I know for a fact that there are thousands of moms out there wondering the same thing. What on earth do I feed my child, and why on earth won't he eat it? Also the equally as popular, how on earth is he surviving on so little nourishment?
Mind bogglers. Questions I don't think anyone has the answer to. But we can all just do our best, and hope our kid survives the winter, right?
I know for my toddler, mealtime is fight time. It's see-if-I-can-trick-him-into-eating time. And people can say all they want "Let him watch you eat! Eat together!" or "Make it fun! Make the food fun shapes or sizes!" or "Try something he can play with while he eats it!" These are all bollocks.
I have got a kid that has a crazy fear of getting his hands dirty, who really, as it seems, does not have time to eat. He's got a pretty busy schedule, as it turns out. First he's got to pull out the entire basket of books and hand them to me one by one as I read them. All 52 of them. Then he puts those away, and insists on playing cars for a while, then blocks, then back to books, then perhaps a movie. I think in his mind, if he's not playing all-the-freaking-time, he's somehow getting behind.
Overachieving little bugger, always gotta multitask like his mom. I get it. It drives me bananas, but I get it.
Oliver started his solid-foods journey at 6 months old, and we decided to forgo the whole "purees and jars of baby food" scene, and skip straight to the solids. A method we discovered, called Baby Led Weaning. We absolutely LOVED it!
The principle of it, and I won't go into too much detail, is that you just start by giving baby super soft whole foods, the same as you or I would eat (without the salt or sugar) and let them eat it on their own. Even without teeth, they can gum pieces off, and you'd be amazed how good these tiny little squirts are at chewing! It's like they're born knowing how! Oliver took to it immediately.
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Baby led weaning isn't for everyone, but it was definitely for us, and I highly recommend giving it a try to see if it's right for you! Here are some resources to help you get started:
- Baby Led Weaning: The Mush Stops Here
- Baby Center Canada: Baby Led Weaning
- Baby Led Weaning: Helping your baby to love good food
And as easy as a time as we had with this, it was still tricky trying to get all of the food groups into him, since he obviously favoured some foods, and just simply would not eat others. The fruits department was easy. He would eat pretty much any kind put in front of him. Veggies were also pretty easy, assuming they were prepared correctly. But when it came time for starches and proteins, the challenge really began.
So after trial and error, here are a few foods that were really successful.
1. Hard-boiled egg yolks spread on whole wheat toast, cut up into small bite-sized squares
2. No-Egg French Toast (see recipe)
3. Sweet potato fries with cinnamon
4. Cheese + Vegetable Potato Pancakes (see recipe)
5. Whole wheat bow ties mixed with pureed butternut squash "sauce"
Those five staples pretty much carried us through, paired with basic things like cheese, yogurt, fruits and vegetables. Also, when he was closer to being 1 year old, we threw in some more snack-like foods, like Goldfish crackers, Honey-Nut Cheerios, and raisins.
Here are a couple of the recipes, if you want to give them a try!
No-Egg French Toast
Ingredients
- 1 ripe banana- 3 fl. oz. milk
- pinch cinnamon
- drop vanilla
- whole wheat bread, cut into squares
Directions
1. Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend well.2. Dip in pieces of bread, making sure the mixture coats them well on both sides.
3. Fry in a little bit of unsalted butter or oil over high heat until golden. Watch like a hawk!
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| We actually let Oliver "pick out" his first food at the grocery store. He went straight for the sweet potatoes. |
Cheese & Vegetable Potato Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 medium white potatoes- 1 medium carrot
- 3 oz. grated cheddar cheese
- 1 garlic clove (crushed)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp. whole wheat flour
- little olive oil
Directions
1. Peel and coarsely grate potatoes and carrot, then press with a kitchen towel to remove excess moisture.2. Combine grated ingredients with cheese, garlic, egg, and flour. Mix thoroughly.
3. Warm the oil in a frying pan. Press spoonfuls of mixture into the hot oil.
4. Fry on both sides until golden brown.
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Aww.
Once he became a "toddler" however, it's almost like his interest in eating just plummeted. I guess when he was a baby, it was the most interesting thing he did all day! But once he was running around, making car noises, stacking blocks and taking names, he really didn't see what was so important about this "eating" business.
Trust me kid, one day, you will.
Food is sort of my life.
So right now, the foods we find really successful are:
1. Scrambled eggs.
2. French toast with maple syrup.
3. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on whole wheat bread.
4. Pancakes.
5. Chicken or turkey, Thanksgiving style.
6. Peas, peas, and more peas.
7. Oatmeal mixed with apple sauce.
8. Crackers.
9. Cheerios.
10. All-fruit snacks.
11. Cheese.
12. Pretty much any fruit, but mainly kiwis, bananas, and apples.
13. Nutri-grain bars.
14. Granola.
15. Yogurt.
And of course, milk. This kid consumes milk faster than we can buy it. Just guzzles the stuff. Sometimes it's all he wants to eat.
And even though I've got that grand list of foods I can get this kid to eat, the key word is "get" him to eat. It's still a battle. We have to employ all sorts of tricks, like having a movie playing so he doesn't realize he's eating, not letting him out of the high-chair until he finishes his food, or giving him a fork to eat with (even pb+j. I told you this kid doesn't like to get his hands dirty.) And then sometimes it's just sneaking food into his mouth while he's literally running around. Because quite frankly, he just wouldn't eat otherwise.
Here's a recipe I'm loving right now, and Oliver's a big fan, too.
Toddler Muffins
from here.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened- 1/2 cup brown sugar, or to taste
- 2 large bananas, mashed
- 1 (4.5 ounce) jar baby food squash
- 2 carrots, grated
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup oat bran
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 24 mini muffin cups or 12 standard muffin cups.2. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Mix in the mashed bananas, squash, carrots, and eggs. Stir in the flour, oat bran, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt until just combined. Spoon the batter equally into the prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. Store at room temperature for up to two days, or freeze.
Oliver absolutely LOVES these things. And he can carry them around and munch on them to his heart's content. Sure he gets crumbs everywhere, but I don't really care since he's getting a great serving of starch and a bit of vegetables, and not too much sweetness. I love them too, but I have to refrain from eating them and try and save them for my monster, since I would probably just gobble them up whole.
So what are your toddlers eating! Please share any recipes you have, or tricks you've tried! I'd love to hear how you're getting your toddlers to eat, since it is truly a practiced art. If you're one of those moms whose so-and-so month old never eats, but is somehow gaining weight, you get a trophy in my book. Or a gold star. Whichever makes you feel better about it, because I think we all deserve a little recognition for our efforts!
Happy feeding!
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