How to get toddler to eat different foods

[Beenylou]

Has anyone got any tips on how to get my 13 month old to eat different foods?

He's generally fine with breakfast, can be iffy with lunch and I'm really struggling with dinner. I have found I've gotten myself stuck in a rut where I'll give him oven chips just because I know he'll eat them. Tonight, for example, I've done mild fajitas (chicken, red pepper, green pepper, red onion), flavoured rice and chips and all he's eaten is the chips.

I really want him to have a healthy and varied diet, and I know I should just stop offering him chips, but then what do I do if he just refuses to eat?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

It’s pretty normal for them to get fussy around that age. I believe it’s evolutionary to stop wondering cave babies eating poisonous berries. I’d give a multivitamin but otherwise just continue to offer a variety of foods, encourage but do not pressure trying, and ensure there’s always one thing he’ll eat on offer- sometimes that can be chips and that’s fine but surely there are other safe foods too that you can rotate with. If he likes chips you could crispy roast potatoes or homemade wedges for variety? Would he have sweet potato chips for a healthier alternative? Etc. But don’t stress it. My DD was a ridiculously fussy toddler, at around 3 she became super adventurous, literally overnight, wanted to try everything and now really loves good food!

I used to mash veg up into mashed potato and cut veg up really small in meals like spaghetti bolognese.
But the best way is to make sure the whole family eats at the same time, give him stuff off your own plate as a treat, and encourage him to have just one mouthful of everything on his plate.

Don't even present him with things you don't want him to eat, such as chips, and don't eat them in front of him yourselves either.

@RandomQuest

It’s pretty normal for them to get fussy around that age. I believe it’s evolutionary to stop wondering cave babies eating poisonous berries. I’d give a multivitamin but otherwise just continue to offer a variety of foods, encourage but do not pressure trying, and ensure there’s always one thing he’ll eat on offer- sometimes that can be chips and that’s fine but surely there are other safe foods too that you can rotate with. If he likes chips you could crispy roast potatoes or homemade wedges for variety? Would he have sweet potato chips for a healthier alternative? Etc. But don’t stress it. My DD was a ridiculously fussy toddler, at around 3 she became super adventurous, literally overnight, wanted to try everything and now really loves good food!

Oh this is so reassuring! And it does make sense from an evolutionary point of view. He does like roast potatoes and sweet potato wedges, I think I just started panicking and thought "all he eats are chips!!" Will defo try offering a variety of crispy potato (with other things for him to try) from now on, thank you!

It does make sense just not to offer it. I just worry that he then won't eat at all 😕 maybe I'm just worrying too much

My 3 DCs under 5 tend to be relatively adventurous and healthy-ish eaters. The top tips I’ve had from people are:

• trust that toddlers will eat a balanced diet over a WEEK, not over a meal or even a day. I’ve noticed this to be true with my DCs. They can go days shunning any meat and then suddenly eat half a cow. 😝 Likewise, they can pick every veg out of their soups and stews for 5 meals, then suddenly get upset because they’ve finished a whole bowl of broccoli.

• have them eat what you eat. Relaxed family dinners are the best way to get kids interested in food.

• don’t worry about small meals. If DC is following healthy growth curves, then there’s no need to worry if he picks away at dinner one night. We only ever have one meal option and it’s take it or leave it. I wouldn’t make chips to fill up on. That said, I always offer something light before bed - usually apple slices - but I’ll offer something more substantial if they’ve really eaten poorly throughout the day, like a large bowl of yoghurt. I just don’t make that part of “supper time”.

• don’t take their word for it when they say they “don’t like” something. Keep the food in rotation, though never force them to eat it, and eventually they’ll probably catch on again. My DD4 went off carrots for a year but just started eating them again… no idea why.

• make healthy things fun. We drink spinach soup sometimes using giant straws, because why not. 😁 I also use a lot of silly tactics like: “Papa, make sure you don’t share any salmon with the kids. There isn’t much, so it’s only for the grown ups. I’ll be veeeeeery sad if they steal all our salmon.” One will inevitably pipe up “I want salmon!”, to which I’ll say “NOOO” and we’ll have a giant playful fight over it until there’s “no salmon left for Mama” (…which is great, because I hate the stuff hahaha)

He'll eat when he gets hungry. Which isn't to say you should starve him, but a hungry child would be more likely to try new stuff.
Does he snack much?

@Beenylou

It does make sense just not to offer it. I just worry that he then won't eat at all 😕 maybe I'm just worrying too much

The advice is to generally always offer a 'safe' food and then include some other foods too. It's what I do too. You know that they get some calories and mealtimes don't become too much of a battle. Sometimes DS just eats the safe food. Sometimes he surprises me and eats the new food (and totally rejects the safe food...). The key I think is just to relax, serve a variety of food and let them eat what they want. That's all you can really do!

If he eats well at breakfast have you tried offering him veg etc. at breakfast? If that's his best meal, offer the stuff he won't eat at dinner at breakfast. He may just be a top loader. He may eat best then because he's fresh and hungry, make the most of that!

Then dinner can be a bowl of Cheerios and a banana if necessary!

The two key things are:

Don't stop offering stuff. Never take anything completely off the menu.

Don't make food a stress point. Don't punish or reward or bribe or fuss or stress. Just offer the food. Take it away again when the meal is done.

I've been following Solid Starts Instagram whilst weaning my baby but they also talk a lot about toddlers and picky eating. They talk about making things interesting or different to get the toddler to engage with the food differently and then they are more likely to try it. For example...

-go big: serve a whole head of brocolli! Sounds ridiculous but fun for them.

-serve in a different or fun bowl ...like a big mixing bowl, or muffin tin, or with a dessert spoon or measuring spoon

• give them some control by offering a sprinkle/sauce/topping that they can add themselves

• get them to help with some preparation of the food. E.g. 'can you feel the boiled egg for me'

Hope that helps but really recommend giving them a follow and checking the website

I have three DC, all really good eaters, and they all went through a fussy stage at this age!

I agree with @NuffSaidSam about not making this stressful. Your toddler will pick up on you being worried about it and it will make him worse. Act as if you don't care if he eats anything or not.