Toddler eating habits should I worry?

[neonalee]

I know they go through stages but... DS never had baby food as an infant. He started with my thick oatmeal, avocado, etc. Now at 17 months, he loves purees, in fact it's how I get him to eat veggies. If he has or sees anything bread related it's all over, that is all he will take. The other night we ate out & got him a quessadilla & I had a blt. He ended up eating the crust from my sandwich! Not his own foods.

Last night he refused the chopped steamed soft carrot but I did get him to eat half a container of mixed veg baby food. When he refuses he is so dramatic about it too! Twists violently away looking at us in horror. What's with that?

I need him to eat finger food. He is in the toddler room at daycare now & they don't feed them, he has to feed himself. He almost seems addicted to bread type products already. Is it better to limit them or just go with it for now? My dsd has a definite problem with carbs so I could be overreacting.

Last, would love finger food ideas he can take to daycare. No fridge & no way to heat things. We already give roasted sweet potato, cut hot dogs & grapes, tortilla sandwiches...

Please help thanks!

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[KathrynH]

I wouldn't worry about the bread thing too much. My DS is 15 months and we've been through a similar stage. I've found that you can sneak lots of things in bread. Here were some things that were successful for us...

- zucchini bread

- carrot bread

- raisin/cranberry bread (Whole Foods has some great breads with dried fruits)

- eggs with wheat germ - (mixing them together gives a more bread-like texture)

- sandwiches with meat & cheese smashed and grilled (like a panini but with regular bread)

At home we give DS whole pieces of bread. For school lunches we cut his bread into "sticks" so he can self feed without a great choking risk. I've had friends suggest getting pouches of purees that he can suck out. It's been good for them, but I haven't tried it yet. 

Good luck!

[tooraloora]

I've found my DS (also 17 months) really lacks patience when it comes to food these days even though he used to be a fantastic eater, so he'll choose whatever is absolutely easiest for him to eat, and that is often some sort of grain. He loves the taste of most veggies, but they if they aren't incredibly easy for him to chow down on, he won't bother. And he does get pretty dramatic about his refusals, even when it is something he normally likes. He doesn't have time for that nonsense. There are sofas to climb, potatoes to steal, and general havoc to wreak. Food is of lesser importance at the moment.

Right now, the options he never turns down are blueberries (he'll eat his weight in those), raspberries, half a banana, clementine wedges, apples (slices if he's eating solo, or a whole apple if I start it for him), organic "puffs" that are made from greens and whole grains (can't remember the brand), mashed avocado or humus (or any puree) with whole grain toast, rice crackers, a carrot, or a stalk of celery to scoup it with, and a stalk of celery by itself (his teething food of choice). He will also eat a pretty reasonable portion of a potato if (and only if) he personally picks it out, gets to follow me and watch as I wash it and put it in the oven, and I turn on the oven light so that he can monitor it while it cooks. Otherwise, it isn't food. There are a few things that he's much more likely to eat if he plays a roll in the prep.

FYI, if you try those puree pouches, test them out at home first. DS thinks they're awesome... for shooting everywhere.

[neonalee]

Yeah those pouches are one of the ways I get him to eat veggies. Problem is when he is done but the pouch isn't & it becomes a toy. Those things are expensive!

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[marsupial-mom]

We put our son in daycare around 19 months and I was worried he wouldn't eat as well because they relied on the children self-feeding and he wasn't very good at really getting the calories in. He had the finger skills to eat well but he preferred playing with the food to eating it. And he wasn't great with a spoon or fork. Well, he didn't always eat very much but he learned how to self-feed much better and now it's not a problem any more. I'd say just keep filling him up when he's at home with you and keep an eye on his weight to make sure it doesn't drop. He's probably just fine!

Finger food ideas:

mini sandwiches filled with almond butter or hummus

veggie burger bites

steamed veggies

dried fruits

vegan chick'n nuggets

chunks of baked or raw tofu

cooked beans

quinoa cakes

Edited by marsupial-mom - 1/5/12 at 8:15am

[neonalee]

I keep forgetting to try veggie burgers, which are something we keep in the freezer anyway. Thanks for the reminder!

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[Erin77]

We make a lentil loaf (vegetarian meatloaf) that my 15 month old loves and is easy to slice into pieces for self-feeding. 

[Buzzer Beater]

Originally Posted by Erin77 

We make a lentil loaf (vegetarian meatloaf) that my 15 month old loves and is easy to slice into pieces for self-feeding. 

Recipe! I need something like this.

[Erin77]

Sure!

1 1/8 cup green lentils

2 1/4 cup water

2 eggs

1/2 an onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

4-6 pieces of bread, torn up, or 1-1 1/2 cups of plain or Italian bread crumbs in the container

tomato paste or ketchup- good size squirt, maybe 3 tablespoons

basil/parsley/garlic powder to taste

You can soak the lentils for a couple hours ahead and then they will cook in only 15-20 minutes, or you can start with them hard and boil and then simmer 40 minutes. If you soak, drain the water and then put a little less cooking water in the saucepan (like 2 cups) before boiling. Drain and then mush with everything else. Form a loaf and bake 40 minutes at 400 F- I use a silicone bread pan and don't bother to grease it. It should be brown and crisp on top and smell like meatloaf. Cool and slice, eat with ketchup or in sandwiches, mmm. The recipe originally called for adding dry vegetable soup mix, but I thought that had too much sodium. You could also put in other veggies, like cooked carrots or maybe chickpeas or something?

[Buzzer Beater]

Yum. Thank you!

[MsDolphin]

My DS (16 months) is doing similar things reagarding foods. Just the other night saw a double-pack container of baby food (pears) and wanted it. I seriously didn't think he'd care much for it, but gave it to him. He ate BOTH containers and was shoveling it in his mouth like he was starving (he had dinner about an hour before). I am wondering if I would get more veg/fruit baby purees, just to get more of each in him.

He also does the bread thing. The other day he wanted bread, so I put a little peanut butter on it, thinking it would be a little healthier than straight bread. