Very Picky Eater - Telford,PA

I found this article very helpful. It is a good guide.

www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/health/healthspecial2/15eat.html

Good luck!

Please don't worry another minute. I have 6 kids, and my 2nd oldest didn't like fruit at all. She is 10 now, and is just eating bananas, apples, and strawberries. She also doesn't like too many veggies. My son who is 2 1/2 doesn't care for veggies, but is growing and gaining weight fine. My suggestion to you is keep trying to offer them to her, and get Jerry Seinfelds wife cookbook. It suggests how to put veggies into meals without the kids tasting them. Again, just keep trying new things, our palates change, and one day you will see she likes something.

First off, I second the deceptively delicious cookbook suggestion. I have mixed jarred baby food or finely chopped veggies in spaghetti sauce, meatballs, meatloaf, etc. I put applesauce in cakes and breads. The book gives a ton or recipes including hiding good foods in sweets. Since you work, pick 3 or 4 recipes that you think will work best for your situation (based upon the foods she already eats) and start there.

Second, I put a bite of the foods my kids "don't like" on their plates at every meal. I might say something like, "You know, these beans are really good" to entice them to take a bite. My son finally decided (at age 4) he would start trying the foods. When he does try them I thank him for trying them. If he likes them I tell him I'm glad he likes them. I don't make a big fuss either way because when I did make a fuss he was less likely to try the foods. My daughter is now about the age my son was when he started trying foods so I am hoping she will follow his lead. Anyway, don't give up on offering her new foods.

Third, maybe try introducing new foods that she can dip into the applesauce or yogurt. Maybe once a week have a meal with her where you include new veggies, meats or fruit that you can dip. If she should think up a combination that isn't appetizing to you, let her go for it. (My kids once dipped prunes in ketchup! Yuck!) You can also offer new dips for her to try.

Good luck!

It is usually normal for a toddler to be a picky eater. my son is two and he is picky but i keep trying different things. he likes rice cakes,strawberries and blueberries which were things i did not try before. as they get older it should get better. recently,my son has been on a banana kick. see if she likes corn or peas. my son loves corn on the cob and peas. have you tried melons? honeydew,cataloupe,watermelon. keep trying and you will find other things she likes. let the doctor know you are trying different things and at least that way they will know you are making and effort. if she has a wellness check at 18 months that is three months to try different things.

My son is a very picky eater as well... and we have tried all the methods to "change" his habits... in the end we've decided to do the best we can.
A) My son likes meatballs too - so I make my own and they always have some sort of shredded veggies in them. They never know!
B) I make my own waffles and I put ground up flax seed in them - you'd never know!
C) I can put shredded carrots or zuchinni in any muffin and he still loves them.
D) We make french toast with wheat bread, and lots of eggs. Most people would frown at the amount of eggs - but its the only way we can get him to eat eggs. :) We only use low sugar syrup, or we just put sprinkles on top.
E) You can buy low sugar applesauce and that is a good source of fiber (without the sugar load.)
F) I always put spinach, eggplant, zuchinni, or some sort of veggie in my spaghetti sauce too.

And so on and so on... basically we took the small list of things he likes and just made sure they are chock full of good things - or the most healthy version we can find. We're always trying new things - but at least this way, I know what he is eating is as healthy as possible.

HI T.:
wow, you describe my son right down to the grapes! he drives me crazy. i hope you get some good suggestions.

when she does eat the things you said, does she eat a lot of it at least? my son is so fussy and then when he does eat he doesn't eat a lot.

i have that cook book "deceptively delicious", which you could use some of her tricks to get the vegetables in to your daughter without her even knowing :-). i've done it a few times but it takes a lot of time to puree the veggies, but if you have the time, you might want to check it out. sounds like you work too though... there's some sample recipes on-line. http://www.oprah.com/recipe/food/recipesappetizers/pkgjes...
you'll probably run into spending more money tho, unless you have a produce junction in your area.

