Vegetarian ideas anyone?

[claw3]

Ds is an extremely fussy eater. Since the age of 3 he has been refusing to eat 'dead animals' and has never tasted meat.

Does anyone have any simple child friendly recipes or ideas?

We have similar problems.

Ds(6) has a limited range of food that he will eat and this has had an effect on his speech.

Have you tried quorn? High protein and easy to eat/chew. Ds eats the sausages and I use them for making casseroles as well as just grilling, also make a nice "sausage roll" when wrapped in bread. My Ds adores that awful white bread!

I have also found renaming foods quite helpful and adding cream, cheese and full fat whatever he will eat into his diet! He is on the 1st centile for weight, also eats 6 tiny meals a day.

Dd is vegetarian so I can look up some ideas if you say what your Ds eats at the moment.

Pizza - bagel/muffin base and provide a variety of toppings for your Ds to put on (tomato sauce, veg, cheese, sliced quorn sausage, etc.)

Eggy bread - egg and milk (dash) mixed together. Dip in bread and fry both sides until golden. I serve with some ketchup and salad (ever hopeful!)

Cowboy pie - baked beans with chopped quorn sausage and mashed potato on top. Add cheese if calories are an issue, also I can hide grated carrots and corgette in the beans!

pasta and sauce - I mash tomatoes and carrots together, sometimes sneak some tuna in, and pour over pasta with black cheese! ( Ds only eats cheese from black packets!) Also makes a nice pasta bake.

Morrocan special - our version is cous cous with peas and sweetcorn (although Ds tries to ignore the sweetcorn and I have to "skin" the peas! The things we do to get our Dc to eat!)

cheese spaghetti - got desperate one day and mixed cheese spread into hot spaghetti and has now become a firm favorite.

I was told not to worry as children survive on very strange diets and won't starve themselves - mine would starve himself and says food will make him die on a daily basis but tiny steps help.

Will he eat lentils and other pulses? My Dd likes these added to most things and they add protein to her diet.

Cook a big bag of veg, as many different varieties as possible each week. Add a tin or 2 of tomatoes, simmer until all is cooked. Blend until smooth. freeze in portions.

Add to everything and anything

DS1 loves frittata (and even good old boiled or fried egg sarnies or boiled eggs with soldiers)

DS2 loves eggy bread. I should really make it for him more often, because even I get sick of making him peanut butter sarnies!

And on that note - peanut butter sarnies or toast - if not allergic.

I also substite ground almonds for some of the flour when I bake, sometimes - makes for a lovely moist cake and makes a sweet treat more nutritious.

Macaroni cheese - freezes really well if you make a proper bechamel based cheese sauce.

Yep, dd1 has frittata too.

And ground almonds in cake are brilliant (nigella has a great recipe for clementine cake which is all ground almonds, so gf too - bonus!)

Hummous? Very nutritious and good for calcium if you end up wanting to tackle dairy.

Have you tried (sorry you have prob tried everything!) putting the meat in a food processor so it is even finer than mince? Totally changes the texture. I used to have to do this for dd1, so could look up some recipes if you.are interested in trying.

Also used to give dd1 avocado and banana all mashed up together, along with natural yogurt (before she was dairy free) and a spoonful of ground almonds. Very calorific, and great nutrients (also great picnic food as so easy to take along minus the yogurt)

Ooh, I used to have a killer vegetable critter recipe too - courgette, pepper, or sweetcorn. Haven't made those for.ages - will look that up.

Does he eat rice? I do a very simple carrot and lentil soup, all whizzed up and the children love that with rice. We eat a mostly veggie diet, quite a lot of pasta but no dairy as DS2 is dairy intolerant.

that should, of course, read vegetable fritter

The end is in sight for internet woes chez silverfrog - should be back to normal next week (won't stop the crappy typing, but will iron out the order substitutione!)

Oh, second soup with pasta/rice. M&S do a lovely spicy red until soup which the dds have with rice.

I'm off to look up Nigella's clementine cake, for me! Ds won't eat cake but I don't mind not sharing.

Going to give the avocado and banana with yogurt a try, for breakfast maybe, but hope it's not to green as Ds won't eat green.

