While I was choosing my organic applesauce at the grocery store, I ran into Superhero Andrea, and she asked me for some good suggestions for foods for picky toddler. In fact, she asked me if I had anything on my blog about it already, which made me think I should write a little something — and mine the Internets for all of your good ideas as well.
When she asked me about what to feed a picky eater, I totally drew a blank and thought of all the food Milo routinely dumps on the floor. His pattern was so erratic that just when I thought he was finished with his meal, because he’d tossed half of it on the floor and started asking for either “dow(n)” or “nigh(t) nigh(t),” he’d actually begin eating his meal again with gusto.
Feeding a Picky Toddler
Hmmm, but then as Andrea and I did the dance among supermarket aisles, running into each other every few minutes, I’d have a new suggestion each time I saw her.
So, friends out there, I’ll share with you my go-to toddler meals and snacks for my 17-month old and ask for yours in exchange. Help a mama out, please!
When the cupboards, fridge, and freezer are bare, these are the things I grab for Milo at the store:
Breakfast ideas foods for a picky toddler
- Frozen waffles (I get the whole wheat ones of any size with no accoutrements)
- Scrambled eggs (currently on the outs)
- French toast (Sunny makes a whole loaf at a time and freezes it)
- Cereal: Puffins (cinnamon) or Cracklin Oat Bran
- Raisins
- Banana (little dude eats one every day)
- Oatmeal
Lunch things your kid might not throw on the floor
- Almond butter and jelly sandwiches on hearty bread, cut small (for fear of peanut)
- Cheese sticks
- Hard boiled eggs
- Mixed berries: blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries
- Other fruit chopped up when time permits
- Firm tofu, usually teriyaki flavor or “savory” whatever that means
- Applesauce (organic, any flavor) mixed with baby cereal to improve scoopability
- Cheesy toast or grilled cheese
Snack foods for picky toddler
- Just Peas, Just Corn, or Just Fruit Munchies from Just Tomatoes (crispy, freeze-dried fruits and veggies with no added gunk — they can go stale quickly, so just open one package at a time until you go through it)
- Veggie booty
- Annie’s cheddar bunnies and their Plum dino equivalents
- Whole wheat pita and hummus
- Crispy Italian style breadsticks (more hummus for dipping)
- The curds from cottage cheese grabbed with fingers
Dinner foods my picky toddler eats every week
- Taquitos from Whole Foods (the reason for going to TWO grocery stores and why I deserved my chocolate cream treat)
- Frozen organic peas (I don’t even cook them. Try handing over a cup of frozen ones if your child has rejected hot peas.)
- Plain whole-fat yogurt
- Aidell’s teriyaki and pineapple meatballs (they last for about a week in the fridge, so once I open the package, you know what lunch is until they’re gone)
- Whatever we’re eating
- Black bean quesadillas
- Small pieces of chicken or fish (sometimes he likes, sometimes he chucks on the floor)
- Homemade guac (made by me and Holden, who likes food better if he makes it)
- Crispy kale chips or cooked zucchini (whatever vegetable we’re having, he’ll usually try one or more before throwing on the floor
- Amy’s frozen pizza bites with spinach (I heat them for Milo in the microwave and for myself in the toaster oven; Holden tries to eat them frozen because I think it’s strange. Go figure.)
Look down there in the comments for many ideas from readers with picky eaters.
More inspiration for lunches from 5 favorite convenience foods from ParentHacks, and Wendolonia.com.
I told you mine, now you tell me yours!
Jack recently dared to get all picky on me and after an entire day with no veggies or protein I finally hit on giving him applesauce with plain firm tofu mixed in. i felt like a genius!
I make old fashioned oatmeal for breakfast a lot. Yes I am THAT GOOD as a mom.
My kids eat yogurt every day. Scarlett won’t drink milk and is almost done nursing, so we offer her lots of yogurt.
Dinner: mac and cheese and I just throw more real cheese in at the end.
I also use the baby food jars, esp sweet potatoes and toss a spoonful into anything that will hide it: pancakes, mac and cheese, muffins, brownies.
Hey, came over to this post from Superhero Journal. I have a picky 17 m/o boy as well. He would live on fruit (any kind) and milk if we would let him, but he also loves spaghetti w/ tomato sauce (I buy the higher protein pasta), veggie hot dogs, ravioli, chopped up grape or cherry tomatoes, roasted chunks of sweet potato (I toss raw cubes of s.p. w/ olive oil and bake @ 350 till they’re a little chewy on the outside, soft on the inside), baked chicken nuggets, the soft cereal/fruit bars (I like the Organic Valley brand), fig newtons, and YoBaby yogurt.
