What do you feed your 2 year old?

[ThePetiteMummy]

Dd is 22 months, and has always been quite fussy about food. I feel like her diet has become very limited. She has toast with unsalted butter for breakfast, and a banana (never took to cereal). A sandwich for lunch, usually ham or cheese, followed by a yoghurt. But it's dinner that I'm really stuck with. She likes fish fingers, but I try to limit these to once a week. She will also eat egg & soldiers, and will eat a few mouthfuls of an ommelette. She will also eat bread sticks with houmous. The problem is, she will only eat 'dry' foods, that she can either pick up, eat with a fork, so pasta type dishes are out!

So does anyone have any fail safe meals that their 2 year old enjoys? She also won't eat vegetables, or fruit other than bananas and raisins (I know that sounds so awful, as a family we eat really well!). Any ideas as to how to introduce these would also be appreciated!

My ds ate very little solids til he was 15 months. It was stressful but the most important thing is to not pressure them about it and set a good example, calmly enjoying your food.

Good advice I had was to keep giving him the stuff I knew he would eat alongside whatever we were eating. I know, who wants to eat lasagne alongside a boiled egg but they really don't know food rules yet (ds transfered his brocolli and cheese soup spoon to fruit yoghurt and back the other day - blerugh!) She doesn't need to eat every type of food but this way she may try a few new things, which you can then add to her list.

Also they do change a lot, ds would never touch cheese, banana or apple and now does, having dropped some others.

Also mess with her favourites a bit - mash avocado into humous or give with carrot, cucumber, raw cauliflower, peppers. Ready brek with raisins or banana in. Could she help make a pizza? I just use those sandwich wraps or fajhitas and boil up a carton of seived tomato plus ham, cheese and whatever veg is floating about. Or if you have time on your hands make your own fishfingers (dried polenta for coating) with different fish.

Its not the end of the world if she doesn't like a lot of it but you are bound to have a few success.

Thank you Albrecht for your detailed reply, some good tips there. I guess if I never serve up things she 'doesn't' eat, she never will! I guess I've just become despondent from having spent time preparing her things in the past, only for them to be rejected. I guess that happens time & again as a mum! She actually will eat pizza, I would only give her homemade of course, I've previously done them on an English muffin, but a wrap is a good idea, as possibly easier to eat, being flatter.

She seems healthy & happy, and I suppose she'll broaden her diet eventually. I just feel I'm failing her a bit! Having said that, I was a very fussy eater as a child, but will eat most things now.

You could try varying the omelette. I did sausage, green pepper, onion, mushroom, broken up potato with the egg mix thrown over and cooked last night. Went down a storm.

Would she eat pasta without sauce on it? Maybe try some different shapes - macaroni, fusili, penne etc or let her pick the shape? You could serve alongside homemade meatballs - beef, pork & turkey all work well. You might even be able to get a little veg in them - grated carrot, onion, celery chopped finely. Would she 'dip' them in tomato sauce?
I sometimes make green eggs & ham a la Dr. Seuss which goes down well, even with my fussy 15mo old. (Just add a defrosted 'ball' of chopped spinach to the scrambed egg mixture.) Eggy bread? Spanish omelette with grated veg & cheese in, cut into strips for finger food?
Oh and pancakes are always good - sweet (with extra fruit) or savoury - especially if you make a big song and dance about flipping them!
I have 4.5yo DTs who have always been amazing eaters, but my 15mo DD is quite fussy and I agree that you just have to go with the flow, keep offering, and hoping that gradually they get less suspicious of the new foods.
One last thought - perhaps changing the location of the meal might help? Carpet picnic for tea?!
HTH

Yes it is very despondent-making I agree. That is why I make stuff I want to eat so atleast one person is enjoying the effort put in!

Yes carpet picnic frequently gets cold food eaten quicker.

My 20 month old eats whatever we're having. I think that kids certainly have more sophisticated palates than we give them credit for. Although I have another child and will only cook once so we all eat together in the evening (except vindaloo, that's a step too far!). But honestly, I give them everything I eat and as children simply copy adults all the time, they will copy your attitude to food. For instance, this week we've had paella, spag bol, stew and mash potato and tonight we're having toad in the hole. Honestly, it might take a little time but if you all eat together and you child sees you eating and enjoying food, they will try it. Lots of it will end up on the floor but the will get it in the end!
I read somewhere that it can take 7 attempts to get a child to eat something new, so keep trying! They won't starve, I promise!

