picky eater losing weight, need more fats. ideas? more info on post #4

[faithsstuff]

ugh, so my son went for his 24 month check up and he's 23% in weight and 78% in height.  he lost weight from his last visit and ped told us to add olive oil and butter 'to his potatoes'.  Here's the thing, we're looking at a probable ASD diagnosis in the next (hopefully) few months.  The kid will eat, but everything must right hte right texture, the right colors and the right temp.  We already use butter and olive oil and are mixing coconut milk with his lactaid.  Any other ideas out there?  I'm tired and frustrated, we brought this particular issue up at the 18 month checkup and were told it's normal.  Help me here!!

[tzs]

seems like you have the major ones that i would/do do.

olive oil is so versatile to use with alot of foods...not just ones where it has to be mixed in. some fruits are really good coated in oil (i make some sort of vinaigrette and coat them....strawberries with balsamic or champaigne vinagrette....blueberries....peaches....pears...even bananas)

beans go great coated with olive oil.

and then everything that gets cooked/reheated gets done in olive oil as well. 

what about dairy? cheese, greek yogurt.....?

[candelaria80]

How much weight did he lose out of curiosity?

What are the textures and colors he likes? 

[faithsstuff]

he mamas thanks for responding!  He was at 26 pounds and now weighs 24.6.  When he lost wieght at 18 months we chalked it up to how active he is.  Now it's become a feeding issue.

He's lactose intolerant so we do yogurt, but rarely cheese.  and he looooves cheese when he does get it.  I have to add baby food veggies to his yogurt, that's the only way he gets veggies. 

So the surface of his food has to be smooth (like peanuts).  He won't eat things like cauliflower because of all the little stems.  He won't eat anything dark.  I made stewed apples and they were dark b/c of brown sugar and raisins, he wouldn't even try it.  Jello type textures is a no go and anything juicy like mango is also a negative.  So he'll eat pasta plain, but not with any type of sauce on it.  and he'll only eat pasta if it's the right shape/length.  the things this child can sense with his mouth and hands are amazing.  Scrambled eggs are usually acceptable to him but they have to be cooked flat like an omelet.  I made veggie soup and pureed it (I thought I had him figured out) but I guess it was too thick or something and he wouldn't eat it.

So I guess I need things I can slip in on the sly.  lol, please tell me I'm not the only parent out there trying to figure this out.

[Skippy918]

Does he like avocados?

[faithsstuff]

avocados are a good idea.  We tried them in the past but maybe we weren't creative enough, it may be time to revisit.

[Summersquash]

Does he like hummus?  Will he eat any kind of (light colored) beans?  What about dehydrated fruit (perhaps not smooth enough surface?)

Will he drink anything?  Maybe a smoothie might be appealing if you can get the texture uniform enough?

[Breathless Wonder]

Would you be comfortable giving him nuts and seeds?  What about using nut butters? 

It's hard to make suggestions not knowing what textures he would tolerate...  Don't forget that in addition to yogurt, there is also kefir and other fermented milk products:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermented_milk_products

Have you checked out the allergy forum?  Has he seen an allergist?  Is it possible that the weight loss is due to poor absorption, food intolerances or allergies?

[tzs]

could you make your own raviolis? i think it's easy with wonton wrappers. do you think he would eat stuffed pasta? then you could get the plain pasta texture with goodness inside.

how is he about meats?

[crunchy_mommy]

My DS likes avocado pudding. We usually do it with cocoa but you could add vanilla or something instead so it doesn't get too dark. We also make a pie that has PB, melted chocolate, & tofu, you could leave out the crust & the chocolate & add some sugar. If he'll eat things like nut butters, hummus, guacamole, etc., you could just give him a spoon to eat it with rather than dipping something (DS eats way more when we do that, if we give him something to dip he mostly just sucks off the dip & doesn't eat the carrot/cracker/whatever). You could try quinoa pasta which wouldn't necessarily have more fat but would be higher in protein, amino acids, etc. than other pastas... will he eat olive oil or melted butter on his pasta? What kinds of sauces do you try? DS's favorite sauces for pasta are a vegan-cheeze sauce made with coconut milk & nutritional yeast, or a peanut-coconut spicy Thai sauce. Coconut milk yogurt... hmmm will he eat pureed squash or sweet potatoes? Maybe if you can give us more info on his likes/dislikes/sensitivities then we can come up with more ideas for you.