I’m going to try to find those meatballs you mentioned — we have a really hard time getting enough variety in proteins for him. He will not touch eggs, tofu, or beans. My niece loves (nitrate-free) deli turkey, but my babe won’t touch it.
Re: sneaking in veggies/protein, there’s a recipe in that Jessica Seinfeld cookbook for rice balls that he loves and they freeze well, so you can make a big batch and have on hand. I also now routinely stir 1/2 c pureed sweet potato or carrot into pancake batter on the weekends for breakfast.
Heather – thanks for this post! I’ve been struggling with a picky baby-food eater, and now a picky toddler, so all of these ideas are golden to me! My trick to sneak veggies in my 17 month old boy’s diet was – hide it in pancakes. Un-known by his majesty, he has actually been eating zuccini&pear pancakes, sweet potatoe & creamed corn pancakes, spinach & potatoe pancakes, and seems to like ’em – they are bite size and still allow him to put a spoonful organic maple syrup on top…
My son won’t eat eggs, pasta or any bare meat. By bare, I mean it has to be breaded. I’ve found veggie and broccoli nuggets at Target in their frozen organic aisle and he likes those, but nuggets every day? I get him to eat frozen carrots (thanks to your suggestion), but no cooked veggies. He’ll eat gerber oatmeal – different flavors, cheese, any carb, any sweet, but healthy things are just out of the question. Every recipe I see includes things that he refuses and I’m tired of throwing money in the trash!
I get it! It’s tough with these picky eaters. Yogurt, no sugar added applesauce, string cheese, and berries are good ones too. If he will do spaghetti you can puree all sorts of good stuff into the marinara 😉
Smart!! I’ll be adding more veggies to the sauce next time.
I mix ketchup in with my 19 month old’s scrambled eggs. its the only way i can gethim to eat them he likes sloppy joes too in a bun😊
I came over from the Superhero journal too. I have a picky 16 month old. One thing we’ve found with my son is that he doesn’t like bland food. I would have never thought to have tried crazier food or spicer food, but one day in exasperation at a restaurant, I just said, “forget it,” I’m just ordering what I want. If he doesn’t like it, I’ll deal later or get him bread or something. But… He liked what I had — it was at a mexican restaurant and it was spicy (maybe level 3?). While he is definitely still picky, we do often have luck with indian and mexican food for example or food with more flavor. He wolfs down yogurt with granola in it if it’s a really good granola. We buy tons of indian spinich tofu wraps for example (frozen section). I thought I’d post because, while I don’t think this will work for many kids, you never know — it might work for your kid and I don’t think it’s an intuitive thing to try. Good luck everybody!
Always looking for more ideas and willing to share our favorites for 14 month old gal:
-Smoothies (try with yogurt, frozen fruit, and sneak in spinach, cabbage and cale as well!)
-Sweet potato fries – make your own or buy frozen
-grated apple and grated fresh zucchini together (just place in front of them and watch it disappear!)
-Sauteed medium tofu cubes with a little curry and paprika
-Lentil soup
-Black bean soup
-Plain yogurt with diced peaches and wheat germ
-Cheese toast
Black Bean and Rice Balls:
brown cooked rice , Can of organic black beans
Heat and mush together and form little balls
Also try with kidney and garbanzos together
*I always add wheat germ or nutritional yeast/brewers yeast to things so they have added iron and b vitamins
Great list!
My little guy LOVES black beans. I’ll cook them, but he usually sneaks up and eats them right out of the can. (I rinse them off first.)
He also loves to dip anything. I use unsweetened, organic apple sauce for dipping silver dollar pancakes, slices of cinnamon toast, etc. I use plain yogurt (with or without seasonings) as a dip for veggies and savory foods. And of course, good old katchup. (Gotta get organic to avoid the high fructose corn syrup.) Oh and he likes dipping banana and other fruit chunks in wheat germ “sprinkles” LOL
I just found this post from reading back through Andrea’s. I have a picky toddler too. I love all the tips from other posters also. Plus, our picky eater is named HOLDEN!!! I have only seen his name in the ol’ Catcher in the Rye and even told his teacher yesterday that we will probably never meet another kid with his name. Love it!
I am a young mommy to a 22 month old little girl who is an extremely picky eater. And I mean EXTREMELY! She was huge at birth-over 8lbs. She is now in like the 3-5% for weight.
We are vegetarians and I don’t give her whole milk. She is still breastfed & drinks SoyMilk, maybe 2 cups if I am lucky.
She LOVES junk food…that is all she wants to eat. She does like fruits & some veggies but I am having SO much trouble in the protein department.
