A lot of the magazines I read have articles about how to get picky eaters to try (and like) different kinds of food, particularly vegetables. Some of the tips involve hiding healthy foods in kid-friendly dishes (like ground carrot in pizza sauce or pureed cauliflower in mashed potatoes), some involve some kid-style marketing (cutting sandwiches into fun shapes and referring to broccoli as little trees), and some involve discussing and teaching about health and nutrition.
We have done all of the above, with varied success, in addition to my no-special-meals rule, and Johnny is eating much better than he used to. We ran out of chicken nuggets last week, and although they are on my shopping list, I'm considering "forgetting" to buy them until I can hike over to Whole Foods and look for a healthier version.
He's been getting braver with what he will try. Last week, he ate some cantaloupe and then when I was slicing a watermelon for dinner that night, jumped up and down until I gave him a slice, which he inhaled. We visited my friend Lauren last week, and Johnny dove into the watermelon balls and Cheez-Its that Lauren brought out for the kids to snack on. Another day, John looked on in amazement when I put Johnny's dinner in front of him and the first thing he ate, unprodded, was the green beans. And I'm still laughing over the expression on my mom's face on Monday when she saw Johnny cracking crab claws with a crab mallet and devouring the meat inside. After expertly dipping it in melted butter first, of course.
Once he realized that the gerber jar bananas I was buying were for Maureen, he started asking for a "reguwar banana." He only eats a small piece at a time, which is sort of an issue because I detest bananas and the remainder sits in the fridge until it turns mushy, but if he's asking to eat fruit, I'm not going to complain!
His new favorite breakfast food is waffles, and the other day he snagged a tomato off the counter and bit into it like an apple. A lot of foods he'll only try one bite of, but that's better than 6 months ago, when he wouldn't even touch those same foods.
Now....how to figure out how to get him to do the dishes...
We have done all of the above, with varied success, in addition to my no-special-meals rule, and Johnny is eating much better than he used to. We ran out of chicken nuggets last week, and although they are on my shopping list, I'm considering "forgetting" to buy them until I can hike over to Whole Foods and look for a healthier version.
He's been getting braver with what he will try. Last week, he ate some cantaloupe and then when I was slicing a watermelon for dinner that night, jumped up and down until I gave him a slice, which he inhaled. We visited my friend Lauren last week, and Johnny dove into the watermelon balls and Cheez-Its that Lauren brought out for the kids to snack on. Another day, John looked on in amazement when I put Johnny's dinner in front of him and the first thing he ate, unprodded, was the green beans. And I'm still laughing over the expression on my mom's face on Monday when she saw Johnny cracking crab claws with a crab mallet and devouring the meat inside. After expertly dipping it in melted butter first, of course.
Once he realized that the gerber jar bananas I was buying were for Maureen, he started asking for a "reguwar banana." He only eats a small piece at a time, which is sort of an issue because I detest bananas and the remainder sits in the fridge until it turns mushy, but if he's asking to eat fruit, I'm not going to complain!
His new favorite breakfast food is waffles, and the other day he snagged a tomato off the counter and bit into it like an apple. A lot of foods he'll only try one bite of, but that's better than 6 months ago, when he wouldn't even touch those same foods.
Now....how to figure out how to get him to do the dishes...
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3 comments:
You're giving me hope for Collin. Every once in a while he tries something new but its very rare. Maybe when he's closer to 3 he'll be a little more adventurous.
Hey, here's another idea for you...not sure how you feel about artificial colors, but I learned recently that any bakery will add coloring to bread for you. I went to a picnic where they had pink & green PB&J sandwiches. Maybe a good way to get some extra whole grains in him if the bread is beautifully colored.
Whole grains are actually not a problem. He loves bread, especially if I use my PS creative cutters to make shapes out of it.
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