Good luck!
~S.~

Ugh - I hate this picky stage :)! At 12mos, my son's first year molars started coming in, so he'd only eat applesauce and yogurt. Which was fine for a few weeks, but he parlayed it into over 2mos! And since he was barely eating, he was drinking 6+ bottles/day. It drove me insane, but I just kept introducing foods, watching them all end up on the floor for the dogs.

I was worried that just applesauce and whole milk wasn't enough, so I started giving him 12oz/day of formula. The peed said that was a bad idea. *shrugs* She also said to stop offering so many choices, that he'll start demanding a short order cook out of me.

Just last week, he started eating better - almost like his old self (when he'd eat whatever I put in front of him). I'm hesitant to start celebrating just yet.

But wanted to let you know you're not alone :D!

I'm right there with you with my 14 month old daughter. She knows what she likes and that's it. Like others have posted, I still offer her fruit and veggies and try to encourage her to eat them. When she does, I make a big deal out of it. One way that I can get her to eat veggies is to give her them in soup. Yes, it makes a HUGE mess, but she eats the veggies then. She really likes the Elmo soups (made by Earth's Best). They're a bit pricey compared to others, but right now it's the only way I'm guaranteed to get something nutritious into her. I hope this is just a short-lived phase for both of us!

In our house when the kids were this age, they were picky eaters. We didn't allow them to dictate menus, so this is what we did:

I would give a tiny tiny portion of the "new food"-usually a veggie. I'm talking like three microscopic bites, alone on the empty plate at meal time when I knew they were hungry. They had to eat that before eating something they liked. If they didnt' eat it, they got water and nothing else until next meal.
Believe me, they won't skip more than the occasional meal once they get it that they have to eat it. They will not starve themselves. You can increase portions gradually as they learn to like the food.

We didn't enforce any discipline as far as making them eat, but we did enforce table discipline, No throwing food, tantrums etc. Anything like that would have a consequence. They had to behave at the table, and if they refused to eat, they didn't eat that meal.

They will eat what you make if you take charge! Good luck!

No tips T.-just a cautionary tale. My kids were like that too and I totally gave into them. I stopped trying vegetables and other different things because they wouldn't eat them. I thought that "someday" they would start eating them so I just served them their kids foods everyday. Always making 2 dinners-one for them and one for us. This is probably what I feel is my biggest mistake in motherhood so far. They are now 8 and 5 and have not widened their horizons with food at all. They eat all the same kids junk as they used to and still no veggies. And yes-I still make 2 meals. I have tried to change this but it is really hard at their ages now. So my advice to you is to KEEP TRYING! Stick to your guns and don't cave in. Don't give food options and make her eat with you. Sooner or later she will. We all did when we were little. My mom never made us our own meal. Didn't like most of what she made but ate it because I was hungry.
Hopefully you will get some good advice from the board on how to tackle this problem. Good luck!

First of all, I feel your pain as my daughter (27 months) who was once a great eater has become "too busy" to eat. That being said, do you and your husband eat fruit and veggies in front of your daughter? Try to make a point of doing so and she might come around. Also, you could sneak fruit and veggies into stuff. You mentioned that she eats spaghettios, how about making homemade spaghetti sauce that has diced onions, mushrooms, grated carrot and tomatoes in it? You could also do english muffin pizzas and put chopped veggies on them and cover it with sauce and melted cheese. Instead of regular french fries, I buy the sweet potato version which are healthier and contain vit.A. How about yogurt smoothies with strawberries, blueberries etc?

Just a few ideas.... Good luck T.!

Here are my thoughts on the topic. The more you cook food and consistently sit down together to eat, your child will eat the foods your wanting him or her to eat. If you can only cook a few nights per week, maybe cook extra when you cook so that your child is eating healthy food all the time. I'm not sure what the case is for the other meals, like lunch and dinner on the nights you don't cook, but giving your child's body any kind of fried, artificial, or quick fix boxed foods is not the way for your child to learn healthy eating habits. Do as much as you can naturally and stay consistent, then your child won't crave other fried, salty things. A good read is "The Unhealthy Truth" by Robyn O'Brien. Hope this helps and good luck.