Do we have a nutritionist in the room?

[NicoleS]

That can help me figure out how to supplement my DD?

I think I may have mentioned it before, but my middle child (she's 2.5) has Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). One of her main triggers is food. If she gets it in her head that she won't eat something - she won't. She's not one of those kids where you can go "oh, she's not hungry, she'll eat it when she's hungry" - I tried that, she will go for over 24 hours without eating. You can't tell me she isn't hungry at that point! And she's already had a lot of weight gain issues (her 18 month brother now weighs more than she does) so that's not really a tactic I want to employ.

I'm one of those moms who doesn't believe in making separate meal plans, so she gets served what everyone else does. She gets a fruit and/or veggie offered at every meal, though 9 times out of 10 she'll push it to one side of her plate. I could make them small - like say the veggies in chicken fried rice - and she'll still pick them out. I've gone through our produce section in vain, trying the usual staples at our house (blueberries and bananas) to more exotic ones like pineapples, mangoes, and papayas - nada. Tried various dips for the veggies from ranch dressing to cheese to peanut butter - nada. Basically the only fruit she'll eat is applesauce and the only veggies she'll eat is tomato sauce and a sprinkling of iceberg lettuce. I've even tried fruit cocktail in the full sugar syrup! I've taken to doing things like buying the "infant" yogurt that has the fruit and veggies in it - though I do wonder how much is really in there and how much is a gimmick to get desperate parents like me to buy it.

I wouldn't worry so much if she'd take a vitamin - then I'd just figure it was a phase we'd grow out of. But she won't take those either. I've tried chewables, even the gummies - she won't eat them. The infant drops taste to bitter and she tastes them, even in milk. The whole food liquid vitamins (that are usually fruit flavored and you have to take like an ounce of) give her diarrhea.

So my latest thought was to give her some Carnation Instant breakfast in the mornings. Sure, not the healthiest option - but at least it has some vitamins and minerals in it! But I'm not sure where the balance should be - she gets enough total calories over the day, so I don't know that I want to give her a full serving, but I don't know how much I'd need to give her to actually make a difference. For example, it says that there is 35% of the RDA for Vitamin A in it per serving. But that's for an adult, and I gave her roughly a third of a serving. I tried to look it up online, and it seems that the RDA for kids is roughly half that of adults - so if she had a full serving she'd have 70%, but since she only got a third of serving she got roughly 20%? Is 20% even worth the effort if I only give it once a day? Is 20% better than the Tablespoon of peach puree that is contained in the 6 oz cup of yogurt?

[mtnmoonmama]

I'm not a nutritionist, but thought I'd throw out a suggestion! Sounds like she'll eat yogurt fine, what about a smoothie with some very mild other things thrown in? My son went through a very picky stage - no veggies at all. I would make a smoothie with yogurt or kefir (more protien) and put a banana and avacado in. The avacado is so mild they can't taste it at all and won't know it's there unless they see you putting it in - and then they're getting all that really good fat too. We would also sometimes put in silken tofu, leftover oatmeal (can add a little texture) and of course whatever other fruit they'll eat.

Good luck, I know how frusterating it can be feeling like oour kids are not getting good nutrition!

[mtnmoonmama]

Oh yeah, we's also freeze the leftover into popsicle molds - then it is a super treat!

[NicoleS]

How runny does a smoothie end up being though? She won't use a straw, it would have to be something she could eat with a spoon...

[flavorfull1]

You can make the smoothie thicker by adding less liquid and more fruit. Like less juice and more banana makes it more like a pudding consistency.
Along those lines, you can puree veggies and put them in a sauce that she will eat like the tomato sauce. It usually doesn't change the texture or taste too much and you can gradually add more veggies into the sauce. When I mean gradual, I mean SMALL amounts to start with so that she barely notices the taste change. It sounds like you are doing a good job of introducing things over and over. Keep it up! I also second the opinion on not making your life crazy and making separate meals for everyone. However, like you said, you can't let her starve either and going 24hrs is a long time! She has some determination!
Honestly, the nutrition rule with kids is to try try and try again. I agree that the kids' yogurt is usually not all it is cracked up to be. That would be a good thing to try with pureed fruits mixed with plain yogurt. It's cheaper and you can change what she is getting. The carnation instant breakfast isn't bad, I think getting some of it into her is worth it, but I do tend to not want to go the processed food/packaged food route. However, if you are doing all of these other things, something easy in the AM totally seems worth it to get the vits and mins in. That is my two cents worth. I applaud your effort and persistence!

