Please help - need foods I can give 19mth DS - mind has gone blank and am getting desperate!

[Holymoly321]

Hello everyone - hope you've all had a fabulous Easter. I really need help. I dread mealtimes for 19mth old DS. He just won't eat anything that hasn't come out of a wrapper (i.e crisps, boxes of raisins, organix fruit bars etc), or started life as a plant - ie no veg or fruit (won't even eat bananas now!). I am at a loss as to what to feed him for mealtimes. He will eat a bowl of cheerios for breakfast with no problems, but lunch and dinner are giving me stress meltdowns (not helped by the fact I'm 10 wks preg with No2!) There are only a couple of things I know he is likely to eat, they are pesto pasta, muffin pizzas, cinnamon bagels, cubes of cheese. Obv he can't live on these alone. Please help me with suggestions of other meals I can try. Ones that I can make a batch of and freeze would be great. Most of the AK stuff I used to make for him when he was younger he won't touch anymore! Argh, please please help!

Will he try spag bol do you think? That is always a winner here. Pitta bread and hummous, home made chicken nuggets (there's a recipe on here somewhere if you do a search). Maybe make parsnip chips or sweet potato wedges so he's getting veg that doesn't taste so much like veg iyswim.

the veg chips sound interesting - he won't eat my spag bol at the mo, even if Iput loads of cheese on - he just picks of the grated cheese and eats that! How would I make the chips / wedges?

Just slice into chip shapes and drizzle with olive oil and stick in the oven roasted butternut squash is lovely too. To try and get some fruit into him what about making a fruit smoothie blending it with milk or yoghurt give it to him in a nice glass/cup with a straw they like the novelty of it. If he'll eat pasta with pesto then what about just coating the pasta in a tomato based sauce with hidden blended veg in it this may work.

Thanks Le dodgy, will try the veg chips. Have tried tomato based pasta sauce and the fussy bugger won't eat it- arrgh!!! Would welcome any other ideas from anyone - plan to do a big food shop tomorrow!

Cottage pie?i hide grated carrot in mine!also in the potato mash on top you could put sweet potato and cheese on top.

Baked beans?they arent as bad as you might think....

my 2 year old wont touch veg on his plate, but will eat soup for lunch that i make..leek and potato, veg, etc.could serve with cheese on toast?

HTH

can you just feed him whatever you're having and sit down with him at same time .. just cut it into smaller bits

I find small toddlers like quite spicy food .. they sometimes get fussy because the food they are given tends to the bland IME .. so try him on chilli con carne and rice .. on kormas .. chinese style

but basically feed him what you're eating (minus nuts and excess salt) as soon as you can

HAve tried baked beans - no go. Have tried giving him what we have but again, not interested! Will try a korma. Any other ideas for foods/meals that he can eat with his fingers?

just bumping for the post easter lot!

Have just read smilings entry and could quite easily have written it myself! 21mth old DS exactly the same! Have batches of lovingly prepared AK recipes in freezer that he won't touch. Living on toast cheerios fish pie fishcakes fishfingers baked beans peas grapes and yoghurt.Has been like this for weeks. Food he used to love he won't look at and anything new I try to introduce gets a no and is pushed away without even trying it. IT's doing my head in.Help!!

Gack! this could be me as well! 2 yr old (just) ds seems to be dropping more foods from his repertoire the older he gets!! I'm lucky to get pasta into him, bread with jam and butter, luckily fruit, heaps of raisins, cheese, yoghurt. but anything remotely effortful that I make gets the NO!

really dread mealtimes now, and he prolly picks up on that which doesn't help... sorry to hijack but I feel your pain!! will keep checking back for helpful suggestions...

Little pieces of roast chicken, spanish omelette (cooled down a bit) and cut into strips, if he'll eat pesto pasta try pasta with tomato sauce mixed with a bit of grated cheese (twirls are good as they can pick them up easily and they hold the sauce), pieces of salmon (very quick to cook in the microwave), meatballs - can easily make homemade ones, chicken balls ala Annabel Karmel, little sandwiches (ham, cheese, tuna mayonnaise), nothing wrong with fishfingers now and again either. Have one very fussy child and one very unfussy so I can sympathise. The things your ds seems to like have very mild flavours - have you noticed that? My ds is just the same - doesn't like anything strong or sour. Dd on the other hand (19 months) likes black olives, strawberries, prawns etc! When ds got like this I gave up on the batch cooking and made much simpler meals which he liked and caused me less effort. It is frustrating though as dd has a much wider repetoire.....

