beans beans beans!

[*Becky*]

 DS loves baked beans it seems - if he even spies a tin he will shout 'beans' and run around the kitchen with joy at the thought of them
When he first ate them I was really pleased but now he expects that beans will be every meal 
I have used this to my advantage by mixing them with scrambled egg and other food he does not want to try but I cannot just give him baked beans.
I guess I am looking for some ideas as to how I can move him onto something else.
For lunch he tends to have finger foods as we are often out and about but I like him to have something  more substantial and ideally hot in the evening. He is getting very picky. Any ideas?
bx

[anna*]

Personally, I would hide all the baked beans cans, show him the last one, finished and empty, have him throw the can away, beans all gone now, and then next meal it's time to have something else.

[brenda2]

yes that usually works for us too.  we tell her all gone, we have to buy more at the store.

my MIL also makes a really delicious lasagna with baked beans, so you could make something like that for the dinner meal.

[*Liz*]

Sigh. They do get these silly ideas and fixations don't they?

Perhaps you could persuade him to give some of his enthusiasm to J? I would LOVE him to eat beans  .

J is very picky and goes through days like this with various things - I tend to find that if I hide the offending item then he is less likely to reject the offered meal ie no bread on the worksurface, or no visible biscuit tin.

So yep - hide them and just offer something else. And only give them back again when he is having meals without them - then he can have them a normal number of times a week.

It is worth doing it as otherwise he will likely get bored and reject them anyway - then you lose a valuable food (especially for mixing with other stuff you want them to eat). I've done this SO many times by just letting him have it  .

[anna*]

Becky, Sorry I can't remember exactly how old Henry is but I thought I'd share the way I encourage Stan to taste new foods, in case it helps. We always follow the exact same sequence of steps, and I go nuts with praise if he gets to the last step. He only gets his dessert (fruit or yoghurt) if he has tasted each different food on his plate.

We each have some of the new (or currently being rejected) food on our own plate, and we both do the steps together.

Step one is pick up a small piece of food in your fingers and I say if it is hot, cold, squashy, crunchy etc.
Step two is kiss the food
Step three is to stick your tongue out and touch the piece of food to your tongue a few times
Step four is to put it in your mouth and take it out again, in and out, in and out.
Step five is to bite and chew the piece of food.

This sequence works really well for us, having been doing it for a while Stan now knows all the steps and can do them by himself if he is feeling unsure about a particular food. He will often get to step 5, bite, chew and swallow the new food, and then repeat all the steps again. I talk to him about different textures and tastes as we are eating, to try and make them a positive thing. If he has tasted a new food and doesn't like it (or, bizarrely, says he likes it but says he doesn't want to eat it), that is fine.

Keep in mind that you may need to offer a new food 10-20 times before it enters his repetoire of accepted foods. So even if he refuses to taste it, still offer it again (this is particularly true for the staples that you frequently eat in your house). The other thing I try to do is, if he eats a new food, to serve it again very soon after, and again soon after that, to try to 'cement' his familiarity and enjoyment of it.

[mum101]

DS became fixated with sweets in the cupboard, even though they were out of sight and reach, he quickly learnt they were in the green container up high (DD has one small sweet a day if she remembers and wants one - this totally fixed her obsession with eating masses of junk food at parties, and asking for food ALL day).  However Leo started to ask for them all day, and refuse other good foods so I packed them all in a box hidden in the cupboard and asked DD to only have a sweet while DS is asleep for a while. 

It's been a few days, and now he is back to eating more range of foods and no tantrums at the pantry. He can be quite the fusspot so I'm glad this worked so quickly.

If it's a problem food, take it away. You can re-introduce it later. 

[*Becky*]

ok thanks. I was so pleased at first as it was a new food and he likes it and it was pretty healthy so all three boxes ticked but yes now he just wants beans all the time. Ok will hide them. I do try other stuff. Last night I tried pasta with a tomato sauce and it was refused. We just seem to waste so much.
Thanks for the tips Anna - Henry is 16.5 months. I will try this.
Becky x

[*Liz*]

We waste loads as well - but what can you do?!

[anna*]

Oh right... yes, the point about waste reminded me. Tiny portions. It's really easy to overface them. TINY portions are more manageable for them, less annoying to chuck away untouched, and increase the possibility of asking for more!

[*Becky*]

...going to try a toasted tuna muffin tonight. Think positive - he will like it, he will like it!

[*Becky*]

Thanks Anna - good point. x

[mum101]

I agree with small portions, less waste too. I give the kids steamed carrots and beans when I have them, but only ever put one on the plate as it's wasted most times.
If I want them to eat more, I put the food in the middle of the table and they pick themselves. They get greedy and don't realise how much they've eaten!   

[CCCmom27]

I too have a picky eater who only wants the same things over and over.  I love your steps Anna!  I'm going to print them out and try them tomorrow!  I had him crunching steamed peas tonight but he wouldn't swallow them just put it back on his plate to get another one to 'crunch.'

[anna*]

CCCmom, that's fine. I know it's not good 'manners', and we want them to just EAT the stuff, but getting used to the taste and texture etc is such a good step and should really be praised... and followed up with 'can you use your teeth to chew it?' Once they're chewing with their molars (as opposed to biting with incisors) it usually follows with a swallow. But definitely praise for even putting a new/previously rejected food in their mouth.

[Me.and.my.two.boys]

anna, ds is going through a stage so i will take note of your steps too. thanks. tiny portions is a good idea and then at least if they like it you can always make more and none wasted!!