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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to give toddler ds pasta for dinner every night?

37 replies

ikeaismylocal · 22/03/2014 16:49

Ds is 15 months old and mostly really great at eating. He loves vegetables and fruit and he eats fish, meat, dairy products. He enjoys strong flavours, his favorite foods are olives and liver pate.

We struggle to get him to eat carbohydrates, he adores pasta but he doesn't much like bread, rice, potatoes.

We give him the same lunch we have, usually he eats the vegetables and protein but leaves the bread/rice or potatoes, at dinner we have been resorting to giving him pasta almost every night to fill him up so he doesn't wake in the night ( we have recently night weaned him) the pasta dishes are varied, bolognese, creamy salmon pasta, wild mushroom sauce, roast vegetables and pasta, lemon chicken pasta etc. The meals are all homemade and he is given salad/vegetables on the side which he usually finishes. He has fruit after dinner.

We started off doing this as short term solution to fill him up whilst sleep training him, his sleep is great now and I'm wondering if nutritionally people need a variety of different carbohydrate rich food.

Aibu to feed him pasta every night?

OP posts:

CrazyOldCatLady · 22/03/2014 16:50

Crikey. It sounds like he has a fantastic diet for a toddler. You're doing really well, I wouldn't worry about it at all!

littleredsquirrel · 22/03/2014 16:54

I wouldn't have a problem with this either. He is eating lots of different things. My friend's DS ate nothing but petit filou and toast for three years

Pigletin · 22/03/2014 17:01

Have you tried giving him beans, lentils, quinoa, bulgur, couscous? The will fill him up and are very healthy.

spongebob13 · 22/03/2014 17:10

I'm irish and we have spuds with dinner every night don't see how what you are doing is anything different .. as long as he is eating fruit n veg (which he is) they type of carbs isn't an issue at all. he sounds like he has a great appetite for good food. don't sweat it at all.

Spirael · 22/03/2014 17:11

We had similar with DD for a few months. One thing to try is gnocchi. I think she believed it was pasta, then from there we were able to slowly introduce other forms of potato. We also served garlic bread alongside the pasta. She eventually tried some and from there started migrating to other types of bread.

spongebob13 · 22/03/2014 17:12

just make sure and give different types of pasta (different shapes and spaghetti etc) so he doesn't overdose and in 6 months time wont want to ever see pasta again! lol happened to my ds with sausages wont touch them (no harm don't there though).

007licencetostandonamolehill · 22/03/2014 17:13

What does he have for breakfast and lunch? If its wheat based cereal and bread, I would not serve him pasta at all.

Pasta is mostly crap highly refined processed white wheat. I'd still be cautious of serving him brown pasta daily though even if he was having oats for breakfast and a wheat free lunch.

Serve him what you eat and don't discuss food at all. The protein and the veg are the most important. Protein and veg have carb content anyway. It's a 1980's myth that wheat is good/essential.

Mintymoomoo · 22/03/2014 17:13

Sound to me like he is a excellent eater and that you feed him very healthly food.

Instead of your usually bread etc have you tried pittas/mans/wraps etc my kids love these

LittleprincessinGOLDrocks · 22/03/2014 17:15

As long as the rest of his plate is full of a good mix of other healthy foods I can't see an issue. As long as over all he gets variety in his diet I wouldn't worry too much.

LetThereBeCupcakes · 22/03/2014 17:16

My DS is the same! However he absolutely loves gnocchi with pesto, and will eat mashed potato if it's mixed in with a spicy chickpea topping. He also likes warm fresh bread topped with soft cheese, but can no longer have that due to a dairy intolerance.

BertieBotts · 22/03/2014 17:19

It's normal for toddlers to like a repetitive diet. I wouldn't worry about it.

When he tells you he's bored of pasta and wants something different, that's the time to give him something different. Until then enjoy it! FGS some children eat a total of about 5 foods. Don't listen to ridiculous guilt tripping about "highly processed grain" or whatever is the latest food fad. It sounds great.

Melonbreath · 22/03/2014 17:22

I imagine it doesn't do Italian babies any harm.
He eats more than my 15 month old. I can't get veggies in her for love nor money, even if I blend them and hide them.

somewherewest · 22/03/2014 17:22

The only carby type stuff my 2yo DS will currently touch is brown bread. So for the moment that's what he eats. I know its not ideal, but like you I work on the basis that once his diet is well-balanced otherwise its not the end of the world. I wouldn't touch fruit or veg in any form between ages 0 to 20 and survived .

grobagsforever · 22/03/2014 17:27

Ha ha ha! At that age all DD would eat was yoghurts, wheatbix, raisins, toast and baked beans. Thankfully she still BF'd a lot. Your DS is getting an AMAZING range of food. Well done. BTW DD eats normally now.....

stopgap · 22/03/2014 17:30

My father is Italian, so growing up we had pasta at least four nights a week. It's the go-to for my son, too. He's 2.7 and although he enjoys brown rice, bread and noodles as his other carb sources, pasta is by far his favourite, and he eats it many times a week. We mix things up by using brown rice pasta, corn pasta, quinoa pasta etc. etc.

RiverTam · 22/03/2014 17:35

my veggie DD has white pasta several times a week, and she has nothing like the variation of sauces you are giving (she does eat rice, couscous and spuds, though). Sounds alright with me. White pasta isn't crap, either, what a load of nonsense. Young children do not need to be eating brown bread/rice/pasta, far too high in fibre. If he's having fruit and veg he'll be getting plenty of fibre then.

PumpkinPie2013 · 22/03/2014 18:06

It sounds like your ds has a healthy, varied diet so I wouldn't worry.

His tastes will probably alter as he gets older anyway so he may enjoy different carbs then.

Original poster

ikeaismylocal · 22/03/2014 18:10

He doesn't like couscous or quinoa, I was mostly given lentels to eat as a child and I hate them, but maybe he would like them.

The gnocchi is a great idea, I will buy some tomorrow.

I think part of the problem is that he wants to feed himself and pasta is really easy to eat with a fork or with his hands.

Breakfast is usually the topings from a sandwich, we live in a country where pate/ham/cheese sandwiches are a normal breakfast. He will have a bit of our bread when he sees us eating it but not his own bread. He will eat eggy bread.

Lunch is usally stew, meat/potatos/veg, risotto or curry he picks the meat/veg out.

He still breastfeeds lots in the day.

Thanks for sharing your stories, I will continue to give him pasta for now :)

OP posts:

olympicsrock · 22/03/2014 18:18

Stealth boast imo!

Original poster

ikeaismylocal · 22/03/2014 18:21

Stealth boast imo! Why would someone boast about their child's diet especially when they eat pasta every day?

OP posts:

bishbashboosh · 22/03/2014 18:22

Maybe try some rice too?

ShadowFall · 22/03/2014 18:23

Given what you say about the rest of his diet, my main concern about this would be that he gets given pasta so much that he gets bored of it and decides to reject pasta too.

Original poster

ikeaismylocal · 22/03/2014 18:24

We give him rice at lunch sometimes, he likes sushi but I have tried to make it at home and it all just falls apart so he only has that when we are eating out.

OP posts:

BertieBotts · 22/03/2014 19:08

Mine won't eat pasta, rice, bread or potatoes unless it's the only option! That's probably why it looks a bit like a stealth boast. (I don't think it is just can see from the angle of someone who has a less adventurous child)

BertieBotts · 22/03/2014 19:08

Lemon chicken pasta sounds delicious by the way, how do you make it?

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