Author Topic: Beyond Fed Up - 2 years 8months eating  (Read 31445 times)

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Offline Erin M

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Re: Beyond Fed Up - 2 years 8months eating
« Reply #90 on: May 16, 2012, 12:37:46 pm »
That's too funny about the pasta sauce, you'd think he's just eat them the regular way then!  Hope he starts eating something new soon!

Offline Mom to M&M

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Re: Beyond Fed Up - 2 years 8months eating
« Reply #91 on: May 16, 2012, 15:54:18 pm »
I hope so - I miss him eating fresh fruits and he won't even eat broccoli pancakes anymore, which he used to love. Thank goodness he loves things like pistachios and roasted chickpeas for snacks!
Karen: Proud Mama to Marisa (8-11-05) and Matthew (6-5-09) and happily married to my best friend and love of my life since 10-13-01

Offline Mom to M&M

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Re: Beyond Fed Up - 2 years 8months eating
« Reply #92 on: May 16, 2012, 19:22:52 pm »
Just thought I'd post an updated list of what he's currently eating. If anyone has ideas for how to best expand based on this let me know, thanks!

Bagels (toasted whole wheat with Earth Balance spread)
pancakes (homemade - dairy free and containing ground oats, whole wheat pastry flour and ground nuts)
challah french toast (homemade and extra eggy)
waffles (multigrain)
french toast sticks
dry cereal
bacon (sometimes)
pizza (homemade and with chopped spinach and/or mushrooms)
pasta (whole wheat and usually with either meat sauce or chopped veggies and red sauce)
grilled cheese sandwich (goat cheese on whole grain bread)
hot dogs (cut into dimes, I use organic/uncured dogs)
soy yogurt
chicken nuggets (can be homemade)
meatballs (homemade and with chopped or pureed veggies included)
sweet potato "fries"
applesauce
roasted chickpeas
pistachio nuts
whole wheat crackers
graham crackers
breakfast cookies
animal crackers
pretzel sticks
Z bars (kids whole grain energy bars, organic)
ice pops

Drinks: water or "juice" which I make by blending a tiny bit of apple juice with lots of water and avocado, strawberries, blueberries, banana and sometimes spinach
Karen: Proud Mama to Marisa (8-11-05) and Matthew (6-5-09) and happily married to my best friend and love of my life since 10-13-01

Offline Katet

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Re: Beyond Fed Up - 2 years 8months eating
« Reply #93 on: May 16, 2012, 21:01:06 pm »
Karen this probably isn't what you want to hear, but I don't think it is that bad a list (by comparison to what DS1 ate at 2.5yo) & I think possibly part of what makes it hard for you is that your DD ate much more variety. Yes there isn't much in the way of Fruit & Veg there, which would also frustrate me, but from a BTDT chipping away we have got to the point that DS1 does eat most things.

For us what really has worked is the 4 thing rule, where I'd put at least 5 things on the plate every day. So I'd serve up a dinner plate & if DH & I were having say casserole & rice, I'd put those 2 on (mainly just the meat chunks kind of thing) & then say some grapes or carrot sticks, half a slice of bread & green beens or grated cheese DS1 would have to eat or at least try 4 things on the plate before he could get more of a prefered food. I still do this with DS2 & last night we had Osso Buco & Mash, with extra veg... DS2 had the meat, mash (doesn't eat potato, but still gets it) , some pasta, green beans & cauliflower. So he ate all except the potato, but we've been doing that for a long time, so kind of like it just becomes a habit, but in the early days of trying it (when DS1 was about 2yo) it was like sleep training, it was hard to get him to understand that to have a "filling" serve of pasta he needed to eat a meatball, some cheese & some apple. 
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Offline Mom to M&M

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Re: Beyond Fed Up - 2 years 8months eating
« Reply #94 on: May 16, 2012, 21:07:59 pm »
Oh and add roasted potatoes (sometimes) to that list.

