Fussy toddler doesn't eat a lot - food ideas

[Laymon28]

Hi

We have a 2 year old very fussy eater! He would eat and try most things up until around 1 year old. Since then he stopped eating most things he previously liked and won't try things if he doesn't like the look of it.

Would love some ideas on things I could try as he's now going off the limited things he does eat. Which I'm assuming is down to boredom of eating the same foods every day.

Things he does eat but in very small amounts;

Weatabix
Crackers
Breadsticks
Toast (sometimes)
Marmite rice cakes
Yoghurt
Fruit pouches
Biscotti
Sausage rolls
Fish fingers
Breaded chicken
Sausages
Burgers
Potato goods
Cheese omlette (occasionally)
Cheese toastie (occasionally)
Raw carrot (very occasionally when I'm eating it)

He doesn't like/won't try sauces, pasta, rice, cheese (unless in omlette or toastie), sandwiches, veg or fruit.

Very limited so any ideas would be great!

Thanks 😊

Op it sounds like you’re doing a great job already so don’t stress too much, his diet is already including meats, carbs, dairy etc! 🙂 he may pick up foods along the way, he may not! I guess it’s just one of those things.
coming from someone with a child who suffers with ARFID and ASD I know how frustrating it can be, but the best advice I was ever given was fed is best.
some things you could try are:

flapjacks made with fruit inside (literally any fruit! You can crush raisins etc in with the oats if preferred)
pancakes and bananas
Hot dogs
Jacket potatoes
Wraps (ham, cheese, breaded chicken etc)
yoghurt lollies
porridge
Fish pie (using fish fingers and peas)

we also found doing snack plates really useful to pick at through the day :)

Baked oats. I make some with just rolled oats, milk, banana, peanut butter (100% nuts) and choc chips scattered on top. Great for breakfast or snacks.

I have fussy eaters too. One thing that helps me to get nutrients in to them is to cut up carrots, peppers , tomatoes etc and leave them within reach of the kids while I'm cooking. I don't say anything about them, just leave them there. They always come and pick at it - especially if they think they're being sneaky!

Thank you everyone.

@blossom27 it's reassuring to hear you think he's getting some good stuff. Even though its limited. Maybe I'm stressing a bit too much about it. I just worry so much about it! Unfortunately he won't eat wraps, jacket potatos or porridge (I forget things thats on the long list of no 😂). But will definitely give your other suggestions a go. Thank you 😊

@Odile13 he doesn't eat porridge 🙄 he also somehow knows if there's other things mixed in he doesn't like, such as banana. but I may be able to tempt him with chocolate chips! Thanks 😊

@pinkorchid1 we don't have anywhere I can leave things out as we haven't got room for a table. I try to put bits like that on my plate and he takes them, but either to feed to me or tomatoes are thrown around shouting ball 😂

@Laymon28 No worries, my DD doesn’t like porridge either but for some reason she loves baked oats.

You can also just try mashing a banana, adding rolled oats, peanut butter and choc chips and baking them as ‘breakfast cookies’ in the oven. I use an ice cream scoop for each cookie and then bake in 9 minutes at 160 degrees. Good luck!

@Odile13 that is a great idea! Thank you, will definitely be trying with him 😊

Hi any updates ? Going through the same please

Hi I actually did another post the other day. Things have got much worse for us! He barely eats anything now but is being looked into for autism as they think it's sensory eating. One piece of advice i received on my other post was to buy 'getting the little blighters to eat'. I got this last week and he is now eating some of his dinner so I would recommend to get that book!

I am sorry to hear that xx but thank gou for the suggestion .. was it just the fussy eating that prompted the autism concern ?

No it was his speech, but then other things like the food were added concerns. Do give the book a go, I've already found it to be very helpful. Especially for my own piece of mind that its common! Xx

Thank you again . I know for an autism diagnosis is a multitude of things . I am trying to understand my little one as well . Last question x Do you happen to remember speech wise how your DS was around 2 ?

He started nursery at 2 and 4 months and though he had loads of 1 words he would say (at the 2 year review it was over 100) he wouldn't say any sentences and only a couple of 2 and 3 word phrases. Nursery has helped with this but still at just over 3 he speaks a lot of jargon ending with a very distinctive word. He only just started saying mummy and daddy at nearly 3 years.
Another reason they are looking at him for autism is he has really bad meltdowns and he cannot calm himself down. He also doesn't interact with other kids, he would much rather play alone. And he can get very cross is they have a toy he wants. There's other little things I have also noticed but those are the main things xx

If your little boy likes breaded foods, could you try making carrot nuggets? I made them for my son baby led weaning, it was something like grated carrot, egg, flour, breadcrumbs and garlic powder.
Would he try chia seeds in his yoghurt or fruit pouches? They are high in fibre which is the part of his diet I imagine your wanting to improve if possible.
Also just a random idea, say Monday is red food day so you put a small amount of a red food next to his plate, Tuesday an orange food etc. He doesn't need to try them at all at first, just to see the different colours to expose him to a variety of things.