Comments on: What to feed a picky toddler

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:22:12 +0000

My 33 month old daughter is a very picky eater too. when she was 27 months old she got hives really bad and haven’t really found out what from. We took her to the doc but he suggested soy milk well that made her hives worse. So now we feed her all homemade foods without soy, and found out whe is very sensitive to rice also. She is also lactose intolerant. With all that said she will only eat bananas, strawberries, peanut butter sandwiches, greek yogurt, eggs, refried bean burritos, and egg noodles. I can’t get her to eat any vegetables and she likes to sit and watch me make dinner so I can’t even sneak anything in.
My 9 month old son has rice allergies and is lactose intolerant too.
Any suggestions on how to get her to eat meat and vegetables?

By: Ashley

Ashley — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 02:15:19 +0000

I just found this, and am thrilled to have some new ideas for my 18 month old son. He was quite an adventurous eater when he was first starting to eat, up until about 12 months. Textures never bothered him and he’d try all kinds of flavors. Now he doesn’t like meat or many veggies. He eats a ton of cheese, yogurt, milk, so that’s a lot of his protein. One thing that he often loves is a raw avocado. I just cut it in half, remove the pit, and let him scoop it out with a spoon. I also love the pouch purees available almost everywhere now. He’ll suck those down quickly right out of the pouch as long as there’s some kind of fruit to mask any veggie flavor. I just bought a case of the Happy Baby spinach, pear and mango, but he likes almost any flavor. The Happy Tot versions also have a high protein grain included, so if he eats nothing else, at least I feel like he’s gotten some good nutrients in him. Other than that, our standbys are graham crackers (I need to start spreading something on them), strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and dairy products. So thanks for all the good new ideas!

By: kusum

kusum — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 02:56:25 +0000

my 16 month old daughter is really into crispy seaweed sheets (roasted in olive oil) there are many different brands but we buy Seasnax.
she also lives for a recipe i found in an annabel karmel top 100 baby purees book.
i use tuna (in oil) sauteed with some onions and canned tomato then stir in a cheese roux. to this i mix in peas or chopped spinach into this for veggies. and whole wheat cous cous or star pastas for a starch. if she could eat this twice a day she would be thrilled.

By: Grammie

Grammie — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 22:09:05 +0000

Picky eater is an understatement….but so very glad that I’ve come across this site. Yikes….if our wee 15 month grandson ate even 1/2 of your ideas….we’d be grateful….he doesn’t do veggies…..even if we try to disguise it…won’t eat meat….doesn’t like eggs…..occasionally he’ll eat yogurt….once in a while a banana….today he’ll like pasta…tomorrow he won’t…..tomorrow he’ll eat a whole wheat grilled cheese…..today it just goes on the floor…..we’ve tried dips, we’ve tried going back to pureed and working our way thru again……or using the pureed as dips…..we’re at our wits end…..thanks for the tips….we’ll try them and keep you updated….fingers crossed……he’ll do more than drink his whole milk and apple juice!!!!!

By: mero

mero — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 07:53:25 +0000

My baby is 22 months. she eats small amount in every meals. she didn’t like milk but now i mix whole milk with baby yogurt juice and she likes it:)

Breakfast:

she loves mashed potatoes or cereal ,toast. she doesn’t like egg and cheese.

Lunch:

baby carrot, potatoes and hot dog, rice, chicken and vegetables, any kind of fruits. She loves banana, apple and grape.

Dinner:

gerber food like star pasta with mix vegetables and chicken, baby yogurt, rice with turkey, pasta with meat sauce.

By: Bev

Bev — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 19:48:28 +0000

I am gramma to 3 one year olds – (1 is a step) – Maitea our oldest – is fine eats everything/anything and has transitioned to whole milk – no problem. Spencer our youngest – doesn’t do too badly – and has now had his formula cut in half and replaced with whole milk – and my daughter in law is struggling to feed him anything that he will eat – our real challenge is Alexus – 1 year old – everything goes to the floor – and she will only take formula when she is absolutely starving or half a sleep in the middle of the night – back to waking up thru the night – and taking 6 – 10 oz at a time – when she purses her little lips – the storey is over and she is just miserable – Great to know that we are not the only ones going thru this!

