Ideas for a 13 month old with limited but very strange variety of foods

[Tapster]

Make my Christmas - help feed my child!

My DD has been a nightmare to feed since weaning. She is now finally taking an interest in food at 13 month but her favourite foods are quite bizarre:
pasta + pesto (will eat pesto from jar)
pasta + spinach cream cheese sauce
falafel
quite spicy feta cheese pastries (from M&S)
pasta + tomato sauce at a push

Now she doesn't eat much else except cheese on toast. She will eat all types of raw fruit but only peas and sweetcorn.

Any ideas - for the last 2 months since a D&V bug she won't eat cheese sauce. She also has an egg allergy. I finding it difficult to get any fish into her.

Please not that "give them what you are eating, if they don't eat starve them until the next meal), as she is still BF and then all she does is take milk and not sleep at night .

could you put pesto on everything for a bit if she will eat it from a jar, eg rice and pesto, potatoe and pesto to try and broaden the range of carbohydrates.

Get an older child to eat with her and see if she copies? Peer pressure does work! Is there a cousin or non fussy eating friend who she looks up too?

Are you/her veggie? Just as there was no meat mentioned.

Thanks littleducks - obvious to put pesto on anything but I'm always in such a state of what do I try next that I didn't think of that. I will try pesto and rice - she has refused rice at least 30 times so that might help. I tried to vary the type of pasta - rice, corn etc... but she is not easily fooled.

We are not veggie she will sometimes eat bolognese and chicken livers (strange tastes).

I will try peer pressure again soon, last attempt 2 weeks ago she only ate 6 peas for lunch much to my friends amazement - people dont believe me when I say my child doesn't eat!

Hey Tapster,

I'd just smother it all in pesto too. Can you make a kind of chicken and vegetable pasta with pesto?

What about making your own 'falafel' but make them with added veg? You could then try and vary the spices that you add then perhaps the shape. Duno if that would help her feel confident about tasting more foods

assume you tried fancy coloured plates, cutlery and smiley faces???

What about home made pizza? At least that way you can put any toppings on that you think she may like??

Will she eat curry if she likes falafel?

DH loves peas and will also eat broad beans (without skins) as I htink they look like large squashed peas. He won't eat past though

Have you taught her to dip her food yet? You might be able to put a blob of pesto in an egg cup, and get her putting all sorts of things in it ... - steamed carrot and parsnip sticks, chips(they really are just oil and potato, I don't see why people get so precious about chips), tiny strips of soft meat, etc

Smothering in pesto did not work (tried 5 meals now) after 2 spoonfuls complete refusal - she is not easily fooled. She hated couscous or rice. She hates the texture - really sensitive to texture like my DH.

Tried homemade pizza several times with no joy - even had it with other children who are good eaters, she ate 6 peas instead.

Got animal cutlery and plates, will try more funny faces.

DD is very round and looks very well fed, but I know its my BM - DH very eager for me to stop now.

hmmmm, does she feed herself or do you feed her?

could you leave a plate of cut fruit out for her to help herself to in the day as she plays?

can she help you cook? or get in the way! then she might become interested in biting and licking carrots etc. as you chop.

oh and dont let on it stresses you to her, it will just become a power trip then, though this is probably much easier said then done.

My 12mo ds has a very similar diet - just substitute cheese for the pesto. He will also have meals of only 6 peas or less. Somehow I manage not to stress about it too much.

Your dd's diet doesn't sound too bad to me falafel is very nutritious as is cheese on toast and all that fruit that she's eating is really good too. I think that there are many kids out there who have similar eating patterns, you just hear more about the ones who eat "a whole roast dinner". In my opinion there's an unnecessary pressure exerted by Anabel Karmel et al as if babies and toddlers don't eat three well-rounded meals a day (and puddings too!) they're destined to be malnourished picky eaters forever. I don't remember my brother EVER eating a vegetable but he's a strong healthy adult, brilliant, and an incredibly adventurous eater now.

I think instead of buying cute plates etc you'd be best off by trying to relax about her eating and accept that she'll turn out just fine, even with her limited diet. Easier said than done, I know!

That being said, some other things that my ds seems to like are avocado, sticks of cheese, croisants, and bagels. (don't know if the last two are ok with egg allergies)

Also, I know that a lot of people rave about these books: "Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense" and "Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family" both by Ellyn Satter who is an American nutritionist. If you do an internet search on her you'll get a good idea of what her advice is.