[Stormster]

So those of you who know me know I was all about stuff like Montessori and Organic foods when I had this tiny baby but over time I realized E is the LEAST suitable kid for Montessori and I really have no control over what he will eat, which is basically nothing.

I don't talk about it, maybe I'm a little bit ashamed, think I could be doing a better job but I was wasting tons of money and he would NOT put anything other than his 7 or so "approved foods" in his mouth! Of course when Aclee was here she popped chicken in his mouth but she was just so beguiling she distracted him so that was a "one of"

Yesterday was the BEST eating day we've ever had. He actually felt HEAVIER. But the quality of food, the cost of the things he was eating....still I have to keep this up as he slipped from the 50th to the 25th percentile for weight. Don't want him getting even skinnier. I thought I'd show what he ate and hear anyone's thoughts on is this a horrible diet or pretty ok. I really need feedback! Remember, it could be sensory or could be me I don't know.....some kids are just picky eaters I know that so here it goes:

Breakfast: 1 WHOLE Eggo waffle with Sugar Free Syrup (i know it's probably not good but better than more of all the sugar he gets in other stuff all day) and one WHOLE Organic Kefir "Squeeze" Yogurt and those are really big.

Lunch: Half a "Crustables" PB&J Sandwich, half a cheese stick, 2 Blueberry Nutrabars and a Gobaby Squeeze Yogurt (I know lots of sugar in all this ) Diluted Apple Juice

Snack: Some whole wheat pretzels, another half a cheese stick

Dinner: Mac & Cheese with one cut up uncured, organic chicken sausage. But a whole bowl of it! I get a fairly healthy version of the instamac. Still looking for a whole wheat version!

he also has about 15 oz of rice milk throughout the day.

It looks awful no? This is the BEST I've ever done! I try to cut up apples into chunks and even have tried honey on them! He hates the touch of banana etc....I just don't know what to do to get him to allow fruit or veggie inhis mouth! The only veggie he ever get is tomato sauce, AND THAT'SNOT EVEN A VEGGIE, IT'S A FRUIT! Thoughts from any experienced mommies?

ETA I think the part that kills me is the sugar and how processed everything is!!!! I cook from scratch for us for the most part. Also it's super expensive all this stuff!

[Fran27]

I'm right there with you. I swear it costs me $300 a month to feed my kids, and $100 to feed us LOL. I buy everything natural or organic for them, and unfortunately they don't eat what we make from scratch (except mac'n cheese and pancakes etc) so I have to buy more processed stuff for them... I'm more worried about sodium than sugar here though (they get grahams for snacks but that's about all the processed sugar they get, which I guess is still a bit considering how many of those they eat...).

Ok a few things.

For E dropping in percentiles, DS has been dropping also, but he was quite a chunky baby so it makes sense. I'm guessing it's probably because E is very active though. I guess you can try to give him more fat but at the same time, you don't want him to get used to eating everything with butter, so I know it's not easy!

For the sugar, have you tried just plain yogurt mixed with your own fruit? No sugar added jams, or heck, baby food jars. It would be cheaper I think, and you can put less fruit so it's less sweet.. and maybe sneak in some pureed veggies in there too. Can you try to switch to water instead of diluted juice?

Does he eat with utensils? DD will eat anything if it's on a fork, the novelty I guess. For veggies, I can't say much, mine have just started to eat some after putting some on their trays for 7 months and ending up trashing most of it... but yeah, I kept offering it and one day they actually started picking him up. I never commented or did anything to make them eat it... just offered it.

You could try homemade mac'n cheese with whole wheat pasta and random cheeses (you can find natural cheese slices, and they'll have more fat than cheese sticks too), and mix some broccoli in there. Or add puree veggies in his tomato sauce. Heck mine actually like veggie burgers so they get a lot of those (I know, sodium.....). Or I get raviolis with some sort of veggies in them.

Does he eat toast? Our lunch here is always some kind of toasted sandwich (open faced most of the time), with organic lunch meat, hummus, pureed avocado, melted cheese etc. I try to change every day but it's not easy.

Mine love fruit so it's easier, maybe try different kinds and they'll be some he won't mind trying? We've had strawberries, peaches, plums, apricots (not a hit), melon, watermelon, oranges, bananas, nectarines... Maybe if you put it on a fork so he doesn't have to touch it it will help?

In the end really I don't think you're doing too bad, I'd just try to cut the sugar a bit. Even sugar free stuff usually has artificial sweeteners and it's worse than sugar. But it's soooo easy to say when you're not in charge. I swear the hardest thing for me is figuring out what to give them to eat. We tried so much from scratch and they wouldn't eat it (grilled meat etc), so they end up having some kind of pasta every other night, and chicken nuggets/fish sticks/veggie burgers/meat balls the rest of the time. All that stuff I swore I'd never give them!