Kate, I realize it isn't a BAD list. But it's not great either and not really improving. And it makes dinner some nights REALLY hard. I've tried doing the 4-5 things on a plate but DS will just eat the 1-2 things he likes, ask for more and when I ask him to try the others refuse and rather be all done, even if he's still hungry.
Karen: Proud Mama to Marisa (8-11-05) and Matthew (6-5-09) and happily married to my best friend and love of my life since 10-13-01

Offline Katet

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Re: Beyond Fed Up - 2 years 8months eating
« Reply #95 on: May 16, 2012, 21:26:15 pm »
So what do you do when he says he is all done. Do you matter of fact do the whole "that is the rule" or do you give him more of a prefered food. If you think of it like sleep training, every time you don't keep to 'script' you make it harder on both of you. Maybe you need to start with 3 things & say "you know the rules you need to have eaten 3 things" Also key is to make sure that only a few meals a week are the 'rule' so that it isn't about going hungry every day. So you can make up the foods by a spoonful of apple sauce or some chickpeas, but on another day you do a food that is new.

Dinner sometimes was hard here, but I learnt how to use leftovers really well in the process &  also that grated cheese, 1/4 apple, a corn biscuit & a handful of ham & a carrot stick could make a reasonable dinner on the odd occasion it was needed, because there was no way a curry was reasonable dinner for my 2yo (who now says currys aren't 'hot enough' ;))
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Offline Mom to M&M

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Re: Beyond Fed Up - 2 years 8months eating
« Reply #96 on: May 16, 2012, 21:41:17 pm »
Nope I just say we need to try some of A or B and if he still refuses that's it and the meal is usually over then for him. Nothing more preferred is offered but I DO offer a bedtime snack (healthy) about 45-60 minutes later.

Dinner will be in 20 minutes and should be interesting. The rest of us are having crockpot mongolian beef, rice noodles and green beans. None of which DS eats. So along with those on his plate will be broccoli pancake (which he USED to eat) and I guess some applesauce.

Mmmmm now I'm craving vegetable curry!
Karen: Proud Mama to Marisa (8-11-05) and Matthew (6-5-09) and happily married to my best friend and love of my life since 10-13-01

Offline Katet

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Re: Beyond Fed Up - 2 years 8months eating
« Reply #97 on: May 16, 2012, 22:11:04 pm »
So is the bedtime snack something he will always eat, because I can see how that could impact dinner.

Maybe offer the dinner he didn't eat as the bedtime snack, if he knows he gets something else later then why bother, esp if you offer something from his prefered list as the bedtime snack, I know if I knew I'd get food an hour later I wouldn't want to bother with eating as much of something I didn't really want to eat. With my boys it has always been "that's it if you are still hungry then I will cut you up an apple or have a banana or carrot sticks, but nothing else is on offer if dinner isn't eaten" But now they are older & with sport etc Dinner is more like 7pm a few times a week... the kitchen is "closed" once the dinner table has been cleared, so if they don't want what is on offer they wait for breakfast.

Thinking about it if he used to eat Broccoli pancakes, that would probably what I offered as the bedtime snack & then offer him the dinner that you are having with say 2 crackers & a few pistacios on the side (that you know he will eat) & if he complains I'd just do the "you know the rules, you can have more of a prefered food when you have eaten 4 different things" & just repeat that message"
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Offline Shiv52

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Re: Beyond Fed Up - 2 years 8months eating
« Reply #98 on: May 16, 2012, 22:15:09 pm »
Karen, I agree with Kate.  I think it is time to step it up a notch.  I do think he has realised he can refuse dinner and then get something shortly after.  I would reoffer dinner or something less preferred at bedtime. 

I do think if you haven't seen any progress in terms of trying new foods then its time to push things a bit. 

Is he 3 now?





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Re: Beyond Fed Up - 2 years 8months eating
« Reply #99 on: May 16, 2012, 22:35:00 pm »
He'll be three at the beginning of June.