[flavorfull1]

One more thought, even adding some baby food puree to start with to the sauces could work if pureeing the veggies is too much to add to your day and then progressing to the actual veggies in the sauce. Just a thought?

[basje]

Picky eaters are such a pain! May I make a few suggestions? Sounds like the best way to get your DD to eat more whole foods is to sneak them in so she doesn't know they are there or make them so they can't be picked out. Get out your blender! Also, with kids this age it can be really depressing to only look at the balence of foods they eat in a day, instead it's better to look at how balenced things are over a week long period when evaluating what her diet is lacking.

Breakfasts
I think smoothines are a great way to sneak in a healthy start, add some fruit to those pre-packaged mixes though!
Add mashed banana to your pre-packaged pancake mix, provide blended blueberry topping

Dinners
Try this sneaking pasta sauce http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/...hildrens-diets

Macaroni and Cheese made with pureed winter squash

Steam and puree cauliflower and add it to milk, butter and some parmesan cheese to make "cheese sauce"

Mashed Cauliflower as a substitute these for mashed potatoes. They're really delicious!

Falafels are a great treat made from chickpeas

Desserts
Make sure all desserts have veggies or fruit in them
carrot or zuchini cupcakes
fruit sherberts instead of ice cream (one scoop contains up to one serving of fruit) make blended fruit popsicles
substitute prune puree for oil in baking (this works particularly well for brownies)
Half a cup of pumpkin pie counts as a serving of vegetables, and if you make it without the crust, you can cut calories, too.

Pre-packaged upgrades
I would switch out soy sauce with Braggs amino acids (for first time users it's way stronger so use 1/4 what you did before to start)
pick up some emergen-c in different flavors instead of lemonaid or koolaid
buy some ground flax seed and nutritional yeast to add a teaspoon into most everything you cook.


There's some books maybe to check out for more ideas

Sneaky Veggies: How to Get Vegetables Under the Radar & Into Your Family
The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals

[NicoleS]

Originally Posted by flavorfull1

One more thought, even adding some baby food puree to start with to the sauces could work if pureeing the veggies is too much to add to your day and then progressing to the actual veggies in the sauce. Just a thought?

I've thought about that, and I did borrow one of those "sneaky chef" cookbooks from the library. But again - I wasn't sure how impressed I was with it. I mean, if I add a cup of pureed carrots to my spaghetti sauce, and then that sauce gets split 5 ways, she's going to end up with what, maybe 2 T. of carrots? I'm wondering if it is worth the effort of cooking and pureeing carrots for that (or the expense of buying jars of carrot baby food)? Or if it ended up being more of a "make mommy feel better" sort of thing, like buying the baby yogurt with added veggies in it?

The other thing that I struggle with "hiding" vegetables - I want her to learn to eat them as they are, KWIM? If she thinks all I'm feeding her is chicken nuggets with sauce and mashed potatoes (even if I add carrots to the sauce and cauliflower to the mashed potatoes) am I defeating the purpose of teaching her good, balanced nutrition?

[flavorfull1]

the idea of hiding it is to get it in and get her used to the taste. Once she seems to like it pureed in, start making it a little more noticeable, less pureed. Then you can slowly progress to chunky, then separate. It is not so much the goal to trick but to slowly progress her into accepting the foods as good things to eat. A slow progression gives her time to evaluate the food beyond just "its new and I hate it" or "its 'fill in the blank' and I hate it." I would definitely not recommend the hiding foods long term because it doesn't teach good nutrition. I would use it as an approach to move her into accepting more foods.

[chai]

Originally Posted by flavorfull1

One more thought, even adding some baby food puree to start with to the sauces could work if pureeing the veggies is too much to add to your day and then progressing to the actual veggies in the sauce. Just a thought?

This works with pancakes, too. If she'll eat pancakes, you can add pureed sweet potato, for example, to the mix and you can't tell much difference. I agree with starting with *tiny* amounts. Just a spoonful added at first and very gradually increase. (You can add pureed veggies to bread/muffins as well.)

