If you have a toddler that is picky like I do, here are some ideas that have worked for us.
First let me add that she is still nursing and that we are pretty choosy about what she eats. She doesn't really drink juice, or eat sugary foods. We try to stick to whole foods (grains, fruits, veggies) and expose her to a variety of foods.
Toddlers in general are picky eaters. I don't just mean in terms of only eating"certain foods" and not others, but I mean they pick at their food. This is normal and healthy and fine. They are grazers. Not all of them, but a lot of them.
This stage is a time to expose them to all sorts of foods and let them explore fun ways to eat.
If I am stressed about her consumption at meal time, or make eating a "stressful" time, this will make her/him a picky eater- they dread meal time, rather than enjoying this Family Time... (this comes from someone who spent their entire adolescents sitting at the dining room table till nightfall-did I mention I was stubborn?)
I want eating to be a time with laughter and a time to nourish, not a time of stress and forcing foods
If they're hungry they will eat- old saying but so true
So get creative!
Preparing food for my children has given me a renewed joy for food. It's the simple foods that we forget about that are, oh, so good. Yummy fruits and crunchy veggies.
Ideas:
-Multi-grain cereals: We sneak lots of yummy goodness in her night-time, multi-grain, cereal. (we just started giving her warm cereal at night in the last couple months to up her iron and slow down the night feeding, worked) In her multi-grain organic cereal (which daddy feeds her while she sits in her bath, spoiled?) we add mashed bananas, flax meal or oil, cinnamon, and Flora Baby (a probiotic...not always just random for a week at a time) Sometimes if needed, we sneak some prunes in there.
- Kefir Pops: she loves frozen pops so for both kids we make Kefir pops. We blend various frozen fruits, with non-sweetened juices, and Kefir and freeze. Kefir as well as the probiotic treatment are important. If the gut is healthy the overall immune system will be strong. They love these pops sometimes we sneak in sweet potatoes. I
-Soups: We often give her soups (she loves veggie soups and pasta soups) , this is another great place to "sneak in" some flavors and goodness. We'll mash in sweet potatoes and add garlic cloves. We freeze leftovers and break off pieces throughout the week.
-Garlic: This is something we give her especially if she is getting a cold or around other sick people. Raw garlic is not usually high on the toddler's palate, so we roast the garlic and spread it on her pasta noodles at dinner or whatever else she is eating. She doesn't mind the sweetness of it roasted.
-Dips...Toddlers love to dip. Rather they are dipping crackers, steamed veggies, fruit, bread or their little fingers- great dips are Guacomole, Hummus, blended fruits, Laughing Cow cheese (her fav.) and yogurt.
-Smoke Salmon and Cream cheese on crackers- I love that she loves this- its the Oregonian in her.
Please share your tips.
