Author Topic: 1 year old meals  (Read 2358 times)

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Offline Pinkviolet

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1 year old meals
« on: March 27, 2015, 18:25:20 pm »
Do you have any tips for getting my lo to eat different textures, for example pieces of chicken, potato or rice? I genuinely think he doesn't like potato ( and sweet potato) as I've tried mashed, baked, boiled, wedges, home made chips, new potatoes and he won't touch any of them. However chicken he will eat if chopped really small in the blender and mixed in a sauce and rice mixed in with a sauce he will eat too. We weaned traditional method not baby led weaning ( although I now wish I had) but we have reached a stage where he no longer wants to be spoon fed. He will use the spoon and a folk himself if I assist. I've moved onto more 'family' type meals the last month or so. He loves pasta, but won't eat rice dry and struggles to eat it on his own in a sauce. Any suggestions on
How to make rice into a finger type food?
And is it a matter of presistance with the chicken and he will eventually eat it? Any other meats you can suggest trying? He had some sausage in a veg and tomato sauce with pasta yesterday and ate bacon in a quiche too, but won't contemplate on their own.

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Re: 1 year old meals
« Reply #1 on: March 27, 2015, 19:05:07 pm »
With many things it's just a matter of keeping offering without pressure and one day they'll have a taste or increase the amount they will have of something.
Whilst I don't pander to pickyness with foods I will happily adapt many things so that DS is happier and there are some things which he truly does not like, never has, he might one day though so I still give the opportunity.
For example he has also never liked much in the way of potato BUT he did like roast potatoes with herbs/spices on during cooking and eventually over time without the herbs too. He has over a long time tried a little more boiled potato but particularly if I give a little dip (ketchup or bbq sauce, or even just a bit of lemon or mint) it helps so what I've always done when we have mashed potato is to lift out a few boiled potatoes before I mash, toss them in a bit of mint and leave to cool for DS whilst I mash the rest. He did once eat a mashed potato ball (I rolled it in my hands) but didn't like it, he has asked to try some a couple of times and still not liked it.
Home made oven chips he will eat (any veg - turnip, swede, carrot, parsnip) so actually if he didn't like regular potato it woudn't bother me.  Maybe try some of these different flavoured chips/wedges?

Rice is the same. He cannot eat it, just can't. The couple of times as a baby he had rice he vomited. I never expect him to eat any not even a mouthful but on occasion he will ask for a small try, he ate a little rice for Chinese New Year at nursery (they had a range of foods for snack) but declined the offer in a restaurant recently. I must admit that as a result I make rice less often, but when I do I just make sure there is another option for DS, a piece of naan or chapati, a pita, noodles or just a piece of regular bread will do. I would say your DS is much closer to accepting/eating rice than mine.  You can make sticky rice which is easy finger food. Or can he just have the rest of the meal without the rice part?

Meat has not been a big favourite here either. Slow cooked meat like pulled pork (in a bbq sauce) or crock pot pork and apricots he will be happier with.  He once ate almost a full lamb shank as it was so soft and in a sweet sauce.  so I suggest slow cooked meats.
Also meatballs or meatloaf which has breadcrumbs mixed through makes them much softer which may help.
Again dips helped here, he is more likely to have some meat if it's in a sauce or gravy or has some dip on the side.
With chicken in particular it was a funny introduction. He'd been to a birthday party and tried crisps (potato chips) for he first time, of course he loved them, next time we had roast chicken I gave him a piece of highly seasoned (not lots of salt but lots of herbs, garlic powder etc) and very crunchy chicken skin and told him it was like 'wet crisps', he tried it and loved it. So for a while he only ate the skin, then I started to leave a little chicken on the skin and a little chicken on his plate which he began to eat.
I do notice with mine he likes quite strong flavours and i wonder sometimes if the dislike of potato and rice is partly due to it being bland as well as a texture he can't stand.
I would just keep offering the chicken and he will eventually eat some.

Don't know if you like fish but I also found DS preferred stronger flavoured fish such as mackerel and sprats rather than cod or haddock (although he will eat those crumbed like fish fingers, so long as the crumb is well seasoned).


Offline Pinkviolet

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Re: 1 year old meals
« Reply #2 on: March 27, 2015, 19:53:19 pm »
Thanks for such a detailed answer. You are really helpful.

I will definitely try meatballs and meatloaf, sticky rice, and some more seasoning on things. The thing is with not offering potato/rice, I don't know what else to offer. Obviously pasta but he can't have that every day. Although I do like your suggestion of chapati/nann. He does eat normal bread/crumpets/pitta bread. I suppose I worry about making sure he has various types of carbs and also plenty of protein. He generally does like fish, but nothing too oily, I haven't tried mackrel but  I suspect he mightn't like the feel of it. I will try it though.

