Is my son eating too much crap?

[Bog]

Sorry I have another thread on here but everyone here is very helpful and for traffic.

Son is 18 months old.

For breakfast he has either rice crispies or weetabix with marmite (not much) on toast

Lunch is usually half a cheese or ham sandwich with either a banana or half an apple, or Raisins. Sometimes I add a few of those veg crisps for kids or 3 of those organix animal shape crackers.

Either mid morning or afternoon he has a baby biscotti or organix snack

For dinner it's veg with some kind or protein. Frozen birds eye chicken, fish fingers,scrambled egg or the frozen baby food shapes. Annabel or something or other. But is this too much rubbish? Usually after dinner he has a pudding of petit filous or a suckies yoghurt.

He drinks water during the day and has a nighttime bottle of milk.

Try the Jamie Oliver ministry of food book, there's some good simple stuff in there

This is good too

https://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/1905862156/ref=cmcrarpmbpagingbtm2?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews&pageNumber=2

So sorry you have to cope on your own. You sound like you are doing really well. Just one little suggestion - my dentist used to rave about the horror of dried fruit like raisins and children's teeth. It sticks and is a really good promoter of tooth decay - she said sweets were better in terms of dental health. (She didn't think either was good but she thought sweets were the lesser evil.) A piece of fresh fruit is healthier.

Don't worry too much. My son too ate about four things at that age. They weren't particularly healthy things either. He'll be a fourth year medical student next year. He is a healthy weight and eats a much wider variety of food. We could never persuade him to eat meat as a child and he is still a vegetarian.

A fillet of fish is very easy to cook. I check the fillet for any stray scales or bones. I soak it in a little milk with some dried thyme in the fridge in a shallow dish for about 30 minutes. I dump the fish onto a plate with flour - you can add a little extra dried thyme in the flour. I make sure the fish is coated with flour and I panfry it in a little oil till it flakes, I usually have some vegetables roasting in the oven - chopped onions, potatoes, carrots, parsnips. I use "miracle" non stick foil to line the baking dish. I put some oil rubbed through the vegetables and cook them at at about 210 degrees for 40 minutes or so and flip them over half way through. (You can just keep them warm in a low oven if you get behind with the fish.)

Have discovered he loves watermelon.
He doesn't eat much for lunch but has a huge breakfast.
Today was rice crispies and banana.
Lunch was watermelon, carrot,cucumber and rice cake with cheese. He was too tired from his walk so barely touched it.
Dinner (He was starving so had to have it at 3.30 luckily I'm off work today) was slow cooker pasta with tomato and bacon sauce and cheese on top. Followed by a natural yoghurt with some honey and raisins.

I am a fan of this slow cooker so if there's any quick prep ones you know that are nice and quick to do in the morning then please let me know. Thanks all.

Are people honestly saying that when their 18mo has a plate of protein, carbs and cooked or raw veg in front of them, they voluntarily eat the veg? And that this is also the usual way among their friends with 18mos?

I don’t believe you for a second.

He does eventually. Sorry you don't believe me. I'm just trying to do right as I became a widow last summer.

All children are different. As are adults - I love vegetables, but I know some people who only eat vegetables for health reasons.

My older son if you presented him with a plate like that at 18 months would have eaten the protein and the veg and left the carbs, my younger one would go for the carbs and the veg and ignore the protein, unless it was yoghurt or cheese. But it would also depend a lot on the veg - mine are obsessed with broccoli (raw and cooked) and cucumber and would eat those over almost any other food for some reason.

Yeah it’s a bit of a MN classic thing to claim… but I actually think it’s true for lots of children. Mine absolutely loves carrot sticks, cucumber and peppers and would happily eat those above things like ham or crackers. She also loves cheese and pasta etc though.

Prepare to have several posters tell you their child would always choose organic produce over non organic and they can tell the difference

@Bog i was actually thinking of you today, how are you doing? Sounds like you’re really cracking the cooking / diet stuff.

Oh wow I can't afford everything organic. He eats carrot sticks, peppers and cucumber. I don't bother buying a whole watermelon just the tesco pack of 4 slices.

I was a bit put out as I received a Christmas card (mail delays) from his biological grandfather and aunt.
It upset me as after all this time he knew our address and didn't bother with her birthdays or Christmas. Went straight in the bin, whilst I have no issue with her biological aunt (who seems to be the only one with any parental instincts apart from not being a mother herself) but I don't like how he probably put her up to sending it as it wasn't an 80 year old writing.
However he probably didn't mention to her that I'd told him to fuck off and the three of them (him, her biological mother and half sister) should be ashamed of how they treated her. Hopefully the last I've heard of them to be honest. Hope you have a great 2023 :)

So sorry to hear about your wife. I think you are trying harder than you think when you will still be in shock and grieving. Your son is better fed than many school kids I work with so don’t be too hard on yourself, it’s a learning curve.
If it helps I used this cookbook with my dd, the meals were quick and easy to make. Like others I batch cooked which is a total life saver and just got loads of the mini Tupperware’s for freezing. There is a good variety of fruit/veg in the planners and meals and they are meals that you could eat too like the curry, bolognese. She does a variety of cookbooks so maybe find one that suits your tastes.

www.amazon.co.uk/Quick-Easy-Weaning-Annabel-Karmel/dp/0091940281/ref=mp_s_a_1_25?crid=1BODGTGGOLJUD&keywords=annabel+karmel+cookbook&qid=1672853863&sprefix=annabel+karmel+cookbook%2Caps%2C93&sr=8-25

Good luck and remember to take time for yourself to overcome the grief. Your son needs you to be happy and healthy, much more important imo than too many baby snacks!

At 18 months? Yes absolutely. Depending on the veg - she has never liked things like pepper, cucumber, tomatoes or raw carrot sticks but anything else definitely.

At 2.5 now it’s a bit more hit and miss, but if the vegetables in question are peas, sweetcorn (especially on the cob), carrots, broccoli or butternut squash/ sweet potato then she will usually eat them quite happily. Or something like vegetable soup or in a stew.

Thank you.