My dd went through a phase of only eating "dry" foods. One of the best things I ever bought was a waffle maker. I used to make potato based waffles and put bits of ham/cheese/peas/sweetcorn etc. in. She loved them (still does at almost 5 . Home made fishcakes (with tinned salmon/tuna for ease) also went well.

DS (just 2) loves noodles. They can be quite dry ? I just make a bit of a chow mein and he picks it up Messy though

My 16 month old tends to have what we're having but I'm not having him up til 8pm just so he can eat with us so he gets a portion either of whatever we had yesterday, or today's dinner made easy for me to cook for one.

So yesterday we had honey mustard sausages, mash and carrots and he had sausage, potato, veg in an omelette and he stuffed the lot down.

Today we are having meatballs and so is he, but its defrosting so his portion is separate and he can't deal with spaghetti very well at all so he gets pasta instead.

Tomorrow I might do fajitas and he will have all the component parts but separately in toddler size bites on a plate - like a "picky tea".

Sunday is roast beef which he will eat all of, with no gravy.

Fench toast is nice too for something easy to pick up.

My kids like homemade chicken goujons too. Just cut up chicken breast, dip in flour and egg then breadcrumbs and lightly fry.

Very quick and usually goes down a treat.

I had the same attitude to you Orangesarenottheonlyfruit with my first DCs, as they did eat everything and I always just served one meal. I still do just do one meal (DH & I eat it one night, DCs all have it the next day for tea) but my DC3 has proved me wrong in that I do eat with her 'enjoying my food', as do her sisters, serve her the same 'normal' food as everyone else (similar food to what you've suggested) but she is still fussy. I don't pander to it, never offer an alternative meal, althugh she might get an extra bit of banana thrown into her yogurt if she's been really picky at teatime. I used to think it was as simple as just saying give them nice food, they will eat, but this one has proved me wrong! Interestingly, I was EXTREMELY fussy as a chid and now am a total foodie so I guess something changed along the way - just not quite sure what!

Orangesarenottheonlyfruit I do hear what you're saying but I'm guessing that you don't have a fussy eater. I have photos from when DS was weaned of him eating avocados, broccoli, swede you name it. Fast forward to age 2 and I honestly can't remember the last time that he ate vegetables. Fruit is hit and miss as well - loved grapes and apples last week, returned in his lunchbox untouched this week. Same with meat ( he used to love stews and cottage pie etc), now he won't touch it.

DS has always eaten the same as us sitting at the table etc, etc but over time, he has just narrowed and narrowed his palate.

OP I'm not sure that anyone has failsafe foods that their DCs will always eat! For the time being, I'm just going with what DS will eat and giving him that - long term plan is that if he will eat pizza or pasta consistently then in the future, I might be able to start adding some vegetables. In the meantime, he just gets served up what we do and if he doesn't want it then food just removed, no comment, no stress. I do always offer pudding (yoghurt and fruit usually) afterwards though. He seems to be growing just fine and will occasionally try some new foods.

As regards fruit, DS will drink smoothies so I get the Innocent ones in cartons and he has one of those a day, some sort of dried fruit and at least that's 2 helpings.

HTH

rissoles, fritters and nuggets are good ways of getting children to eat things they wouldn't touch normally. I make chicken nuggets for ds, he won't touch meat unless it's breadcrumbed. The other day my mum made rissoles with mashed potato, left over roast chicken and left over broccoli, dusted with flour and shallow fried. He loved them. Ds also likes dipping nuggets/rissoles/fritters in to sauces, I've got billions of ramekins and those old Gu pots so I put tomato ketchup, home made tomato sauces (not dissimilar to a pasta sauce really), mayo etc in to those and he'll happily dip away. Its a good way to broaden their palate, you could even try it with pasta shapes. Plain pasta shapes (perhaps your dd could help you choose some cool shaped pastas) with the sauce in a different bowl so she can dip. Messy, but a great way of getting them involved in their food.

