To season my 3 year olds food?

[amidsummernightsdream]

Dd has just turned 3. Eats the same as us and generally eats well. Up until now I have always plated her serving up without salt and then seasoned ours after.

Recently she’s been a little more fussy around certain foods including veg but tbh a lot of things taste bland and unappetising without salt, particularly veg!

When I have added (a small amount) of salt with butter she is more likely to wolf it down.

Tonight we’re having pan fried fish, asparagus, broccoli and new potatoes done with garlic, herbs and butter.

It’s 50/50 if she will eat this but I imagine if I seasoned it like ours (nothing crazy!) she’d eat it. Butter, salt, whats not to like?

Would I be unreasonable to lightly salt some of my 3 year olds food on a semi regular basis to encourage her to eat I wider variety of nutritious food she would otherwise likely not eat?

im aware it’s a lot- my point was to reassure OP about salt intake as a consultant and dietician are aware of my ds intake and have said it’s not going to harm him, it was just to show the upper limit of what’s acceptable in terms of salt intake for a 3 year old.

My ds will onlt accept mostly crunchy foods - a year ago he was tube fed so what he eats now is actually amazing ! Sounds awful to most people but to us this is huge progress

@amidsummernightsdream I stir fry veg with harrissa, garlic or creole spices. So no added salt but plenty of flavour. Might be helpful.

Our 3 yo children ate the same as us.
Just don't overdo salt.

Shop bought harissa has salt in it. Same for shop bought creole seasoning

Obviously you might be making your own but most people don't

If your DD isn't eating lots of processed foods and factory made bread, it's probably fine to give her a small amount on her dinner.

Also, boiled veg tastes better if salt was added to the water because it retains it's nutrients and natural flavour. The salt is drained away.

I feed my kids what we eat (age 5 and 3) and of course I season our food! For example
potatoes cooked with a little oil and salt and pepper. Roasted veg the same.

Yes of course seasoning makes food taste better, I was thinking the same thing as you!
I don’t worry too much tbh, my 2yr old has a little bit of salt and pepper on things like veg or potatoes - very little processed food otherwise and eats pretty much everything atm. Maybe I’m wrong, but I’d never really overly worried about it.

I don't add salt in pure form but do let my kids have ketchup, cheese with pasta etc....

Yes sorry I should have said it's a mix my sister makes. But the one from our local shop is salt free, seemingly lots of demand from those on blood pressure tablets ,😉

And I'd add stock to a shepards pie which is also salty.

Given your child is reared on unprocessed foods, I don't see an issue with lightly salting it. That said, you could also try to substitute seasonings high in natural glutamate - such as parmesan or dried tomato flakes - or play around with seaweed flakes or a tiny amount of soy sauce.

And a hearty YABU to the pp who thinks unsalted butter tastes weird. You simply haven't tried proper artisan butter!

I think when you’ve got a child with food phobia (or similar) the rules have to be slackened somewhat. So glad your child is doing well, I’ve worked with children with severe issues surrounding food and it’s so important just to get anything in them. I wouldn’t be using it as an example of healthy salt levels for a child who doesn’t have those issues though.

but for me salt plays a part in that

And for those of us that don’t feel veg needs salt, we love the taste of the actual veg. By salting your DCs veg you are going to be ensuring that, like you, she can’t eat it without. Madness.

No it’s obviously not great but my point was even at this level - it’s not dangerous so OP can relax about her dd

That was for @Mumtoasdboys

Absolutely not. They are 3..!!!! Very unhealthy.

I don’t think you need or want salt until you’ve got used to having it. You can taste the food better - and it doesn’t seem bland - if you aren’t used to salt on it.

You need to think about other seasonings - chilli, garlic, paprika, ginger, all the lovely things that aren’t salt.

We do need some salt in our diets. It's actually necessary. It's also true that most people get (more than) enough from things like bread and cheese, but it's definitely not a good idea to remove all salt from your diet, whatever the latest sourdough-mummy-blogs would have us believe.

Properly (ie lightly) cooked is also important but you have said that.

Yes so I often make roasted broccoli in the oven with melted cheese on top. It’s lovely! Doesn’t need additional salt over and above what’s in the cheese.

I stopped used salt on the veg when I had DD so we could eat the same and have never gone back to adding it.

All the veg is steamed and tastes fine. Don't know if you're boiling or steaming? But boiling will definitely kill the flavour. Steamed veg is yummy!

Don't think @Mumtoasdboys needs all the judgement; if you look at her user name and the fact her DS is under a dietician it's obvious she's not just feeding crisps for shits and giggles

I added a tiny bit of salt to veg, rice, chips etc. when they went through a veg refusal stage and it made a huge difference. Kids survived and still only add a bit of salt to veg.

Strange but true - I have low blood pressure and 3 different GPs have said I should try adding a bit more salt to my food 🤔

OP, have you tried roasted veg instead of boiled? My kids love roasted carrots with a bit of olive oil, tastes lovely and sweet to them.

Peas, maybe add a little mint sauce or even fresh mint and melted butter?

The post says he's under a consultant and dietician, I think she probably recognises that it is an unusual diet, even without your excessive use of judgemental question marks.