What Healthy foods would you suggest picky eaters?

Trish The Dish - posted on 05/11/2010

Ok... after reading your query and the responses...

1. I have to agree with the dad thing and add that it MUST be a "group effort" there... so if there are other adults or children in the house you need to make sure that everyone is "on board".



2. I have always made salads or veggie platters, and tried to give a good varity to choose from... carrots, celery, green peppers, brocolli, mushrooms, whatever... I find that it helped significantly when they were feeling fussy about veggies. Sometimes they LOVED carrots, sometimes they didn't... really seemed like mood swings for what they wanted to eat at the time.



3. As for "hiding" the veggies in food... GREAT IDEA, but make sure that they are cut up sooo small that it's hard to recognize them (like in pre-made spaghetti sauces you buy at the store). I found that this also worked every time (until they got older and wiser to my sneakyness here... lol)



4. I have also from time to time tried to blend all the veggies together (yes, like a "V8")... this helped too. But if they only like carrots & brocolli, maybe a blend of just these 2 would work... might give them a new experience that they really like. I guess you could tell them it's kinda like a milk shake.



5. And I DEFINATELY agree with the cutting back on the sugary foods, as this can cause a lack of appetite (just like candy!!!), and will help with costs of food purchasing. There are LOTS of great foods with natural sugars out there. Maybe try speaking with a nutritionist if you can find one with a free consultation option. They might be able to supply you with a list of foods that we think are good for our kids, but in fact may be harmful or "counter-productive" (like the red dye # 5 thing). You may be suprised with how much out there like this there really is.



That's it for now... hope this helps!!!

Theresa - posted on 04/14/2010

That Sneaky Chef book is full of good ideas. I like to chop up fresh baby spinach and add it to TONS of things like spaghetti, pizza and chili. My three year old loves scrambled eggs so I'll add brown rice and spinach to that as well. My boys LOVE my homemade fruit smoothies. I always add a heaping handful of fresh baby spinach. You can't even taste it. I also suggest seriously cutting back on the sugar filled snacks like pudding and fruit snacks (its really just candy, there's no fruit in those things). Careful with the yogurt too. A lot are full of sugar and additives.



My three year old weights close to yours. In fact, mine weights a bit less. I don't worry so much about his weight but focus on making sure he's eating healthy foods. My little guy used to be very good at eating his veggies but started fighting it once he turned three. If your son used to love broccoli and carrots just keep offering it. My older son, now six, went through the same thing. He's now great with eating his veggies.



Oh, I "hide" veggies in foods so my husband will eat them too. I wouldn't count sofrito as much of a vegetable.



Don't give up.

Melissa - posted on 04/13/2010

So I thought my husband was the only one who did that!! If my stepsons hear that Dad doesnt like to eat something, then instantly then dont like it either. Even if they used to like it!! My husband I have talked about this and he now understands the importance of being on board with seeing eye-to-eye on eating issues as a family. It takes time, but nothing is impossible.
We have a new baby on the way, so this is very important for all of us now to teach the boys to be a good example to their new baby sister.

Rachael - posted on 04/12/2010

My experience is if daddy doesn't eat it then baby doesn't either. There are foods that I have given my daughter at home for lunch that she loved but later when daddy was home and said he didn't like it, she suddenly wouldn't touch it either. See if you can get your hubby on board and make sure he realizes just how important his actions are to your son. I'm not sure on which foods to try though....green beans and turnip greens are big hits around my house. I usually have to cook a little ham fat in with them, which does take away a little from the nutritional value, but I figure that's better than them not eating any veggies at all. Good luck!