Need help with DD's breakfast (and protein)

[lalaland42]

I am pulling my hair out over DD's breakfast foods. DH feeds her breakfast in the morning and he is feeding her corn flakes and pb sandwiches on white bread. We just moved to Switzerland and I haven't yet found an acceptable ww sandwich bread that she will eat so it isn't a matter of just switching brands. I will probably end up making bread but we are still getting settled and I can't do that yet.

She isn't getting enough protein for breakfast and her behavior is just atrocious as a result.

It is probably easier for me to list what she won't eat:

1. eggs besides the occasional scrambled egg or deviled egg. She used to eat mini quiches but she won't eat those any more

2. meat besides bacon and I can't get American bacon here

3. cheese unless it is on pizza.

4. beans and rice. She'll eat beans occasionally and rice occasionally but never together.

5. Whole nuts or anything nut-related except all natural pb.

6. Yogurt

She and I just got into it about breakfast and she is now eating a granola-type muesli with enough protein but too much sugar. It is all DH will eat for breakfast though (he is allergic to eggs).

: I am going craxy here. Any suggestions?

[lalaland42]

No ideas? I did get her to eat 3/4 a tuna fish sandwich for dinner tonight. Small progress, right?

She will eat hummus if that helps. Now I just need to buy a food processor to make it because it costs $8 for 1/2 cup of prepared hummus. :

[einalems2]

Smoothies! Strawberry, banana, some fresh spinach (trust me, no one will know!) a scoop of protein powder (any flavor you want) and presto!

[Princess ConsuelaB]

Baked oatmeal? It has egg in it but it isn't "eggy"?

There's a quinoa "pudding" I sometimes make for breakfasts. It's basically just quinoa cooked in milk with maple syrup and a glob of almond butter mixed in, cooked together until thick. Quinoa is pretty high in protein and my girls(who don't really like quinoa or almond butter) will eat it.

You say she won't eat beans and rice together but would she eat the beans on a tortilla for an easy burrito? My mom grew up eating that for breakfast. Beans and rice don't need to be eaten together for a full protein, if they are eaten in the same day it will work out(our bodies know what they are doing!).

I ditto the smoothie suggestion and I often use them to get protein into my girls, mine don't like the protein powder but if your dd doesn't notice it it's a good solution. Our standard is a frozen banana + peanut butter, a scoop of plain cocoa powder and some honey or stevia to sweeten if needed plus enough milk to blend.

There's nothing wrong with serving tuna or hummus at breakfast time either. After years of not really liking breakfast I recently discovered that I love...cold chicken in the morning...who knew?

[lalaland42]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try some smoothies definitely, just have to hit the health food store for protein powder. I'll try the baked oatmeal and quinoa pudding too.

I have no problem serving non-breakfast foods for breakfast. I'll give her hummus if she'll eat it.

The problem with burritos is that a package of tortillas is about $5 for stale ones. I'll have to figure out how to make my own.

She wasn't *this* fussy when we moved but the food is different here and she's rebelling against the changes. She told me this morning she won't eat anything she hasn't tried before. *sigh*

[gentlestrengths]

Well, maybe my suggestions will be alternative (although I am surprised no one else suggested this already), so at risk of sounding like a "mean mom", well, oh well, I'll give it a go anyway.....

I don't feel the need to cater to my kids "likes". Kids (people!) will almost always like foods that are sweeter, or more processed. Who cares. It isn't good for them. Don't buy white bread. Only have whole wheat available. What is wrong with the whole wheat that you are able to get? You didn't say. I know it is hard for me to find whole wheat without high fructose corn syrup in it, but I can find it (I realize your sit is different because of where you are but I have always heard that those countries have HEALTHIER food that what we have in our grocers here in the US).

