Author Topic: Expanding Diet/Offering New Foods (Read 3084 times)

Mom to M&M · « **on:** December 08, 2006, 13:55:38 pm »

Hey guys. Many of you know I frequent the picky toddler threads but thought I'd also start a new discussion on the topic. I'm trying really hard to expand Marisa's diet. She currently will eat small amounts of:
- Pureed fruit
- Dried fruit
- Dried peas
- Veggie booty/veggie chips
- Meatball (on rare occassion though and I usually have to feed her this one)
- Chicken nugget (baked Perdue nuggets)
- English muffin (whole grain) and Nutrigrain Ego waffles (buttered and toasted)
- Pizza
- Grilled cheese (she doesn't like it much anymore though)
- Goldfish crackers
- Hard pretzels
- Cheerios
- Mac n Cheese (on rare occasion and only few bites. not in some time)

She will not eat eggs, beans, other meats, fresh fruit, fresh veggies, french toast, pasta, etc. I have tried to offer new foods by repeatedly putting them on her tray along with what she likes but she will generally just throw or push the new food aside and only eat what she wants, if anything. And/or starting pointing at the toaster and requesting a "fafa" (her word for either English muffin or waffle). It's not a liquid issue - she has about 16 ounces milk from straw cup/day (sometimes less) and at most 4 ounces of diluted juice (not every day). Her doctor is still not concerned since she somehow does gain weight. And I keep hesitating to call an OT or other professional because I don't want to make it too much of a stressful situation for her. But I also don't want to make the problem any worse.

Should I just keep trying new foods at each meal? Should I try the same new foods in a row many times since it can take up to 20 times of offering to even try them and I want her to get used to them? Any suggestions on good foods to try that she might accept?

Thanks as always.

binxyboo · « **Reply #1 on:** December 08, 2006, 15:59:19 pm »

Hi there,

Will she not eat pureed veg either? Would she accept them as a spread of sorts on her waffles and muffins, or would this make her stop eating them too? What about veggies in a smoothie drink. I know she wouldn't actually be accepting them as such, but at least she would benefit from them.

I have started offering new foods twice in one day, instead of days apart. Sometimes I think he forgets entirely about foods if he doesn't see them for a few days inbetween! So for example, new food offered at lunch and dinner alongside a favorite.

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #2 on:** December 08, 2006, 16:04:38 pm »

Once in a while she'll eat a little pureed carrots/peas or jar of veggies chicken. She won't eat the waffle/English muffin with anything but butter and sometimes cream cheese. I may eventually have to start trying smoothies. Any luck with new foods lately for Riley?

binxyboo · « **Reply #3 on:** December 08, 2006, 16:10:09 pm »

He has definitely gotten better. Sometimes I will just offer him some off my plate when he is done with dinner and is running around playing. I think when he feeld there is no expectation on him to eat, he is more willing to try something. Even if he just spits it back out, it is an improvement that he is even willing to touch it in the first place!

Oh, and now that he has a fascination with forks, he is willing to try anything that is speared on top.

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #4 on:** December 08, 2006, 16:26:53 pm »

I've been trying the fork thing too since Marisa loves them. But if she doesn't think she wants what is speared on it she will just throw it off. And I think she's working on eye teeth now so that's not helping. She had barely any breakfast and no lunch at all.

So if I offered steamed peas at lunch, try them again at dinner? And again tomorrow? And keep trying before trying another new food?

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #5 on:** December 08, 2006, 18:07:51 pm »

Yup - tried making chicken nuggets with carrot and apple. They taste good but she won't eat them.

When she was REALLY little she'd eat a little chicken/carrot from homemade chicken soup only if blended with jarred fruit. She hasn't ever taken soup per se - I guess because of the mixture of textures which freaks her out.

binxyboo · « **Reply #6 on:** December 08, 2006, 19:52:02 pm »

I still whizz Riley's soup in the blender, no lumps etc.

