fight over the dressing. Perhaps light or fat-free ranch and he gets a set amount and once he's done, he's done.

Best of luck to you all. It's tough to make a dietary change, but once everyone has done it, and gets used to the new way of doing things, the better off everyone will be.