if he would only eat sandwhiches my life would be easier..

[*Jo*]

or fruit or vege... but nope he doesnt. I almost literally have to COOK lunches as well as dinners cos he doesnt just eat the simple things. If i want him to have fruit i have to make a smoothie or a fruit pancake. If i want him to eat vegies I have to hide it in some sort of cooked up concoction, like scrambled eggs with carrot in it.

He at least used to love carrots and a few other veges, will not and has not eaten fruit no matter how many times I offer it to him. But the thing that really gets me is he wont eat sandwhiches. its soooo hard to plan lunches when we go out, if he would eat sandwhiches my lunchtime life would be so much easier. I get so stuck for ideas for lunches. i end up usually making pancakes and bringing them with us and he eats them cold, which is fine but I almost have to do this 3-4 times a week adn its just not ideal, it still means I have to cook something up. I am cooking up food for lunches nearly every single day. As soon as I show the sandwhiches to him he says "No" and pushes it away.

Its almost exhausting. I dont stress if he doesnt eat it, i just simply give him something else knowing that I have offered it to him at least but Im just praying and waiting for the day he will eat some fruit, some veges, some SANDWHICHES!!!

what else can I do for lunches that doesnt involve me standing at the oven?

[MLK]

My older son was like that, he didn't eat sandwiches till he was 4! He lived off cheese on toast for lunch pretty much. But he did eat fruit, no vegies though!

He is now 6 and starting to refuse sandwiches again, which makes school lunches really frustrating...

Cheese on toast, cold meat? Pureed fruit packs (DS2 loves the Goulbourn Valley ones?) what about a deconstructed sandwich - filling and bread and butter separate?

[*Jo*]

tried all those things, doesnt like any of them. He will eat toast with honey on it or peanut butter but thats it and I cant give him that every single day and I have to make it right before he eats it as he wont eat it cold so cant take it away with us if we go on an outing. I usually end up going to a shop and buying him a muffin for lunch if we are out cos Im just so lost as to what to bring that I know he will eat

[MLK]

Could you cook up a batch of sweet as well as savoury muffins and put them in the freezer? Then take one out in the morning nand it's ready for lunch.

Yoghurts? Cheese cubes? Cheesymite rolls?

IT might also be a texture thing so what about rice cakes or cruskits with toppings?

[*Jo*]

he cant have dairy, has an intolerance. but we do soy yoghurt on occasion, its just really expensive. also tried cruskits, doesnt like them, he doesnt mind rice cakes so much but they arent really that filling for him for lunch I dont think, or maybe Im thinking he needs to eat more than he actually does. Its just that when he does eat something he eats alot of it, for example he eats two whole peices of toast, which is the same amount as what I eat!

I might try the savoury muffins though, thats not a bad idea. I do make carrot cake and banana cake and he loves those

[MLK]

I know this is stil cooking but you can make frittatas ahead and bring them along to be eaten cold. Just beat up the eggs, add the ingredients (eg grated veg, chopped bacon), pour into muffin tins and bake.

[koe2moe]

it's so tough.  would he eat rice balls?  sushis?  put some fish inside?  DS 2 days ago pointed at the rice cooker after his nap, managed to press the right thing to open it and point point point.  He ate a whole chunk of cold rice.  

what about meatballs?  make big batch and freeze into small portions?  here you can buy premade pancakes and store in the fridge.  Lots of kids live on those.  Just microwave and add whatever toppings.  

would he eat leftovers??  Fried chicken pieces, or sausages? 

[sianie]

Hi!

Does he like Pitta bread? DD loves pitta bread pockets with various fillings (houmous, salad etc) + really quick & easy to make.

Have you tried vegetables with dips to encourage him to eat them?

Savoury muffins are a good idea & a good way of getting some veges into him!

[sianie]

Oooo, also what about wraps? (we call them tortilla wraps here..)

[*Jo*]

tried meatballs, not interested, he used to eat rice so i would make fried rice with some meat and veges in it but hes gone off it, might try again though. I could try the frittatas, he seems to love corn fritters, he does love corn, eats it straight off the cobb which is great! have tried veges with dips, not interested. the only time that worked was when we were at a restaurant and he tried fish bites and we put lemon sauce on the plate and he dipped the fish bites in that and loved it, tried it at home with the veges and nope.

Wraps would be messy wouldnt they??

Im also worried about making lots of pancakes, muffins and cake type things because even if I do put veges in them theres still a load of sugar that he wouldnt normally have if he just ate veges or sandwhiches KWIM?