When introducing foods eg peas, I 'd do :

Day 1 :a fave food, peas for lunch and dinner
Day 2: I would offer again once or twice
Day 3: fave food, peas alongside another new food. At this stage, if not sooner, he is likely to eat some as it is more familiar to him than the food he is seeing for the first time ever.

That's more or less the approach I am using. How many days in a row he is offered it depends really on how much leftovers we have lol

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #7 on:** December 10, 2006, 14:27:09 pm »

No luck with anything so far - even regressing with some of the usuals. Argh.

binxyboo · « **Reply #8 on:** December 11, 2006, 15:56:33 pm »

Any improvement?

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #9 on:** December 11, 2006, 16:04:17 pm »

Not at all, but thanks for asking. Yesterday all day Marisa had 1/2 jar pears, 1/2 Nutrigrain waffle, few cheerios, some Just Strawberries, 1/3 of a Perdue chicken nugget and three Just Peas. Refused eggs (which she never eats), grilled cheese, meatball, steamed carrots (again which she never eats) and a few other things. Luckily at least she's still drinking 16-18 ounces milk most days. I'm actually placing a call to an OT that was recommended to me today to possibly get an evaluation.

jubee · « **Reply #10 on:** December 11, 2006, 18:19:13 pm »

Karen,

How old is your dd. I just wanted to let you know that our ds, now 2.5 ys old eats soooooooooooooooooooo much better than he did when he was between 1 and 2 years old. Looking at what you said she ate and that she is still getting milk it sounds like she is doing ok. They really do get better. We seemed to have problems especially with teeth.

Julie

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #11 on:** December 11, 2006, 18:21:37 pm »

Hi Julie, thanks. Marisa is 16 months old and I suspect may be working on eye teeth (strongly suspect but it's so hard to say for sure). I'm so glad to hear how much better your DS is doing now and that gives me hope and something to shoot for. It's just so depressing since she seems cranky/hungry but won't eat and when she does will only eat a couple of things.

Jenn© · « **Reply #12 on:** December 11, 2006, 18:36:43 pm »

I may have mentioned this before, but V8 Fusion juice does a full veggie and fruit serving in one glass. Also, could she do lunch with another lo her age? Charlotte has tried and liked several things because the other daycare kids were eating it. Toddler see, toddler do.

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #13 on:** December 11, 2006, 18:45:04 pm »

Hi Jenn! How are you and the Mouse doing? Will check out the V8 Fusion - but may be tough as Marisa already has fiberjuice (apple juice with extra fiber for constipation) most days and I don't want her to fill up on too much juice. Unfortunately, lunch with another toddler is near impossible most days - we don't have friends with kids that age in walking distance in the city and I can't drive out to the suburbs most weekdays. I have often that about that and wondered if she'd eat better if she were in daycare, but...

Jenn© · « **Reply #14 on:** December 11, 2006, 21:34:17 pm »

I found that the V8 helps in the poo department. We are getting 3 molars at once. Love my new job. Weather has been nice to us so far. Hope i did not jinx us!!!!!

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #15 on:** December 11, 2006, 23:13:42 pm »

Thanks Jenn, maybe I'll give it a try tomorrow. All the poor girl has had to eat today is 1/3 Nutrigrain waffle, jar of apples/bananas, one tiny appetizer pizza (like 50 calories), some veggie booty and 1/3 of a chicken nugget. At least she has had 15 ounces milk.

jubee · « **Reply #16 on:** December 12, 2006, 15:45:25 pm »

Hi Karen,

I can totally relate to how depressing it can be when your lo won't eat much. It literally used to bring me to tears at times because I just didn't know what to do about it. But truthfully I think she'll come around. Ours definitley is not a eat anything type kid, but at least he eats a pretty good variety now. He would not eat any substantial amount of beef/chicken until after he was two years old if you can believe it! Luckily he would eat fish. I also often wondered about the daycare thing since I am a stay at home mom. But lots of his cousins were good eaters and never went to daycare either. If she is getting eye teeth, those are pretty tough. When the four of those are through you'll have a break for a while - until the two year molars. DS finally has all four through and I am so glad. She will not be like this forever, thats one thing you can be sure of. Hang in there.

