To only serve my 15 month old pancakes, mash and yoghurts

[monsterinc]

Because that is all he will actually bloody eat therefore has to be given a multi vitamin everyday. So sick of wasting food trying now. Everything i put in front of him which isn't the pancakes etc. Is met with a HUGE screaming fit and he will just throw it everywhere!

Its been about a month now and i feel like giving up trying.

[chippednailvarnish]

It's a stage and by offering nothing else you will never move on from it...

I would still include small amounts of other foods at mealtimes, even if just a mouthful.

[bittapitta]

Yabu. It's not wasting food if you just give him some of what you're having, don't create extra work by cooking him separate meals. Eat together. Then he will try things. He's too young to be very fixed in his ways.

[MrNedSchneebly]

YABU agree with bitta

Also try adding things to those things. I do spinach pancakes, colcannon etc.

[littlejohnnydory]

By all means serve her that if that's all you want her to eat ever.

My son wouldn't accept fruit for ages, only fruit puree. For over a year I put fruit in front of him and took it away without a word when he didn't eat it. He now eats fruit. It wasn't wasted, it was an investment in his eating habits (a bloody frustrating one!).

[littlejohnnydory]

Just ignore the tantrum. Don't try to cajole or persuade him. Just take it away if he doesn't eat it.

[monsterinc]

I dont know whether i should still give him a yoghurt after his tea when all he's touched is a bit of mash. For example today i made Sunday lunch and all he ate was mash. Im worried because i know there isn't enough there to fill him!

[DeladionInch]

A friend of mine served everything on toast at a similar age - spaghetti bolognaise, yoghurt, macaroni cheese... I haven't had to do the same but thought you could try it on the pancakes

[howtodrainyourflagon]

Just give him what you eat. I know from bitter experience that it's easier to change the eating habits of a 15mo than a 4yo or 7yo. Even if he doesn't eat for a meal or two, he'll crack, and start eating what you're eating. Then no more tantrummy hassle.

[fatlazymummy]

He might not crack. One of my children was like this. He would quite happily eat nothing, he just didn't seem to feel hunger.
My health visitor advised me to carry on giving him the few things that he did eat, and at the same time offer him new things, without making a fuss about it.

[MrNedSchneebly]

I think that's what everyone is saying, not that he'll crack from hunger but that he will crack and try new things if they are consistently offered (alongside or as variations of things he will eat).

[Cinderling]

I held the title of Queen of Sneaking Extra Nutrition until about a year ago.
off the top of my head:

pancakes
you can get an extra egg or two into a batch of pancakes (protein, iron, hits A, D, B)
a spoon of whey in the flour adds protein (use the good stuff not the body building rubbish but don't overdo it if he's taking a lot of milk as his protein needs have probably been met)
will he tolerate a handful of blueberries?

mash
can hide a small amount of cauliflower
add an egg yolk to warm mash
chopped parsley is high in iron and fit c

yogurt
can hide an extra portion of pureed fruit (you may need to strain this)
half teaspoon of whey
small amounts of crushed linseed or finely crushed seeds.

Reducing the amount of milk in his diet may help improve the eating too.

[BrendaBlackhead]

OP, this sounds like my ds who at exactly 18 months went to a birthday party, overate, was sick and then - for FOUR YEARS would only eat beige food. He ate pancakes, yoghurt/fromage frais, bread, biscuits, crisps, and, for a bit of variety, chocolate. He turned my hair grey.

He is now 16. Eats like a horse.

[monsterinc]

I like the idea of hiding and getting more in. I'm really not a great cook or know a lot about what I can do with food so any more ideas on ways I can hide food to get more in him would be great. I also have a three year old who will eat most things but will not touch any type of veg so any ideas could help him too.

Brenda this all started after an illness, reassuring to here yours eats fine now!

[bellybuttonfairy]

Im with chipped nail varnish. Don't cajole him to eat with only a small choice of foods.

Put whatever you are eating infront of him If he eats, he eats. If he doesnt, he doesnt.

I honestly believe you can set up food issues by making a deal out of ensuring they eat by only giving them foods you think they will only eat.

Believe me, my children have gone without eating for many evening meals whilst going through fussy stages.

Im a laid back AP type of mother. Im not strict but I suppose I let them decide if they want to eat or not. There is never any fuss made by me either away.

BTW -all my lot have been through fussy times but came out the other end with the help of a bit of hunger!! They all eat most things now.

[Starlightbright1]

I remember my Ds went through phases of not really eating but he was generally a good eater. We had lots of veg mash...I also remember he wouldn't eat chicken stew but would eat chunky chicken soup.


Make sure he has time to be hungry before meals and don't make a fuss about not eating..As for yoghurt after a bit of mash.. I would simply stop puddings. Give yoghurts as snack otherwise you are teaching don't eat and there is something else on offer.

what do you put on pancakes...Cook with raisins. Some strawberry juice then add more...Bananas. Anything you can add to the plate in little bits..lots of praise for trying new things no matter how much she eats

[Clarella]

My dad would only eat pancakes, I only ate ready brek so my ds wasn't doing too badly to only eat fish fingers, broccoli, peas and oat cakes, but it drove DH potty.

