Why do toddlers prefer processed food?!

[creations]

Is it the salt that they like?  Or the texture?

I've never been big on processed foods and cook fresh vegetables, fish, poultry every day.  DS has always been a good eater, and will try almost everything but he clearly has a preference for shop bought fish-fingers and sausages.
I always offer him a piece of fresh fish, he will some times try it, rarely does he swallow it.  Yet he will gobble down two fish fingers (will also eat canned fish mixed through pasta or in a sandwich).  I bought them as a one off to try out and now I'm stuck buying them as it is one of those 'for sure' foods that I just know he will eat.  Same with sausages, I only buy turkey sausages so they are relatively good quality, low fat, but even so, why does he love them so much, he will eat a whole one but give him a chunk of fresh meat and he will either ignore it or chomp a bit then spit it out.
I've recently resorted to some of those silly shaped fish cakes that have potato and veg in them and I never imagined I would buy those.  He doesn't care about the shape, but did eat it.  So another source of protein that is processed/pre-packed.

Have you been in this situation?
What did you do?  Just go with it as you know he is getting a good variety of fruit and veg in addition to the processed protein or cut out the processed food to encourage him take the fresh food?  Did you add salt to your cooking to make the fish/meat tastier?
I feel a little torn between a mother's desire to feed her LO and my own 'better judgement' that fresh is better for him and that I want him to continue to be part of family meals and not be cooking something different for him.

[deb]

Salt, yes, but surprisingly a lot of sugar in many of those items. There is added fat in many of them as well, which isn't necessarily bad in and of itself - little ones NEED to have fat in their diets, as do most of us adults, come to that - but a lot of the fat in processed foods is trans-fats, which is the bad stuff. But fat is flavor and satiety and their little bodies and taste buds don't yet know the difference.

As much as possible, I'd hold out for the real thing. And make sure there's enough good fat in the food to make it all the more palatable.

[koe2moe]

There is indeed a lot more salt and even MSG type taste enhancers in processed foods.  I didnt try to give much processed foods in DS at the age of your LO.  I think seasonings are very important for them to start exploring and for enjoyment.  What would entice a child to eat other than tastes?  And if you keep getting him processed foods in order to get him eat, he knows he can always hold out for them.  

Perhaps you can try seasoning with things that naturally contain salt, instead of adding salt, like cheese.  And also the texture, a lot of kids like the crispiness of the breading of fish fingers.  You can make your own with fresh fish, just add some grated cheese and herbs into the bread crumbs to season it.  Or even cover fish with chopped nuts to add the crunch.  I think lemonthyme has a nice food blog for little people.  Might help to let his little tastebuds explore the world of yummies

[creations]

Thanks ladies.
The couple of things I've bought have no MSG, no sugar, no hydrogenated fat, are low in saturated fat and even the salt level isn't much higher per 100g than bread.  In this sense they are not the worst ever processed foods, but still, fish fingers are something I'd have once per year not once per fortnight which is what is happening now

I think you're totally right about the crispiness of the crumb outer on the fish fingers, I've even tried to emulate this kind of thing but with mixed success.  Fresh fish is just not wanted regardless of how I prepare it - there is definitely something about the fish in a fish finger that is more appealing than fresh fish.
Minced turkey breast (looking for a sausage substitute) - or rather whizzed in my blender and turned into burgers and meat balls is only marginally accepted.  I've used cheese to season food too, worked really well in making a low salt pate (he loves pate too) which I've made a couple of different versions of but it's the meat and fish that so so difficult.
I can successfully make bean burgers or bean/lentil 'meat loaves' which he will eat and things like falafel but this doesn't solve the meat/fish difficulty.

[EllenS]

I have struggled with this, and have fallen back on the mantra "they won't starve".  My kids are 5 and 3 now, and sometimes they don't like what's for dinner.  They may eat lightly one day and make up for it the next.  Of course, they are past the age now where they can't sleep without a big evening meal.  When our night's sleep was dependent on food intake, I would resort to a small number of goto foods that I felt OK about.  Sometimes DD1 ate scrambled eggs, banana and avocado 3-4 times a week!  I think texture is a big part of it, especially when all their teeth aren't in yet.
Good luck to you!

[koe2moe]

Do you mean you are struggling mainly with home cooked fish and meat?  I always make stews, not everyone's liking, I know but it works for us.  The meat becomes so tender, that DS loves and eats loads.  I have problems getting him to eat veggies, though.  What about chicken fingers? 