Why cater to what she "will" and "will not" eat? You are the parent. She'll eat what you give her if you allow her nothing else. I always tell parents to look at indigenous tribes that live off of taro root for the majority of their meals. I can't even imagine eating what they eat - but it proves that our tastes are what they are because of what is available. If all that is available to her is healthy food that you want her to eat, then she will (eventually) eat it. There is no reason to cater to her. Serve high protein foods, along with a small serving of the cereal she likes. Tell her she has to eat her eggs first before the cereal because it is what will make her the healthiest. I do this all the time with favorite foods like white biscuits. It is in back of the kids' plates, and they aren't to touch it until their salad and protein are gone. It isn't that they don't like the salad and protein - it's just that the white bread has a more satisfying taste. It is more pleasing to eat. But they'll eat the healthy stuff just so that they *can* eat the white bread.

I don't see how my kids are different than any other. I have 4 of them, and so far it's worked. My 4yo son is the pickiest with vegetables, but he'll always eat salad, and he'll always eat protein. If she is just one of those super picky eaters, find which vegetable she does like, and serve it all the time. So what if she has broccoli for breakfast lunch and dinner. It's super good for her! I serve broccoli with scrambled eggs and cheddar for breakfast all the time.

You can also slip greens into smoothies. You can put a TON of spinach leaves into a fruit smoothie and although you'll see the green speck's, you can NOT (NOT NOT) taste the spinach. We had flax seeds and peanut butter to strawberry banana smoothies too.

Dr. Sears has great ideas about feeding your kids healthy and how to do it.
Try his book The Healthiest Kid in the Neighborhood.

I hope I didn't come across too harsh. I just don't see the point in catering to a child in this way. I wouldn't NOT take my child to the doctor or dentist when it was necessary for them to go just because they didn't like it - likewise, I will not cater to foods that they don't like, just because they don't like them because I know what they need to grow a strong and healthy body.

I also wouldn't cater to a spouse who wanted to eat unhealthy either lol. I know that IS harsh - and that is my opinion. If my husband buys unhealthy cereals (he does sometimes), my kids don't eat them, or if they do, it is for dessert....because that is exactly what it is, with the amount of sugar that is in it. If my husband wants to buy unhealthy food, that is up to him, but when I do the shopping, I buy the foods that are good for our family because I feel like that is how I can serve them best. Of course, every family is different, and to each her own! But if your child chose to eat twinkies at every meal, would you let her? Surely not. To me, it is the same thing to let her eat foods you know are unhealthy on a regular basis just because she won't eat anything else. Why give children the choice? You are the cook in your house. Make the meal, serve it, and if she doesn't eat - she doesn't. She won't starve (maybe she will for a few meals, but she won't forever) herself.

It takes our taste buds being exposed 10 times to a food before we become accustomed to it. That means that it can take weeks or months for a child to get used to something if they aren't exposed to it continuously.

I hope you don't think I am inhumane to children or anything. I care for my children deeply. I don't think it is wrong to provide healthy, nutritious food options for children and expect them to find the things they like.

[lalaland42]

I don't find it mean mom at all, it is just impractical right now.

The problem with the bread? The sliced whole wheat bread is about $2.50 for 6 slices. I'd go broke. The white bread is here for British expats so it is bought frequently and reasonably priced. The locals eat bread that isn't pre-sliced and it is, um, gross. It is like whole grain Irish soda bread. It is just too dense - none of us like it. So that leaves me making bread but you can't buy all-purpose flour here so you have to mix the flour with some baking powder before you can use it in recipes. It took me a week to figure out how to make ww muffins because I don't read German either.

Cereal? Except for (unsweetened) corn flakes and muesli, the cereal is ALL dessert cereal (I call it that too) and it is $6/box to boot.

Cheese? Cheddar is unavailable. You just cannot buy it. I made mac & cheese using a Swiss-like cheese but it did taste different. This happened after a tortellini incident where I bought cheese tortellini and DD said it tasted horrible. I told her it was fine so she ate another one and promptly threw it up. She stopped eating cheese.

DD could never eat meat because she has some sensory issue with the texture and she would throw it up.

In the states, my backup protein meals would be stir-fry seitan and tempeh, pancakes and eggs, peanut butter, and hummus. It is all different here. I can't get seitan, tempeh, pancake mix (see flour issue for homemade pancakes). DH can't eat eggs (allergies) and DD has never been wild about them so I always wondered if she had a borderline allergy. Hummus is too expensive to buy without making my own and I don't have any of my appliances (food processor, crockpot) with me.

