AIBU to 'hide' food in my toddlers food

[Absofrigginlootly]

My DD is cows milk protein allergic. Her protein intake is rubbish.... she will happily eat fruit and carbs and some veg. I've worked on her and she will eat eggs and occasionally fish. But she refuses to touch meat or pulses or milk alternatives as a drink (I still BF but plan to stop soon).

In her morning porridge I try to increase the protein by mixing in flaxseed meal and chia seeds and do things like cut up cooked chicken into teeny tiny peices and hide it in curried rice.

DH remarked the other day that this didn't sit right with him and seems a bit devious.

I know what he means and obviously I'd rather she chose to eat these things for herself - and I will keep offering them to her as Whole Foods -

But I thought this was a fairly standard approach to picky toddler eating??

Or am I being underhand and untrustworthy??

The reason I'm genuinely asking is because I grew up with parents with food and control issues (which among other issues led me to an eating disorder when I was young). Im really keen to present food in a positive way to DD by keeping things relaxed around food.

So I thought 'hiding' a bit of protein etc to boost the nutritional content whilst modeling healthy eating in front of her was the right approach but now I'm questioning myself???

And what is his helpful and constructive suggestion to help sort the problem without deviousness!? Didn't think so 😊

I would argue there's every reason to point out to you that it's a shitty thing to call you 'devious' when you don't seem to recognise it yourself.

tazer sorry I've read that sentence 3 times and I still don't understand what you're trying to say (dyslexic)

You don't just let young kids eat what you want you feed them a balanced diet. I hate adults who think treating kids like small adults is sensible when they lack the reasoning powers knowledge and ability to understand long term consequences that (most) adults develop. Parents have to be willing to parent

Correction, you don't let them eat what THEY want

I make a lovely creamy pasta sauce. DS (6) loves it. He asked me what was in it. I called it "Everything you hate sauce" as it was all the veg he hated all blitzed up so that the texture of things like mushrooms, onions and peppers were rendered inoffensive

It is important to try foods in their natural state, but if a child won't put them in their mouth, the nutritional benefit is negligible anyway. What can work as a compromise is blending half of it, and mixing half with the textures.

I don't know that it is devious really, not if you aren't serving it up going 'there's definitely no chicken in it'. I mean its not like most people list the ingredients of everything they dish up is it? I used to sneak veg into my DC's food all the time, never told them I wasn't, just didn't point the veg out. DH didn't realise for years that my special recipe lasagne that he loves so much is 50% veg he supposedly hates - I'd assumed he knew and just wasn't telling the DC.

Nana's magic soup is delicious by the way