I've got a recipe for bread somewhere that might be of interest to some of you ladies, don't panic it's really quick and easy. Haven't used it for nearly 12 years so might take some digging out (tomorrow!), used it when Dd was put onto wheat/gluten free for 5 years.

We are all veggie and ds1 although not extreme in his pickyness manages to refuse enough things to make planning a family meal a nightmare.

His favourite foods are all pasta and/or cheese based really, so macaroni cheese, pasta and sauce, lasagne, tortelloni etc.

I buy passata and chopped tomatoes in tetra packs with ready added garlic and herbs (they are really cheap in Tesco and don't have the high salt content and additives often found in ready made pasta sauce). Then I steam some vegetables and add them to it. If he won't eat the vegetables, you can blend them first and the tomato/herbs disguise the taste. I usually grate some cheese on top for protein and have he's just recently started tolerating me adding quorn chicken-style chunks to the sauce as well. I occasionally buy a three cheese capelletti to keep in the freezer as an emergency/quick meal as well. He calls them cheezy parcels.

Lasagne is a great one for adding lots of vegetables into the sauce and I often add well cooked red lentils in as well, although not too many as it changes the texture (ds is very sensitive to food textures).

He also loves vegetable frittata, or oven baked omelettes, which I add plenty of cheese and a good slosh of milk to.

Quorn dippers are a good one for an occasional treat.

We have also just started making fajitas made with quorn, which strangely ds1 really likes, but ds2 hates the salsa and the sour cream, so I just cook up some red onion, red pepper and green peppers and mushrooms and let him have some ketchup on his instead.

Another favourite of both boys is risotto, either with peppers, tomatoes, spinach and courgettes (chopped tiny so not really noticeable) or butternut squash. Neither of the boys likes parmesan, so they have normal cheddar grated on top of theirs.

Also, home made pizzas are well loved and for some reason he will eat obvious chunks of red pepper on them, as long as there is plenty of pineapple stacked on there as well.

All my dcs loved avocado and banana on either rice cakes or toast, but ds1 has just decided he doesnt't like it any more.

Am I right in thinking you were considering going gluten free as well? If so, all the above meals can be made with gluten free alternatives, as ds1 was gluten free from November through February of this year, then back on gluten for his coeliac test and is now about to go gluten free again.

DS1 has refused meat since weaning at 6 months, the toad. He will now eat it if it is actually smothered in ketchup (thereby negating the nutritional value, I would have thought!) accompanied by much gagging.

Anyway, his favourite "recipe" is a dry hot dog roll, no sausage, ketchup and chips. Healthy.

I give him lots of beans, lots of veg lasagne, put beans and pulses in everything etc. PAsta is a favourite, pizza too.

TBH he doesn't eat a lot of what I make. But he is healthy. Clearly shreddies, apples, honey and chocolate spread contain all the nutrition a boy needs. brick wall

risottos are a big hit here too, made with no dairy though!

reading with interest - ds won't eat anything egg or tomato based which makes life really hard.

atm he eats only shreddies (only tesco own brand), peanut butter (we reintroduced it in desperation a couple of months ago & he seems fine with it now) or nutella on homemade bread (with sunflower or poppy seeds) and pasta with pesto. Or McDonalds fish finger happy meals with orange juice.

Thanks everyone, i should have mentioned his current diet:-

honey hoops (no milk)
chocolate spread sandwiches
chips
crisps
certain fruit
certain cakes, biscuits.

as you can see i dont have much to work with! Mixed textures are avoided, so no sauces.

Interestingly he has refused to eat meat since being weaned too, as a baby he would only eat one type of baby food from a jar (apple and pear) and no lumps.

When he was 3 year old he told paed, when asked why dont you eat chicken or fish, because they are animals.

He is now 6 years and when asked says he doesnt want to eat 'dead animals' and is disgusted by the thought.

So i figured, he has been very clear why he doesnt want to even attempt to eat meat. So perhaps i might have more success in introducing something which is not meat.

Can you eat quorn on its own?

Oh and if the food is yellow/white in colour, i stand more chance of it being accepted.

