So here we are, with two conundra. They're classics, certainly not unique, but like so much of parenting, we still have to figure out what to do.
1) How to get her to eat a balanced diet?
2) How to avoid preparing multiple meals?
I'm learning various tricks to get Grace to eat vegetables and fruit, but since she doesn't have many teeth, it's hard to bite and chew many of them. Even things that seem soft aren't when you consider a mostly toothless baby. And did I mention that she's not crazy about green vegetables? She likes the spinach pancakes Becky suggested and she'll sometimes eat a few pieces of the vegetable du jour, but she doesn't anything close to a serving. She'll eat a little dried fruit and sometimes other fruits if I cook them, but she'd rather eat buttered pasta and crackers and cheese and cheerios and maybe some meats. Repeat. Because she eats, no devours, yogurt for breakfast, I can often sneak in veggies by alternating, but she will sometimes close her mouth and turn up her nose when she's the spoon go in the green stuff.
The other issue is that, although she's supposed to be eating whatever the rest of the family is eating around the time she's 1, we're not even close to that happening. She can't eat seafood yet, which we eat more often than I realized. I can't really feed her salad, which is our main course at least once a week. I can give her the veggies, but ultimately end up giving her some kind of carbs to get her to quit hollering and at least eat something. So, it's turning out that most days she eats some of our dinner and I have to cook at least one separate thing for her. (And then battle with her about eating it... I don't want to battle, I know I shouldn't, but we are still concerned about her weight. plus I just don't feel okay about her subsisting on carbs, cheese, chicken and milk. And, since I'm on the subject, what's with insisting on feeding herself for 10 minutes and then deciding she'll only eat if I feed her, piece by piece, or vice versa? )
I'm trying to be very zen about all this. Trying so hard. I've heard the thing pedis say about looking at a balanced diet over a week rather than on any given day. And it's finally not that she won't eat. She really likes to eat, but only what she wants. The nutritionist we saw when she was refusing solids said "you decide what she eats, she decides how much." What if "how much" is none?
Remember how we all swore we wouldn't let our kids be picky eaters, wouldn't have food battles, and wouldn't make multiple meals, etc.? Humble pie. Sigh. Any advice, secret veggie tricks, not spending half the day in the kitchen tips?
Honestly, it sounds like you're doing all the right things. Eating habits seem to change constantly. In fact, I remember Emma getting more picky after she turned 1. But that's reversed now, and she's adventurous again.
ReplyDeleteShe still has a hard time eating any meat at all, so I have to fight to get her protein in. Most of her meals are carb-loaded, but she's pretty good about most vegetables and fruit. I'm not sure if Grace is old enough yet, but a couple tricks that really helped us adding new vegetables is to use dipping sauce. This can be ketchup or ranch dressing, or hummus, or even yogurt etc. I make a big deal out of offering "dip-dip" for her veggies and show her how to do it and most of the time, it works. I also put a smidge of butter & salt on veggies - girlfriend likes flavor!
At 2.5, we're not even close to having her eat what the rest of us eat. Many nights, it's still mac-n-cheese, frozen peas and some fruit. Yogurt if she's still hungry. A hot dog if I feel like it. But I have a rule that if she doesn't eat what we eat (or some healthy portion of it...again, no meat) then she has a choice between cereal and a PB&J. That's it. They're easy to make, and I feel ok giving in because she eats and tries most things.
Hope this helps! There's also Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook? :)
The reassurance definitely helps. And I like the "dip-dip" idea! I heard of a similar book called the Sneaky Chef, which seems like a great system... but only if Steve and I eat that stuff, too, right? Anyway, thank you! Knowing that I'm not alone with the picky/crazy eating is good.
ReplyDeleteErika's response is pretty much on the nose. Mei-Lin was/is a mostly adventurous eater. At that age, I could top anything with yogurt and she loved it. She can't do spicy but she's pretty much always ate what we ate, didn't have a chicken nugget or a hot dog until daycare. Kei Li...not so much, it's a battle every night but for the most part she eats what we eat. Some kids just have a more sensitive/picky palate. Ryan is famous for only eating PB&J for lunch and dinner from 18 months to 4 yrs, at which point he added bologna into the mix.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, dip works as does a simple cheese sauce over pasta with peas or broccoli. I have also been able to sneak veggies into risotto (minus the wine) with plenty of parmesan. I also like a lot of Annabel Karmel's veggie side recipes (you freeze them in ice cube trays and reheat as needed) but Miss Grace will have to like potatoes because almost everything has potatoes as a binder.
Best of luck! Don't stress too much, there will be lots of ups and downs with her diet in the coming years that will truly try your patience.