Oh, and the stores here? The grocery stores have a very small selection, the frozen foods are a joke, there aren't many vegetarian options (it is the German-speaking part of Switzerland) and most importantly they close at 8 PM on weekdays, 5 on Saturday and are closed all day Sunday. Saturday is the only day I can shop by myself which doesn't matter except when you are trying to figure out what to buy.

We will get in a groove for foods but I am 27 weeks pregnant, still dealing with immigration issues, tired, car-free and 2 buses away from the nearest store, finding a permanent apartment and most importantly I don't speak the language so reading labels is hard. DD is also only 4 and just moved away from her lifelong friends and toys to a country where she doesn't understand the other kids.

I want DH to deal with breakfast so I can sleep some more but unless I tell him what to give her, he will give her crappy carbs. So that is why I don't just make DD suck it up.

[gentlestrengths]

Wow, that is an amazing difference!!
What kind of flour do they sell then???
I can't believe they don't have cheddar cheese??? That is craazzzyy!!!

Well, I can't imagine cooking from a store like that!! Kudos to you for making this big switch. I hope you can find the things you want and need soon. I wonder if there is a mail order company somewhere near you. An email support group for Americans living there??? I don't know!! Something!!! LOL.

Do they sell oatmeal?? The baked oatmeal with the egg in it sounded a good idea for breakfast.. You can't taste the egg at all. And you can put a lot of other good stuff in it that she'll probably eat it! Try smoothies with protein powder too! It tastes like icecream if yo make it right!!

[lalaland42]

Yeah, they have oatmeal but they call it oat flakes in German. I mistranslated and accidentally bought barley flakes. I am pretty sure that will work.

Other things they don't have here:

brown sugar
vanilla extract (you can buy it at one specialty store but it is $20 for a small bottle)

The flour is what the British call plain flour - it doesn't have any baking powder in it. There are also a dizzying array of flours so it is hard for non-German speakers to figure out which is which. Someone heard me speak English to DD at the store yesterday and hauled me to the flour aisle to help her pick out flour.

There are companies that will mail order stuff like Bisquick, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Of course it is more expensive. I can also order Betty Crocker cake mixes for $7 (plus shipping).

We will get through it, I just need to endure. One nice thing about Switzerland is the food is heavily regulated so the food is always good. I have never gotten it home and realized it was rotten.

Oh and I see you are pregnant too so you will appreciate this. I went to the health food store to get red raspberry leaf tea and didn't see it with the bulk teas. The Swiss government restricts it - you have to buy it from a pharmacist.

[gentlestrengths]

Originally Posted by lalaland42

Yeah, they have oatmeal but they call it oat flakes in German. I mistranslated and accidentally bought barley flakes. I am pretty sure that will work.

Other things they don't have here:

brown sugar
vanilla extract (you can buy it at one specialty store but it is $20 for a small bottle)

The flour is what the British call plain flour - it doesn't have any baking powder in it. There are also a dizzying array of flours so it is hard for non-German speakers to figure out which is which. Someone heard me speak English to DD at the store yesterday and hauled me to the flour aisle to help her pick out flour.

There are companies that will mail order stuff like Bisquick, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Of course it is more expensive. I can also order Betty Crocker cake mixes for $7 (plus shipping).

We will get through it, I just need to endure. One nice thing about Switzerland is the food is heavily regulated so the food is always good. I have never gotten it home and realized it was rotten.

Oh and I see you are pregnant too so you will appreciate this. I went to the health food store to get red raspberry leaf tea and didn't see it with the bulk teas. The Swiss government restricts it - you have to buy it from a pharmacist.

Can you mail order the RRL? I can't believe you have to get it at the pharmacy! Is it prescription, or can you just get it there easily?

By the way, the only flour that has baking powder in it in the U.S. is "self-rising flour" - when you buy regular flour, it is just regular flour...nothing else is in it. Well, and cake flour, usually.