By: Katharyn

Katharyn — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 03:45:39 +0000

This thread has really helped me. I’m just another mom worried about her so called picky eater. I’m starting to feel that I should let go of the anxiety I feel about his diet and trust that he will eat when he is hungry. My 13 month old eats like, well, nothing. He’s willing to put lots of things into his mouth but after they’ve been sitting in there awhile he reaches in and throws it out. The only thing he’ll eat with gusto is frozen blueberries. I still breastfeed and he seems satisfied with that. I love the idea of pureeing cauliflower to put in eggs and the baked cheddar & broccoli nuggets.

By: sandybe

sandybe — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 04:36:25 +0000

thanks for all your ideas…I have a 15mo and he is a picky guy!.. We just had a dr. appt and he needs to gain weight,,I’m going crazy because the dr said that I’m not trying hard enough.. well I know that I try everyday in every meal… but what can I do when my guy just spits up half of his food or throws it on the floor?.. so thanks for your ideas!

By: Sonja

Sonja — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 20:43:20 +0000

My son was born 2 months premature so everything he’s done in life, he’s done later than other full-term children (i.e. sitting, crawling, walking, eat solid food). Now he’s 19 months old and we’ve been battling with eating table food since he started about 6 months ago. Yes, he ate baby food until he was 13 months old, but he loved it and he ate ALL of it accept meat. He won’t eat anything now accept bread, cereal, cereal bars, an occasional chicken nugget (MAYBE once a week), and any kind of fatty snack he can get. Fruits? No. Vegetables? No. Meat? No. He’s lactose intolerant so that’s out. The girls at the daycare are all whispering and pointing because I bring simply a loaf of bread for him for lunch. I feel like I’m fighting a battle I’m never going to win. I don’t know what else to try. Any suggestions?

By: Muriel

Muriel — Thu, 12 May 2011 05:55:13 +0000

I am so glad I came across this site! All of your comments have been so helpful and I have to agree with Michelle! I am going to need a whole farm of cows pretty soon here if my 20 month old won’t start to eat better soon!
A list of her favorites right now are:
Breakfast:
Yogurt (strawberry, peach, or straw-banana flavored)
clementines
Sometimes a banana (usually only eats a couple of bites
Used to love strawberries but know wants noting to do with them
Frozen waffles (on occasion)

Lunch:
hot dog
4-6 oz of V8 Fruit and veggie juice
chicken nuggets
hummus and crackers

Dinner:
spaghetti
mac n cheese
loves mexican rice and enchiladas
pizza

Snacks:
goldfish
fruit snacks (I buy the fruit leather)
clementine
chips
graham crackers

I really need to get more veggies in to her. And right now she is majorly going through a phase of mainly just wanting a bottle of whole milk and maybe 1-2 big meals a day! I am going crazy! I will definitely try more of these ideas. Thanks!

By: D

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 01:56:27 +0000

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I have a very picky 2 year old who is having trouble gaining weight. Here are some things that have been successful:
– cream cheese on his pancakes, waffles, toast….whatever he is eating for breakfast.
– oatmeal made with whole milk
– almonds – he has fun picking each one out of the container.
– mix pureed cauliflower into plain pasta with very finely diced chicken.
– he loves cottage cheese!
– add real whipped cream on top of fruit for dessert
– cherry or grape tomatoes
– happy baby yogurt snacks
– Trader Joe’s fish sticks (Blue package)
– Trader Joe’s whole wheat pizza dough
– Annie’s Mac and Cheese
– Read the book “Green Eggs and Ham” with your child and then serve scrambled eggs with spinach juice added to turn the eggs green. I got this from a book I recently purchased called…The Sneaky Chef.” It has a bunch of recipes with pureed fruits and veggies hidden inside.
Hope this helps!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 01:18:01 +0000

My little guy is almost a toddler (11 months), but here’s what he eats:

black beans and rice
broccoli/cheese “nuggets” – mix with breadcrumbs, eggs and cheese and bake
chicken meatloaf – ground chicken mixed with egg, breadcrumbs, grated veggies, cheese, applesauce
frozen pre-packaged mini meatballs
cheese
yogurt with flax seed mixed in
canned pumpkin
roasted veggies – mix with olive oil, salt, pepper