Ideas for balanced meals for a very fussy two year old

[ArizonaOne]

My DS has just turned 2, he has been a bit of a fussy eater for a while now but it has got worse over the past few weeks. I know this can be quite normal but im struggling to give him a balanced diet.

He doesn't like any form of potato (chips, mash, roast) won't eat chicken, pork, beef (will sometimes eat mince) has stopped eating eggs in any form.

Loves pasta. Loves sausages.loves cheese. Loves peas. But I cant give him these every single day!

My older child has never been that fussy so im not used to this!

Any help welcomed, from a stressed mum!

Just serve normal meals and remove if uneaten. No snacks in between. Works every time.

Agree with PP. Just make sure there’s at least some element of the meal that he will eat and don’t pander to it. Don’t limit the rest of the family’s meals for the sake of a fussy toddler. If you eradicate something that he doesn’t like, say potato, from your diet, how will you find out when he decides to like it again? And how will he discover that it’s not as bad as he currently thinks?

My DD is 7 and is only just starting to try new foods that were previously ruled out when she was 18months/2ish.

And we did (and still do) what the PP have suggested.

We all eat (broadly) the same meal. I will always make sure there is a food available that will be eaten. Sometimes that means a different protein e.g. fish fingers if we're having fish or chicken nuggets if we're having chicken. Or it means a safe side e.g. garlic bread if it's an untried pasta dish.

The rule however is that she has to try whatever it is the grown ups are eating, a proper spoonful. Once she's tried that then there's no further comment on anything she's eaten bar "is your tummy full?" once she says she's finished.

She's starting to get a little more adventurous now and I've had to accept meals where she's just eaten plain rice. But the rest of the day has had plenty of fruits and veggies so the diet overall is balanced, even if the evening meal isn't. That plus a decent multivitamin!

I would add a caveat to "just give them what everyone else has" advice.

This is what I was told as well. That and "they grow out of it" and "it's about control, don't give in or you'll have a fussy child". "No child will starve themselves" - as he'd wake up crying at 2am with hunger cramps aged 5 because he wouldn't eat his dinner.

I did everything. Served the same things, offered a wide variety, involved them in food preparation from the start, took all the advice from health visitors, parenting books and websites, CAHMS, etc etc.

Turns out he was autistic with ARFID. That wasn't picked up until late teens.

All his worst childhood memories relate to mealtimes. His relationship to food and in part to us was really damaged by our trying to do what's 'right'. It was awful.

So yes, expect a taste of everything where possible, yes, served the same as everyone, but also offer nutritious snacks your child actually likes during the day to keep him healthy and reduce making mealtimes stressful.

Just make normal family meals but make sure there is always an element you know he’ll eat. Keep offering everything.

Sausages, egg, toast with a fruit salad (yes, for dinner, we do breakfast for dinner a lot).

Spag Bol but serve the bolongnese on the side with some garlic toast to dip. He can still eat the pasta.

Roast chicken with hummus, flatbreads and salad. Salmon with creamy pasta and peas. Wraps with a variety of things to put in, mince or chicken, cheese, soured cream, salad and raw peppers, tomatoes, avocado. Mine used to love wraps with just cheese and sour cream at that age. Put it all on the table, they can serve themselves.

Don’t shy away from trying all sorts of things. Both mine were obsessed with mussels in a garlic cream sauce at 2. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’m not going to repeat advice already given but if he will sometimes eat beef mince, you could try chicken or turkey mince for variety.

Mine was a brilliant eater until about the same age then became a nightmare - she was also pasta and little else. I ended up doing pasta, grated cheese and cucumber, olives or peas, as she'd eat those. I figured it covered all food groups for dinner time and she always ate porridge with fruit for breakfast. She grew out of it, but it saved a year long battle. MN at the time advised me to look at her food over a week rather than a day, which helped my worries somewhat.