Can't get protien into my 1 year old

Danika - posted on 04/21/2010

magic bullet is amazing-just be careful not to munch up the seal ring thing- i have done it twice now. hahaha

Danika - posted on 04/21/2010

it takes up to 3 weeks for a baby to like a food, you need to keep giving it to them for atleast that long, each day until you decide she doesn't like it. but i know how hard it is trying to get them to eat a decent meal. i suggest mushrooms in a creamy sauce or gravy,puree it so its thin and smooth and maybe serve with some soft rice or something. i would try taking to fruit totally away for a week and getting her to eat other foods, and make sure she is super hungry when you feed her, don't give her a drink or bottle while feeding.
good luck

Bec - posted on 04/20/2010

If you are really worried about her iron levels... I suggest Incremin.. (also known as giraffe medicine as it has a giraffe on the bottle) this is a great source of iron for kids and is also good to increase their appetite... I find cutting things up and giving to my little on so she can feed herself as she is now very independent... Good luck..

Francesca - posted on 04/19/2010

I was going to suggest Annabel Karmel too. She has excellent recepies. I saw that your child loves dairy products. I cooked all my baby's meals from her books. There is one recipe inparticular you may be interested in which is spinach & pasta. Spinach is high in protein. The pasta is mixed with cream cheese so she may like it. I must admit it looks like poster paint but is pleasantly tasty. My daughter loves it too. I found meat hard to introduce because of the texture. If you cut the meat into small enough pieces or blend it, you can hide it in a casserole. The darker the meat, the more protein it contains. Some formula milk contains added iron. My daughter turned 1 last week, she has cows milk in her foods & a beaker full with her breakfast. Before bed she has a bottle of formula milk, for the extra nutrients. It comforts her too. Have you tried butternut squash? This is very sweet, especially baked with orange juice. Good luck. Your probably already doing this; brush your daughters teeth because all this fruit she's eating have their own natural sugars. If she refuses to eat something, leave it infront of her because she may try it herself. Don't be quick into giving her something else to eat. Hope this helps.

Ulandi - posted on 04/18/2010

use the recipes on anabelkarmel.com. they mix fruit with veg and meat so there is some sweetness to the dish but not too much. and peanut should be fine unless someone in the family suffers from a nut allergy or things like asthma and eczema.

Danielle - posted on 04/18/2010

How about eggs? Keep giving her meat, one she will eat some, but don't force her.

Amanda - posted on 04/18/2010

Try shredded or cubed cheese and ful fat yogurt, but keep trying beans and thin sliced turkey or chicken. Sometimes its the texture or the way its prepared, your baby isnt liking, so if you add a little seasoning or making it smaller or easier to chew, that can help too. My son loves black beans rinsed and out of a can. They say you often have to introduce a food 8 times before a child will eat it, so dont give up!

Tracy - posted on 04/17/2010

What you're doing's great... just keep putting some small pieces of protien on her highchair tray at each feeding. Do you mostly spoon feed her? It may also be a control thing... at this age they like to have power over food when there are some many things they want to do & say but just can't express them yet. .......
Have you tried cutting up some tofu into small chunks? (& it's fun for them to play with but not toooo much of a mess) Veggie burgars - sausage links - chicken stip grillers all seem to be easier for my son to chew than real meat. I'm a huge fan of those -- well worth the try!!!
I wouldn't recomend "Hiding" food though.(we aren't too excited when we bite into something we weren't expecting yet- we want our baby's to do just that) Kids are perfect at eating what thier bodies need & eating when they need it. They don't have issues like adults :) If you're still brestfeeding, formula or whole milk... she's getting a good amount of protine there. :) enjoy

Jennifer - posted on 04/16/2010

I hide a lot of things under applesauce. DJ LOVE veggies to start then once he got fruit he didn't care for veggies so much. I always offer veggies at lunch and dinner, fruit is dessert after he has eaten some of the other.



I have mixed spinach with yogurt and other favorites. So far he is willing to eat the veggie with the good stuff.

Joanna - posted on 04/16/2010

My first thought is do you season your meat? Try putting some spices on the meat. My son eats pretty much anything htat has seasoning on it. I"m not talking salt and pepper. For chicken don't worry about getting a crust on it, just put some pepper, oregano, basil and garlic (i do fresh but i"m sure powder is fine, too) and he eats it up! He won't eat applesause or oatmeal without cinnamon. Don't be afraid to try different spices on the food. If they don't get used to the flavors now, you may end up with a chicken finger and french fry kid. Now if I could get my son to eat more fruit and veggies that would make me happy. I guess my issue is the opposite of yours. Good luck!