When salt sits in protein for a longer period of time, the texture becomes more compact, perhaps your LO prefers more dense texture than flaky like in fresh fish?  Would that be it, do you think?  If what you got is pretty decent, then stick with them.  If you want to change that, you would have to stop buying, I'm afraid.  He would just have a preference more set in.  If it helps somehow, these things are bound to change... it just fits in with toddlerhood!!   

[creations]

"they won't starve"

This I know for sure.
I don't mind him not eating protein every single day but I do start minding eventually, iyswim.

I wouldn't call him a fussy eater.  If he is teething you know it as he gets more fussy and will only want a little, or if it's really bad then he might totally skip a meal and just eat fruit - fine, that's teething.  When not teething he eats very well (VERY well), will try just about anything, he will even sometimes swallow a piece of something he clearly doesn't like almost like he is trying to be polite (although that can't really be the reason at this age) and then not eat any more of it.

I have problems getting him to eat veggies, though

DS would choose fruit over veggies but so long as I limit his fruit allowance he will eat tons of veg and a wide variety.  I don't have to hide them in anything and he doesn't need sauce or dips or anything on them.  There are a couple of things he clearly just does not like, broccoli and cauliflower to name 2, I don't offer them very often but do give him a try every so often so that he has the option to learn to like them.  Until recently he wouldn't eat potato unless it was chips (home made oven baked, like wedges) or roast, but recently he has started to eat first potato salad (the mayo/mustard dressing was what got him to eat them), then boiled potato with mint dressing (not the best dressing as it was shop bought so had some sugar in it!) and finally a boiled potato without any dressing or dip whatsoever.  So I know he is willing to try things.

Do you mean you are struggling mainly with home cooked fish and meat?

Yes.  There isn't a problem with veg, fruit, carbs (ok he doesn't like rice or cous cous but that must be a texture thing).
I make lots of stews too, although not so much in the summer.  He will eat every morsel of vegetables and dumplings and beans if the stew has bean in but he won't eat the meat.  He will sometimes give it a try but chances are it will be chewed and not eaten or he will only eat about a teaspoon worth which isn't a decent portion of meat if that's all he is getting for protein.

What about chicken fingers?

Assuming you mean home made - this is something I have not tried, so that is a brilliant idea and I will give it a go for sure.  I do kind of think that it will go the way of the breaded fish and once he realises what is inside he will refuse ot eat it, but it is certainly worth a shot.  Maybe I can marinade chicken breast in something before hand to make it tastier too.

When salt sits in protein for a longer period of time, the texture becomes more compact, perhaps your LO prefers more dense texture than flaky like in fresh fish?  Would that be it, do you think?

This is a really interesting idea.  It could be this yes.  He will eat canned fish though (mackerel in oil, tuna in oil) which is more flaky I think, mixed through pasta.

If you want to change that, you would have to stop buying, I'm afraid.

Yes I know.  But then his protein is limited to just beans and lentils.  So far I haven't cooked him up a separate fish finger whilst we are having fresh fish for example, I just give him a piece exactly the same as ours.  But I do end up planning a fish finger lunch or something just so I know he had some protein once in the week.
It's like with the bean burgers etc I make, I don't really eat those, I make them for him so he gets protein and I give them because he's gone days without protein.  He will have them either at his morning snack (which is like an early lunch) when I don't eat or for his supper (when I may or may not have a nibble with him).  These are not family meals.  The family meal I never make him a separate meal, I just make sure that the meal includes some thing I know he likes (in terms of veg and carbs).

If it helps somehow, these things are bound to change

Yes I'm sure it will.  He must eventually learn to like some fresh meat and fish.  I just do the worried mummy thing of wanting him to have a balanced diet.

Thanks x

[koe2moe]

Cooked fish in tins doesn't have that loose mushy texture unless you overcook it.  you can also make fish cakes, but it will still be breaded, or add in mash and then panfried.  He is still very young, their taste buds will mature and will enjoy more flavours.  Would he eat cheese and yoghurt?  Does he take milk?  Eggs?  Have you tried other kinds of meat?  Stewed lamb with spices and lentils hmmm  DS ate more than I do.  

Would it be the softness in stewed meat that he rejects?  try satay sticks?  cubed pork or chicken in a low sodium marinade?  Mashi shared with us a yoghurt chicken dish which uses yoghurt, garlic, salt and lemon juice to marinade chicken overnight, then panfry.  Grilled cheese with ham? hmm i am hungry LOL  

[creations]

Would he eat cheese and yoghurt?

He does have cheese, either blocks of or in sauce, or cream cheese in sauce etc.  Yoghurt he can't have as he refluxes.

Does he take milk?

