Picky kids

[WebLady]

Do you have young kids that are picky eaters? How do you get them to eat anything that is good for them?

My niece is going on 4 yrs old and she loves chicken fingers, french fries and mac 'n' cheese, or spaghetti ... that is almost all I ever see her eat. Last time we went out to eat we had Mexican and ordered her a cheese quesidilla (she will eat grilled cheese) but she wouldn't eat it; all she ate was chips and cheese dip.

My sister wants to try to get her to start trying new things and eating better, but is having a hard time.

[soontobemrs]

If it was up to my daughter, she would live on oodles of noodles - her other favs are mac & cheese, mashed potatos and eggs. At the recommendation of her pediatrician, I will be picking up a book called "Sneaky Chef" - gives ways to sneak the healthy foods into the foods they like. If anyone will be a test as to whether this will really work, it's my daughter!

Here's the website: http://www.thesneakychef.com/

[WebLady]

At the recommendation of her pediatrician, I will be picking up a book called "Sneaky Chef" - gives ways to sneak the healthy foods into the foods they like ... Here's the website: http://www.thesneakychef.com/
Is that the one by Jerry Seinfeld's wife? Sis and I were talking about that and couldn't remember what it was called. I will tell her about this, but I think part of the problem is that she doesn't cook much.

[soontobemrs]

Is that the one by Jerry Seinfeld's wife?


No, my understanding is Jerry Seinfeld's wife also has a kid-oriented cookbook out too and she was accused of stealing recipes from Missy Chase Lapine, the author of Sneaky Chef. (I don't know how true that is but that's what I came up with when I looked it up).

I understand the whole not cooking much too b/c I'm not much of a cook and alot of times its just convenience of making mac & cheese, etc. - it's quick and easy.

[SerendipityCrafts]

My nephew only ate hot dogs and chicken fingers when he was young. My daughter wouldn't eat meat. My son wouldn't eat most vegetables. All of them eat most anything that you put in front of them now.

You just have to do your best to provide them with a healthy balance of food groups but it doesn't pay to turn meal time into a war.

Sneak healthy foods into what they do like to eat (I pureed carrots and other veggies and snuck them into spaghetti sauce). If she likes fruit .... let her have her choice. Homemade fruit smoothies? How about that Healthy for you Yogurt Popsicle recipe that I submitted for the recipe book? Will she snack on cheese & crackers? Carrot sticks cut up really really small?

I also found it helpful to give the meals different names (made up and otherwise) .... LOL Ernie and Bert Surprise was a big hit. Egg in a hole. Bangers n' Mash.

The trick is to be smarter than they are, creative & consistent! Don't give in to whining and acting up. Don't give them sugary "treats" or desserts if they aren't eating meals. If they don't eat, they also don't get rewarded, for not eating. If a child is hungry, they will eat.

Just know that they go through periods where they don't seem to eat all that much or they prefer a certain food group. It's really not a biggy nor does it mean that it will last.

My kitchen wasn't a restaurant and I wasn't a short order cook. I didn't mind a little catering, but I refused to make 4 different meals to suit their tastes. If one child didn't like peas, they wouldn't get them but they would get a double dose of another veggie that we were having. If it was something new or something cooked a different way, the rule was that they had to at least try it before turning up their nose.

[SerendipityCrafts]

Check out recipezaar.com - I searched for "kid" and 172 recipes came up. Some healthy, some not but you can also find recipes for homemade play dough and a recipe for bubbles :) - http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?s_type=%2Frecipes.php&q=kids&Search=Search&Searcht=

There is a forum there as well. I am sure your sister could post a query and get a gazillion recipe recommendations.

RECIPE BY: Chef #518500
My son is going to be 2 years old and like anyother child food time is not smooth. But this milkshake he drinks without any fuss for breakfast and he gets his dose of fiber, calcium, protiens, potassium all in one. Its also a full-fledged breakfast for adults who don't like eating bran cereal. Instead of banana, I also substitue apple, dates. If the apple is not sweet enough, I had 1 or 2 dates to make it sweet naturally. You can do the same in case of banana also or a dash of honey.

Ingredients
1 cup milk, - 1cup (I use organic whole milk for my son)
1 medium banana, - 1 medium size cut into pieces
1/4 cup Fiber One cereal, bran cereal - 1/4cup (it has 7gms of fiber)
slivered almond (it's purely optional, I add it for my son) (optional)

[WebLady]

Thanks guys, I will pass along this info to my sister :frogg:

[KMS]

I have gotten kids I babysit for to eat foods that their parents can't get them to eat by having them help prepare the foods instead of shooing them out of the kitchen. They always wanted to try the foods that they helped cook. Sometimes they liked them, sometimes they didn't.

I've also heard that if you are trying to get a child to try a new food to get them to take a few bites. If they don't like it then don't push it any longer. Introduce the food again next week, the week after that, etc. After three or four times and it's still still not being accepted then drop it for a while. Trying to introduce new foods is better accepted when introduced with other foods that they enjoy. Also, if you sit there at the table and try to force your kids to eat food then it turns into a negative experience.

I've also seen kids that want to try foods and then their parents say, "No, you won't like it". That sets them up with a bad attitude right there.

Younger kids tend to like foods that they can pick up and eat. Fun shapes are attractive. Raw veggies are sometimes better accepted than cooked because cooking foods concentrate the flavor. The raw veggies can be much milder.

What about healthy and yummy dips for veggies? It might encourage the child to eat the veggies if they can dip it in something good. Now this may be too much work for many people, but planting some vegetables is a great thing. It has been shown that kids who help grow their food, take pride in it and want to eat it.

You also need to be eating the same foods that you are trying to get the child to eat to be a good example.

Most of this is textbook knowledge, but I'm sure that it works in real world scenerios too!

[ikkin510]

A friend of mine will mash up veggies like carrots and mix the right in with the mashed potatos since her kids love them. She tells them they are potato sprinkles and the kids will eat that.

[WBandMe]

At my grandma's house the rule was if you don't take at least a teaspoon of something then you have to eat a tablespoon of it, heh. I wasn't a horribly picky eater but there were some vegetables I didn't like until I got older, like broccoli. I think I got that one because they made it fun for me.. "you're not eating broccoli, you're eating little trees and they feel funny on your tongue!" .. I wanted to try the little trees, and after a few of them I learned to like the taste too. FH had a rule at his house that they could get whatever cereal they wanted as long as there was fiber in it. I think by breaking up the rules it makes it easier for kids... for example, cereal you can have whatever you want as long as it has fiber... lunch you can have mac n cheese or whatever as long as you have fruit with it. Dinner, make vegetables a priority. I know it's best for them to have it balanced at every meal, but that's overwhelming for a little kid. I also like the idea of sneaking good foods into fun ones.