Simple first recipes and tips for a very selective three-year-old eater

[Kaylehkay]

Hi, does anyone have any basic recipes or tips. My daughter, 3.6 years, is being referred for possible autism. She is a terrible eater. She eats hardly any meals. (Chips, pizza is pretty much it) She eats snacks mostly and takes a lunchbox to nursery. I Try and pick up the fruit/veg snacks which she will eat (fruit treasures, fruity drops) but a lot of it is chips, kinder bars, donuts. She will go on and off foods, like she will eat pizza for a month then won't touch it again for a while.
I want to get back to basics to see if I can get her into foods. What were your common/ best BLW recipies? Id like them to be simple to start off with to see if I can encourage her to at least try bits eg. Puffer pastry pizza twists ect.
She hasn't put on any weight in a year and im worried.
Thanks.

Bumping for you as my 3.5yo son is exactly the same. Also on pathway for assessment. It's so hard isn't it watching them just not eat and then the judginess when you give them something just because you know they'll eat it. Solidarity 💐

I’d ask them to also assess her for ARFID. Have you spoken to the Birmingham Food Refusal Service and has she had her bloods done to check for deficiencies? Is she also under a Paediatric Dietitian who specialises in ASD?

My daughter doesn’t have autism but she was massively picky when she was younger and was obsessed with stuff, cream cheese sandwiches once 3 times a day and then we went thru a waffle stage! So I feel your pain.

my kids had a childminder and she was great and said put different things in the lunchbox and when kids are with other kids they’re more likely to want to eat and then when she was 3 she went to the school nursery for some sessions and I started ordering the hot meals - and I found that helped as it encouraged her to have different things. I used to let her have a lunchbox very rarely but gradually migrated to hot school meals.

shes 10 now and there are some things she doesn’t like, mashed potatoes being one and tinned hotdog sausages and weirdly dairylea dunkers but she eats fairly well.

would a hot meal be easier than pack up bits if it’s on offer?

No. The only thing the HV did was get us on the assessment path for the paediatrician. But that could take up to 2 years. I dont know if to ring them again or just go to the GP?

We did try hot meals when she started thinking the same, but she would refuse most of it. One day she didn't eat anything but a quarter of a sandwich. She was more interested in the other kids lunchboxes haha

I would recommend this book:
Helping Your Child With Extreme Picky Eating by Katja Rowell

I got it on Amazon and found it very helpful for suggestions.

I had a dc a bit like this but the fussiness set in about age 5 and luckily she decided she liked quite a lot of plain healthy food so she survived nicely.
And stayed til age 13/14 when inexplicably dc slowly became a “normal” eater.

Loads of kids hate sandwiches fyi, unless it’s a party.

In my house: plain pasta (tubes or fusilli) cooked al dente (NOT soft) with a tiny bit of excellent quality salted butter was popular with both kids.

Does your dc like milkshake?! Mine like the Nesquik. If you put it in a cup with a lid you can shake it to make it frothy. Start quite strong and over time make it less strong (as not healthy) but it is one way of getting milk in them.

Also vitamin and calcium gummies!

I have tired pasta and cheese but maybe I need to strip it back like you suggested to just butter? Ill give it a go. And no. She will drink water and have 300ml of warm milk at night. She refuses anything else 😅 im glad your girl grew out of it.

She also won't eat gummies. The only option was rhe liquid and put it in her milk but atm shes having her allergy meds that way and I didn't want to overload the milk hahah

Right? Like yes shes had pizza like 3 meals in a row. Im not happy about it but shes actually eating. Its so hard. Im sorry youre in the boat with me 😔

I'd kill for my little one to eat pizza. All he does with pizza is pick the pepperoni off. So I buy the packets of sliced pepperoni and just air fry those. I don't care what other people think of me letting him have a packet of it for dinner. It's the only meat I can get in him and the only hot thing he'll touch at the.moment. it's so hard to make people understand that it isn't the same as a typical fussy toddler. My son would happily sit and starve all day and night if he doesn't want or like something. He was referred to the dietician but it was rejected because GP said he's still putting on weight, god knows how and he doesn't look malnourished. It's ridiculous in my area how bad it has to be to be seen by them 🙄 really hope you can find more stuff your daughter will eat 🤞😊

Just read this post and can't believe how similar our kids are. Mine also won't eat gummies and I used to put it in his milk that he still has for bed but then he started recognising when it was in there as it obviously changed the taste a bit so can't even do that anymore 😅 he also will only drink water in the day. No chance of trying the milkshakes that help weight gain😭 if it weren't for the fact you've got a girl I'd swear we had the same child 😂

Unfortunately shes going off it. So I need new options. She would only eat the plain though, god forbit i got the one with ham 😂But hey, at least peperoni is a meat, warm and fatty. If that's all he will eat what else can you do? Refuse him? They are so stubborn they won't eat just because theyre hungry. She's been been by the hv and in a year she hasn't put on any weight. But I supposed at least she hasn't lost any? 😐 I hope your boy starts eating better too. It worries you so much 💙

@Kaylehkay do you ever involve your DD in the food prep? It's just that mine is more likely to try a taste of something new if he's been helping me with the prep of it. Sorry I know you've probably tried everything same as me but it's something to try maybe 🤷

Maybe ask her friends mums what bits they put in if she showed interest?

or invite some little friends round and do a kids friendly little buffet with lots of bits and some of her favourites and some new/ differnt things to try and see how she is with her friends choosing things for their plates?

I feel for you tho it is a battle!