Yes, he has about 150-180ml in the morning and I always offer a little at supper solids time but he only really takes a few sips of that.  He gets a little in his muesli for breakfast and a little in cooking, say pancakes.

Eggs?

At 6 months he would eat an entire egg (made like a fritata, with cheese and veg in it for example, or hard boiled) but he won't any more.  I think at 6 or 7 months he just ate anything put in front of him because he was SO hungry having some how survived on half the milk guidance amount of milk since birth.  But when he started to realise things tasted differently he decided he didn't like egg.  he gets hidden egg in pancakes or bean burgers but anything too eggy and he wont' eat it (some of the bean burgers I've made had been rejected for this reason).  It sounds like he is really fussy, he isn't.

Have you tried other kinds of meat?  Stewed lamb

I didn't eat meat other than fish and poultry for about 20 years and this remains my main source of protein but in the last couple of years I have started to occasionally eat a little lamb and pork.  It's rare though.  I have tried him with lamb, pork and beef (ie when Nana has beef in a restaurant she will give him a chunk) and he is the same, will sometimes try it but often spit it out or only take about a teaspoon worth.  Again at 6 months he gummed a piece of beef down to almost nothing, now he will just move it off his plate.

Would it be the softness in stewed meat that he rejects?

He's the same with roasted meat or griddled (say a chicken steak).  There was a very brief phase when he would eat roasted meat if it was in really super thin slices, but that was a good while back now.  An even briefer phase he ate prawns (two meals then never again) but even then it was only 1 or 2 prawns.

You have so many wonderful ideas I feel terrible for saying, 'yes tried that, tried that'.
I appreciate your help and thoughts.  It seems silly that with such a good eater I am resorting to processed protein especially as I enjoy cooking too.  I think I'll just have to keep offering to him and whenever my mummy-worry gets the better of me shove a fish finger in front of him.  I am sure at some point he must start to like meat, I mean he hated the potatoes until now, that's a full 11 months of only eating potato if it was chips/wedges/roast/sauted.
I am half tempted to use some salt just on fish/meat and see if it gets us anywhere, maybe it would give me a fighting chance against the supermarket fare   I don't use salt in the rest of my cooking so it's only bread, cheese and that sort of thing that is salted.

[koe2moe]

Use salt!  haha  sorry for only saying the obvious. 

[creations]

 

[koe2moe]

Hey, sorry to be back   but i wonder if you use the foods as invitation to play ideas.  Say you make your chicken/fish fingers/nuggets or whatever and place a picnic blanket in the living room or sit in the garden whatever appropriate, and see if he would accept it better? 

I tired it when DS was 2 but not to get him to eat but we were having a picnic out and I just panfried some fish fillets whole with other things.  He picked up the whole fillet and just ate it all!   Just an idea

[creations]

He picked up the whole fillet and just ate it all!

Hey that's really funny!

I'll certainly try this.  It would be a good thing to try when we go to Nana's house to play in the garden.  He has a play house, toddler sized table and chairs etc there and I think he might get into the whole swing of it all and just eat without thinking about what it is.  Even better if Nana, DP and I have the meal with him, he loves a sense of occasion.
We go for a picnic in the park (when the weather is good enough!) and this could also be a great time to try the meat and fish out.
Something tells me we'd need to take it out and about rather than at home.

Thanks!

(smoked salmon refusal today - I thought he liked smoked salmon!)

[koe2moe]

meh @ salmon refusal!!  You know what?  DS gulped it down but not sure if he still does.  I also think of something.  If you want to make fish finger, e.g., don't try to make it look like the ones you buy, because he might be disappointed expecting a certain taste.  I remember when I was a child, I would get really angry and offended when I was offered some food and be told it was X but turned out it was Y.

Have fun anyways!

[Lemonthyme]

To be honest, I don't buy it all.  I tried my son on fish fingers a few times when he was about a year old but he didn't seem bothered. 

To be honest what does it matter if he eats 'really well' or just a bit?  So many of these things are really easy to make at home with ingredients you'd like them to eat, so I'd give it a go personally.  It's one of those self reinforcing things IMO, if you always give processed food because your child will eat it, they will always want processed food.

One of my friends is trying to get me to launch Mamacook ready meals for toddlers at the moment.  It's a fun idea but it's frankly easy to do it at home!

If you are worried and wanting to do some 'hidden' protein in a meal, this is a good one:

http://mamacook.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/salmon-and-spinach-fishcakes-for-babies.html

Or as he's fine with sausages, have you tried mini meatloaves?

http://mamacook.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/meatloaf-for-babies-and-toddlers.html