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!

Oh tigresswoods same here. Not that he goes to CM now, but last year when he did by God did he eat some amazing things. Won't touch them at home grrrrrrr

IsItMe I don't have a problem with fishfingers either. Ds has them at least once a week :o I did think that IWOEB could bypass picking the breadcrumbs off by just grilling some fish instead!

IWOEB yeah, I must admit I've made a few mistakes with cooking fish. You can usually get it pretty much boneless, just run your fingers over the top of it and any remaining bones should be pretty obvious. Get a pair of tweezers and pull them out. Don't try cutting them out or you'll destroy a perfectly good fillet :o The key I found is you need to cut along the grain of the fish so it stays together as you cook it. Cut it the wrong way and it'll fall apart. I must admit when I first started I went to a fish mongers and asked them what the grain of the fish was because I hadn't a clue.

It does sound a bit poncey making your own fish fingers, but I usually do it when dh and I are having fish for supper, I'll get one extra cod/haddock/pollock fillet or cut a bit off a larger one and breadcrumb it for ds and dd. More of a time saving thing than being poncey.

I am a bit PFB about FF because it's the only fish he has, so he has them quite often! I don't imagine I'll carry on doing it forever, but for now it givem me some semblance of control in a world where I have very little

have you tried the salmon Fishfingers on him IWOEB? I've also make fishcakes that ds (aka the fussiest child ever) will eat. Mashed potato, mashed flaked cod/haddock/whatever plus whatever extras you want to add... a bit of cheese, some finely chopped chives or spring onions, a dollop of cream to enrichen it. Sometimes I've made my fishcakes Fishfinger shaped to make them a bit more alluring to ds :o

Best base for homemade pizzas is pitta bread, I find.

This book was a godsend for me when my DD was little.

Fair enough headfairy, although it wasn't aimed at you. It just comes up lots as if they were basically toxic.

Another unexpected thing DS (and I gather some other toddlers) will eat is chunks of steak, lamb chop, apparently pork chop also. We've recently started cooking duck leg then chopping the meat and stir frying with veggies and noodles. DS loves it. Especially with asparagus (now, that's poncy ).

Well tonight he's eating chicken quesadillas and Spanish rice.

IsItMe I sometimes think that it's considered bad form to not gasp when someone on here mentions they give their child fishfingers/fruit shoots/crisps/oven chips. It's almost like a reflex :o

headfairy not tried him on salmon fish fingers - will keep my eye out for them when I'm next in the supermarket.

I have tried him on salmon fishcakes (my Mum made them for me!) but he wouldn't eat them...he also hates potato in all forms (boiled, steamed, baked, mashed, roasted, sauteed, mashed with cheese/pesto/anything, chips, waffles, hash browns...aarrghh!) so no surprise there really!

Other than fish and potato he is actually quite a good eater now!

Thanks for all the replies, didn't mean to post and run! It seems the overwhelming message is to just give them what you're having. Whilst I totally agree that the best way is for them to learn by example, on a practical level, this wouldn't work at dinner time for us, as dh and I prefer to eat much later. As Pascha says though, I could save some from the night before. I have tried this in the past, without much success, but willing to give it another try. As a number of you said, if they're hungry, they'll eat, and if you don't try new foods, you'll never know if they like them!

Some good ideas to try there Dairymoo, thank you! We have tried eating in different locations, but this just tends to result in her running off. She seems to focus a bit more on eating when she's in her highchair (one of those you clip to the edge of the dinner table).

Of course she could eat pasta with a fork Yesterday, she just won't! I don't think she's a big fan of pasta in general, and I suppose it can be quite slippery sometimes. I'm beginning to think she doesn't actually like tomato pasta sauce, she dipped a rice cake in some earlier and winced!

That doesn't sound odd at all Tigresswoods, dd has eaten stuff for dh that she won't eat for me!

Thanks for the book recommendation Twiglets, I haven't heard of that one. I'm not very imaginative, so inspiration is good!

I'm fairly relaxed about her having a mixture of homemade and shop bought foods Isitmeor. I just try to keep an eye on salt levels. To be honest, if she'd eat it, I'd serve it! She does very much enjoy my homemade chips, which are literally just chopped up potatoes (skin on), oven baked in olive oil.

I'd forgotten you could get salmon fish fingers Headfairy, that might be a way of getting a little more variety for now! (Incidentally, I always find dd's wee smells of fish the day after she's had the omega 3 fish fingers - I guess they must have fish oils added, but I do find it a bit odd!)

She did surprise us at Christmas by very much enjoying roasted chestnuts - just my luck for her to take to a seasonal food!

TPM, you can get frozen chestnuts :o

They do like to surprise us with random sudden "likes". Ds tried whitebait on holiday last year because we told him they were fish fingers... yeah, right, they look nothing like fish fingers, but he bought it and actually liked them. Ate about 10

Frozen chestnuts eh? Thanks, will have a look for those! That's just it isn't it, coaxing them into trying stuff! Half the time I'm sure she'd like things, but she won't even try them! These toddlers are so suspicious aren't they!

Or make your own fish fingers?? My 2 year old had homemade breaded haddock fingers tonight which went down a treat. I think I waslucky with both mine when they were/are wee - they'll eat everything. Now that DD1 is 8 she's getting fussier though!

I read recently that the best way to get them to try something is to give one small bite as the first mouthful of the day every day for 10 days. Obviously it only works if they'll actually taste it.

DS would use to refuse to try things, but now at 2.1 he'll (reluctantly) try one mouthful - I tell him he doesn't have to eat it and can spit it out if he doesn't like it, as long as it goes in his mouth.

