in worrying about how much junk food my toddler always seems to want?

[loveroflife]

Ds (2) is of a normal weight but is always wanting junk food. I don't give it to him, but that doesn't stop him wanting it.

Today, he threw a tantrum at a toddler group because I wouldn't let him have another digestive biscuit. He has one once a week at the same group. However, whatever group we go to he always hangs around the biscuit tin shouting and pointing at them and quite frankly it is becoming an issue.

I do try and hide the biscuits but that's not fair on others who want one!
One biscuit for him is never enough, but my theory is if I totally deprive him he will go beserk when he has them at friends etc.

He also throws tantrums in shops grabbing packets of crips and chocolate bars (even when in his buggy, damn those till point displays!) and it's a real battle to grab them off him and say no.

He also always makes a beeline for other children's snacks but ONLY if it is crisps, biscuits, crackers etc. He would never try and steal a grape or a piece of apple!

DH and I can't eat anything 'naughty' in front of him because he gets so upset and wants a crisp, piece of chocolate etc. We don't have junk food on display and make a point of eating fruit in front of him and sticking to healthy choices.

Yesterday, I met a friend and her ds for coffee and and ordered ds a sandwich - however, friend and I had cake and again he was shouting and pointing at it until I did on this occasion cave in (ashamed) and give him a bit because so many people were just staring at us in horror.

This is what he had today and is pretty typical of his diet.

Awake at 7am - Milk
8am - Small bowl of shreddies and fruit smoothie
10am - box of raisins
12pm - 3 Fishfingers and peas (ignored the peas) and half a slice of wholemeal bread
3pm - Cereal bar (low sugar)
6pm - Lasagna and veg (ignored veg) followed by plum fromage frais.

He will have some milk before bed at 7pm...

Am I doing anything wrong? Feeding him too much or little? He doesn't like fresh fruit and veg despite enjoying it when we started BLW'ing. I now have to give him his fruit via a smoothie every morning and sneak veg into spag bol etc.

Does anyone have any advice? We can't go ANYWHERE without it becoming a real issue....

Nickel and others who make vegetabley muffins - what's your recipe? I like doing nice food for me Dh and toddler, but I can't get my head around baking so make it easy pls!!

Sundried tomato muffins are lovely. As are bacon and cheese, ham and cheese, cheese and chive and salmon muffins. All non sweet crap.

Don't eat cake in front of him if you don't want him to have any- surely that's a no-brainer!

As in they are not sweet. They are not crap.

What about those organix rice cakes? There's not much in them?

I originally googled cheese muffin.
you get an american lot of recipes so you use plain flour and baking powder.

then I just substitute half of the cheese with random veg.

sometimes sweetcorn, peas, broccoli, grated courgette, tomatoes etc.

dinneristhedawg - my LO loves olives, and capes, and smoked salmon, and marmite. Babies love strong tasts IME.

Cheese and courgette muffins are GORGEOUS.

You could also try cheese and veg scones too. The River Cottage 'cake' handbook has savoury fairy cakes in it that are very nice.

I used this recipe for carrot muffins, but I used double the amount of carrot, for real, um, carrotyness

www.babyledweaning.com/recipes/snacks/some-bloke-called-andrews-carrot-muffins/

here's one recipe

My son has been eating olives and similar practically from his first weaning.

There is really nothing a child won't eat if you give them a chance.*

*SN excepted, of course.

15 healthy muffins

I agree to an extent Tee, and was amazed when I first started weaning DS when I read a child needs to try something about 20 times before they dislike something.

Of course everyone will have things they like and don't like but on the whole what you say is right. I do struggle with "won't eat any fruit OR veg" fruit and veg covers such a vast array of flavours and textures it seems odd that a child won't eat any, especially one to young to actually know it falls into the fruit or veg group (to them it is just another food)

nickelbabe those recipes look yum
Do you have any without sugar? I want my 8mo to be able to eat them too, but don't really want him having too much sugar yet

I personally would probably ignore the sugar ones.
or you could swap it for more of theother ingredients. or onion?
experiment!

loveroflife about the cake eating. I have counted and I think that DD (2) has seen me eat cake three times. Her two birthdays and Christmas. We have no junk in the house, she has never seen me eat a McDonald's or anything similar. Now, I let her have the odd bit of chocolate or cake when it is around. Down to her level, "just one", give her one, she asks for more, I say "not now Pumpkin vomits on self, maybe later" and distract. More hunger equals more fruit/veg/good snack not more cake.

On a side note the first time she had broccoli, I had cooked some and was absentmindedly picking bits out of the colander and eating them (I love broccoli). She reached out her hand, "food, food". She also learned to eat fruit from her Dad, sat on his lap stealing his breakfast, which is mostly fruit. Live what you want them to live. BTW I'm not skinny and fit, just only eat 'real' food. My new mantra, never eat what your GM wouldn't have recognised as food.