Francesca - posted on 04/15/2010

My little Ella loves all veggies and fruits. But I have the same problem with protein. She will eat salmon, eggs and yogurt. So I try to incorporate those as much as possible.

Lately, to get her used to the taste of beef and chicken, when I steam her veggies, I use a little beef or chicken stock in the water. I hope to warm her up to the idea.

I tried pureeing chicken, beef and lenitels and hiding it in other foods she likes but she always figured it out and would refuse. She loves avocado and grilled cheese sandwiches so I tried to hide a little hummus on there, no luck. She threw it to the dog.

Good Luck. I know its frustrating. Just keep introducing it in fun ways. Maybe she will eventually acquire a taste for it.

Jessica - posted on 04/15/2010

Thanks for all of the imput. I will try some of your receipts... Hopefully I will have success. I don't give her fruit till we are done our meal. But she does eat a lot of yogurt and cheese. So she is probably getting enough protien.

Rebecca - posted on 04/15/2010

How about cottage cheese or cheese cubes? Egg yolks? Tofu cubes? Turkey/chicken loaf with veggies and fruit mixed in it? I recommend wholesomebabyfood.com. I made their turkey loaf and my son loved it (course, he is not a picky eater) but it's made with pureed carrots and apples so it is naturally sweet. My son did NOT like baby food meats but once he started table foods he really didn't refuse anything. Just keep trying. Maybe a homemade mac and cheese with butternut squash or carrots? Nothing wrong at all with disguising it lol I agree with the other poster that suggested not giving as much fruit since she naturally has a prefernce for the sweeter foods, she won't starve and remember to offer foods more than once.



Good luck!



ps someone suggested peanut butter or eggs, peanut butter is not recommended for babies under 2 and egg whites should not be fed to babies younger thank 12 months.

Denise - posted on 04/15/2010

Continue offering her a variety of different proteins--one day she may decide she likes it! For now, formula or whole milk should provide all the protein she needs for a day. Like other people said, try cheese and yogurt, too!

Amber - posted on 04/15/2010

You know, I don't know if this will work for you, but I had a difficult time with my two year old doing this (he is still a very picky eater). I finally began putting a small amount of meat like chicken or beef, into a magic bullet, mixing it with applesauce and giving it to him. I did not put very much meat because it would change the texture, but if I just did about four ounces of applesauce, and maybe a teaspoon of meat, he would eat it. I also gave him peanut butter. I know they say not to, but since I have older kids, he ate it with them. My baby who is now just barely one also eats peanut butter and Nutella. I hope nobody chokes. ;) I also have to tell you that while I agree that you should try to give your baby a variety of things to eat, maybe there is a reason she has an aversion. I would ask your pediatrician. Some babies stay away naturally from things to which they have an allergy, or their body needs more of what is in one thing than another. I understand you may be thinking she just likes the fruit because it is sweet, and you are probably right, but you just never know.



Good luck!

Amber

Dannielle - posted on 04/15/2010

has she tried eggs? peanut butter? my baby loves both of those.. she even likes black beans, i just had some canned ones and warmed them up and she ate them

Nicole - posted on 04/14/2010

Is Emma still on pureed baby food? My son loves fruit, too, so when I'm having trouble getting his meats and veggies into him, I'll mix some fruit in, and he'll gobble it right up. If shes on real food, you can try giving her a couple slices of banana, and then a piece of chicken.. Cj usually doesn't catch on unless I try to give him a few slices of what he doesn't want in a row.

Danielle - posted on 04/14/2010

I wouldn't worry too much, my son is not into protein either. But he does eat a lot of yogurt, which has lots of protein. Try cheese too. He also loves spaghetti with meat sauce, have you tried that yet?

Katarina - posted on 04/14/2010

My little guy LOVES cubed cheese, and has decided he doesn't like yogurt this month. lol

Romy - posted on 04/14/2010

My daughter is not a big protein fan either. She will bite into a piece of chicken or pork, but spits it out. She does like cheese and yogurt, which have a lot of protein. The one piece of chicken she ate was a homemade chicken nugget. I sliced up chicken breast, breaded and panfryed it in olive oil. She ate some, but I think she was mostly chewing the crust. Have you tried baked beans? They would be sweet like fruit. Also, formula and/or breast milk have protein in them. I am also going to try quinoa tonight. It supposed to be a perfect protein grain-we'll see! Good luck.

Katarina - posted on 04/14/2010

Stop giving so much fruit maybe, fruit is sweet why would they want something else? Emma won't starve herself. But most 1 year olds won't do a lot of protein. My son turned 1 on the 5th and won't touch ground beef for that mater. He'll eat some fish(mostly the tasteless ones) and will attempt to eat chicken. Try hiding it in things. But as my dr says " I don't like liver and onions. A baby is entitled to not like something to"