She will eat TOFU with SHAKE AND BAKE (It’s vegan). I bake it for about 6-8 minutes. I buy the precut cubed tofu. But otherwise won’t touch the stuff. I have been doing the Soy Puddings too from Cozy something I believe….
She HATES yogurt..she says that it is too spicy. And certain cheeses. Go figure.
I give her Soy Nuggets but all I get out of that is one bite maybe 2-3 if she is really hungry. Same with veggie burgers.
I am at my wits end. She would eat Pirates Booty all day if I let her. Or Annie’s Bunnies (no Goldfish for us-they have rennet).
She takes a couple bites of breakfast/lunch/dinner and then says All Done. Mommys Milk Now!
UGH!
Anyone have any other suggestions for the protein department???
She won’t do “milkshakes” or fruit smoothies.
Anything with chocolate she loves….if I let her dip stuff in it, she just laps it up! Hopefully this passes soon!
Great list! I wish that the Poppet things were in my area. The closet state is like 5-6 states away 🙁 Hopefully they come up to the East Coast/NE area SOOON!! I know my daughter would hopefully like them.
I love Just Tomatoes! If you keep them in the freezer they last a little longer 🙂
Hummus. Also, try making yogurt melts at home. My little one won’t eat yogurt straight from the frig, but if I make yogurt melts, she can’t get enough. I use the full-fat yogurt that has honey for flavor. She LOVES them.
Try actually adding spices or seasoning her food. I am not a huge meat eater myself, but I have found sometimes we leaf eaters can often eat more bland. My two preschoolers like foods that smallish shaped and can be dipped in sauces. If you do not use milk, try soy cheeses, no egg eggs (egg beaters), and almost all whole grain foods provide a fair amount of protein. Also nuts can provide some protein.
So glad I found this blog….Boy do I have picky eaters….15 month old twins. The girl is pickier than the boy (but both are pretty picky). All they want to eat is carbs and diary. I can get my son to eat oatmeal. My daughter won’t touch it though. They will consistently eat yogurt, cheerios, crackers and grilled cheese. I have discovered a way to sneek in some veggies…..I made carrot and zuchinni bread. They seem to love it. Always looking for new ideas and recipes though.
My 18 mont old daughter is picky as well!! For breakfast she loves to have organic plain yougurt with honey and oatmeal baby cereal,and a side of blueberries. I also make her banana and baby cereal smoothies.
I have an 18 month old little boy who is pretty picky. Sometimes he will eat what I give him and then a couple of days later he decides it is not for him. He won’t eat anything he can’t feed himself by picky it up. I have tried giving him a spoon and he can use it, but chooses not to so, so that rules out a lot of ways to sneak stuff into foods. He eats very well in the fruits and veggies department, but protein is our struggle. He just throws it on the floor. He eats mac and cheese with the whole wheat pasta that has added protein and DHA, but that is the only thing he is consistent on. I will have to try the pancake idea posted earlier. If anyone has any recipes for the pancakes or any other foods that may work please share. I am begging!! He does get protein from soy milk, but I would prefer it also come from food.
I have 5 year old twins girls and they have always been great eaters so I don’t know what the difference is, but any ideas would be welcomed.
A lot of you are mentioning giving your child soy milk. I’ve heard that it works as an estrogen supplement and is not the greatest thing to give a boy. I might have got some incorrect information, but for my little guy who has a very sensitive stomach and couldn’t handle cow’s milk, I cut him off of soy right away. Research might be a good idea.
Pea protein milk and protein nut (almond + cashew) milk are good alternatives to soy for my dairy sensitive little guy. My pediatrician actually recommended the protein nut milk for him to get the healthy fats for good brain development.
I have researched soy and concluded that it is too estrogenic to be given to either gender.
The Morning Star Farms have been a mainstay in our house from the start. The nuggets, faux hot dogs and sausage are the best. I heat them up for 60 seconds and they’re ready to go. You get the taste and texture of baby favorites without all the horrible crap.
As for the soy…yeah, I’ve heard about the estrogen link. Eeek! We’ve seen an integrative med doc who studied with Dr. Weil and he said it was OK to give the little guy soy milk but said we needed to make sure to give him an omega supplement every day to make sure he got plenty of fatty acids for healthy brain development.
p.s. Kara, don’t fret too much about protein. I was veg for about five years and what I learned is that American’s have a misconception about getting protein…and how much is needed. The truth is that if your kiddo is eating a variety of foods and includes dairy, he’ll get plenty.
