To ask for your toddlers weekly diet

[notmybest]

Finding it hard at the minute DD is 2. I tried really hard with her to eat well. I didn't let her have any rubbish likes chocolate/biscuit etc for the first year. Made a lot of homemade food. From about 18 months though she has become really fussy. Since I've allowed GPs etc to give her the occasional treat it has now got out of hand and she basically just wants to eat junk all the time.
I still try to give her healthy home cooked food. Which she sometimes eats or picks at. I follow a lot of mums on social media who post recipe ideas. Which DH tells me isn't helping as DD never eats anything I make from the pages. I end up feeling down when I see these pages and all the lovely healthy home cooked food they make and their children seem to love.
I sometimes just end up giving her cereal for tea then I know she has eaten something and try and ignore her protests for biscuits or chocolate.
DH tells me I'm being too hard on myself and that a lot of children won't eat the way social media suggests.
Anyway sorry if I'm rambling I just wondered if others could give me an honest meal plan of what their DC eat including snacks/treats. Or any advice on how to get DD not to have such a sweet tooth. TIA

I can't really remember now as DS is 3.5 but what I'd do is have a look at the menu of the healthier nurserys in your town (ie, ones that have just fruit/yoghurt or no pudding at all) for a balanced week.
DS goes to nursery 3 or 4 long days a week and eats everything (apart from soup where he just eats the bread).

Peer pressure probably helps a lot so what I'd do is see if I could organise a few lunchtime playdates with friends who have 'good eaters' and see if that inspires her to try new things.

DC3 is like this, hes just about to turn 2 and has been the fussiest eater, its so frustrating. DC1+2 were and still are very good eaters.

I generally give him something I know he will eat along with something he wont and ignore and let him get on with it.

Breakfast: toast/crossaint/crumpet/yogurt (happy) and fresh fruit.

Lunch: sandwich, cheese on toast, any type of egg (happy) and salad. He does eat homemade veg soup at my DMs once a week but wont touch it at home.

Dinner: whatever we are having, but he rarely eats it, hes the only child I know that turns his nose up at chicken nuggets and chips, he likes pasta so I hide veg in the sauce. Generally I let him have a play with it and then top him up with toast/yogurt/rice pudding.

Snacks: Yogurt, rice pudding, he will eat a banana, nectarine, cut up pear and orange occasionally but that is the only fruit/veg he will knowingly eat. I can sometimes get him the eat the kiddilicious smoothie melts dried fruit things. Biscuits are popular (I stick to fig rolls as I get a sense of satisfaction that he is eating some sort of fruit) so are bread sticks with cheese dip.

I consider it a good day if he has 1 of his 5 a day. MIL loads him up with junk when she has him but I have to suck it up for the free childcare. He does love stealing food off people so I have taken to making daily fruit smoothies for DC1+2 and he will drink some.

I have a two DC, aged 4 and 2. Currently the 2yo is not a pleasure at mealtimes. I recall the older one being very similar at this age. At one point the sole vegetables the older one would eat were sweet corn and cucumber (when previously had eaten a decent range). The younger DC actually has a broader palate but essentially loves bland carbs and will happily gorge on these. Also has zero interest in sitting still to eat, can escape from the high chair straps, refuses the booster seat and runs off from the toddler table.

What I have learned so far is:

It's just a phase (I know, such a cliche). The older DC went through all this and to top it all I was pregnant and knackered. I caved and did dinner on the sofa in front of the tv. By the time the younger DC was ready to wean we were all back at the table and eating properly. The sofa / tv scenario was relatively short lived and resulted in happier meal times and more food being eaten. It worked and I was less stressed.

I stopped offering food that got wasted and did a lot more simple meals - easy pasta, toast and eggs, jacket potato and beans etc. If we had something more interesting I saved a small bit and offered it. If it was rejected the never mind, I wasn't slaving over something for them. If it got eaten, woohoo! I still follow this mantra and 80-90% of my children's dinners are "safe" food they like, and every now and again I try something new. I also don't allow myself to give a shit if it doesn't get eaten.

