toddler loves toddler ready meals, hates my cooking

[dramaticpenguin]

My 14 month old has become really picky, I keep trying him with recipies from baby centre, annabel karmel etc or just stuff we eat, like chicken rice & veggie things, or pasta with a creamy cheese sauce and he just spits it out, he used to love roast dinner blended but now won't touch that - chopped at any size! he loves the hipp organic toddler meals, which were meant to be a last resort, but seem to be coming out alot more cos he'll eat them. He won't eat a sensible meal in the day time at all now, just grazes at lunch time, maybe half a sandwich, an oat bar, raisins etc and won't touch fresh fruit. thankfully, he loves the fruit puree sachets and pots but thats an expensive way to get him to have fruit! anyone else had this problem, whenever i google it, all the responses seem to be that children hat ready meals and won't touch them, preferring fresh...finding it hard to have sympathy with that at the mo! My mum says i should just give him what I've cooked for him and no alternative but i feel mean letting him go hungry...what do you think?

Is he having milk feeds or a snack too close to meal times?

I think it might not hurt to not offer an alternative in the day but the final meal is probably best if filling and eaten of course, as certainly it affects mine sleeping well at night if they don't eat dinner...

i agree with your mum. cook one meal, give him a small portion.

if he wants it he'll eat it. if not he can go without! sorry, but i'm mean like that

i think if he hadn't eaten much all day i'd make sure to give a bit more milk before bed or something perhaps.

Keep him a bit "hungry" before his main meal. for example if giving a main meal at midday, offer very small light snack only mid morning, no big milk drink or anything.

You can try and "con" him if necessary. e.g. next time you have a ready meal, save the pot and wash it out. Then put a "home made" version in it for the next main dinner. A lot of those ready meals seem to be orange/tomatoey type sauces. e.g. bolognese pasta type meals? (ages since I bought one so I may be wrong)

So make something that looks similar and serve in in that type of dish (won't have to do this forever!)

Ditto re him wanting fruit purees. Get him used to having the sachets/pots but always transfer them into your own dishes. If you are discreet you can then just start mashing your own banana/strawberries or anything else fresh and putting into a similar dish.

Imo the lunch you describe as grazing is actually a fair size portion for a 14 month old. Assuming half a sandwich is one standard slice of bread plus filling? Then this is served with a full size oat bar plus raisins?

Children like ready meals because they're full of salt and sugar!

Re the fruit pouches....my ds has never liked fruit of any sort, but will eat pouches so I get them so I can ensure he's getting his 5 a day, but he won't eat the same stuff from a pot. If yours will, then could you make your own and put them in the used pots...? cheaper that way, and you know what's gone in them. I think generally you can't make them eat, and some toddlers are better grazers than 3-meals-a-day. Personally, if he's having a balanced diet with a toddler ready meal once a day, then I can't see the issue. Keep trying your food too, especially if you're all eating together (curiosity might get the better of him and he'll want to eat yours). Is he at nursery; if so, what does he eat there? It maybe he will eat fine for others. It's all about control and depends how much of an issue you want to make it. Like I say, as long he's eating something, then there's time fr his eating habits to change. Things my ds used to love, he's gone off and vice versa.

how much milk is he having?

I sympathise, my 16mo would like to be picky although his preferred diet is quavers and bread

Anyway I agree with your mum. One meal,small portions. No alternatives.

He wont go that hungry as he is still having milk.

I also have to be careful what I give him at lunch and breakfast time as if its very filling he will live off that for the day.
Ds usually has half a sandwich a fruit pot and his milk. He doesnt have a big appetite so anymore would fill him for the day.

Half a sandwich plus an oat bar and raisins sounds like loads to me. My three year old would eat half a sandwich and maybe three strawberries or ten grapes or half an apple for lunch, possibly with a tiny pot of fromage frais if very hungry. I consider this a pretty good meal.

My ds went through the same thing about the same age- but I got him to eat one thing I made which was salmon fish cakes. BUT whenever he's teething, ill, or we're on holiday he goes back to the two things he likes - yoghurt and bread. So your Ds may just be chosing what he really likes because of teething or other factors.

I'm with your mum. he won't be hungry for long.