My son is a notoriously picky eater, that said he’s also got a fondness for some of the oddest foods I can think of for a toddler! Here’s some of his favorites:
Breakfast:
Bananas, apple sauce, Cheerios, Soy Joy bars, home made banana bread, Quinoa Pancakes (Just substitute Quinoa flour for half the regular flour in your favorite recipe), Blackberries, Strawberries
Lunch:
Baby carrots, scrambled eggs with garlic and spinach or watercress, slices of cheese and slices of daddy’s home made bread (which is laced usually laced with veggies), whole wheat goldfish crackers, watermelon, cut up plums, tortellini (he’ll eat any flavor we make!)
Dinner:
Tortellini, mac and cheese (either home made or Annie’s from the box), Spicy Singapore Noodles, the insides of an egg roll, the insides of a Peking Ravioli, Steamed Rice, Steamed Broccoli, Whole Wheat Fig Newtons, Trader Joe’s Chocolate Cat Cookies, Apple Slices, Dried Prunes (he’s only allowed to have ONE because otherwise the diapers are nasty!)
Great list. I went to Whole Foods yesterday and got everything on there I hadn’t tried yet. New hits: veggie booty, almond butter and Just Corn. Thank you! You have saved my sanity.
thank you ladies, it is so nice to know we are not alone!! my 18 month old is seriously underweight (my doc wants him to go to the FTT clinic even though he’s sharp as a tack and exceeded all milestones) – but the more we make an issue of his eating the worse it gets (of course)! comforting to know your toddlers like the same things! thanks for all the suggestions!
our tricks:
we sneak coconut milk or whey protien powder in my toddler boy’s goat milk for added fat or protien.
my 3 year old and my 18 month old love quinoa – they sometimes mix it with goat yogurt which i spice with a little cumin and salt.
we also do daal (lentils) and brown rice quite a bit.
open face cheese sandwiches with nayonaise and mustard work well for both of them as well. otherwise they aren’t sandwich lovers.
hope this helps someone!
I sautée onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes, and string beans with a little coconut oil spray and blend into a purée. I add it to the soup as a tomato/mixed veggie base. All fresh and organic 🙂
Thank for the great website. My 25 month old has been recently getting pickier and pickier. He used to eat just about anything but now i have to hide most vegetables before he will eat them (unknowingly , of course).
A few things he loves
– scrambled eggs with pureed cauliflour and a bit of cheese
– frenchtoast with pureed butternut squash mixed in
– homemade pizza with spinach hidden in the sauce and mushrooms and cheese (he loves helping make the pizza)
– chinese food with lots of sauce mixed in with rice (i cut up broccolli and other veggies and mix it all together with the rice)
My 18 month old daughter like her broccoli sautéed with a little butter and garlic. I also add baby carrots.
Wow, I am reading here and I find some of you ladies do not have picky eaters! I wish my 18 month old boy would eat more fruits and veggies! he won’t touch them. For some time he ate strawberries, blueberrries and bananas dipped in yogurt. Now he will not eat them. Weird! I can sneak banana in his oatmeal or cereal. I mash it up so he won’t see it. Other times. he may eat a few banana slices.
This is what he will eat.
Breakfast – bolied egg – mashed really well and salted a bit with olive oil. He will not eat pancakes! I have made so many healthy versions…..and he won’t eat them! He had waffles this week fo rth e 1st time. He will eat baby yogurt – vanillla. He loves cheerios.
Lunch / dinner- mac and cheese. He likes spaghetti and meatballs, applesauce, sun chips _ I mash em up……he loves them! White rice and lentils ( I sneak carrots in and mash up. also add olive oil) He enjoys turkey meatballs or meatloaf at times. He loves chicken nuggets, french fries, mashed potatoes, bakes salmon. That’s pretty much it.
Thanks for all the ideas…I will try em!
Try giving him mashed black beans and organic tortilla chips from Costco
If an 20 months old baby is picky eater and weight 20 pounds and 4 ounce and is 31 inch tall, very active and healthy,is FTT?
The doctor diagnosed her with FTT, she is just very picky eater, I am so worried, She hate eggs, she just like fruit and vegetable, Hotdog and french fries, any idea how she can get another source of protein, some days seems she is not eating anything, need help and adivice please.
@Paria I am pretty sure this post is full of other protein source ideas, hope you can find some that work: tofu, eggs (sorry! but there are many ways to cook them), meatballs, chicken strips, salmon, other fish. Offer dipping sauces to make them more appealing. The trick is to keep offering healthy choices and know that they’ll eat when they’re hungry.
Organic food packs, level 3 or 4 have higher protein….with pea protein or whichever protein type you like best . Many brands out there now, just depends on the store.