Julie

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #17 on:** December 12, 2006, 17:10:45 pm »

Thanks again Julie - yes, I have to try to fight back tears sometimes when she won't eat or only wants a waffle (and even then only eats 1/3-1/2 of it often). I'm going to give her 4 ounces of the V8 Fusion juice today instead of her usual apple fiber juice and my Ped said to give her Trivisol with iron (she currently takes it without iron) because she's not eating any meat and does have dark circles under her eyes. I really hope these teeth come through soon but i know the eye teeth can take forever and hope she eats better once they do. I'm so glad your son is done teething and eating better!

Lucysmom · « **Reply #18 on:** December 12, 2006, 20:26:45 pm »

Karen -

We are definitely on the same wave length here as I was thinking of posting something like this here! I am starting to absolutely freak out when I think of Lucy's limited diet! It is as if Lucy wants to eat only super healthy diet foods. Like she would eat raisins, apple, banana, mandarin oranges, peaches, raspberries and pineapple for every meal. Great - but the problem is that there is no freakin' fat or protein in those foods!!!!!! Where is the ARGH emoticon???

Ok, so an idea for you is that you might want to try raw veggies with Marisa. Lucy and Marisa definitely have texture issues so a steamed carrot totally grosses out Lucy. But she is at least interested in raw carrots and will eat little bits that I shave off of the carrot. I am going to try to give her a baby carrot and watch her like a hawk and see if she will try it. Lucy will only eat fruit, so I am hoping that this will be a way to introduce a veggie. She will, of course, eat french fries but they are not healthy.

Like you, I have an egg, bean, and meat-refuser. She eats a similar quantity of chicken nuggets. Oh, another random thought, Lucy will eat turkey bacon. So protein and fat but lots of sodium unfortunately. But I feel like beggars can't be choosers at this point. Maybe Marisa would like this as it is crunchy and salty. Just a thought.

I think I am going to ask to see the nutritionist at the children's hospital or maybe get an OT referral. It just upsets me so much to think that her main source of fat and protein is from soy milk. And even then she is only drinking about 12 ounces a day max.

So not much advice here, just lots of empathy and hugs!

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #19 on:** December 13, 2006, 12:10:29 pm »

Hey Stacy - actually, I have two friends whose older (2.5-3) toddlers are even worse! It's sad. Tried quesadilla once a while ago but no luck so far. Any advice with how to make it and what to put in it? Yes, she'll eat pizza and does well with these little healthy appetizer ones from Trader Joe's. I did actually call the OT that was recommended to me but she hasn't called back yet. Will try again. And of course my Ped doesn't think it's a really a problem since she's still gaining weight and staying on her 40-50% curve (don't ask me how) and keeps saying she'll eat if she's hungry enough and not to give in. My DH is coming around but still think she's just a baby and it isn't unusual, although he's starting to get concerned too.

Now Marisa is starting to wake super early again and I'm sure it's partially hunger as she'll suck down 4-5 ounces milk and eat all her oatmeal/fruit mix (small portion) and some waffle too. And then have more milk. But it's all downhill from there both in terms of any variety and quantity. Dinner last night was only some Just Strawberries and have a stick of cheddar cheese. So she must be starving come early morning but it doesn't hold up and then she's overtired.

Melissa, thanks for the support and I'm sorry to hear you're in the same boat. What kind of turkey bacon do you buy and how do you prepare it? I'll certainly give it a try - guess even with the high sodium it's okay 1-2 times a week? Luckily Marisa does eat some fattening foods like waffles with butter but otherwise she'd eat dried fruit and hard pretzels all day. I have tried raw carrot sticks before but definitely will again. Big hugs right back to you!