As expected he only had the applesauce. Steak, rice noodles and green beans were refused outright. The broccoli pancake shapes were touched but not tried. About to do bath and then offer bedtime snack - which yes has always been a SMALL portion of something I know he'll eat. So tonight I was planning to offer one breakfast cookie only (even though he'd prefer two). Do I still offer that AND the broccoli pancakes along with that? Only the broccoli pancakes and fruit? All of which I'm sure will be refused, leading to him going to bed REALLY hungry? He's always been the type to prefer to be starving hungry and screaming rather than eat something he doesn't want.
Karen: Proud Mama to Marisa (8-11-05) and Matthew (6-5-09) and happily married to my best friend and love of my life since 10-13-01

Offline Shiv52

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Re: Beyond Fed Up - 2 years 8months eating
« Reply #100 on: May 16, 2012, 22:40:27 pm »
I'd go with brocolli pancake and fruit. Sorry in bed and DH yapping to turn off my Phone but will be back tomorrow. At this age he wont be really hungry hun and I think he is one that is going to need to be hungry to try new things x





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Re: Beyond Fed Up - 2 years 8months eating
« Reply #101 on: May 16, 2012, 22:47:49 pm »
Ok thanks. About to throw them in the bath and then will offer the broccoli pancakes and banana and strawberries... Sigh.
Karen: Proud Mama to Marisa (8-11-05) and Matthew (6-5-09) and happily married to my best friend and love of my life since 10-13-01

Offline Mom to M&M

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Re: Beyond Fed Up - 2 years 8months eating
« Reply #102 on: May 16, 2012, 23:41:02 pm »
WOW!!!!! After the bath DD wanted some cereal. DS requested some too and I calmly told him that since he didn't eat dinner he could have the broccoli pancake shapes and/or a banana. At first he said no but then when he saw DD eating her cereal he asked again then he ate all 4 (small) broccoli pancake shapes!!!!! Didn't want the banana but I figured since he ate the applesauce earlier and all the broccoli shapes now I let him have a bit of dry cereal too (but not a ton). We also gave him lots of high fives for trying!
Karen: Proud Mama to Marisa (8-11-05) and Matthew (6-5-09) and happily married to my best friend and love of my life since 10-13-01

Offline Katet

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Re: Beyond Fed Up - 2 years 8months eating
« Reply #103 on: May 17, 2012, 04:14:46 am »
Yep it does work the simple rule of "well you didn't eat dinner"

Another thing is to have a tick off chart that shows the food groups & what needs to be eaten & so if they tick off all the processed carbs they can't have anymore until they tick off all the other boxes too. So for example it is expected in our house that DS1 has 5-6 serves of F &V a day & DS2 has 4-5... working towards the recommended 2 fruit & 5 veg by the time they are 10yo. So they have some stewed fruit with breakfast 1 fruit 1 veg at school & then 2-3 at dinner. On weekends they might ask for a carb food & I will say "after you have a piece of fruit, you haven't had one today"

Also think about the food he eats in a week, not a meal, he may go hungry a few nights, but no toddler will ever starve themselves... even if they don't eat for 3 days they will still be ok & he knows he is always going to get something he likes before bedtime there really is no motivation to eat anything he doesn't want to eat at dinner, the idea is to put them in the position that they see that the rules stick. These are the foods on offer & we can choose to eat or not eat. And there really is a huge difference from going hungry in the western world & really not eat

So tomorrow when he doesn't eat his dinner you offer it at the bedtime snack & say that the next day if his dinner doesn't get eaten at dinner time the left over dinner will be the ONLY snack he gets at bedtime, he won't get a breakfast cookie or cereal he will get his dinner because if he wasn't hungry enough to eat it then, then he really can't have been hungry & you aren't going to waste food.  Certainly I know if I had dinner out & it wasn't to my likeing I'd pick at it & then eat some prefered food later... which is exactly what he is doing KWIM. 
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Re: Beyond Fed Up - 2 years 8months eating
« Reply #104 on: May 17, 2012, 11:54:04 am »
I love the chart idea and have been toying with it for a while BUT I think he's too young yet. Maybe in a few more months?

I'm definitely not worried about him starving himself in terms of health. I just hate when he gets hungry and low blood sugar and turns crazed and mean! He takes after me that way LOL. But yea will just have to suck it up I guess. Tonight won't be an issue - we are all having whole wheat pasta (well gluten free pasta for me) with broccoli rabe and sundried tomatoes for me and DH, broccoli and mushrooms (chopped) for the kids.
Karen: Proud Mama to Marisa (8-11-05) and Matthew (6-5-09) and happily married to my best friend and love of my life since 10-13-01