[greenrobin]

I have 4 kids from birth and 2 that are about-to-adopted, another 12 foster of which 4 were 2 and under.

As scary as it looks, sometimes little kids seem to live on air. They get all picky with their food, self-limit to their "approved list" (love that term, btw), and get skinny. I used to worry all of the time.

Run it by your doctor. If s/he isn't concerned, try to relax. Just keep offering various choices along with the approved list. I've not parented the whole world, but in my limited experience, all of the kids eventually ate. Some more than others, but they ate.

One good thing is that tastes change. You might find something he absolutely loves.

[aclee]

Hey storm..I didn't know he liked yogurt so much when I was there, or I would have recommended this. He can drink through a straw right? What about smoothies? Mix yogurt, ice and fruit in a blender (you could even buy protein powder!)..I was a Nanny for a kid that was so similar to E, and I could make him smoothies and he loved them. He was about a year older than E though...

On the plus side, if he doesn't drink them, you or Simon could and they wouldn't go to waste

Good Luck!

[crick]

Seems like almost everything he likes is a soft texture, so I'd explore more options of those textures to introduce more foods.

Sneak some thinly sliced bananas into his PB&J sandwich, add some pureed fresh fruit to his yogurt, try avocado, sweet potato etc.

My youngest HATES veggies for the most part. However he LOVES fresh raw snap peas. Since E does seem to like pretzels and some crunch, he might like those. Dip them in something if that helps.

Add some pureed veggies to his tomato sauce.

All in all, I think if you get your kid to eat, you are doing fine. Seriously. I'd be more concerned with the chemical sugar free stuff than I would be with the natural sugar items.

My youngest is my hugely picky eater and also has a bit of sensory issues. His aversion is to meat and almost any source of good protein. Hates beans, hates rice etc.
His diet to most is horrifying but he eats. He has to try everything we have for a meal, but then he's free to make himself a sandwich or a bowl of mac & cheese. I'd rather him eat than not and as long as he keeps trying things, I'm willing to settle for the non healthy foods he eats.

[DPline]

My older son (11 next month) has a ton of food sensory issues. Unluckly no one knew about that sort of thing when he was little. So we have lived with it for years. If he ate what your son did in one day I would be THRILLED!

My son lives on fortified cold cereal, Eggo waffles (at least he'll eat the whole wheat), bagels, yogurt, cheese, plain pasta with parmesan, shells and cheese, hot dogs (I used to be able to do veggie dogs, but no more), goldfish crackers, and peanut butter sandwiches. He eats no meat. (Well, the hot dogs, but . . . ) The only fruit he will eat are apples and bannanas, and once in a while blueberries. The only vegetable he will eat is baby carrots. He used to eat corn on the cob (only on the cob) but now he has braces.

My point though is that DS is the healthest kid I know, his horrific eating aside. He is super tall (5'2") and slim, but not emaciated. The first time he went to the doctor for a sick visit was when he was 9 and got strep. The child is healthy as can be.

I don't like it. In fact I hate it. But at this point I have let it go. He is healthy and that is what matters. He is not a child where 'If he is hungry enough he will eat.' He would starve before gagging and choking down something he can't palate. If he could get it down at all.

Keep trying things, but don't let this overwhelm you. I have been there.

[Sleeplvr]

Protein powder added to smoothies is a good way to get protein in a child who has textures issues with meat or beans. If he likes mushies... try fat free refried beans.
Unjury makes a good unflavored protein powder. Whey isolate is best quality protein you can get and what my nutritionist recommends. You may want to make an appointment with a nutritionist to get some tips on how to work with or around his food choices. You can slip protein powder into just about anything. Soups, drinks, mac and cheese... if you make your own hamburgers or meatballs.

To cover the veggie issue there are green drinks that you can buy or make your own which have a whole day of veggies in it. Whole Foods has a green powder that you can mix with juice or smoothies to get the veggie requirements in.

Out of all the kids we've had in our home we've never had a picky eater. My son goes through phases... sometimes he eats a lot and then there are days he eats very little... it all evens out.

[OakShannon]

I read a great book about feeding kids (Child of Mine) and one thing the author said was never to take advice from people whose kids were good eaters! And I have one of those, so I won't comment beyond the good suggestions already mentioned.

Fortunately, this seems like a classic toddler stage. David won't eat anything new anymore, either. If he's not used to it, forget about it! So the nice thing is that odds are, E will outgrow this stage. In the meantime, your list really didn't look too bad to me. He's getting the major food groups in there. I don't think you should be too hard on yourself. It ALWAYS looks much clearer and simpler before the baby actually arrives, doesn't it?