[<Catherine>]

Ollie wont eat sandwiches either. He's not quite so bad though as he doesnt flat out refuse them, he will have the odd bite but that's about it. He's limited with what fruit and veggies he will eat too, but it's a texture and feel thing with him - mainly with what he will hold too. He'll eat any veggies as long as they are cooked and soft and part of a meal.

Will Caleb eat soup? This has really worked with Ollie, I tear up pieces of bread and put them in the soup and he'll eat that really well, and LOVES vegetable soup so getting the veggies in too. He'll also sometimes hold a bit of bread and eat that at the same time - why he'll do this then and not any other time, I have no idea! I guess soup doesn't really help with the outings problem though, unless you take it in a flask I suppose? Or if he'll eat it cold? Not sure Ollie would though.

It's hard work isn't it Jo? As Ollie doesnt completely refuse a sandwich I am perservering with them and just making sure he fills up on yogurt or fruit or whatever afterwards if he doesnt eat much of the sandwich, I too had got to the point where I was having to cook for EVERY mealtime.

Sorry I havent got more suggestions, kinda in the same boat really. x

[MLK]

When I say frittatas and savoury panckes - I mean NO SUGAR ones. So they really are savoury! bacon or ham adds a nice flavour to them if you use that.

Corn kernels would go well i nthe frittatas, you coudl add grated carrot or sweet potato or zucchini to the muffins or frittatas, plus chopped bacon, chopped chicken or even tinned fish.

[*Jo*]

yep i have a pancake recipe i could use! its one cup of sr flour, 1 cup of milk, 1 egg and a pinch of salt, so if i had grated carrot and some bacon or ham that would taste nice???

Cath - he only eats one soup, one that I made up and he LOVES it, in fact its a garaunteed meal so when Im desperate or hes sick I make it, I tried adding grated carrot to it last week and guess what! he refused it!! he tried picking out the carrot then gave up and pushed the whole thing away! the one meal I can rely on didnt even work! Ive tried all other soups, If i do get it in his mouth, he sticks his tongue back out and it all comes sliding back out again.. *sigh*

I just wonder if theres a point where you say enough is enough, you have to eat what I give you, however I doubt that would work with Caleb, once hes decided something thats it (hence the no fruit for the past 18 months even though we try!)

[<Catherine>]

Sounds like I have it A LOT easier with Ollie, Caleb is clearing a guy who knows what he wants!!

The pancakes sound good, I might give those a go.

*clearly, I meant clearly!

[sianie]

Wraps aren't too messy....depends what you put in them! Really versatile as you can add any filling you want & can be hot or cold.

[Mom to M&M]

Just lurking for ideas. In same boat...

[koe2moe]

I do wonder what if you don't keep offering things that he would eat.  I mean you have sandwiches, he pushes them away, and then you say.  It's fine. You don't have to eat them.  Then nothing else until snack time.  I wonder how that might go.  I think for kids who are happy to go hungry, this strategy won't work.  But I imagine if he knows he can choose, then he would continue to be picky.  Just a thought.

Dutch pancakes, you can use the same batter that is in your recipe.  Pour the batter in the pan, when it's half cooked, you can place ham/bacon/cheese onto the top.  Flip it over and continue to cook.  When the cheese and/or bacon are really crispy, it's super nice!   

[*Jo*]

I thought of that, but hes happy to go hungry till the next offer of whatever he wants, however he will stand at the pantry door and whine and moan. I dont give in to that but he still does it anyway. I might try the dutch pancakes in a few days, i tried the pancakes with apple, pear and cinnamon mixed in and he loved them today!

Hes definately teething those back molars though adn I understand his pain as my wisdom tooth is giving me horrid pain at the moment that not even Nurofen plus is getting rid of

[kayra]

have you tried cutting the sandwiches into quarters so that one bit is done in about 2 bites, cut off the crusts etc?
toasted sandwiches? DS likes them because they're more squashed so easier to bite etc, plus the cheese in it is melted, again less effort while chewing.

[*Jo*]

I tried making sandwhiches today in the shape of a goat (cookie cutter) and he just played with it! lol then squashed it and left the table.....

[koe2moe]

what's his utmost favourite?? For DS, it's tractors, excavators and fire engines type things.  I mean if sandwiches are that shape, would he try to eat it?  i'm thinking what might be quick lunches.  What about soup dipping with bread?  Spag from a tin??  We just had tomato soup which had a lot of penne in it and DS ate a lot and he also ate bread dipped in the soup.  (it's tinned soup, so it's fast)

[MLK]

If it's a texture thing no amount of fun shapes will entice him to eat sandwiches, in my experience.

[koe2moe]

That's true, Lan.  Would Caleb eat bread in general?