Mr. P is all over the place with his appetite and cravings. I think that’s pretty typical for little ones. Some days I feel bad that he’s not getting very diverse meals, but he doesn’t seem to mind, so oh well.
Similar to the problem that
Lara mentioned, Patty-cakes doesn’t seem to like anything “assembled”. I make lots of allergy friendly meals for the 2 (3) of us, but he doesn’t want them in they’re completed form. Instead, he will often eat the ingredients separately (
mise en place style as I prep). I think he dislikes the herbs and seasonings? Who knows. It’s fine, for now. I mean, eventually he will discover the awesomeness that he’s missing out on. I hope.
So (warning) I am not super creative, but I do try to tweak “the usual” ever so slightly so he doesn’t get bored. Maybe my ideas will seem new or novel to another mom.
These are some of the successful meal combos that I happened to photograph:
Left: Canned butternut squash and TJ’s applesauce.
Right: Pears, peaches, brown rice, chia seeds, cinnamon.
Now that it’s spring/summer, it’s harder to find organic canned squash at a reasonable price. I used up all the ones I’d been hoarding through winter, but I finally tracked down sweet potato, butternut squash, and pumpkin and have been using them in baked goods and oatmeal (because he doesn’t like potatoes or squash on their own).
I started freezing extra pumpkin in ice cube trays a long time ago (I use the chunks in my smoothies) so I’ve just continued to do the same and use them for his oatmeal or whatever. Works like a charm. Cinnamon is the go to spice for making it palatable (adding lots of cinnamon means I don’t have to add sweeteners).
Quinoa, blueberries, coconut milk/chia seeds pudding, bananas, cinnamon.
Applesauce, quinoa, sweet potato puree, coconut milk, chia seeds, cinnamon, & leftover blueberries.
Quinoa, mashed banana, butternut squash puree, & cinnamon.
Left: Quinoa, sorghum*, blueberries, butternut squash puree, cinnamon, chia seeds.
Right: Brown rice puffs, applesauce, hemp seeds, chia seeds, cinnamon.
Frozen pumpkin puree –> added to oats half way through cooking (in the microwave) –> mixed with chia seeds, cinnamon, & raisins –> microwaved until thick
Sorghum*, frozen mixed berries, applesauce, coconut milk chia seeds pudding, pumpkin puree.
*He had a very immediate diaper rash reaction after the sorghum meal but he also had a bite of deli turkey at the same meal. Both were new-to-him foods so I don’t know which caused it (when will I ever learn?!). It seems weird that the sorghum would do it because that’s such a benign grain but who knows. I know the turkey meat is GF and the herb seasonings are safe ingredients, so unless there was some weird nut/sesame exposure somewhere along the way I have no clue. His rash pattern wasn’t his allergy hives/reaction (sadly, I know what that one looks like – mouth/ears/neck), This one was on his core (chest/belly/groin, thighs). He wasn’t phased by it and it was gone the next morning when he woke up so I have no clue.
In other news, the broccoli and bean battle wages on. I have tried a few different techniques (thanks to the ones you all suggested previously) with no luck. I’m just gonna keep no trying. He’ll cave eventually. Or not. Whatever he decides, it’s definitely not going to be for lack of trying on my end!
I made this broccoli, nooch, hemp seeds combo (above left) – does anyone know if there’s a reason I shouldn’t give him nutritional yeast? I couldn’t find any research one way or the other so I assume it’s fine, but if you’re knowledgeable on the subject holler at me in the comments. I read that there tends to be cross reactivity between yeast and gluten intolerance, but I think that’s for active yeast not nutritional or brewer’s yeast (?). I dunno.
Looks like P is eating so healthy and well! Impressive!
Nooch can definitely be a gluten cross reactor, unfortunately. It’s the protein in yeast that sets off the reaction, so it doesn’t matter if it’s active or dead yeast. Sad panda 🙁
Side note, u are sso creative in the kitchen…. I wish i ate those healthy meals when I was a kid. Unfortunately, spaghetti o’s and Mac N cheese were my staples lol. P is having a great start to a healthy, happy life! Fingers crossed that his allergies heal asap 🙂
You’re so creative! I hope he continues to eat this well for you. My son ate a diverse menu when he was that age and then…. not so much. Luckily we’re about to hit the very hungry teen years, so hopefully his hunger will override his “yuck” factor!
Nutritional Yeast isn’t really all that nutritional, unfortunately, as I learned in this article about B12 deficiency which I read after I went vegan in an attempt to regain my health. I’m not trying to say there is anything wrong with vegetarianism or veganism at all- just that apparently nootch isn’t a valid form of B vitamins, but of B analogs that can actually block the absorption of actual B vitamins. Here is the link:
http://chriskresser.com/what-everyone-especially-vegetarians-should-know-about-b12-deficiency
Here is a good article about supplementing Vitamin B12:
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB12-HealthProfessional/
I found it on http://happyforks.com/ -> Data source (BTW, it’s a good source of nutritional information if you are interesting in it)
That looks like a good variety! Not sure how you feel about microwaving, but I have made organic squash and sweet potatoes in the microwave and they come out pretty good. They make a ton if you’re pureeing them because you need to add a lot of liquid. Does P drink smoothies? I’m curious what cup you use if he does.
My LO likes broccoli, for now, but I’ve heard of people pureeing spinach in sauces. Maybe you could do that with broccoli. I’d puree the beans too and make some sort of a hummus like dip.
I just started making my son quinoa bites in a mini muffin pan, they use some egg as a binder. Most of the recipes include cheese, but I bet you could puree some beans in there instead! And you could sub out the quinoa with another grain if you have to. Just grease the pan well and stuff them down in there will so they come out of the pan well.
Actually, I remember when those “egg muffins” were all the low carb craze, I bet you could hide some veggies in there too. I still like those.
Little bebe
Its awesome that P likes chia pudding mixed into stuff! Kids tastebuds change all the time, he will like broccoli one day.
Have you tried socca for him yet? That, or things made with chickpea flour might be your best bet to get him to have legumes right now….
Don’t over think it or worry much about variety- as a kid my main food groups were plain cheerios, peanut butter, raisins, apple sauce and bananas- for years!! (I of course avoid all of these foods now since i have already had a lifetime’s supply….)
Thanks for the ideas! We’re currently a toast and fruit phase. I let T get away with it for bfast and lunch but give him something different for dinner. Generally he’s a good eater,thank goodness! Hope lentils and beans click with P soon. X
Oh how I love these posts. Mason will eat most vegetables in pureed form, but broccolli and cauliflower or any other veggies with slightly weird textures – nope, no thanks. So I just keep trying (all the while reassuring him that he loves it pureed, so….). For a while he would inhale those freeze dried blueberry snacks but turn his nose up to the real deal. I just laughed at his ridiculousness, and kept trying. Happy to say he finally caved. 🙂
those freeze dried snacks are too expensive for me to try because I’m afraid he will love them and then ill be stuck buying them all the time. these kids always want the $$$$ things. 🙂
I don’t put much stock into anything that Chris Kresser writes about vegetarianism. He promotes animal products on his blog and is always looking for ways to bash vegetarians. There are lots of critiques of his posts written by people trained in nutrition if you want to look more into it.
Anyway, I wanted to tell you to keep trying with the broccoli and don’t give up! It took my youngest EIGHT long years before he liked broccoli, and now he loves it. Just keep offering and eating it in front if him and he just might like it eventually 🙂
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Thanks for some great ideas! I worry that G eats a lot of the same foods too, but according to our pediatrician, he actually has a more varied diet than most toddlers.
We WILL get these boys together someday!