You can also offer a few small pieces of the thing you want them to try and let them choose which one they want to try, which gives them more of a sense of control.

Thanks AngelDog, I'd never heard those tips, might give them a try! I suppose they're at their most hungry first thing in the morning, so maybe more open to new foods. Also a nice idea to give them a choice of a few things, although I know that dd would currently just push the plate away! She is starting to understand us more now though, so perhaps we're getting towards being able to bargain with her!

headfairy I know, but for an intelligent group of people, it seems odd that while some of those are not foods you should eat at all often because of the ingredients (e.g. sugary drinks), others are perfectly acceptable as part of a balanced diet where you keep an eye on things like overall salt intake (e.g. shop bought fishfingers).

TPM - you can also get cooked peeled chestnuts www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Merchant-Gourmet-Cooked--Peeled-Whole-Chestnuts/10960011?from=search&tags=%7C20000&param=chestnut&parentContainer=SEARCHchestnut_SHELFVIEW.

Oh, and TPM be careful that any bargaining over food doesn't stray into bribing. There's a big difference between asking them to try a mouthful of something while making it clear that they can spit it out, and saying eat up all of x and then you can have some y (e.g. sweets). The first is fine, the second is not a good idea.

Thanks, I'll bear that in mind! She certainly doesn't wait for my permission to spit things out now though, if she doesn't like something, she just opens her mouth & lets it fall right back out! Getting her to at least try new things will be my first mission I think.

I think offering a bite of the same thing every day for a while probably works even if it's not first thing in the morning - but IMO you do need to do it at the start of a meal.

I'm half-way through doing this for the first time with my 2.1 y.o. and I do it at dinner as I'm not organised enough in the morning. I say "I'd like you to try this first please, then you can have the rest of your dinner."

He is a 'fussy' eater, though, not a 'resistant' eater, ie a child who would rather eat nothing than try something they didn't want to - I wouldn't press the issue if he were like that.

If he were reluctant, I'd give him a few pieces /spoons of the thing I wanted him to try and ask him to choose which one he wanted to try. I do try to mix it with something he likes if appropriate. e.g. I'm working on lentil bolognese, so I put a piece of pasta in with it (he loves pasta).

We have definite progress. When I ask him to try it, he makes his 'I don't like that' noise, but he is eating it and he chose to eat more than the minimum yesterday.

Some children will try new things if they can dip them into a sauce they like. If they respond well to choices, you could ask them to choose whether they want to have a sauce with it or not.

DS greatly prefers 'dry' foods, but he likes the meat from casseroles and roasts, and will eat plain pasta, rice and usually cous cous. He will usually eat sweetcorn on the cob and will chomp on raw vegetables while he 'helps' me prepare them for dinner, although he'll refuse to eat them either raw as a snack, or cooked as part of the meal.

You could try things like cheese scones (I grate carrot into mine), sugar free banana bread - again, you can add carrot or even spinach, savoury muffins.

We are lucky that we're able to eat together, but I find it really helps if I give DS the same things we're eating (reheated the next day if appropriate) as then it's less demoralising offering him a things which I know he's likely to reject.

Thanks so much AngelDog, it's good to hear that your ds is responding to your strategy! Those savoury muffins are a great idea, I'll definitely give those a try. Dd loves to see things baking in the oven, so she might just go for those. She's eaten sugar free banana muffins I've made before, so the banana bread would also be good. Hadn't thought of giving her corn on the cob, so that's another one I'll try. We all sat down together for a roast chicken dinner earlier, but sadly all she ate was roast potatoes! (she loves them!) I didn't make a fuss though. And she did eat a decent bowl of apple crumble, which is the first time she's eaten apple since she was a baby! Perhaps not quite one of her 5 a day, but progress of sorts!

Great - that does sound like progress. :)

OP - what do you have for lunch when she is having a sandwich? My DD is 2.4 and we now eat the same thing for lunch as I realised I was getting in a bit of a sandwich rut with her. We have things like soup or quiche & salad (DD doesn't like lettuce but will eat sticks of cucumber, pepper, carrot etc), a "mezze platter" (so pitta bread with some hummus, tzatziki & veg to dip, maybe some stuffed vine leaves with me using a very dodgy Greek accent which DD finds hilarious), a "tapas platter" (very similar to mezze platter but with spanish omelette as the carb and me throwing in a bit of Spanish), pasta & roast veg. If we do have a sandwich, I'll try not to do a standard two slices of bread sandwich but do a bagel or a wrap or something, not because it varies the key ingredients so much as introduces her to different tastes, textures etc.
In the evenings DD has tea separately as I eat with DH who isn't home until her bedtime. For tea, about three times a week she tends to have leftovers of our meal from the night before (so tonight she's had chilli; tomorrow she'll be on chicken curry) and then the other nights she'll have a nursery tea of boiled egg & soldiers or fishfingers.
If you do stick to sandwiches, can you vary the filling? Tuna? Cold roast chicken? Sausages? And how about giving her some vegetables on the side? DD loves peas so if it gets to teatime & I don't think she's had enough fruit or veg, she tends to have them some with whatever she is having.

Sorry Murtette, didn't mean to ignore your post. I tend to have salad for lunch, and whilst dd often peers into my bowl with great interest, if I offer her anything, she just pushes it away. It would be lovely to just eat the same though. I like your idea about varying the bread, she certainly likes bread (big fan of P Exp dough balls!), so that might just capture her interest. I try to vary the fillings a bit, gave her egg today, which she ate some of, but she definitely seems to prefer ham or cheese. She's definitely a child who would rather eat nothing than something she's not sure about. Perhaps where I'm going wrong is not doing funny accents with her meals?!

Going to make her falafels tonight to try, so we'll see how that goes!