Mine is quite picky as well. He won’t touch plain vegetables and meat. I mash them up or chop in small pieces and mix everything with bechamel sauce/cheese sauce. He’ll eat anything if I put bechamel. Also I hide the egg yolks in yogurt. I boil them hard and mash the yolk. He won’t touch the eggs plain. He also likes zucchini, egg and potato bake.
Hi all…I find you guys don’t have picky eaters. My 24 mth old won’t eat anything unless it’s a glass of milk. I have been struggling with her lately. She started off eating everything I gave her. Now I’m lucky to get 5 cheerio’s in her. I’ve tried so many of your suggestions. The foods she used to love she will no longer eat, she used to eat what she saw us eating and she used to enjoy two/three meals and three snacks a day. My last resort is to spice it up. Hope it works or I will need to buy more land for the cow I will require……..
We found some other good suggestions recently on babble but those might work better for big kids: http://babble.com/best-recipes/healthy-eating/getting-kids-to-eat-picky-eaters-fussy/
Michelle – I feel your pain! My 19-month old son eats TEN foods, and recently swapped Kraft dinner for spaghetti, plus his bedtime bottle of Enfagrow (he won’t drink cows or goats milk). He WILL eat peanut butter off my finger (no allergies to that in our family). I’ve got some ideas from this thread but I’m also feeling less stressed about all of this! I’m going to try the zucchin bread trick, and maybe some veggies in pancakes tomorrow…ya never know! At least he eats butter chicken (I know!) and Mommy loves that!
What a great list! Eggs and toast are a huge fallback snack/meal around here: when you think of how much food you can get out of them, even organic free-range eggs are comparatively cheap; add some fruit and you’ve got a balanced meal in about ten minutes or less.
Totally bookmarking this. My picky 16 month old gets even pickier when teething & has refused absolutely everything today. I’ll have to try some of your suggestions after Hubby or I hit up the grocery store!
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
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!
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!
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?
My son is lactose intolerant as well and very picky eater but he likes drinking soy milk, maybe try that
My son is 19months old and is also lactose intolerant so I give him a mix of lactaid milk and almond milk with his daily vitamin mixed in and he loves it.
He is underweight and has been going to a gastrologist since he was born. He used to throw up on almost every type of brand of formula we’ve tried. The only thing the doctors found was reflux. He used to love baby food and now will not touch it.
He and my 5yr old girl are so picky with their food. They literally will starve themselves and not eat at all if they don’t like what I give them. They love all the snack foods that are crap and anything with chocolate in it. They both HATE eggs in every way. They will not eat soups, they will not eat tomato sauce, and protein for them is literally coming down to them only eating chicken nuggets. They both love vanilla yogurt or those strawberry banana drinkable yogurts. They will not eat any veggies at all. They like banana, watermelon, apple, nectarines and clementine.
I’m going crazy because I don’t know what to feed these kids for lunches anymore and even dinner has pretty much become impossible with these two. I’m literally getting into arguments with my husband over this because he thinks it’s my fault they’re mal nutrioned. I make and give them the food but I can’t force them to eat it! I’m going to try hiding some stuff in their pancakes but my kids are too smart and I think they’ll notice it’s different. I don’t know where else or how I can hide veggies in their food or for that matter even just simply what I can get them to eat to get their weight back up. Doctor says foods that are high in calories but I don’t want them to live off junk food. Any advice for a worn out mom?
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!
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.
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!
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.
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!!!!!
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.
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!
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?
I nanny a 21 month old girl who was born at 27 weeks. She has a very mature taste and will eat veggies that will surprise you, but some weeks she’ll go refusing anything other than animal crackers. Anyone else out there with similar behavior from a preemie? Any tips would be very welcomed!
PS
Her name is Whitney and her mother’s is Heather. I find that funny!
I have a 17 month old, but she’s not picky. Either way, I’ll play. Breakfast is always fresh fruit and one of these: waffles, pancakes, oatmeal, yogurt, grits, scrambled eggs. Sometimes random things like toast. Morning snack is usually dry cereal types: kix, cheerios, life, chex, whatever I feel like buying at the time. Lunch: peas (currently getting squished instead of eaten), corn, fruit cup, etc and then pretty much anything, hamburger patty, hotdog, raviolis (toddler type and grown up type), mactunapea (macandcheese with tuna and peas), salmon cakes, quesadilla, sandwich.. just whatever I come up with. Afternoon snack: usually sliced apple and sometimes dried fruit, nuts, crackers (trying to keep cracker types to a minimum in the afternoon), yogurt dots (from pinterest: drip yogurt on a cookie sheet, freeze and then store – melt quickly, so need to be eaten first of all the snack selections), matchstick carrots, cheese – whatever. Dinner: whatever we’re eating. Which includes everything and anything. I don’t make a special dinner for her. Hope that helps!
