Adhd child will only eat fruit & veg

[ColourfulOnesie]

Looking for some advice from some hopefully more experienced parents

DS is 6 and is currently diagnosed with ADHD but there may be other things at play too, we will be investigating these at a later date

He used to be a really good eater and if anything I’d say there was a slight problem in him not knowing when to stop

Then he started ADHD meds and basically his range of food has whittled down to pretty much just fruit and veg

Will occasionally eat porridge but it’s a breakfast food so he will only eat it in a morning, if I offer it for dinner he will throw it across the room

He can’t solely exist off fruit and veg his insides will be liquid soon

Any ideas of anything, anything I can do??

@queenmabb i wouldn’t mind if it was a bit more carby I think, but his bowel movements are very very soft so I am worried it’s just not enough to sustain him
Hes very active and already quite slight and slim and tbh the mood swings when he’s hangry are intense! I think he could do with a bit more ‘filling up’ than apples and strawberries

I can’t believe I’ve never tried protein yoghurts 🤦🏻‍♀️ Yes I will give these a go!

@Littlefish hummus I could also definitely try - he does actually occasionally eat crisps dipped in salsa (you just can’t predict it can you?!) so he may be open to a different dip - will put that on the list
Unflavoured protein powder isn’t something I’ve looked into either
He does say smoothies ‘sting’ though - no idea what that means!

does he have demand avoidant traits?
if so, you could try just having bowls of food out and eating picnic style where there is no pressure to eat anything but he sees other people eating. He might sense you want him to eat certain things and it could make him anxious.

Can you make some fun things together - even if they’re not healthy, just to try get him excited about food again
have a look on Pinterest, things like air fried pasta covered in cheese that he can dip on salsa if he likes that
or burgers, or things he can put together himself like fajitas, Ocado are doing Disney themed meals with recipe cards
nachos or tapas style things that he can pick at?
so difficult!
dc refused anything but biscuits for a while when they started

Are you giving him the full spectrum of fruit and veg? They all contain carbs too.

You can feel full on them, you just need more.
Will he eat avocadoes?

Will he eat nuts?

Does he like avocado? Or mashed up as guacamole?

peanut butter?

He does say smoothies ‘sting’ though - no idea what that means

I know exactly what he means & this could be one of 2 things, (or both) sensory processing disorder, or "strawberry tongue" due to B12 deficiency. Smoothies sting my tongue, especially when my B12 is low & that's making my tongue more sensitive & sore as tastebuds are inflamed already. I can only really cope with banana based smoothies, with no acidic fruits added. Cocoa or cacoa is good in a banana smoothie & packed with iron, antioxidants etc.

Will he eat pancakes? If so, I've been making them in a nutribullet, with equal oats to wheat flour, with added sesame seeds (calcium & more) linseeds, chai seeds & quinoa, sunflower seeds, all nutrients packed, fibre & protein too. You can add protein powder. I made a pile & covered them in the fridge to help herself to. At one point this was the only way she'd eat much in the way of good healthy food, usually with fruit or Nutella or both. So might be worth a go.

Loose stools are common in JHMS EDS for various reasons, DD had real big problems with this from being small, it's mostly due to Gastroparesis, which is where colleges defect affects the digestive tract. They can also be allergy related too, DDs was partly EDS linked Gastroparesis & partly colitis caused by a diagnosed soy allergy. The allergy seemed to be due to low B12 & it went with B12 injections

We found turmeric/Curcumin & slippery elm capsules helped manage her symptoms until we got treatment & "functional B12 deficiency" diagnosis.

Be aware though that diarrhoea/soft stools surprisingly can be caused by impacted stools causing a blockage, this again is a result of an overly stretchy cut not acting as it should. After months of worsened soft stools becoming full on diarrhoea, DD ended up in hospital for 2 weeks with a blockage

Except vegetarians and vegans also eat plant based sources of protein and carbs and dairy (in the case of veggies!)

Hi OP

im I’m almost exactly the same position with slightly older DS (10). He was already very skinny and is extremely active. I’m feeling very worried about it as the meds have been transformative for him but he’s so painfully thin.