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #20 on:** December 13, 2006, 17:27:59 pm »

I'll have to play around with that idea Stacy, thanks. I haven't tried the swapping meal thing but may do that eventually if need be. Just makes it hard for any family meals, but that's OK it it comes to that.

But woohoo, she's eating great today! Same foods (although she ate 3/4 of a yobaby with fruit/cereal and she hasn't had one of those in AGES) but much better quantity and happy doing it and even devoured a whole half of grilled cheese sandwich, which she has been refusing lately.

No idea what happened - if she just got hungry enough, if she's feeling better from the cold she'd had forever, if her new Vitamin somehow helped (Ped just put her on one with iron) or if it's just a fluke thing but I'll take it and cross fingers and toes that it somehow continues.

Maybe I should try the turkey bacon with dinner?

binxyboo · « **Reply #21 on:** December 13, 2006, 20:22:38 pm »

Try whatever you can while she's in the mood! That's great that she's eating better today! Riley had been famished for the past few days as well. I love it!

Lucysmom · « **Reply #22 on:** December 13, 2006, 21:27:36 pm »

Karen - I don't recall what kind of turkey bacon I bought..... I just put it in the microwave for a minute or so and it was nice and crispy and not too greasy at all. She liked it quite a bit.

That is great that she is eating better!

I know that now she is eating better you might not be thinking of taking her to see the feeding specialist. And I am not saying that you should. But I was thinking that I also am confused about whether or not I should take Lucy as I don't know if this is normal or not. Then I thought to myself, "Well, I will let the professional decide if I am wasting my time or not. It won't be the end of the world if the feeding specialist or nutritionist tells me I am completely off base." I am not the professional, so I am going to let them tell me what the deal is. Hope that makes sense. I just feel like I am expecting myself to have the professional knowledge to judge whether or not Lucy needs help and the fact is that I don't have that knowledge!

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #23 on:** December 13, 2006, 23:10:18 pm »

Thanks guys and glad to hear Riley is eating well too!

So the turkey bacon went over well - she had a whole slice and seemed to like it pretty well. I wonder if they make a low sodium one so she can have it more often? I wonder how often would be safe? She had one piece of that for dinner and one sweet potato fry (all natural ones, a first for her!) and a bunch of Just Peas and a few Just Strawberries. Not very caloric but proud of her and let her have her favorite whole wheat crackers as a treat afterward. Maybe she'll sleep better/longer tonight since she won't wake ravenous? But with my luck she'll have an early morning poop from the increased food and be up anyway.

I know what you mean Melissa and totally agree.

And Jenn, thanks again - the V8 Fusion has been a big hit - she's been having 4 ounces of the Strawberry Banana one for the past two days.

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #24 on:** December 14, 2006, 16:32:39 pm »

Yea Kaleb!

Yes, yesterday was a GREAT day. And she liked yo baby again today so Mommy is happy. Thinking of trying hamburger tonight for dinner as I have some kosher patties I can defrost...

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #25 on:** December 15, 2006, 17:47:18 pm »

I wish Marisa would eat pasta... Tried hamburger last night - both on a bun and plain - wouldn't try either. Tried some all natural/nitrate free turkey lunchmeat at lunch today but again wouldn't try. At least had half her half grilled cheese and half a yobaby

KathyM · « **Reply #26 on:** December 16, 2006, 02:20:25 am »

I have a lot of the same picky eating issues with my ds. They are slowly getting better...the last remaining hold out is vegetables. I can't seem to get him to eat any except strained squash and french fries

.
But, I wanted to thank whoever mentioned the V8 Fusion juice. My ds LOVES it and he actually is consuming some healthy vegetables! I'm very excited. Thanks again!

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Author Topic: Expanding Diet/Offering New Foods (Read 3084 times)

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