[Stormster]

Thank you so much for all the amazing replies! I feel soooo much better.

All great suggestions. I used to be more creative like I'd buy pureed veg and sneak it under his grilled cheese. But it's expensive and sometimes he'd taste it and refuse it.

I will say I have PERFECTED the grilled cheese sandwich and he just devoured one.

I use a grill pan. Butter both sides of the bread with an canola oil based "butter" and grill it up with thin sliced cheddar. I think it's the butter he loves. I realized that at the local diner they must have some secret because he loves theirs so I figured that's how they do it. Only I use better bread and better cheese!

[Stormster]

Got a load of spinach in him tonight. How you ask?

Amy's Spinach Pizza Snacks made with organic whole wheat flour, tomatoes and spinach. Has 8g protein too.He LOVES it and ate a ton. Some sodium but so full of good stuff....and so pricey!!!!

Still it might be worth it to get all that spinach into my little popeye!

[EZ2Luv]

I don't what constitutes a pickey eater, but my kids are good eaters now but did go through a picky stage. I know there are texure issues with E but is he into dunking and dipping things? My kids were and I got so creative. French toast sticks dipped in yougurt, veggies dipped in dressing, cut up fruit dipped in yougurt. Just had to incorporate those extra calories in things. I made my own little chicken nuggets and they would dip those to. Now forget it, they will out eat some adults but they are healthy and within normal weight.
Also, I noticed that at some point they did appear to get skinny or slim out when they were alot more active and grew in height. I really wouldn't worry about it because based on the food intake you posted, he is surely not starving.

EZ

[ChromaKelly]

I've had success getting veggies into grilled cheese, quesodillas, and pizza. Either cut it up fine or puree and mix up with the cheese. A&B didn't eat many veggies either, but are just coming out of it.

[viannqueen]

You might want to check out the book called Deceptively Delicious. The author shows how you can buy all your veggies at one time, makes individual portions of the purees which are frozen, and then throughout the month you can sneak these puree's into a bunch of recipe's that are included. She does all kinds of crazy stuff like adding spinach puree into brownies, makes scrambled eggs with cauliflower puree, making french toast with butternut squash puree. I've had all of these items I just mentioned and they are yummy! So it could be a good way of sneaking stuff in, and not too expensive either.

[Stormster]

Viann thanks. I have the other book like that but if it doesn't get into grilled cheese or into a pancake he's STILL not going to eat it! His palate is that limited!

[robandjulie]

Another option is to get the non-fat powdered milk and mix that into anything you can. We add it to pancakes, smoothies, mashed potatoes, pasta sauce, stir it into yogurt or mac & cheese, etc. It adds a lot of protein and calcium and such plus makes stuff creamier tasting.

Smoothies are great. If he won't freak about the color you can actually toss a pretty good handful of fresh spinach in with some yogurt, ice, and some stronger fruit flavors like fresh/frozen berries and OJ and make a great smoothie. It turns out green, but if he'll go for it pretend you put in food coloring or make up some other silly reason.

Does he like applesauce? How do sweet potatoes go over? If he likes french fries he may be willing to eat sweet potato fries. Just wash and cut a sweet pot up into french-fry-like sticks, toss or spray with some olive oil, spread on a baking sheet and bake at 425 for 20 mins or so until they're brown and a bit crisped. Delicious dipped in a mix of yogurt and maple syrup.

DD was a great eater, never turned down a bite of food and even now will usually give us a "big girl try" of anything. DS?? no. For the first 6 months he'd scream and violently throw vegetables if they were within reach. He once begged for a bite of my sample of veggie soup when we were at Sam's. I showed him that it was all veg's and he demanded a try so I gave it to him and then--stubborn maddening son of mine--he cried and screamed that I had given him a vegetable and sat there with it IN HIS MOUTH, MOUTH HANGING OPEN, DIGESTING ONTO HIS TONGUE screaming and crying. He refused to swallow, refused to admit he didn't want it and spit it out, refused to let me fish it out, and just screamed for 20 minutes or more. So I get it, they're crazy crazy tyrants about their foods.

And then one day, we had finished dinner and a baby carrot had fallen on the floor. Ten minutes after dinner he came running over to DH and excitedly showed him his treasure, popped it in his mouth, and ate it. I seriously considered feeding him vegetables by rolling them under the couch, dropping them in the grass, maybe tucking a few by the dog dish he was obsessed with tasting...

And now? He eats everything. Something switched. Just do your best to feed him until he's comfortably full and keep offering him tries of your food and it'll all work out. Then again, I have a grownup co-worker who refuses to eat any kind of fruit or vegetable cooked in anyway or into anything. She lives entirely on meat and bread and PB and dairy products. So there's that option, too.