Things that are working atm for me - he has an ice lolly as soon as he gets in. This seems to help a little with starting his appetite? He’s also into hummus atm so had that with raw veg sticks. I’ve now resorted to a bowl of ice cream before bed and he eats a sweet waffle with it. Not exactly healthy but here we are. He was drinking smoothies but went off them… . Also would drink nesquik cartons for a while.

Im concerned tbh that he is actually losing the ability to recognise he is hungry. So it just feels normal to him. He was never exactly a brilliant eater.

i also don’t give the meds at weekends or holidays. Am hoping he puts weight on over the summer.

@RockinHorseShit - could you possibly share a very rough pancake recipe?

Carrot and cucumber sticks and humous?

We also had success with fun meals like build you own soft tacos (seasoned mince, cheese, salad, sour cream, avocado and soft wraps) but my biggest tip is to eat together and persevere. Dd was the opposite, no fruit or veg and she was a teen before she really ate them willingly but she would eat raw spinach (not cooked) for instance

@Tiggertum this is a good pancake recipe and if you add a portion of flavourless protein powder in. I used to leave the oat and milk mix in the fridge overnight then blend it before cooking. You've reminded me i've not made it for ages! A sliced banana and drixxle of honey over is good. www.weightwatchers.com/uk/recipe/oat-pancakes-yogurt-pear/5db1893a609a0800c9617907

@Tiggertum, I sort of just throw it in the nutribullet & adjust it until it's a good pancake/paint consistency, it's a difficult one to get wrong.

But 2 eggs, about half pint of milk, 4 tablespoons of oats & the same of wheat flour. Tablespoon of sesame, linseed, sunflower, chia seeds & quinoa, blitz it up in the nutribullet or similar. If too thin add more oats & flour, if it's too thick more milk. Works with plant milks too & adding a bit more linseeds & milk should work to replace eggs

Hope that helps

Oops @Tiggertum, I forgot a couple of ingredients...add a bit of salt too, it definitely improves the flavour & a large knob of butter, helps them not stick to the pan, adds flavour & good fats & protein

As I'm back I'll add another recipe we found really useful for getting nutrients into DD...

Banana pancakes... these are sweeter, so good for a sweeter tooth & gluten free etc

In the nutribullet, blitz 1 egg, 1 banana & a handful of pecans..., drop this batter onto a hot oiled frying or pancake pan, flip when you see them begin to firm & rise up. Cook til golden & firm on both sides. DD loved these with maple syrup

Oops, banana pancakes should be more like drop scones, so couple of tablespoons of batter each. Batter is quite firm, so holds its shape

Thanks @RockinHorseShit 😊

You know you can get non stimulant meds which dont effect the food intake….. might be worth asking your prescriber.

Also when he hangry - is that food related / during the day time or is at 4/5 pm when it’s the adhd med crash?

is your child ASD too? My child is super picky but likes the junk food - pizza, chicken nuggets, chips, fish fingers with gallons of mayo on (suppose it increases the calorie intake) plus ice cream. There is Afrid which is a condition where it’s basically your child will only eat limited amount of food

Also, I tend to give him easy foods to eat which is plain as he can’t be bothered to cut things up…. Or a banana in his hand / ham wrap in his hand then he’s not thinking about it 🤪🤪🤪 as eating is a boring task!

plus lots of sweet stuff to increase the calories which isn’t ideal but working at the moment ….

Working off your list -

add protein powder to porridge, pizza base, biscuits and any other baked item.

You might get away with stirring into yogurt, weetabix (was that wet or dry?)

Use good quality sausages, and pizza (real cheese rather than the fake stuff that’s on a lot of frozen pizza)

sausages, but not in a bun - try a brioche milk roll (Aldi stock them) - sweeter than bread and enriched with egg

plain pasta - would he notice a bit of oil/butter? Will he eat pasta made with egg rather than the fry flour and water stuff?

These are only suggestions and believe me I understand if the answers are all no!

I think you should consult with a dietician though because I suspect his diet might not be as bad as it feels. I was very focused on protein when ds wouldn’t eat meat, but he was actually getting enough from other sources. What I hadn’t realised was that iron was too low and that was an easy fix with a supplement.