healthy snack ideas for very fussy toddler...

[lunarx]

ds, 21 months, is on a 'not eating anything much' kick this week...

i figured i'd poll the minds of some MN'ers and see if anyone could suggest anything...

he doesnt eat any other veggies except sweetcorn and peas (if even offered them, the meal or snack goes right downhill!)

somedays i can handle the fussy moments and other days i just dont know what to do!! (offering food i know will be turned down just depresses me!)

ahhhhh!!!

Hi lunarx I'm going through the same with mine. Ds will be 2 next week. All he eats is noodles, sausages, nuggets and smiley faces. He used to be a really good eater, eating fruit and veg but now he won't touch them. He has been like this for a while and I worried a lot too. I have come to the conclusion to give him what he likes until he is a bit older to understand. This is prob the easy way out but I have tried everything else. i tried hiding veg in noodles etc but he isn't stupid.

hi sidey, i cant hide veg either in anything! he spots it! i fear he is gaining too much weight from a not-so-good diet (well in my opinion, beans too frequently, sardines on toast, fish fingers once a week...) lately. he'll have fruit til the cows come home!

mine won't touch noodles. rice. sausages. any of that. i'm lucky if he will eat french toast (at least its eggs and carbs!) i'm trying not to be paranoid (not in front of him at least!) but weight problems are on my side of the family (sigh.. think my hormones are talking this week for me!)

i just gotta keep trying things with him. am going to try chicken in tomato sauce, rice and some carrots for lunch. (although i am preparing for him to refuse it anyway, gotta try!!)

when he doesnt eat, i just dont know what to do!! (the joys of mothering a toddler! ;)) ah well, time to go wake the monkey from his nap...

please vent away back... its good to know we're not alone in this!!

My 14 month old dd isn't so much a fussy eater she doesn't like eating! I've tried lots of different foods and one thing I found she likes is roated vegetables (I use 1 red and 1 green pepper, half a butternutsquash so its nice and sweet) in a pitta pocket with hummous, I think its the butternutsquash that makes it sweeter for her, but she loves and its healthy and I eat it with her and its good for me too.

how about those little packs of philadelphia with grissini

i love butternut squash.. i'll have to try him with it again. (worth a shot anyway!!) (he didnt want it last time i tried, but nevermind!!)

he wont eat anything like a spread (like hummous, philadelphia, etc) :( but he'll eat the grissini's no problem!

Its very disheartening when you go to a lot of trouble to cook something for them and it gets chucked on the floor that why I have given up. At the end of the day no child has starved themselves. I wouldn't worry yet about weight probs - when he is old enough to understand I think you will be ok. Prob with mine is he won't try anything new.

Healthy Snack ideas:

rice cakes with fruit on (eg mashed banana)
houmous with veg/pitta/breadsticks to dip in
dry shreddies (DS loves a handful of these, sometimes with raisins or fruit)
toast and marmite
muffins (if you make your own reduce the sugar and add fruit, grated carrot etc)
try some more unusual, unfamiliar fruit for a change -mango, fresh pineapple, papaya etc

Think your're going to have to be really sneaky - if he eats buggers or chicken nuggets how about making them yourself and adding grated carrots never know he might not realise?!!

yoghurt raisins

Oat cakes
Apple crisps
No salt potato crisps
Cereal bar
Bagel
Hot cross buns not too bad, you can get wholemeal ones
Dried fruit - raisins, apricots, dried apple etc

dgs likes oatcakes, grapes, adores mango,and i've discovered he will eat cherry tomatoes if I open the fridge and give him one but not if they are on his plate!

he loves bolognese sauce (I use vegetarian mince which is soya based I think soya products are supposed to be limited for los though) with spaghetti but not keen on big pasta

I add frozen peppers to the bolognese

loves chicken

will try rice cakes with fruit on... (he loves rice cakes normally) :)

marmite he wont touch anymore :(

we have a pineapple on the counter! think i'll hack it up for a snack this afternoon!!

ohhhhh! i never thought of that, emmawill, i made chicken strips for him (with crushed cornflakes on them and baked in oven) i will add some shredded carrot to them next time!! :) :) excellent idea! thanks!:)

(what are buggers?)

at 28.5 lbs, he would have to not eat for a while to starve himself!! =D

Oh sorry burgers, dyslexic trying to type with screaming child!

Do they need snacks at all?
Isn't this the root of the problem in many cases.
My 20 mth old has three meals a day,and only what is offered.Other than that,there is as much fruit and water as they want.
He is a sturdy lad.

I think children, like adults, have different eating patterns some people are happy with 3 meals a day, others prefer smaller meals more times during the day especially if their fussy eaters so chances are they won't sit and eat all of their meals anyway. If they are very active snacks are important for keeping their blood sugar levels stable.

Blimey moondog you're hard

ds (16 months) eats pretty well at mealtimes most of the time but if I don't give him a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack as well I am treated to a lot of crying and pointing to the bag which usually has someting to eat in it though mostly just a banana or cheese. Since he eats so well at mealtimes generally and he is pretty light I figure he just needs the extra calories.

I must admit I get sick of carrying snacks around all the time and would love him to only eat meals but ds doesn't agree

But fruit is a snack moondog. DD pretty much only has fruit or cheese (usually begged because she is a cheese fiend) or raw cake mix. I think she humours me when I suggest we make cakes and that she would be quite happy for me to make the cake and her just come along at the end for the empty bowl.

Apart from that she tucks into the mix part way through that is. Even if it is pastry.

Agree with moondog.

'This is what we are having, eat it or leave it, oh, and you can have fruit if youre still hungry'.

I worried about DS until I realsied he was having one great big laugh at my expence.

Not that on its own it is anything to go by, but, he is now (didnt used to be) above average on those silly charts.

Sorry but little ones only have little tums and they are using so much energy growing and learning about life, they need to keep thier energy levels up, I get hungry between meals and I'm not growing well only outwards

yes absolutely, fruit.

Lots of energy in a banana.

Yes fruit is good but apart from bananas, not alot of energy in most fruits and can't give them bananas everyday.

my dd has always had a mid-morning and a mid-afternoon snack and has nearly always been a good eater; some children just can't go several hours without food, 3 meals a day is very much something we are conditoned into.

dd has always been given snacks at playgroup, nursery and now reception - they are 'expected' to drink the milk (or alternative) and have a piece of fruit mid-morning - all free