21/2 year old won't eat

[MrsG2017]

Hi Mumsnetters

I am in the midst of the eternal food battle with my toddler. At 8 months he was diagnosed with egg dairy and peanut allergies. This left us quite overwhelmed and we probably didn't vary his food enough or make life that exciting for him when starting his eating journey.

Fast forward two years and I have a toddler on the 3rd percentile for weight and he just won't eat.... unless it's baked beans, oven chip, fish fingers etc.

Breakfasts are a nightmare as are dinner. He goes to preschool so I get that he just might not be hungry when he gets home but I feel like crying every meal time.

Help :) I am one lost mummy just wondering what to try.

Any tips gratefully received xxx

That sounds really tough. DD is the same age and generally eats ok, but when she goes through a phase of being disinterested in food sometimes it helps if we pretend to steal her food. She is then magically more interested, even in the veggies. You've probably tried silly games already though.

I would remove all battling from meal times (I know how hard this is and you honestly have my sympathy). Present food, no fuss or bother, let him have as much as he wants then leave the rest. What will he eat? Baked beans? Baked beans alongside toast for breakfast would be good? Have you tried giving him things he likes but with one 'other' thing, so fish fingers with some chips and a teaspoon of peas? Does he have a multi vitamin?
For what it's worth op, my dd has no allergies and I weaned her on many, many time consuming but interesting, tasty and healthy food and she is still a very fussy eater. My ds(eldest) eats lots of great food which obviously conned me into thinking it was my great parenting and if parents just tried their fussy eaters would eat anything. I was such a knob!

Also, does he eat at pre school?

We are in a very similar position to you, same allergies, slow to introduce and now a nightmare of an eater.

We are lucky that ours will eat pasta, so make a sauce out of tinned tomatoes with lots of extras thrown in and blended down so we at least get some sneaky veg in.

Breakfast is wholemeal toast with cashew nut butter (apparently to stop the peanut allergy from spreading).

Lunch is a hummus sandwich, if I'm lucky a little grated Apple and carrot will be tolerated.

Dinner is either pasta with some type of tomato sauce (hides tuna well), or sweet potato waffle, beans and if I'm lucky an Ella's kitchen fish thingy (rare!).

Rinse and repeat.

I cry at the fact she's so fussy when she was so good at the weaning stage, I'm keeping everything crossed it's just a phase