My DD (2.5yrs) DS (18m) and I eat together and I'm not going to make 2 or 3 different meals everyday. If it's the only thing in front of them they will eat it. Of course there is sometimes something that gets pushed to one side or accidentally dropped on the floor, but generally they will eat most of it.

My DS can't get enough porridge in the mornings, we put in a mixture of things so fun to make too...cinnamon/raisins/grated apple/mashed banana/ground almonds/seeds. Pasta is a favorite too and easy to add extra veg with a sauce. I make fresh fruit smoothies too, which go down well if there has been a day or two with little fruit for whatever reason.

why can't she eat pasta with a fork??

mine just get whatever we have, and if they don't eat it they go without.

just keep offering. sometimes it takes a long time for children to accept certain foods, but if you don't offer they will never learn to eat them.
sometimes you'll fidn things that they simply do not like, and that's fine.
but for the moment i'd say just keep on offering

cairnterrier I make my own smoothies with the dcs, buy frozen strawberries, add a banana and a splash of apple juice to make it a bit more liquid then blend away. Ds loves pushing the button on the blender. I do have to sieve the seeds out of mine but my kids are super fussy. But it is much cheaper than buying the Innocent smoothies. plus you can sneak in a broccoli floret when they're not looking

also, if you're making something she hasn't had before and you don't want to have to chuck a load away then jsut give her some things yo know she will eat, and a little bit of yours from your plate. that way you aren't wasting a whole meal if she doesn't have it

My 2 year old eats what we all eat. I don't make special meals for him.

If he doesn't eat then he goes without. He then either eats the food when it is reoffered a bit later if he is hungry or if not hungry doesn't have anything. He soon makes up for it the next meal!

My DS went through a long phase of only eating non-sauce based foods (between 12 and 19 months). He lived on a rage of homemade burgers (beef, lamb, chicken, turkey) with veg; sandwiches; and sausage rolls (homemade).

He is now much better and will east pasta, casseroles, rice, pizza (using wraps as a base), chicken goujon thingies (homemade) and his current favourite is stir fry and noodles! He also eats fish fingers but I pick the batter/breadcrumbs off first (PFB )

IWOEB... why don't you just give your ds some grilled white fish then? :o

Ha ha headfairy I know it's a bit mad!

I am veggie and have never eaten/prepared fish before. I am terrified of leaving bones in or it tasting horrible. Thank god for Captain Birdseye or DS would be totally Omega-deficient!

(PS I can now handle raw meat like a pro, so am doing quite well overall I think!)

Ds is 2.2 he eats just what we're having. Sometimes he doesn't fancy it. Sometimes we offer a sandwich, sometimes not. Pudding is always offered as well as small supper snack before bed. Same with his 5 yr old sister.

With regards to not eating pasta my 19 month dd is the same. She will eat the 'fresh' stuffed pasta. Raveolli etc that you can get in waitrose. Won't entertain any kind of sauce with them though and will only eat with her fingers!

This might sound odd but my DS will eat stuff at the CMer that he won't eat at home.

Food for thought...

What is everyone's problem with fish fingers? How is it different from a fish sandwich - the coating is basically bread is it not?

OP - we generally give DS some of what we're having. He loves pasta, but plain with any sauce served separately. Pesto stirred through has always gone down well, as has cheese grated on top. He likes us trying out different shapes with him, and now he's a bit older he loves linguine and noodles.

We've found he really enjoys some things which I wouldn't have anticipated. Prawns for example. We often will have fajitas made with king prawns, and while he initially would major on the tortilla, creme fraiche and prawns, now he likes them rolled up with the onion and peppers too and has started asking for salsa. He also enjoys a sandwich made from tinned salmon with a bit of sweetcorn mixed in. Gets some oily fish into him.

Roasted vegetables, particularly sweet ones like sweet potatoes and carrots, have always been quite successful.

For some things, you do just need to keep trying again and again and again. That's why it's much easier if you don't make life hard for yourself by insisting everything is made from scratch (it doesn't sound like she's going to eat enough shop bought anything to do her any harm tbh) or that it's radically different from what you're eating.