Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for meals. I have a 30 month old and 6 year old that do not eat veg, or meat. Mealtime consists of pasta, pizza, grilled cheeses. No matter what i make, soups or stir fries, they won't even try it. If anyone else has kids in this age range can you tell me what you feed them. They won't even eat my baked goods. Thanks.
Picky Eaters
Don't Fret
My boys ate mac and cheese, pizza and grilled cheese sandwiches until their teen years. I tried cooking casseroles and other meals but they hated it. So I went back to the pasta, pizza and sandwich menu. Made my cooking job easier and cheaper. Boys are now 21 & 16, healthy and still breathing.
Keep trying and jazz it up
I always put all the food groups on their plate. They have to try everything (and I watch them to make sure) before they do not have to eat anymore of it. I've heard it somewhere that it is our job to put food on the plate and their job to eat it. Even with my picky eaters, they have discovered a few vegetables, etc. that they like.
Oh, and one other thing I read...
Try jazzing up the names of the vegetables. For example, "we're not having plain old boring carrots, we're having crazy carrots!" And every time they take a bite, they get to act a little goofy. Demonstrate it for them so they see how crazy carrots make you act. It can't hurt to try it.
Al
Daddyshome, Inc. - The National At-Home Dad Network www.daddyshome.org
pickey eaters
I agree with both Omaha & Hogan. My 6 yr. old 35 pound daughter is very picky about what she eats. Just went to a vocational therapist as her doctor recommended. She mentioned some things about spiceing up the food a little & brushing her mouth to wake up her taste buds prior to eating.
In short we are still expermiting with this. I have read & heard many experts on this subject. They say give them what they will eat and keep adding new items to try. They will be fine. Our daughter is very strong & healthy.
Our menu is slowly growing because I make her eat two bites of the new item before she gets to eat the same old thing. This has made her realize some food taste better than it looks or smells.
All the best to you.
I have a 3 and 9 year old.
I have a 3 and 9 year old. The 9 year old is very picky. A couple of things we do.
1. we, as some mentioned before, make them take a "no thankyou" bite. You have to try it before you say you don't like it.
2. we still put the food on their plate. i still put the veggies or whatever food on their plate. They don't have to eat it, but it is going to be there.
3. with some of the stuff you are cooking you can "hide" vegtables in them. Jerry Seinfield's wife has a book or you can probablly find stuff online, but it basically involves pureeing vegtables and stuff like pasta sauce and mac and cheese work really well for that.
Don't fret too much about it. Kids taste will grow and change. Just the other day I did some stuffed shells with a spinach and cheese and my older son said, you are getting better at finding ways for me to eat my vegtables. Good luck.
Not a Question of Picky
As an adult I feel my taste buds are more seasoned than my child's. So I never thought it was fair for me to make my child eat a meal that I thought tasted good.
Slowly introducing is a great way to help a child transition into experiencing new foods. But I wouldn't lose sleep over it or force my kids to expand their menu.
As my kids got older, they expanded their menu at their pace.
Heck, my wife, would be considered a picky eater. Always orders the same type of food at restaurants. Eats within her comfort zone.
Me, I'm into oysters, escargot, clams, sushi and will order different meals at restaurants. With of course a cold beer close at hand.
I have a funny story about taking Matt and his three friends (ages 8 to 11) to a Dim Sung restaurant. I'll post it later. Gotta go.
7 times
I have read (don't remember where) that you may need to introduce a particular food 7 times before they acquire a taste for that food. Not sure where they came up with seven, but I guess the idea is keep putting foods on their plate they haven't eaten in the past. We basically try a food they won't eat (like broccoli) every few weeks. Some foods they never like, but most they eventually try and like it. Broccoli was a success for both our girls eventually. Now they even ask for it.
We also feed them whatever they like too, so don't worry about feeding the same things over and over. They all seem to survive. Our youngest (2yrs) went on a six month kick of Oatmeal. It was all she wanted. She ate if for one meal pretty much every day... sometimes 2 meals, but we always made her eat fruit or a veggie with it. Our oldest (4yrs) is currently obsessed with peanut butter and honey on toast. Ever try it? It is addictive, so I totally get this one. She also eats lots of fruit and veggies, so I don't fret about her eating a lot of the same.
If their main meal selection is something like Cheetos or a sugar cereal, then you should probably limit it.
Dim Sum Story
Accompanying me on a trip to Los Angeles' Chinatown District were Matt and his friends, Ty, Torrin and Trevor (brothers ages 8-11). The three brothers have been raised on meat and potatoes. On our way home I persuaded the boys to try out a Dim Sum restaurant. I had never been in one before and I thought this might be a good time to for me as well as the boys to see what it was like.
The waiters push heated carts to the table. Each cart had a different mix of food items. Some of which were very exotic. The look on the brothers' faces was priceless.
I convinced them to at least taste some of the food. To be polite they took a few nibbles. It was clear that the food didn't appeal to them, that they had lost their appetite the moment they saw the first cart and wanted out of this restaurant as quickly as possible. So paid the check ASAP.
Fast forward twenty minutes later on the freeway.
Ty, the oldest, asked, "Mr. Hilling, is it okay if we stop at Jack-In-The Box?"
"Yes."
Again, the look on their faces was priceless.
Repetition!
Riffing on a few already mentioned themes:
Repition is key - if it keeps showing up, eventually they will try it, and some things they will love. My older kid had a bad habit of rejecting new things before she had even seen them on the table (sometimes before I'd even cooked it). With enough repeats, some of those things have become favorites.
Be sure they know there is always an alternative. My brood is much less resistant after I figured out that they needed to know clearly in advance that there would be other food if they truly didn't like the new/different dish. "Nobody goes hungry" is a rule - I'm not gonna cook them another meal, but they know they can always have cereal for dinner.
Dim Sum - perfect example of both of the above: we live in an area with some crazy-good dim sum, so we eat it regularly. Years ago all my kids would eat was the outside of Char Sui Bao (steamed pork bun - the outside is pretty much the Chinese equivalent of wonder bread.) We went, and dealt with their complaining, because WE wanted it - enough to put up with their, uh, resistance. Now they eat all kinds of dumplings, and have even been known to pick unknown things off the cart "just so we could try something new".
This is a process where success is measured over years...be patient. Mine, now 7 & 9, eat ALL kinds of stuff. Non-fish sushi, Vietnamese "bun" bowls, Ceasar, Mexican, and Cobb salads, one eats anything tomato, pesto on anything, they both love beans of all sorts, lox, etc... That said, their staples are still cheese with carbohydrate - toasted cheese sandwiches, quesadillas (use corn tortillas! tastier and way healthier than flour), pizza. But the mix is ever expanding...
- Andy
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