Hardly eats meat, should I worry?

[Bex09]

Hi, my DD is a pretty good eater really and I can't complain. My only concern at the moment is that she isn't really a big fan of meat and never has been. She will eat any meat minced, so I think it is a texture thing maybe rather than taste yk? Recently she has got worse and even if I try to hide chopped meat in things she will spit it out. She loves bacon (although has started to even spit that out after chewing all the flavour out now) and sausages! But really not anything else, should I be worried? Also any tips on how I can encourage her to eat meat or other substitutes for protein and iron?

[Canwi]

Not very good with alternative foods, so will bump you and hope that others can help.

[CCCmom27]

DS1 is the same.  It started as a texture thing here I think and now I don't know what it is!  He does like taco beef though!  Does she eat beans?  That takes care of protein and iron that is missed by not eating meat.  DS eats a lot of bean burritos (he'd eat them 2x a day if I let him).  He also eats cheese/yogurt which is protein.   

[Bex09]

Thanks for the reply, I really think it is texture here too TBH. She does like beans yes so I will try to put those in things or as a side dish more. She also eats cheese and yogurt each day, so guess I don't need to worry too much. Not sure how I can increase her iron consumption though. Are beans high in iron do you know?

[CCCmom27]

Are beans high in iron do you know?

Yes. Some more than others I think.  I'm sure you can find a list online somewhere.  Spinach also has iron.  And I've heard to pair an iron rich food with one rich in vitamin C to aid in absorption...

[Bex09]

Great thanks, will give that a go too. Am hoping she grows out of it, time will tell I guess.

[We Three]

DD was never a big meat eater either as a younger one.  I used to put chicken into the food processor to make it almost like a paste, then I'd  mix it in with stuffing and make little balls out of it...she STILL loves that!  Calls them "dumplings".  She'd also eat chicken soup alot, I'd just mince the chicken up teeny, teeny tiny....like pulverized, kwim? And for some unknown reason, she would eat cheeseburgers. She'd likely eat anything that had cheese on it.   

Lots of iron in chickpeas (garbonzo beans) and the oatmeal I give dd has 30% of the iron she needs in a day...so do some label reading! Eggs are a great source of protein too...dd loves eggs in any form...esp hard boiled...so I make a batch and she eats them whole, maybe make egg salad with some, etc. 

 DD's favorite dinner is when I chop fresh baby spinach and cook it in with pastina (5 minutes is all it takes to be done).....a little parmesean  cheese on top and she is in heaven....and the spinach is a good iron source! Chop the spinach very tiny and try it! It's so good! Dh and I put tomatoes in ours too....! 

[Bex09]

Thanks, I didn't think of fortified cereal! Am sure DD's porridge has added iron. Will check the labels tomorrow. DD hates egg in any form, have tried all kinds of ways. Will try the spinach idea though thanks, sounds lovely. DD will eat meat if it is minced/whizzed in food processor and hidden in things e.g. curry or stew. I just worry that by this age she should be eating and chewing 'normal' meat though yk? I guess any way I can get her to eat it is better than not eating it though. How did you encourage your DD to get used to meat? Did you just keep offering it until she started to like it more?

[We Three]

 Pretty much, yes. She loves to eat, always has, and is always interested in what we are having. Great thing about her is, she will try anything!!! I am lucky that way! So, she didn't much like chicken as a toddler, but then I discovered she liked it baked in breadcrumbs (crunchy). So she would have that twice a week, soup once a week, with the odd cheeseburger thrown in.  Then one day I made baked chicken breast, just sprinkled with paprika...she thought the house smelled so good...she tried it and loved it. That time, the chicken breat was split breast with the skin on....we don't eat the skin but can't deny that makes it tastier! 
  Offer often, with no pressure...in different forms. Chicken strips baked in breadcrumbs, meatloaf with ketchup maybe? Amelia didn't like meatloaf until she discovered she could dip it in ketchup.     Try meatballs...with sauce and without! Melt some cheese on top!  Make him a grilled cheese sandwhich with tiny slices of turkey in it...we did all of that stuff. Some things she liked, some not so much....but now she likes chicken in almost every form we make, and likes beef in the form of hamburgers and meatloaf. I make tacos too with ground turkey/beef mixture....she loves tacos!!
  Just keep trying...! If your dd eats other textures...(cold wet fruit, crunchy toast, bananas, bread)...then I wouldn't worry too much about her having a texture issue...meats turn alot of kids off...so I hid mine, kept offerring, prepared it in different ways, and I think we do pretty well now!

[creations]

My DS isn't great with meat either.
I've had success with roasted joints and REALLY thinly slice some for him.  if it is a super thin slice he seems to take it much more often.
We've also had success with bread crumbed fish.  I want him to learn to eat regular fish like the adult meals, sometimes he will try a bite sometimes not, but fish in bread crumbs and fried is often a winner (and dipped in something, mint sauce or mayo or ketchup.  I don't care if he has a teaspoon of ketchup with every meal if it means trying the protein).
Fish wise he will also eat whole sprats, heads, fin, the lot (what a surprise the first time he did that).  So now rather than breading fish to give to him when we have regular fish instead I cook him up 2 sprats, just lightly floured then fried.  I freeze them in bags of two so I can lift out just one portion for him.  I still give him a piece of whatever fish we are eating to try to widen his taste.
And bean burgers.  I use a can of kidney beans, black eyed bean, etc drain, mash add egg, flour seasoning (and any left over veg I have) and fry patties.  I freeze those in batches and use them for snacks rather than main meals (just because I like his main meal to be the same as ours as much as possible).

My DS won't eat eggs (did when he was first introduced though) but I did find he'll eat eggy bread so long as he has ketchup.

[Mom to M&M]

I wouldn't worry too much about meat - SO many other ways to get protein. We do LOTS of honey roasted chickpeas, organic soy yogurt in moderation (1-2 times a week), pistachio nuts, quinoa pasta, etc. He does also like the meatballs I make and will eat tiny bits of chicken or meat on occasion. When I make him pancakes or challah french toast I use extra eggs.

[creations]

honey roasted chickpeas

That sounds yum - care to share the recipe?
Are they very hard like nuts or soft?  DS can't eat nuts yet as I discovered when he vommed up whole almonds, he isn't chewing enough.

[clazzat]

I know lots of los who are not very keen on meat - I wouldn't get too worried about it at this stage. Agree with pps - offer often without pressure and let her take her time.

One meal that I make that every child I know will eat is spaghetti bolognese, partly because I do purée the mince and the vegetables - as far as texture goes it is very easy to eat so is a good way to get iron in to the los who aren't a big fan of meat.

[Mom to M&M]

Yes my DS LOVES pasta bolognese! I don't make it often cause I don't do much meat myself (I'd be a full on vegan if my family meals allowed) but I sometimes make it for the kids and freeze the leftover sauce.

The chickpeas are WAY easy. Either take a can of drained/rinsed chickpeas (I only use Eden organic cause they are BPA free) or about 1 2/3 cup of soaked/cooked dried chickpeas and toss them with 1 tbsp oil (I like melted coconut oil but canola or olive works too), a heaping 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon and a pinch of sea salt. Roast in a shallow baking dish at 400 for 40 minutes, then pour on/mix in 1 heaping tbsp honey and roast for 7 more minutes. Let cool. I store them in the fridge in a glass jar and reheat to room temp as needed. They are not nearly as hard/crunchy as nuts - not as soft as canned beans of course but not hard either. DS has been eating them since he was like 1.5 years old!

[creations]

he chickpeas are WAY easy.

Ooh they sound so nice.  I'm definitely going to make some. Thanks for taking the time to post the recipe x