Lunch Ideas for a Picky Toddler

Updated on March 16, 2012
E.J. asks from Hialeah, FL
3 answers

My 22 month old is a very picky eater. His lunch only consists of canned beanie weanie, frozen fish sticks, frozen chicken nuggets, pbj sandwich, cheese egg sandwich and hormel kids spaghetti. I add a fruit cup with it. I give him a daily vitamin drop because he wont eat veggies at all.These are not healthy luch options at all. What are other easy and quicklunch ideas I could try for a picky eater?

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So What Happened?

Thanks everyone. Clicked on "picky eater",and it was VERY helpful. I am continuing to try to offer him new foods. But in the meantime we'll keep eating the things that I know he will eat. That's better than not eating at all. And Bethand whatever your name is..my toddler donot control me. I donot cook twice. So read further into the question before you start making accusations. I have a picky eating child and would like him to eat healthier foods.I was only asking parents for lunch ideas, not smart comments.

More Answers

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B.Z.

answers from Columbia on

He's not yet two and he controls things? This does not bode well for you my friend.

As a picky child I too had a mother who in her best interests sometimes fixed two meals, one for the family and one for me. Not only on a night they were having something weird that a kid wouldn't eat but almost every night. How many hours of her life did she devote to creating the monster I had to "un-do" as a teen an young adult? Not to make accusations but what is he seeing you eat? If you are in a rut he might be following an example.

It is pretty limiting where you can go and what you can do when your diet is so narrow and it starts NOW so offer some tough love, other options and let him be hungry if you have to for a little while.

Since he will eat spaghetti, cook some pasta and let him "fix" it. Make a few toppings available like peas, carrots or corn (weird topping for us but he might sneak in a veggie this way), grilled chicken, shrimp, even hamburger. You can cook a canned sauce and puree veggies to add to it,a friend put all kinds of stuff in her canned sauce and it was still good. Try a basil leaf and tell him that's just for "pretty" and he probably shouldn't eat it.... if he was like my son "shouldn't" doesn't mean NO and he will.

If he's eating sticks and nuggets peel some of the breading off (tell him the store messed up and it came that way), reducing the breading to the point where he will eat "normal" meat and then make your own fish sticks by dong a quick saute of a healthier fresh fish. Offer "sauces" for dipping of pureed veggies.

You have to bite the bullet (bad pun intended). If nothing works, RUN OUT and don't go to the store to restock. At his age he understands "all gone".

1 mom found this helpful
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J.S.

answers from Columbia on

UPDATE
Click on the link "picky eater" in your question. Lots of good answers in there. :)

ORIGINAL
Veggie corn dogs
pineapple (took 5 rejected offerings)
apple slices
cereal
fruit bars
breakfast bars

But keep OFFERING the food you cook for yourself. It may take 10-12 offerings, but at some point he won't be a picky eater because you'll be tired of cooking twice. :)

1 mom found this helpful
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❤.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

Just keep trying to introduce everything:
scrambled eggs, hasbrowns for breakfast
diff kinds of cereal

tuna mixed w/tiny bit of mayo & crackers
those tiny frozen corndogs w/must or ketchup
sandwich: thin bread w/light smear of must, mayo or whatever he prefers
& 2 thin slices of ham or turkey
fish sticks w/ranch
try a kids frozen meal (it's ready, handy & has a veggie, dessert)

dinner: salad, grilled chicken, corn
steak (cut up into sm pcs), mashed potatoes, green beans
rotisserie chicken, corn, sliced tomatoes w/ranch
spaghetti
tortellini w/alfredo sauce & garlic bread
homemade hamburgers

just keep trying to introduce anything & everything.
My son started trying things of mine when we started going out to eat.

1 mom found this helpful
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