Should I restrict amount of fruit DD (19mo) eats?

[ForcesSweetheart]

My DD has recently become very fussy about meals. If she does decide to touch a meal at all it's generally only a couple of bites then it gets thrown on the floor. Firstly, I don't know how to get her to stop the food throwing, she doesn't really talk yet (other than 2 or 3 words) so I'm not convinced putting her on a naughty step and explaining why would have much effect. I've been wondering if she's just not hungry enough come mealtimes as she eats a lot of fruit?
Giving today as an example. She got up at 9am and had a cup of milk, some toast, a piece of cheese and a small pear. Mid morning she had a small handfull of blueberries. For lunch she had french toast and cherry tomatoes, she ate the tomatoes but flung the french toast all over the place (eventually picking it up and eating it when taken down from the table). After her nap she had a banana. Then when presented with a tiny portion of moussaka for dinner she ate two bites then chucked it on the floor. Throwing a fit when I tried to get her to eat any more of it.
Should I stop giving her fruit between meals? She constantly tells me she wants food between meals (using signing) which is why I give her the fruit.
I'm severely overweight myself and desperate not to pass my food neuroses onto her, but finding it really hard to be laid back about what she does/doesn't eat.

Gosh, her diet sounds so healthy! And reasonably balanced, too. You know they're having too much fruit when they get the runs.

Toddlers this age should have snacks between meals, their stomachs are too small to get enough calories in on only 3 meals/day. AND your DD is having such healthy snacks, and they aren't high calorie or even high volume, from what you're saying.

Only thing I could see you doing different is I would offer more than just one type of food for tea, but make it all quite small portions (e.g., a bit of mousakka, a bit of carrot, a bit of brocoli, not all mixed up). She's not having that much milk, is she? I thought they were still suggested to have 1 pint/day at this age.

Throwing food around and wasting it is normal for toddlers, I fear!

Thanks for replying lljkk. She has a full cup of milk morning and bedtime, as well as milk in cooking and bits of cheese etc. She doesn't have the runs, so not concerned that the fruit itself is too much for her body, just wondered whether it's reducing her appetite for savoury foods.
I'll definitely try giving her a few different things on her plate again. At the moment I'm madly chopping veggies til they're near invisible with my pampered chef chopper into the main meal as she has shown a dislike for them on their own.
I really wasn't thinking ahead when I had a cream carpet put in the dining room, mind you back then I thought I'd never get pregnant never mind have a toddler throwing food so I spose I should stop stressing so much.
My mum's only advice (and it's the same response she gives when I ask her about any naughty behaviour) has been to smack her hand when she throws it, but I'm not a fan of smacking and really don't want to turn mealtimes into a battle ground.

No, please don't follow your mum's advice, maybe it's why you have food neurosis, even? Don't associate punishment with food.

There are other threads on MN about sneaking vegie goodness into the reluctant. For instance, When I steam or boil veg I sometimes save the cooking water and use it to make bread (breadmaker), or cook rice in it, which DC will readily eat.

Oh well on the carpet -- don't most people redecorate every 4-6 yrs, anyway?

Do you think she might be teething?

My ds (17 mo), who has always been a great eater, has been cutting his eyeteeth and over the last month or so he has gone off loads of foods which he used to love, and eating less as well.

But this week two of his eyeteeth have come through and he's suddenly back to normal, even eating cheese which he was the only thing he used not to like!

I guess she could be teething.

We're due posting in about 6 months or so, and will deffo be putting down lino or such like in the next quarter!

Dya think putting her back into her highchair in the kitchen would be a big step backwards? (just thinking of making the mess easier to clean) At the moment she's in a booster seat at the dining room table so that we can eat together, but am thinking it might be worth sacrificing the joint meals til she's over this throwing.

My DD is 18 months and is in her highchair in the kitchen for most breakfasts and always for tea as she eats about 4 hours earlier than DH and I (But I have a plate with her!)
I give her lunch in the sitting room but every meal gets thrown, even if it is her favourite food ever, once she is full the whole lot gets tipped on the floor, I am pretty sure it is a toddler thing!
Can you put a sheet under her chair at mealtimes? At lunchtime I use an old cot sheet which catches most of it, shake it outside afterwards and bung it in the wash every few days otherwise I would be permanently attached ot the hoover.

I wouldn't worry about the amount of fruit she has either, mine has about the same and as someone else says as long as she doesn't have the runs she is not eating too much.

Oooh like the old cot sheet idea! Thanks.
Got a tripp trapp style rip off arriving from germany any day now so that should make it fairly easy to do some meals in the kitchen and some at dining table. When DH is at home we eat later so I figured I'd make the most of it just being me and DD for the 7 months he's away and eat with her earlier in the evening.

That's what I do, DD only eats lunch with DH on his days off otherwise we have all our meals just the 2 of us!

Just wanted to add that we had some success tonight! She wolfed down broccoli & cauliflower cheese, and came back afterwards wanting more (thankfully I'd made too much and could gladly oblige!)
Maybe just covering everything in cheese sauce is the answer!

can i just hijack and ask a food related question about my dd

she has a really healthy appetite and eats loads for breakfast/lunch/dinner but she also has quite a bit of fruit which doesnt worry me but her poo is virtually never solid - it isnt like she has the runs but it much less solid/mushier than my ds ever was

just today i noticed virtually a whole green bean in her poo and this made me wonder if she is obtaining the goodness from her diet - saying this she is 11.5 kg at 21 months which makes her average weight on the charts

does anyone elses dc have mushy poo rather than solid?

bump

hiya babyboo, my DD has pretty mushy poos much of the time. Like you say, not the runs, but not solid. I put it down to the amound of fruit. I've just had a couple of almost whole blueberries in a very mushy nappy, but I'm not worried that she's not getting the goodness out of her food beause if you think of everything she ate over the last 24 hours, cereal, a banana, a couple of bites of sandwich, a pear, broccoli & cauli cheese, blueberries, and a couple of cups of milk, then only having a couple of blueberries undigested is not much in the scheme of things. If it continues to worry you though then ask your doc or hv for reassurance.

thanks forces

it doesnt really worry me that much as she eats loads and is average on the charts etc its just that i am aware her poo is so different to my sons - i only have a couple of mates with babies and theirs are all more solid

will hopefully become more solid in the future - nappy changing is not pleasant at the moment!

hi forces again

just had a quick look at your profile - love the name lola for your dd - really wanted that for my dd