[tzs]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy 

My DS likes avocado pudding. We usually do it with cocoa but you could add vanilla or something instead so it doesn't get too dark. We also make a pie that has PB, melted chocolate, & tofu, you could leave out the crust & the chocolate & add some sugar. If he'll eat things like nut butters, hummus, guacamole, etc., you could just give him a spoon to eat it with rather than dipping something (DS eats way more when we do that, if we give him something to dip he mostly just sucks off the dip & doesn't eat the carrot/cracker/whatever). You could try quinoa pasta which wouldn't necessarily have more fat but would be higher in protein, amino acids, etc. than other pastas... will he eat olive oil or melted butter on his pasta? What kinds of sauces do you try? DS's favorite sauces for pasta are a vegan-cheeze sauce made with coconut milk & nutritional yeast, or a peanut-coconut spicy Thai sauce. Coconut milk yogurt... hmmm will he eat pureed squash or sweet potatoes? Maybe if you can give us more info on his likes/dislikes/sensitivities then we can come up with more ideas for you.

ok......you have to post this avocado pudding and PB pie recipe.

oh....is that a link? hold on.....

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by tzs 

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy 

My DS likes avocado pudding. We usually do it with cocoa but you could add vanilla or something instead so it doesn't get too dark. We also make a pie that has PB, melted chocolate, & tofu, you could leave out the crust & the chocolate & add some sugar. If he'll eat things like nut butters, hummus, guacamole, etc., you could just give him a spoon to eat it with rather than dipping something (DS eats way more when we do that, if we give him something to dip he mostly just sucks off the dip & doesn't eat the carrot/cracker/whatever). You could try quinoa pasta which wouldn't necessarily have more fat but would be higher in protein, amino acids, etc. than other pastas... will he eat olive oil or melted butter on his pasta? What kinds of sauces do you try? DS's favorite sauces for pasta are a vegan-cheeze sauce made with coconut milk & nutritional yeast, or a peanut-coconut spicy Thai sauce. Coconut milk yogurt... hmmm will he eat pureed squash or sweet potatoes? Maybe if you can give us more info on his likes/dislikes/sensitivities then we can come up with more ideas for you.

ok......you have to post this avocado pudding and PB pie recipe.

oh....is that a link? hold on.....

LOL

Yes, the pie link is above, avocado pudding is just avocado, cocoa powder (or whatever flavor you want) and sugar &/or maple syrup to taste. Blend it all up in the blender or food processor 'til it's super smooth. I'm sure there are recipes online but I just make it up as I go along :)

[Geist]

does he like ice cream? When my son had a weight "concern" (not gaining as fast as he ought to), I made him really high quality, creamy ice cream. I used farm fresh eggs and high quality cream (not ultra pasteurized) and as little sugar as I could get away with. It was extraordinarily filling and very yummy. I adapted a recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook everything and used 6 egg yolks, 2 cups of cream (instead of half n half or milk), 1/4 to 1/2 sugar or maple syrup (you might also try blackstrap molasses, more nutrients in that and another cup of cream at the end. You could probably also use coconut milk for up to half the two cups of cream or even throw in some fruit or avacados or something to make it that flavor of ice cream.

Edit: oh crap, I forgot about the bit about him being lactose intolerant. Hmm...through in some lactaid to the ice cream!

[Italiamom]

I know sugar isn't necessarily the way to go, but my son will never turn this stuff down:

http://coconutbliss.com/

It's dairy and soy free, is ridiculously delicious, has a smooth, very very creamy texture, and is higher in fat and calories than most ice cream.  I know this because I was eating a pint every couple days during my pregnancy (for several weeks), thinking to myself "oh, it's coconut, it's probably lower in fat."  Oh, the horror when I finally looked at that label at the store.  But it might be a good option to try if you're actually WANTING extra fat :)

[faithsstuff]

thanls mamas, I am def adding some of these things to my shopping list.