I have tried fish fingers with him, but he wouldn't eat them. I think it's alot of new textures/tastes for him at the moment. I don't want to fall into the trap of keep feeding him the things I know he will eat but at the same time I want to know he is eating something ( I.e not giving him a meal of chicken and potato and him not eating it). He does seem to prefer a more solid, dry texture than a mushy or wet consistency. I will try the dip idea though!

Thanks for your ideas!

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Re: 1 year old meals
« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2015, 08:47:35 am »
Diets these days are so varied, we have access to all sorts of foods we didn't a generation ago, and we feel the pressure to get our children to eat ALL of these things. It is really fine to have a more limited but balanced diet.
Your LO is still little, yk, there is plenty of time to keep offering a tiny portion of rice (or whatever) or for him to just see you eating it.  Maybe you can slice up a naan/pita and freeze them in sections so that on a potato or rice night you can lift out a small portion to add to his meal alongside the other foods. Although honestly I see no harm in him having the odd carbs free meal if he has had crumpet or sandwich etc for lunch then just veg for dinner would be ok. Some veg are high carbs too such as beans, corn, carrots.

Another thing I did was switched my DS's breakfast from baby muesli to a 1 egg omelet, this meant for the rest of the day I did not worry if he had no other protein. Instead of worrying at lunch or dinner about offering him more different types of protein or seeing him ignore the meat/fish and only eat the carbs/veg I was confident to serve him a small piece and if he ignored it then it didn't matter, he'd had a portion of protein in the day and he would be fine yk?  It totally took away any anxiety or pressure around the evening meal.
You could also try saving a portion of your evening meal meat/fish and offering for breakfast the following day - it's amazing what some kids will eat for breakfast which they refuse the rest of the day!  I was nervous to switch DS's breakfast (it was a suggestion from another BW) but it was SO easy!


Offline Pinkviolet

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Re: 1 year old meals
« Reply #4 on: March 28, 2015, 09:50:47 am »
I may try the Omlette for breakfast idea or even something completely non breakfasty, however in a bit like you were I suppose and feel reluctant to move away from the porridge fingers and fruit as he always eats it all!

Couple more questions I have are; how often should I keep trying things like chicken? Once or twice a week? More or less?
Is it such a bad thing if he eats it as part of a frittata/omlette/ quiche? I know it seems like hiding it in a way, which I don't want to get into the habit of hiding foods.

Totally agree that there is more pressure these days to have your lo eating a big variety of foods, pasta, rice,cous cous etc.

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Re: 1 year old meals
« Reply #5 on: March 28, 2015, 19:21:18 pm »
I don't think there needs to be a set number of times per week to offer a certain food, just whenever you would ordinarily have it I guess (rather than totally avoiding it which means he doesn't have the opportunity to see/smell/touch it).
I also see no problem in having foods mixed, I am not one to like 'hiding' foods, I think children need to know what they are being given, but even for adults there are foods we will only eat if mixed with something.  Me, for instance, I wouldn't sit down to a plate of anchovies but love them on a pizza or a bit mixed through a pasta sauce.

With the breakfast I just tried it to see how it went. If he had totally refused the omelet I would have just gone and made the muesli but it didn't come to that, he sat down and eat the whole thing without batting an eye. I knew it was a food he liked simply because he'd eaten it several times when younger but by this time he would reject it at lunch and dinner.


Offline We Three

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Re: 1 year old meals
« Reply #6 on: March 28, 2015, 19:45:27 pm »
  I once read a prominent physician say that protein is what parents worry most about, but it's likely the one nutrient that most kids get enough of.  Broccoli has protein, as do really hearty wheat breads (dd's has 5 grams per slice) and cheese is a good source too. Yogurt is a great source also. The rule of thumb is about 1/2 a gram per pound of weight....so if your lo is 20 pounds, they'd need about 10 grams of protein per day.  Eggs are a great protein source, and there are a billion ways to prepare them!  :)   He might like french toast?  With the protein of the bread and the egg, you'd get a lot of bang for your buck there!

 DD used to dislike chicken, so I'd mince it up small and stir it into stuffing, and make little balls out of it....she loved them! Still does! She also would eat it if I got thin cutlets, breaded them (dip in egg then WW breadcrumbs) and baked until crispy.

Offline Pinkviolet

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Re: 1 year old meals
« Reply #7 on: April 08, 2015, 14:30:52 pm »
Just want to say thanks for your replies and advice. We have made some progress since I last posted. Lo has now eaten chicken and rice on a number of occasions. Chicken with his fork and cut into very small pieces and rice with spoon or fingers! Yay!
I cut back a little on the size of his snacks and just kept offering them every few days and to my utter suprise he just ate it!

Ps, tried the egg for breakfast but he just threw it on the floor! So back to the porridge fingers!
Thanks again :)

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Re: 1 year old meals
« Reply #8 on: April 08, 2015, 15:44:58 pm »
Great update! :)