@Cheryl, sometimes it helps to have them choose the meat or veggie at the market. Get them excited about helping in the meal planning and cooking stages and sometimes they’re very eager to try the food. Always allow her to spit it out as toddlers are less likely to put something in their mouth if they know they have to swallow it and will more likely try something if they know that they can spit it back out.
High protein pasta…its the best if I’m lucky I can add a high veggie spaghetti sauce…but even with just a bit if butter….I feel they are getting something. I usually have some cooked in the fridge at all times as a backup.
Wow! What a great list and what amazing comments. This is SO helpful. I was afraid that I wasn’t giving my 17-month old little boy enough variety. I guess he’s doing okay. 🙂
Here is are some of the things that I give him that I didn’t see above. I hope this helps someone out too!
– Rice Krispies cereal with milk and freeze dried raspberries crumbles mixed in. adds a little sweetness which he loves.
– scrambled egg with spinach and cheese (sometimes I use feta)
– Trader Joes turkey meatball cooked in sodium free marina. I serve with peas and wheat spaghetti.
– brown rice mixed with spinach and diced tomato
– brown rice mixed with beans, tomato and cheese
– 1/2 wheat english muffin with butter and jam
– toasted cinnamon raisin bread with butter
yogurt. My daughter LOVES it. vanilla, strawberry, greek yogurt…you name it she loves it. Sometimes we add frozen blueberries or cut up fruit…easy breakfast.
Hi there mamas,
My son who is 22 is pretty picky. But after reading many of the posts I realize there is quite a range of what constitutes picky! He will eat:
– cinn. raisin bagel with cream cheese
– plain yogurt with blueberries or raspberries and granola with a little honey
– wheat bread with peanut butter
– quesadillas with guacamole
– pizza
– raisins
– sometimes a banana, sometimes a bite of an apple
No pasta, no beans, no eggs, very little meat, no soup… If we even offer something that he doesn’t like, he is deeply offended and gets really angry and upset.
However, I stumbled across this website: http://www.ellynsatter.com/ in my searches for help and this is what we are trying now. No pressure, no hiding food, just offering the family meal and letting him decide how much, and whether he will eat it. It’s very hard when we think he may still be hungry, but it’s really his choice. Day 1 was super hard. Day 2 was better. Let’s see how tonight goes!
i take yo baby and add in extra puree of whatever is in the container… like blueberry. i was also planning to add veggie babyfood puree to it as well but haven’t yet
i also take a frozen banana and add some kale to it and carob powder w/ coconut milk. she has no idea there’s kale in it.
i dehydrated kale and add it in everything… pancakes, hummus is a big one here and also mixed in jelly that i put over pancakes or waffles. i also mix jelly in the pancakes w/ the veg. i find making this sweet (w/ fruit no added sugar) goes over well.
i also stopped buying applesauce and now buy a babyfood w/ apple as the first food and peas or other veg as 2nd. yup it’s green… but i told her it’s applesauce and showed her the pic. the first case (10 ) was gone in a week.
I have a great recipe for pumpkin pancakes or waffles on my site, that both my two year old and 8 month old (he eats teeny little pieces) love! Some other ideas: mix canned salmon or tilapia in with pasta, black beans for finger food, or diced avocado.
I am a mom and occupational therapist (I specialize in feeding kids). Check out my blog for more feeding tips for all ages.
My girls are picky. The younger one, 18 months, is more adventurous, but her sister, now 3, was at that age. I found something they liked for lunch yesterday! And it wasn’t crackers and peanut butter, which they will always eat. I had been to Trader Joes and bought mini pita pockets. I trimmed off the tops and then put a little tomato sauce and mozzarella inside. Then I grilled them like a grilled cheese to melt the cheese. It was like pizza pockets! Millie (the younger) ate every bite. And Isla, the big, ate all around the edges, which is how she eats anything. I am thinking of other fillings I could do.
Love this round-up, thanks for some good ideas! Lately I have luck with Applegate Chicken Nuggets (they make a gluten free version as well) I keep them in the freezer and zap them as I need them. Cook 30 seconds in the microwave, cool for a minute, and serve.
Thanks! I’m going to have to revisit this post because I have another toddler with his own peculiar eating habits. Love the comments here.
Feeding a toddler healthy food is a must. I can feel your stress if your toddler is a picky eater. My daughter is a picky eater too and i have resort to many types of food jst to have it all go to waste. I have listed down some of my toddler food ideas in the website. You can check it out.