So no meat, yellow or white, no sauce and something which is actually good for you, i dont ask for much do i!

Quorn "chicken" fillets are white and I bake them in the oven and they stay white. Texture is soft and not chewy.

Quorn and chips!

Quorn nuggets(yellow) and chips!

Have you tried sweet potato chips or butternut squash?

Good luck and keep trying. I was told by dietician that it takes 20 times before a food is accepted! Not sure I want to go through 20 sessions with Ds vomiting at the smell.

Yes we have tried sweet potato chips, no success, havent tried butternut squash though.

On advice of dietitians we have tried not make his usual food available to him, apparently 'if he was in Africa he would have to eat rice' (he just stopped eating and lost weight). He quickly changed his mind and told us to let him eat his usual!

I could present a food 100 times, if ds doesnt like the look of it, he wont even stand to have it near him, let alone attempt to eat it.

If ds is going to eat a food, he does so first time. If its refused, there is no way he will eat it ever.

Any kind of meat for example, he wont even touch it, let alone pick it up. He finds it difficult to even look at it.

Quorn sounds like it would definitely be worth a try.

You must have the same dietician!

Paed said the opposite and told us to leave food out and available at all times, even a plate of biscuits next to Ds bed! Oh they have to be maryland (red packet) otherwise the smell is not "safe".

So scary when they lose weight. I put some size 18 month - 2 years shorts on Ds yesterday and they fell down. That really brings it home that weight is a real issue for us.

I use the quorn from the freezer but the fresh is freezable.

Good luck

claw - a quick word of caution re: quorn

If you are thinking of going down the gf/cf route, then I don't think they are suitable.

The way quorn is manufactured (I believe) uses milk, so even though it may not be isted as an ingredient, I think milk traces are present (I now they arenot,on the whole vegan due to egg/milk)

Also, most (it is a looong time asince I looked at the packets, thugh, so could be wrong) contain flavourings, which is out on a gf/cf diet.

Just wantedot warnyou, as if you do investigate and decide to try, the last thing you need is a new food that your ds has accepted having to be withdrawn too.

also, I htink this needs to be a two-pronged approach for your ds.

youmight needto be using a desensitisation programme re: getting used ot handi=ling food before expecting him to eat it.

if he won't even touch stuff, then that is the first step to work towards. or having him allow it on his plate (maybe not touching other food) as long as he isn't expected to eat it.

he needs ot get used to the fact that other foods exist, and can co-exist with his foods, without that putting him off what he will eat, iyswim?

then build it upslowly, slowly.

he cannot be expected (and I know you don't expectthis form him, just pointing out the huge step involced) to try/chew/taste a new food if his phobia is such that he cannot even look at it/smell it/touch it. the gulf is too wide.

I really think you could do with some behavioural guidance on this - the hwol edesensitisation ting needs ot be handled really well.

eg, on similar lines we have been working for more than 4 years ot get dd1 drinking adequately. she just doesn't. well she does now, in moderate quantities (maybe 300ml per day total). it is so hard, but you needt get right back to the root of t all, and build up in tiny, weeny steps

Blue, weight isnt really an issue with ds, he was born on the 91st and usually stays there, all he eats is carbs, sugar or fat, so he eats enough of what he does eat to maintain his weight (although his teeth are terrible and he is/was anemic . Unless i try to change his diet or dont make his usual foods available to him, then his weight plummeted to below the 50th very quickly.

He refused to eat anything at all in school for 6 months, he is now eating a very small amount in school and recently when weighed, he has gained and is inbetween 50/75th.

For us is more about trying to control the anemia. He had to take iron supplements for 4 and half years, with the risk of damaging his internal organs with too much iron. He has had to now take a break from the iron supplements, wait for him to become anemic again and then start medication again.

and of course his teeth, if i cut out all the sugar, we are left with chips and certain fruit and then it would affect his weight.

Its a bloody hard balancing act!

Claw, if he likes yellow food, does he eat bananas? If so, maybe fruit smoothies with added silken tofu would be a good way to get some extra protein into him. Most supermarkets sell it. It's white-ish and can just be added to the banana and other fruit and blended. Not sure about whether or not this would consitute mixed textures for him though.