Pasta with a creamy sauce? Either soft cheese or proper cream.

According to The Food Our Children Eat, the key is to not panic (yes, not very helpful!) and eat together. Keep offering and don't comment on the refusals. I really really sympathise...

I sound really ungrateful but have tried many of your suggestions already. He won't eat pasta anymore (used to love spag bol},does't like sandwiches of any description won't eat cheese or eggs (no matter how they're cooked! One thing I failed to mention though is that the staff at his nusrery where he goes 3 day/week say how wonderfully he eats there and that he hardly ever refuses a thing for them (usually has 2nds!!! My cooking must be abyssmal or I'm making too much of a drama of mealtimes!!Also tend to give in and give him yoghurt when he refuses main meal just so that I avoid tantrum and that I feel he's at least had something to eat!! Sorry to ramble - it's just getting me down.

In that case, I'd definitely look out for the Food Our Children Eat. Excellent book - full of tips on how to deal with fussy eaters - especially since it looks as though he's just twisting your tail!

Betsan Stop the giving in and giving yoghurt now.......Or you will end up needing Tanya Byron! Why don't you try serving him one meal a day you know he will eat and one that is more challenging. I quite often do that with ds as at least I know he will have had some food if he refuses meal no3. Also eat one meal a day with him if you can, try taking him to friend's houses for meals and vice versa (much less stressful as you can ignore while you chat to another mum) or out for a meal somewhere child friendly. Make your life as easy as possible by only serving things that are easy to cook/take out of the fridge for the time being. It is much less stressful doing that. I really really sympathise as ds drives me mad sometimes but having seen how different dd is with food I am more relaxed as I have not treated them that differently. Ds is slowly getting better but he is 3 - he definitely uses food as a control technique and I am trying to avoid that with dd at all costs!

I've got good eaters, and know friends with a picky eater - what I would say is its amazing how much pressure they put on her, probably not meaning to (leaning over her, fussing about mess, anticipating that she won't eat, so always ready with a back up food which she inevitable goes for). Its because they've got so worried about her not eating. She looks sooo stressed every mealtime. My tips would be - eat with him as much as poss and the same foods. Ignore what he is doing with it - but gentle praise for picking something up or tasting it can work well for some, others are best left to explore themselves. Forget about mess, allow self feeding as much as possible. Walk away from the table at times (mine often tuck in more when ignored). Manners can be learnt later..Don't give substitute foods just a portion of main and a portion of pudding - cut down size of pudding if he's using it asa substitute for the meal(but I like the idea of one meal a day he will eat, and one more adventurous - mine often eat little or nothing at one meal of the day and it soesn't harm them. Don't give snacks in between, unless its practice foods you want him to try (i.e. not out of packet)or fruit. Sorry, this isn't what you asked for at all - foods mine love - mackerel mixed with natural yog, especially in pitta bread. Tuna pasta and sweetcorn. Any bolognaise. Chicken stir fry and noodles. baked potatoes (but only recently, never used to eat potato. Chilli and rice. Any sort of fish with rice and peas. Sausages. Stew (but they prefer it mostly meat, i tend to puree some veg into the sauce, with bolognaise as well). My dd2 is 18 months. They say some children need to be presented with a new food up to 20 times before they accept it (they like what they know), so just keep on. Eating around other children who are good eaters can be great, or letting other adults encourage/praise them (I know lots who eat better at nursery than home). Good luck (with this and with number 2!)

Thanks for some great advice. I think the idea of trying new foods at one meal time is brilliant. He's been excellent today and eaten three huge meals including a tea of new potatoes,broccoli,peas, carrots ,gravy and a vege sausage!He got plenty of praise!!The sausage was completely new to him and he really enjoyed it. I've also been making much more effort to schedule meal times so that we all eat together at the table. He sems to be taking more of a general interest in food even if he's still a little reluctant to try things. Anyway I'll keep you posted!!!