Stuck on Mac and Cheese!

[coopers_mommy]

DS is 18 months old and has pretty much always been a GREAT eater.  With the occasional persuasion of new foods, he is normally a pretty easy going kiddo.  Recently though we've been having problems getting him to eat anything but mac and cheese or his morning banana pancake with yogurt.  Yesterday after dinner we felt do defeated about the whole eating thing!

Here are my questions: 

Can someone give me good finger foods that he can feed himself that are nutritious and better than mac and cheese (I'm hating myself for ever introducing it now!)?

In a normal day, when and what do you give for snacks?  I think we have been "that" parent that gives their kid anythign they want to eat during the day and then dinner is awful! 

He's not a fan of beans (I don't know why cause we love them!), so I was thinking about doing tofu but have never made it before.  Any advice?

Does anyone have some advice on introducing the new foods to him?  He's so strong and has such a good spit reflex     that new foods come right back out even if we get them in! 

And lastly, when do you start saying "This is what is for dinner.  I'm not making 3 other meals for you, so eat this, or there wont be anything to eat" ?

Thanks in advance for you help!

[Sarah - Enfys' Mum]

To be honest, I've always only offered Enfys one dinner.  There are probably three things on her plate, one of which I'm sure she'll eat, and the others, well, they're toddlers aren't they and live on air LOL.  If she doesn't eat anything, well, she waits until the next meal or snack time.  Meal times are one of the ways toddlers assert their independence, so just keep cool and I'm sure he'll come out of it.
Does he eat fruit?  Bananas?  Enfys loves cherry tomatoes, grapes, oatcakes are a huge hit, I put peanut butter, cream cheese, hummus on them and she gobbles them up.  Have you tried pasta in tomato sauce?  I make bolognese sauce in the slow cooker, with a lot of beef in it, we have it with pasta and Enfys just eats the sauce!  Will he eat toast?  You can spread loads of things on toast. 

[lyndsy_p]

I agree with Sarah. We only offer her what we're having for dinner and I don't sabatoge it by making something I know she'll hate. But we certainly don't eat mac n cheese. Graesha is 18mo as well and we started this around the 16mo mark because we felt like we were slipping into the "keep offering until she eats something" trap. She didn't starve, yours wont either.

He's asserting his independance. Just offer healthy, reasonable choices and he will oblige.

[Dree]

There is nothing wrong with mac and cheese. My DD is a big fan as well. Do you make it from scratch or is it from a box?. I make my from scratch and add veggies to the mix. Anything from cauliflower to broccoli to sweet potato. That way I feel good about it and at the same time she is eating a nutritional meal.

Have you tried a grilled cheese sandwich ? I make my with a layer of sweet potato. I cut it up in bite sized pieces and she eats by herself. Or how about grocery store chicken nuggets. I cut them up in 4 and give my dd honey or honey mustard or even a bit of ketchup for dip. She loves it.

Dree 

[Diana1981]

My ds used to be a good eater, now he is kinda living on air and milk 
For snacks, he usually has yogurth, banana, crackers with cream cheese, oatmeal bar, sweet plantain, etc. For lunch he eats what we have and dinner its soup most of the time....
I tried giving mac and cheese once I HATED IT!!! came flying right out his mouth. 

[tylersmommy]

We've only been offering one dinner since Mackenzie was about 18-20 mo. Sometimes I know I'm making something she or my older kiddo don't like. If that's the case, then I'll put a couple bites on their plate and just ask them to eat that small bit, then they can have something simple like a bowl of cereal or a sandwich. I don't make a whole other meal for either of them.

I'm a big fan of sneaking healthy stuff into other foods. My older kiddo was on a big mac and cheese kick...only the boxed variety would do. I pureed a batch of steamed cauliflower, froze it into cubes, and dropped a cube in to cool it off after cooking. He never knew it was there, and it made me feel better about the mac and cheese. I've also done that with pureed sweet potato and pureed pumpkin.

For tofu, I used to just cut it into chunks and serve it that way. It has the consistency of soft mozzarella cheese. You can also bread it and fry it up but I never tried that. I'd also mash a bit up and spread a layer onto grilled cheese.

If you're really getting strong resistance to new foods, just try to get creative with what he does like. You can make pumpkin or sweet potato pancakes. You can stir all kinds of stuff into yogurt.