Thanks so much nickel

I cook healthy meals from scratch for pfb, but have been struggling a bit with snacks and resorting to organix oat bars a bit too often, although they are pretty healthy I'd rather make something.

Typical meals here to help OP. I agree with other posters that you need to eat healthily yourselves then its a non issue.

Brekkie 8am- porridge fingers, poss with fruit purée mixed in, a satsuma, water

Mid morning snack 11am- banana

Lunch 1.30pm or whenwvr he wakes: usually sandwiches - egg mayo with tomatoes, tuna mayo with spring onions, cheese on toast with pesto or sundried Tom paste for interest, garlic mushrooms on toast, a tart made from ready puff pastry, cheese, spinach and whatever spare veggies - then grapes or apple, maybe cake if we have any (maybe once a fortnight or so)

Mid-afternoon snack 3ish-breadsticks, rice cakes, oat bar or similar.

Tea 5.45ish - whatever we're having so pasta with cream or tomatoes and veggies/ham/cheese or whatever, meat and two veg, stir fry, roast, fish pie, shep pie, chorizo and leek hotpot, etc - followed by berries and maybe fromage frais (plain) or yoghurt (plain)

I only give water or milk, no juice. Milk at 7.30 and 7pm, some at 11.30 before his nap.

And if we're having chocolate, cake or whatever, he has it too. Always.

Not crisps though, am a bit about salt still as DS is only 12mo.

I don't think another biscuit will kill him at all. As long as he eating well the rest if the time a bit if cake / biscuit will not harm him. If you are worried he isn't eating the fruit and veg, when mine were younger, when they were really hungry I would get them up at the table and give them a bowl of peppers, cucumber, celery, carrot wtc just before I dished up. Guaranteed every time they would wolf it all down and then you can serve dinner knowing they have eaten veg.

As Loie says, sometimes it's about timing. DD tends to get her meals as 'courses', always the veg first, then when she's eaten a fair bit of it I'll add in some meat & lastly pasta or other carbs. She won't eat things in sauces at the moment & is generally being a bit picky - although will eat anything at nursery, so maybe just my cooking

Thanks so much for all the ideas and advice.

I except that IWBU eating cake in front of him and not expecting him to have any, so will not do that anymore.

Today's offering:

Milk when he woke up
Weetabix for breakfast.
I killed the fruit smoothie afterwards - however, a quick question for those saying not to have it but then saying give fruit, what's the difference as it is just pure fruit in the smoothie and he will not eat fruit of any kind?
Snack - offered satsuma and grapes and got told: "Noooooooo" so ate them myself and didn't give him anything else as I don't want him to think if he says no to fruit, mummy will give him a cereal bar which he does want.
Lunch - Wholemeal pitta dipped in hummus. He didn't want the hummus but wolfed down the pitta - normally likes this though so nothing wow about that.
Afternoon snack - 3 unsalted rice cakes.
Dinner - Salmon fillet flaked with penne and pesto.
Natural yoghurt with diced apple - he took all the apple out but ate the yoghurt.
Milk before bed

Water (I don't give juice...)

I have a fruit and veg phobic 2 year old DD. She gets offered both at every meal, sees me and DH eating a wide variety (I eat lots) but will only really tolerate veg if its disguised in a sauce, no fruit at all. Sometimes peas are ok, but usually they are rejected. I have never known her to eat any fruit, even in a smoothie or fruit juice or yoghurt, but it is put in front of her daily. She does try it for me because she is kind of fascinated that I find it so delicious when she doesnt like it, but she always spits it out saying its 'yucky'. I dont react to any of this just say ok and take it away when she has eaten other things. Peer pressure of her friends eating it doesn't work either.

Drives me nuts, I can only keep offering it, not make a drama and hope she gets to like the taste.

I have been beating myself up that its because I didn't do BLW (although obviously made fruit and veg purees) and will definitely try that with DS.

OP it doesnt exactly sound too bad what your DS is eating.

I have to say that I dont eat anything in front of her that I dont allow her to have too, I think thats unfair so I stuff my face with chocolate when she is asleep

Well we did do BLW and I raved about it at the time as he was eating fruit and veg however with BLW I found that if they don't like the touch or taste of something then he develops a negative association with that and the stubborn little thing won't go near it again. For example, he has always hated the texture of chicken, turkey and ham and won't touch it let alone eat it..

I did wonder that with spoon feeding you can almost sneak more in and out of my friends the ones that eat more variety are the ones that were spoon fed rather than BLW'd....maybe pure fluke though....

I feel your pain though Lambzig and dream of the day he will eat fruit and veg..

If you're having trouble getting him to eat his veg, have you tried hiding it in meals that you make? For example, you could finely chop loads of celery, peppers, onions etc to make up the bulk of your lasagne sauce and then he'd eat his veg without even knowing it.