Lastly, I can't speak for others, but growing up in the 80s, pasta or curry was exotic! I think most our meals were served with bread or potato or maybe rice. We didn't get blueberries or mango or whatever. I'm sure our parents weren't worrying if our diets were too boring. So the fact my oldest DC went from adoring Thai green curry to rejecting anything with a hint of flavour seems silly to get worked up about - I'm sure it will improve with age, and in fact, it already is.

So my advice is - ride it out, take a balanced view, don't expect too much - offer a balanced diet so you know you're doing your best, but it doesn't have to be exciting or novel, or extensive for now!

For reference, 2yo main foods are easy meals like jacket potato, pasta in various sauces, quesadilla, rice with chicken or meatballs. Nothing fragranced, saucy or spicy. Lunch is snack based eg breadsticks, crudités, sometimes soup (love soup - a great way to get lots of nutrients!).

Frozen mango chunks blended with a spoon of yoghurt makes delicious ice cream, same with frozen banana (any bananas getting past their best get chopped into chunks put in a freezer bag and frozen) and then blend to make ice cream or put in a smoothie . Also fruit to dip - apples dipped in peanut butter or strawberries and chocolate or fruit kebabs, also frozen grapes as a treat to nibble on.

DD is 2.5 and honestly, it varies.

Yesterday was pancake with fruit for breakfast. Beans on toast and half an apple for lunch. Homemade turkey mince cottage pie with peas for dinner followed by yoghurt.

Today was pancake and fruit again for breakfast, mini pizza for lunch followed by half an apple. Dinner was homemade pasta bolognese, garlic bread and a homemade fairy cake.

She has crap days though where all she will
eat is dry cereal, beige freezer food and crisps. 🤷🏼‍♀️

DD just turned 2. She used to eat anything, recently she’s become more fussy. Also have DS who is 4. I do think having the older child makes a difference as I don’t have the time or energy to make separate meals so they both get the same. DS used to be fussy and is coming out of it now so I’m keen to make the most of it and give them proper homemade food where I can

Dinners that usually go down well:
Anything beige like nuggets, fish fingers etc
Pizza
Pasta with either pesto or tomato sauce
Cooked chicken with either rice or couscous
Meatballs with tomato sauce
Spaghetti bolognaise
Quesadillas or tacos with chicken
Most meals served with veg. Fortunately they both like veg

My 4 year old demolishes all these meals. 2 year old sometimes eats well, sometimes doesn’t. I just roll with it and she gets milk before bed. She usually eats some of the components. I have learnt though that they go through phases and I used to get more stressed about my DS rejecting his food

For sweets etc maybe just don’t have them in the house (that she can see) for a few days. So if she asks for a biscuit just say we don’t have any left, how about a banana or a apple? If that’s rejected then she gets nothing

I’ve got 3 DC
Youngest is 2 .

A typical day / week would be ...

Breakfast - cereal with milk ( just whatever rest of us are eating - Cheerios / weetos / rice crispies)
Microwave porridge in winter
Or toast with butter - brown or white

Snack - varies between - packet of cheddaries / yoghurt / tea biscuit / cheese slices / cup of milk / sometimes make a small bowl of steamed broccoli as DC loves to munch on it ( take a few stems out of freezer and zap in microwave ) , slices of ham / turkey on a plate / breadsticks

Lunch - things like pasta bake with either mince or bacon & tomato sauce / beans or spaghetti on toast / soup / fish fingers / little side servings of sweet corn or broccoli

Dinner - eats whatever we are eating at dinner - sausage casserole / spag Bol / mince and potatoes / roast dinner etc

If I feel DC havnt eaten enough or refused food from dinner I usually give them cereal / porridge or toast before bed

I just don’t worry too much as long as they have eaten throughout the day some carbs / protein / dairy / veg. Of some sort

My 2 year old is not a big fruit fan whereas the older 2 are , their appetites and tastes change as they grow so I’m easy with that as he loves veg .

I know he will eventually find his own tastes