Great list of ideas! I make my son different salads using quinoa or brown rice. I will use different types of beans chopped up small and chick peas. I also make different combos with the herbs, spices and veggies. Polenta is also great since it is easy to cook and you can mix in veggies. I use veggie broth to give it some flavor. My son also loves brown rice or whole wheat noodles/pasta with just a bit of olive oil and herbs. You can try all the different shapes!
Maya, These are good suggestions. Would you consider your son picky? I think my 16MO prefers squiggly pasta shapes to spaghetti.
I’m trying to cook healthy.which is new for me. I’m on a tight budget,I have a picky eater who two. Cooking healthy is little overwhelming if your new to it.I love someone to blog or advise on these things
hey @leslie, How “healthy” are you trying to get? most of our recipes and tips are pretty healthy.
My kids also love frozen peas and kale chips. I’ve yet to try firm tofu. Thanks for the examples. Another great article that helped me realize what I was doing wrong during eating time:
http://parentarizona.com/how-to-get-your-kids-to-eat/
Once I handed over more control, they ate more!
A few things my one year old likes: mix yogurt and multigrain Cheerios then freeze and break into chunks to serve… Mash a banana and add finely ground nuts (we do cashew), freeze in drop sizes and serve, whole wheat English muffin toasted with a little almond butter, shred a zucchini and sauté it– sprinkle with a little parm…. Muffins, muffins, muffins (and when I super lazy I take a pancake mix and add frozen blueberries and make pancake muffins…
Hi moms,
My daughter (3) is about as picky as they come. So, here are some meals that she is likely to eat at any given time 🙂
1. Steamed yam slices that i dress in butter or oil towards the end, to caramelize just a little (cut up bite-size)
2. Two eggs scrambled with parmesan cheese, a touch of milk and a little salt, prepared in butter (i have to pack in calories whenever i get her to eat! 🙂
3. This one was GOLD – found it in a book called “More Veggies Please”. More effective when cooked together and eaten right at the cooking counter.
Steam some broccoli (! yes, broccoli!). Do this ahead of time, of course.
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Prepare “gomasio” in a separate container – we just mix salt and sesame seeds without actually crushing them
Olive oil
Have your kid dress the broccoli with all of the above, and eat immediately. This will not keep because the lemon keeps cooking the broccoli, but eaten immediately it tastes surprising and refreshing, so kids want to repeat. The first time we made it my daughter ate the whole head of broccoli!
Good luck moms!
I have a 17 month old and a 3 yr old. Thankfully never had eating problem with the 3 yr old, but the 17 month old is a whole other ballgame. My 17 month old would not even eat baby food when she was younger, I’ve tried making my own as well as the store bought stuff… Nothing worked. The doc didn’t seem concerned due to the fact she was at a healthy weight…. he just said to keep feeding her what you have been (which at the time was baby oatmeal in her formula.) now all I can get her to eat are pb&j or fluff sandwiches and breakfast food and the occasional pizza (which is new)I give her what we eat at meals, she won’t even try it if it feels different. Not sure what to do at this point…. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I feel like we try and feed everything listed above. We often resort to pancakes (with hemp hearts, chia seeds, cinnamon and blueberries) or French toast because she won’t eat our Sheppard’s pie (with lentils instead of meat) even if we put the biggest portion of ketchup beside it… She doesn’t like the texture (I think) of any kind of pasta so that’s out… not even pizza! 🙁 Some weeks she’ll down a fresh smoothie and others won’t touch it. Breakfast is usually a win with Shreddies and a banana. Snacks are raisins and dried cranberries frozen blueberries with goldfish and other crackers.
Thank you for this post. I’ve been struggling with a picky toddler also…who ate everything until she was one. It’s so rough! I prepare healthy meals specifically with her in mind (oh, she likes ranch with her chicken, I’ll make a slow cooker version and it’ll last us for days!) but she refuses and, because my husband is a vegetarian it will be a huge pot just.for.me. SO unrewarding! Anyway, I’m suffering with you but very encouraged to hear I’m doing the right things for the long haul. Thanks again.
Charlie always struggled with food right from weaning. Things got progressively worse. We tried to force him to eat which made him more determined not to eat. A vicious circle that left us all stressed and worried. Professionals identified he had sensory problems but no help to tackle these problems. I stumbled across Beth’s Little Fusspot website. It was the best thing that I did . Beth is amazing, takes the time to understand your child what the problems are, works through solution with you and gets results. She breaks down these problems and explains them so that you can understand how the food issues have occurred. then explains how to fix problems with a step by step program. Within three days our house was already a much happier place changes in my son’s behaviour were significant – he was less irritable, tantrums had lessoned. Mum even commented on how much he had grown. I would urge anyone having problems with food and their child to contact Beth. http://www.littlefusspot.com
My 17 month old likes something one day and hates it the next. We’ve done scrambled eggs for breakfast, also pancakes, waffles with sugar free jelly and cream cheese – those go over well every time. My little one loves beans and rice. Hummus is a hit too. He also loves Shepherd’s pie.