We've done the same with smoothies. Surprisingly, you can't taste spinach at all in a smoothie if you use other strong flavored fruits (mango goes well with spinach). If you blend long enough the spinach is entirely liquefied - the only way you can tell it's in there is because it's green. I put them in an opaque cup with a lid/straw for my DS (though I understand your DD won't use a straw). But maybe she'd like them frozen like popsicles? You could make all different colored ones so green doesn't seem out of place, or add lime juice or something.

[chai]

Originally Posted by flavorfull1

I would definitely not recommend the hiding foods long term because it doesn't teach good nutrition. I would use it as an approach to move her into accepting more foods.

Agreed. My DS went from secretly drinking spinach smoothies to eating salads willingly and even asking for them. It was a slow transition, though, over a few years.

[NicoleS]

Frozen wouldn't work - the girl won't eat ice cream. I think she's the only child I've ever known who won't touch ice cream. In fact, she wouldn't eat icing off of cake for the longest time because she thought it was ice cream. I'd have to find a way to make it thicker, like pudding or yogurt. Maybe I'll try smoothies - you can make those in a food processor, right? I don't have a blender.

[alternamama82]

What about that Pediasure stuff to fill in the gaps in her diet?
http://pediasure.com/
I've never used it, but it's probably would provide more balanced nutrition for a child that Instant Breakfast

[NicoleS]

Originally Posted by alternamama82

What about that Pediasure stuff to fill in the gaps in her diet?
http://pediasure.com/
I've never used it, but it's probably would provide more balanced nutrition for a child that Instant Breakfast

Actually I was told they have the same nutrition in them, and the Instant Breakfast is a whole heck of a lot cheaper. Pediasure is about $12 for a 6 pack here, and I got the big can of instant breakfast (I think 14 servings if you make it full strength) was $7 (plus I had a $1.50 coupon).

[alternamama82]

Oh wow! Yeah, that's a big price difference....
I personally like Instant Breakfast (especially during pregnancy!) If you can get your dd to drink it, I'd say go for it. At least it's helping her get some vitamins and minerals. Hopefully with age, she'll be able to expand her diet to include healthy foods and trying new things, but I have to admit that I don't know very much about SPD. Is there any chance that this issue will get easier as she gets older?

[NicoleS]

Well...yes and no. The SPD isn't something that will "go away" - she'll always have that to some degree. However, as she gets older, it will be somewhat easier because she will learn coping mechanisms that will help and what triggers she needs to avoid - and she'll be able to better communicate. Like right now she can't tell me why she won't eat carrots, she just refuses to eat them. Hopefully when she's older she can tell me she won't eat carrots because they look too orange, or taste like dog poo, or feel weird in her mouth - KWIM?

On the other hand, they told me should could also develop new/different triggers and aversions as she gets older and is exposed to more things/people/scenarios. So the issues we have today maybe fine 3 years from now, but something totally unrelated could set her off. Kind of two steps forward, one step back sort of scenario.

[lulu_n2]

I have a kid with texture issues, partially a leftover from chemo treatments when he was 1 yo. I can attest to smoothies, I've had great luck with them. My DS prefers berry combinations (which I buy frozen, or freeze at home in season). To them I usually add one of the following: spinach, liquid vitamin, Floradix (iron), lettuce, sweet potatoes, steamed carrots, I bet even roasted red peppers would work (skins removed)
Things like Kale are too fiberous, and he'll notice them. I got a mini-blender and make him a smoothie almost every day. Now that I'm used to having everything on hand, it's easier than oatmeal!

[Keeta]

Originally Posted by NicoleS

Maybe I'll try smoothies - you can make those in a food processor, right? I don't have a blender.

Let me just say that I love my food processor - but it's not the greatest for some things, plus it's a total pain to clean. One of my absolutely favorite kitchen appliances in the universe is an immersion blender - I never use a regular blender anymore. I have one similar to this one, but I think I found it for 19.99 at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It's AWESOME. I make smoothies with it (using a mason jar), it purees soups right in the pan (which is a way that I get DS to eat more veggies!). Sometimes I'll throw in some shredded veggies into my tomato sauce (carrots, zucchini) and then puree the whole thing in the pan at the last second - you cannot tell AT ALL. For how inexpensive it is, I use the thing all the time, it's totally worth it!

[chai]

Thought you might find some ideas in this article useful. The author says not to hide veggies, but I think you can both hide them and continue to offer them outright. That's what I did, which is what finally worked.
http://nourishedkitchen.com/encourag...ts-vegetables/