Just be as nonchalant as possible, sometimes put a few different things thre and I bet one day he'll grab stuff off your plate. I found each new set of teeth opened up a wider range of food, but they're all different.

Their taste buds and brains process differently to ours/ aren't developed enough yet to cope with the unexpected, so they stick to what they know/ feel safe with.


There's a saying that they have have a new food offered 10 times before they will try - a friend found this worked. My ds had too many bloody colds and hfam etc for us to get to that point for a long time!

Have you read my child won't eat? Excellent book.

[JockTamsonsBairns]

If he eats, he eats. If he doesnt, he doesnt

Thank you Bellybuttonfairy. This was pretty much the best advice I ever got when I was fretting about what Ds was (or wasn't) eating.

[grabaspoon]

If he likes pancakes will he eat fritters?

mylovelylittlelunchbox.com/2015/04/17/vegetable-fritters/

If he eats mash - will he eat mashed carrot/parsnip/cauliflour? We also do courgette and mashed potato [so saute onion and courgette and potato then bring to the boil with veg stock or water and then mash as usual]

Will he try different yoghurts so puree fruit and stir into greek yoghurt

[Clarella]

'My child won't eat' was essentially summed up by Jock there

After two weeks of eating only fish fingers and breast milk at nearly 2 I did go to gp (he was quite early in chest too) and he cheerfully said "oh they can survive like that for quite a while" he hastily added - keep offering though.

I sensed first hand experience!

[Clarella]

Rattley in chest

[Iggly]

Just keep offering what he had pre illness. Mix it up a bit too. No reaction when he goes mental and eat with him.

[Clarella]

Correction - belly it was!

I found ds needed to feel happy and confident to join us at the table with the food he liked, then he would randomly ask to try something and wham a new food.

Every single new food (that is a really good wholesome meal) has been of the back of unintended reverse psychology - ' this is adult food only ' - he's asked for a taste and then dived in.

Pasta animals from asda were a big break through with a pasta sauce, as lots of things could be hidden in them. As was a home made stew we have with rice.

[Cinderling]

I like the idea of hiding and getting more in. I'm really not a great cook or know a lot about what I can do with food so any more ideas on ways I can hide food to get more in him would be great

I started off the book Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld, where she basically cooked up a batch of purees and then added them to other foods. I wouldn't exactly recommend this book, because I think the nutritional value of a couple of teaspoons of overcooked veg is completely off set by the amounts of sugar and fat that are used. But it does have some good tips on which flavors will mask each other. And it might be a good place to start if you need recipes to follow.

Even though mine are now quite good eaters I still use some of the tactics that I had to rely on during the fussy phase (my son was one of those who didn't come out of it but just got worse and worse). I make a smoothie every day with both fruit and veg and hide a vitamin supplement or iron supplement if it's needed.
Combinations include
kiwi, pineapple, half an avocado, half a cup of spinach and apple juice to thin
strawberries, carrot (slightly softened) and orange juice
apple, pear and spinach with apple juice
mixed berries, half a beetroot (cooked and not in vinegar!), yogurt
(you can get lots of fruits and veg for the freezer so the smoothies end up nice and chilled)

Bananas are brilliant! You can make "ice cream" by slicing up a nice ripe banana, lay it out on parchment and freeze. Then just blend the frozen slices until creamy. Eat immediately - it doesn't store. They're happy cos they are eating ice-cream, and I'm happy cos they're eating fruit.

Bananas are a very strong flavor in anything you bake and will mask other vegetable flavors well. So banana muffins/ or banana bread were a staple in my house for ages. DH still peers suspiciously at anything I bake in case there might be something healthy lurking in there!

Some people swear by cheese sauce and can serve anything as long as it is doused in it. Didn't work for me unfortunately.

I still add tomatoes, onions, carrots and peppers (chopped, grated or zapped in the blender) into mince dishes. I put parsley into almost everything savory (though that's really for my DH cos he's terrible for not eating any greens!)

Most people worry about kids getting enough protein but the requirements aren't that high and are probably well met if the child is drinking milk. It's present in a lot of foods that you wouldn't necessarily think of as protein sources. Iron however, is important, and you might want to either look at a supplement or using one of the follow on toddler milks for that. For long term fussy eaters magnesium can be a big factor. That really helped us. when you are low in magnesium it can leave you craving bland food, or having a very small appetite. But obviously that's a discussion to have with someone qualified in nutrition.
hope that helps some

[Madratlady]

Do you eat together or does he have his meals separately? For ages we ate our tea after ds went to bed as dh got home too late to eat as a family. Although he isn't a bad eater (but won't eat much fruit or veg) he eats loads of things when we now eat as a family that he wouldn't touch if he was given his tea on his own.