To give my toddler a 'picky tea' regularly?

[ToddlerTea]

Because he's going through a fussy stage and just seems to want the same stuff.

We usually offer whatever we are having but end up giving him something like toast soldiers with veg sticks, hummus and a side of fruit or pasta with tuna or chicken/ham etc..

Do they all go through this stage of seemingly only liking a handful of things?!

He adores fruit of any kind but struggles with veg although I try and offer it with every meal and he will have a small amount namely cucumber, sweet potato or sweetcorn.

So veg , toast , pasta, fruit, hummus chicken and ham are not proper food in your book ?
Protein, carbs , fruit & veg all seems good to me

I could understand your objections if @ToddlerTea said s/he was feeding the DC crisps, sweets , jelly and custard but that's not the case

We call this a “snacky dinner” but it’s normally only if we have a larger meal at lunch time, if we’ve been out for lunch for example.
But my two aged 12 and 9 still like it - a roll, cucumber, capsicum and carrots, hummus, salami, cheese, some cold chicken sometimes, pickles - lovely! Put it all on a plate and they just help themselves. We used to have the same when I was growing up on a Sunday. We’d have a roast at lunch time and then a tea later; sandwiches or toast and jam with some bits on the side.

Scrap dinner

Same here. Brings to mind scabs and fingernails

We call them all-sorts plates, and are literally that. Anything I can find in the fridge/cupboards.
My kids' favourite tea!

Why? What is it about the temperature that the food is served at that is significant?

How nutritious, filling, calorific or tasty a meal is is not dependent on whether it is hot or cold, and I say that as someone who much prefers hot food and rarely eats a meal made entirely of cold food by choice.

You talk about 'bread, veg sticks, hummus, fruit, pasta, tuna, chicken/ham' so all proper food even if served as a selection of different things rather than a defined 'meal' like pasta bake or sausage and mash.

Plus many hot meals aren't necessarily more healthy, eg sausage and mash, pizza or beige and chips, all hot, none nutritionally superior to the sorts of things you are talking about, which aren't necessarily less substantial either, surely that would depend on the amount of food on the plate, more than whether it is hot or cold?

We call it a "mixy dinner" or "mixy lunch" and use those plates with sections

I think it's kind of drummed into us that we have to have one hot meal a day- I always had one when I was younger- but a picky tea is just as healthy as a cooked one. As long as they eat,there's no problem.

"choice of snacks" ?

Of course it’s normal. He’s a toddler, only the most contrary of ages, unless we’re talking pre-schoolers, infant schoolers, junior schoolers, pre-teens, teens, young adults….

Baby buffet or toddler tapas

I'm a little bit older than a toddler and I still occasionally eat like this if I just can't be bothered.

Small Small Things here (which I got from a book, er, possibly one of Gerald Durrells books about collecting animals in africa and 'small small tings' was the name for a collection of small dishes and bits and bobs to pick from.

Or Picnic Tea.

No kids, I just have really odd eating habits.

Let him eat what he wants, it seems healthy enough so just let him have the same tea over and over again, he’ll get bored in a few weeks. My youngest (4) will only eat pasta with peas at the moment 🙄 but I know next month it’ll be something else. It’s just a phase.

I was so confused by picky tea

You mean lots of variety at dinner, yes.

A buffet style or what we call tapas or smogebords

Dippy tea in our house. I miss those days.

I had a dinner of picky bits the other night and it was bloody amazing! I gave it to my kids a lot when they were little, especially if they'd had a hot lunch at nursery.

I wish we were having one tonight. You've got me craving mini cheddars, cheese cubes, cucumber sticks and halved cherry tomatoes.

Picky tea sounds revolting. Buffet dinner mildly less so. YABU saying picky tea but not serving a buffet dinner.

Picky bits 🤮

Picky tea seems fine

Buffet sounds a bit Hyacinth Bouquet

We call it "Bitsa"
as in bitsa this and bitsa that. Love a freezer bitsa as well,using the odds and ends up.

Don’t be so silly. It’s a really good balance of fruit and veg, protein and carbs and a perfectly healthy meal for a child.

Mine haven't gone through that as a stage as they both LOVE their food, but we have a 'picky tea' about once a week! Usually our 'use up whatever's leftover' night 😂 I don't think it does them any harm, fed is fed, and as long as it's a reasonably balanced diet it doesn't really matter if it's hot or cold 🤷‍♀️

Yep, my 1 year old has this for most meals. Pepper, cucumber, crackers, cheese, etc.!

It's my favourite sort of eating ... lots of delicious flavours and no cooking. DH not so keen so wait for him to be out and indulge. I'd add a pear to go with cheese. OP's toddler is doing fine. At some point a bit of the hot meal OP is having could be added when cooled.

picky bits would be much much worse!

although in our house picnic dinner is the phrase 😉

sounds like a great meal you give him. It’s normal for toddlers to be picky. It’s how they develop an understanding of food and what’s safe to ear instead of just blindly copying and their caregiver. The best thing you can do is not make it a big deal and set a good example with what you eat. Soon he’ll want what you have anyway.