[lalaland42]

*sigh* I don't know. I was told by other expats that you have to add a different flour and baking powder to make it like all purpose flour. Maybe they are totally wrong. The muffins I made turned out fine though. I will ROFL if they are wrong and the flour is good as-is.

I can order RRL tea. I did buy some once I found out that I had to go to the pharmacy, I just had to ask. I have *no clue* why it is the way it is.

[EMS]

I think hummus would actually be a good idea. Do you have a blender? If so, you don't need a food processor. And if she likes that, what about other bean dips, either as a dip or in a sandwich?
Other nut butters?
Sounds like you have quite a challenge on your hands!

[Ruthla]

All purpose flour is just refined wheat flour. The kind with baking powder added is "self rising flour". I've never bought that kind- I always added baking powder to individual recipes as needed.

I honestly wonder if she's acting up because of blood sugar issues or just because of all the changes in her life. Does she actually act worse when she eats a "garbage" breakfast rather than a high-protein one? If it's a blood sugar issue (blood sugar crashing after a high carb breakfast), would a mid-morning snack fix the problem? I'm just wondering if "trying to find a high protein breakfast that DH is able to prepare and DD is willing to eat and doesn't cost a fortune" is worth the effort right now.

Atrocious behavior is often the result of not adapting well to new changes in her life, and it may not be "fixed" by a better breakfast- at least not right away.

[emmaegbert]

I agree with Ruthla, sounds like your daughter is adjusting. Personally, I wouldn't push her too hard on food. Maybe make sure she eats some protein in the day and just wait her out a bit? Remind papa to offer a glass of milk w/ breakfast, or some yogurt? Even plain yogurt mixed with juice (a very easy "smoothie"). Not a good long-term solution perhaps but okay while you are getting settled.

Also- grab a bilingual ex-pat to go to the grocery store with you and translate. Tell you what things are called.

A good friend of mine moved to Italy. No brown sugar- I brought her a HUGE bottle of v dark molasses, and she add a bit to white sugar when she wants that brown sugar taste (most commerical brown sugar is just white sugar w/ molasses added back in anyway).

Maybe take your DD to the market and have her try a bunch of stuff? Do they have an open-air market day/s in your town? I am totally not surprised that they don't have cheddar cheese but its hard to believe there isn't good cheese in Switzerland. I think its probably more regional variation than we have here. Maybe if she's trying stuff in a different setting, and getting to decide what she might want to buy, she'll be less resistant?

I noticed that flours and such have different names depending on where you are, what language, etc. Like whole wheat flour is called "complete" in french, italian. Also, brits have different ingredients and names for them, so be careful if you're relying on them to tell you what "all-purpose flour" is, b/c yeah, that sounds like "self-rising" flour to me.

If you can buy wheat gluten you can easily make your own seitan, seriously, its very easy. I am sure there are online recipes.

And WOW, the 2 times I visited Switzerland I loved the bread! To each his own I guess. I agree as a vegetarian its darn hard to find food in those germanic places other than bread, cheese and fruit. Maybe she'd prefer a wasa type of cracker w/ something spread on it (hummos, spreadable cheese, pb, tuna)

GL

[Teensy]

Don't forget, your DC doesn't have to eat "breakfast" foods in the morning. Will she eat leftover spaghetti and meatballs? Chili? Soups? Stews? Turkey or ham slices?

What about WW crackers with peanut butter? Or PB with apple slices?

My picky kid (my middle) won't drink smoothies, my other two will. I agree it's a great way to sneak in protein (I haven't tried spinach, hmmmmm). My picky one gets less than ideal foods in the morning because I'd rather him eat a chicken biscuit than nothing at all before going to school in the morning.

[nicolelynn]

Since she likes the muesli that is readily available, do you have access to different brands? Have you compared the sugar content? I am just thinking about this because there is one brand imported from Switzerland that I see in grocery stores here. I can't remember the name but they have 2 versions: one with sugar and one without added sugar. The latter only has the natural sugar from the dried fruit. Don't know if she would go for the flavor difference but I wonder if it would be worth a try? It would be a good option since it had fiber, protein from both the oats and nuts, etc. And if she is eating it with milk or yogurt that would be plenty of protein and nutrients.