Getting more protein into picky 4 year old?

[lollilou2]

My DS is four and extremely picky. At dinner time all he will eat is Mash potato with gravy, and peas. He’ll eat burgers but obviously I limit them, and he snacks on pepperoni/peperami, cheese and yogurts.

He is on the list for an autism assessment.

Im worried since he leaves the protein part of his dinner that he’s missing out on nutrients, he won’t touch alternatives such as chickpeas, lentils etc.

Is there any other way of making up for what he’s missing in his meal?

What’s wrong you making him burger patties with beef, an egg, breadcrumbs and seasoning?

I don’t see why that needs to be limited. That’s fine to eat daily if that’s what he likes and you have issues with protein

How about sausages?

Have you thought of a multivitamin tablet or liquid? The latter can be diluted into their drink of choice.

Well all his snacks have protein so I wouldn't be too worried to be honest.

Mash white beans? It’s not the same as mash potato, but it has a similar appearance and texture if that’s what he likes.

Thank you. Yes he eats sausages too, I meant to put that! In general I worry about him having too much red meat due to the horror stories about it being so bad for you, was hoping to try move him onto white meat or alternatives.

My DS (now aged 14) has autism and sensory processing disorder and severe food issues. Severe.

For him I do;

Pancakes. Obviously there is the egg but I also add at least 1/3rd of ground almonds to the flour. Nutella also has hazelnuts in it and dried milk powder and DS's paediatric dietician recommended it (as long as we are careful about teeth brushing).

I also make homemade chicken nuggets using proper mini fillets. I used to make the ame with tofu but can't get that past him now.

To spaghetti bolognese i always add about 1/4 of red lentils and blend thoroughly. Great plant protein.

Other than this my go-to when DS is not eating (which can last for days) is to make him a really thick icecream milkshake and I use chocolate flavoured complan powder in it. Plus usually again ground almonds.

What about a homemade burger with a mix of beef and lentil? or home made chicken nuggets. And eggs?

Have you tried chicken sausages

My DS had full-on ARFID as a young child and it was very tough at times.

Maybe your DS will eat burgers made with chicken or turkey, or vegi-burgers? (I agree about the red meat, btw.) Same with sausages. Try fishfingers, fishcakes and fish in breadcrumbs/batter, and then make your own. Ditto mini pizzas.

I ate a lot of my son's leftovers.

The main study on the ‘horrors’ of red meat does not distinguish between nitrate heavy red processed meats and what we would consider ‘fresh’ red meat.

Dietary nitrates are the ones that contribute to colon cancer and other health issues

It also places heavy red meat consumption as 1kg of it a week, which is huge

you could make chicken burgers but seeing as your son has food issues, I absolutely would not hesitate in allowing him to consume homemade burgers with good quality beef regularly. it’s probably once of the healthiest and nutritionally dense meals he will eat

Oh yes, eggs, as pp said! A soft boiled egg with soldiers. Show him how to eat one, and use character egg cups.

Meatballs/bolognaise if he likes ground mince food just for some variety?

Fish fingers/chicken nuggets? chicken/Turkey sausages - my son really likes Richmond veggie ones too, hates any other veggie ones.

Nut butter in a shake, let him make it if he likes? Silken tofu also goes well in them

Baked beans? Seaded bread/rolls?

Also sometimes slow cooker meat goes down better than 'normal' as it's softer and more flavourful - so perhaps chicken pieces done in there

Sometimes it's a bit of trial and error and you do end up with a bit of a 'samey' diet but you might find a few alternatives

I've also known children to like the protein milkshakes if that's of any use!

Peanut butter is high in protein.
I know you wouldn't have it as a meal but he could have it on toast, crumpets, sandwiches and wraps any time of the day.

Make a pork it chicken burger?

Will he eat mashed potato with some soft cheese mixed in it, just to get a little bit more protein in?

Does he like puff-pastry? My DD will eat beef if I slow cook it with some onion / carrot and potato plus gravy and then mash up all the veg / shred the meat and add a puff pastry lid on top. She is really hard to get meat and veg into sometimes but a pie often works!

Nutritional yeast is a god send. Can be stirred into mashed potato, pasta sauces, in smoothies etc.

two tablespoons is 8 grams of protein

Chicken sausages or you could try chicken or turkey patties?

Well we don’t actually need as much protein as we’re often led to believe - generally most children (and adults) in the UK exceed protein requirements. More info here - https://www.srnutrition.co.uk/2021/09/how-much-protein-does-my-toddler-need/

His snacks are all sources of protein as has been said.

You could try mixing extra cheese/ soft cheese or even egg into the mash?

You could try making fritters/ potato cakes
in burger shape so it’s sort of familiar and has the mash potato element, then add egg/ shredded or minced meat/ cod/ mashed white beans? I don’t know how far you’d want to go disguising things as I know that can sometimes backfire if they feel ‘tricked’.

Could you make burgers from Turkey mince?

Sounds counter intuitive but something like quorn sausages would be a change from red meat and as they’re fairly consistent each time they can seem more safe, my best friend’s son for example won’t entertain chicken as it can be different texture etc depending on where it’s from/ who cooked it, or you might come across a random bit of gristle or pink vein etc - whereas he’ll eat quorn nuggets as they’re the same every time.

What’s his breakfast usually? If he eats porridge or any cereal would he have nut butter drizzled over, or some ground almonds or milled seeds - I whack all of these on whatever cereal DD has (porridge weetabix or shredded wheat usually but even when she has something like Cheerios).

Processed meats like ham, supermarket burgers, pepperoni etc are the problem.

Homemade burgers, made from organic mince meat were the answer for our ND child. I also keep some burgers from Gazehill Organics in the freezer also, which contain liver too. Appreciate not everyone has the budget for meat like this, but it works for us.

@chocolaterevs i agree but i think he would just not eat if I stopped getting these things.

Does he eat porridge? My son is awaiting an autism assessment and increasingly fussy.
After a controversial egg based thread on here I've started to mix an egg into his porridge and it's not noticeable at all (1 small egg from our tiny chickens so perhaps half for a normal egg) between a double portion of porridge. Probs only works out about 1/2 egg but makes me feel better!

Nope only eats toast for breakfast- no cereal unfortunately.

@chocolaterevs which burgers is it you buy? I might give it a try.