[coopers_mommy]

Thanks so much for all of the advice!  I think DH and I have agreed that we are from now on doing the "this is what is for dinner, nothing else" thing!  Last night we were so afraid of no success...but after limiting snacks in the afternoon and even water, he seemed hungry enough.  We also didn't allow the dinner to be all about him (worrying over how much he was eating), instead we talked and ate our meal while he ate his.  Last night I made an intense meal (meatloaf, mashed potatos, and veggies) and he ate all of it and then some!  He even ate his fruit....amazing! 

Thanks for the ideas with mac and cheese....I think I will still allow him it sometimes, but it will be added with purees!    And I like the sweet potato thing...I just need to learn how to cook all of this stuff now.

[Dree]

Personally, I choose small sweet potatoes, I peel them and cut them up and steam them. As for broccoli, cauliflower and carrots I cut them up and steam them separately. I mash each veggie separately and put them in ice cube trays and freeze them. Once frozen, I place the individual cubes in a zip lock bag. They are ready to go when needed. I usually make this every 2nd or 3rd weekend.

I sneak veggies in all her meals or at least I try to. I know alot of mommies say that they don't like to do that but I say at least she is eating veggies. Sometimes, I make it obvious that she is eating veggies some she just does not like unless it is sneaked in a meal...

I once made Jessica Seinfelds pink pancakes. Pancake mix and mashed beets. Not only did our dd eat, so did my husband. You should look at her book. It gave me alot of ideas and I still make her recipies.

Good Luck
Dree 

p.s Mine is stuck on cheese and toast or at least that is what she thinks she is eating...in reality it is cheese, toast and a veggie usually sweet potato. (what can I say it is a big hit in our house)

[Colin Macs Mom]

I once made Jessica Seinfelds pink pancakes. Pancake mix and mashed beets. Not only did our dd eat, so did my husband.

OMG those pancakes are TO DIE for!!!!!! Colin and I adore them, we'll eat tons. DH doesn't like them though, but that's fine, more for us!

[Dree]

Colin Mac's mom - Do you use maple syrup? We do but I once tried apple sauce on them and she loved it....Just an idea to try...

Coopers mommy - Any luck on the new ideas about steaming???

Dree 

[coopers_mommy]

I like the applesauce idea!  We were doing maple syrup...but I hate all the sugar that's in it! 

We have had much better success lately.  We've def cut out the random snacking throughout the day.  We have set snack times just like we do meal times.  It has really helped him be eager to have dinner! 

The veggies are still a no go.  It's weird though, he was in a stage about a month ago where he LOVED veggies...that's all he would eat.  We've tried the past few nights with different veggies, some mixed in with the food, others by themselves with no success.  So I told DH that I'm getting the Jessica Sienfield book!  I also think I'm going to find ways to puree the veggies and make a good sauce for noodles and rice.  Then he'll be surprised! 

I'm goign to try the pancakes you talked about too....not sure how DH would like them...but I'm interested to try and see!

[nwmm]

I am not adding very much, but I like the Jessica S. book even for me as an adult.  I just like that I get an extra "serving" that I might not normally get in even if I am chasing around the house.  There are some nights, I might not get dinner in if I am feeding a toddler and a baby by myself.  Like the book says, you can always serve the veggies as a side so the child knows he/she still needs to eat the veggies.

Smoothies can be fun and you can throw just about anything in them.

"They" say, if you lo helps you cook/make the meal they will feel pride and want to eat it as well.  Not that I always have my lo "help" me, but I do often think of ways they can help and they do seem to eat more.

[Colin Macs Mom]

Dree, I have used just a touch of syrup but I will definitely try the applesauce!

[Dree]

Whenever possible, I try to limit sugary things like maple syrup. She loved it too much the first time she tried it that I thought why not try some applesauce and see how it goes. Another thing she seems to love is ketchup. I actually prefer a bit of honey or honey mustard when my dd eats nuggets or wants to dip. But, if she wants ketchup I will give in. But, I try to limit it and pray that she won't have a tantrum. She has been having those lately. I try to pick my battles though. Anyone else ??

Dree 

P.S Let me know how the J.S recipes go. They helped us. 

[coopers_mommy]

We are def picking our battles these days!  Although I am deciding that if I say no to something, even the small things, I have to follow through with it and not give in....it's so hard to do!

The veggies are coming around.  Tonight he actually wanted to eat some of our salad and then ate a good amount of shepherds pie.  I'm thinking he's feeling better from the teething of his molars that he recently went through!