I have found all the quorn products are different, some contain gluten some don't and some have more ingredients than others. You definitely need to read the labels on each one. Would definitely try the dippers if he's not gf yet as they are a lovely golden yellow colour when cooked any my boys love them with a few chips as a treat.

Would he perhaps eat their deli slices? They are supposed to be 'like chicken' but are (again) white-ish in colour and have a nice smooth texture.

Just thought, you might have a problem getting him to eat meat-like food, so that could be a problem for quorn. My ds1 is the same about being a vegetarian and once had a stand up row with his y1 teacher because she said vegetarians eat fish and he 'told' her she was wrong and then went on to explain to the whole class, very eloquently how eating meat is eating dead animals etc! He is fine eating quorn, as I have explained to him it is a mycoprotein which means it is made from a type of tiny mushroom (thought using the word fungus would be a bad idea ).

Found this article on food colours at the weekend. Its quite interesting to find out what nutrition you can actually get from yellow food. The one on white food is here.

There is some information about the nutrition of tofu here and found the following recipes which he may possibly eat?

Tofu Chocolate Mousse (Going to try this one myself!)

Breaded Tofu Nuggets

Lemon Baked Tofu

Banana Tofu Smoothie

Banana Coco Tofu Smoothie

Honey Banana Tofu Smoothie

Diary and GF Buttermilk Pancakes

Also had another thought (most unusual to have more than one in a day ). Cornbread is yellow here0. Might he try that?

here1 (You could just leave out the chillies.)

here2

Hope there's something on that list that you think he might try.

Silver, we have tried a desensitisation programme for years. Lots of messy play, he can now tolerate shaving foam and paint on his hands for a short time before having to wash them.

Sensory diet, involving his mouth i have been doing since December.

He is just not getting any better with food.

Feeding clinic have given me a foods i will touch, lick etc, etc. No success, so far, i am really just going through the motions of following their advice. We have tried something similar before and it didnt improve things.

I was just thinking now he can actually tell me or give me a hint at least about what he doesnt like about a food, i might be better off working with that. If that makes sense. Feeding Clinic dont know what it feels like for him, but he does.

He has told me he only likes yellow/white food and he refuses to even look at 'dead animals'. I suppose feeding clinic will accuse me of letting him control and re-inforcing his eating habits, but im kind of resigning myself to this is about as good at it gets, so i might as well work with it.

Its difficult trying to priorities what i should put first, anemia, teeth, weight, soiling problem (probably gluten) etc, etc!

oh, agree you have to work within his limitations (at least to begin with)

wrt the desensitisation - great stuff with the messy play, but as oyu have seen - no good for moving on with food.

is he ok with everyone else eating his forbidden foods in front of him? so if he has his sandwich - is it ok for you to eat somehting else (anyhting at all) at the same time?

would he be ok scrapping oyur/others leftovers into the bin?

would it be ok for eg one grain of rice to be on hisplate with his sandwich, or if that is too much, have another plate (that is labelled as his) next to him with that one grain on it? (NOT for him to eat at this point, but to get used to being near)

it is only once he is comfortable with the food itself (again, not meaning he HAS ot eat meat - he seems to have a pretty strong aversion there, and one thatmany people share anyway) that he will be able to touch/lick/hold in mouth.

I fugured that was the advice you were being given by dietitians etc - but it is too big a leap.

think back to when you started the messy play desesnsitisation - if you have expected him to jhump in at that point and do a whole picture/session etc then it would not have owrked. it needs ot be tiny step by tiny step.

is he ok with being around while you cook other foods? would he help prepare at all (again, not for him to eat, but ot get usedto being around/handling where possible)

I honestly think a day spent with an ABA type consultant (I know they are expensive, but you get, eg 9am-3pm solid tailored advice in my consultant's case) woudl do the world of good here - observation of your ds, tailored approach to tackle, and absolutely NO big leaps to "he'll eat when he's hungry" or "just get him to chew it a few times, it'll all be ok" and all the other duff advice usually given by the professionals.