Thank you so much ! I am so glad I found your site…
Kids nowadays are picky. It’s hard to feed them with healthy food. And as moms, we still want to make sure that they’re getting the right nutrients.
I apologize but as far as picky..i believe my boy takes the cake, lol, or not haha. He just turned 3 and has never liked ANY types of meat..I have tried sooooo many things. All of thid hummus and special organic stuff..NOPE! Do ill just shoot out what he WILL eat: a banana or part of one once a day or every other day, mac and cheese, but he has to be hungry, applesauce, and bread, as far as drinking, he only likes white grape juice..and milk. He drinks ALOT and even if I cut down on his fluids he still won’t eat! He is ok for his numbers as far as growth and whatnot but im so worried that he is not getting enough nutrition. I don’t know what to do! Plus he has soooo much energy (he’s a redhead lol) and i cant imagine how he has enough “fuel” to burn. So, im at a loss and have tried lots of things but no luck..guess we will continue to pray and hope it gets better..
OMG SOUNDS LIKE MY LITTLE ONE!! My son is 2 and a half. He is extremely picky… perhaps even more so after his tonsillectomy (1 month ago)…. he likes a lot of liquids also… he wakes up all night long for his bottle.. (yes I still have him on the bottle because that’s how he drinks his milk, he won’t other wise)…
I also have such a picky eater – my son is 19 months old and just wants to eat baby food from a jar or a pouch. He eats egg, porridge, banana, beef chilli and rice, bread and water melon but literally nothing else. He won’t even try anything else. When I try to give him anything else he just throws it on the floor. I am so stressed out with it all. I end up having to give him his baby food jars and pouches just to make sure he is getting enough food. Any help or advice would be really appreciated.
HELP! I have a picky eater who is 2 1/2 years old!!! He doesn’t like much of anything… he was eating ground beef and rice for almost 2 years until his recent tonsillectomy.. now it’s hard to get him to eat much of anything… miraculously he had scrambled eggs the other day. All of these foods seem complex and I’m sure he will say no when he looks at them.. He’s very visual… after tonsilectomy he’s wanted chinese noodles! Tried spaghetti with marinera and he just spits it out…
I have a 13 mo th old who one day will eat something but the next he won’t. He loved all baby foods and never turned anything away. Now if I try to get him to eat any type of real fruit he spits it out as soon as I put it in his mouth. We have resorted back to the toddler baby foods in the pouches which he loves. Maybe I am pushing real food too early? I just don’t know why he doesn’t like fruit.
Thank you so much for all the suggestions and advice on this page. I have a picky 4yr old and 16mnth old. They are both starting to fall underweight and their clothes are getting baggy on them. I’m going out of my mind because I cook but they are so stubborn that most of it ends up in the garbage. They would rather go to bed hungry then eat something they don’t want or like.
My 4year old loves anything with chocolate; mini muffins, pancakes,eggos, chocolate cereals, Nutella; It’s so frustrating because she will not eat any vegetables at all anymore. She will eat chicken nuggets or chicken cutlet but no other meat and no fish. She won’t eat soups of any kind. Loves milk and loves yogurt. Hates cheese, hates tomato or tomato sauce. She will eat some fruits, watermelon, 1/2 banana, mango, green apple only, green grapes only. And of course loves all types of sweets.
My 16month old use to spit up on formula and now on Pediasure too. He loves milk, apple juice, and pear juice. He loves watermelon, nectarines, and banana but that constipates him. I’m having so much trouble with him because if it’s something he’ll eat he will only eat 2-3 bites and that’s it! If he won’t eat it he spits it out or shakes his head no. He won’t eat baby food at all anymore even the pouches. He won’t eat eggs. He loves yogurt and he loves all the baby snacks, puffs, curls, etc. He also hates pasta all kinds and hates tomato sauce.
I feel like I’m a bad mom half the time or I’m doing something wrong because I’m getting so tired and frustrated with trying to figure out how to get them to eat nutrient foods just to keep them healthy and growing. Any advice would be greatly appreciated thanks
Our son LOVES Quinoa. Plain, with butter & salt, or sweet with some honey/cinnamon & milk, as well as full-on Quinoa veggie dishes, which is really helpful for getting those veggies in. He also loves soups, and doesn’t seem to care what kind of veggies are in them, so those are both great sources of veggies/protein.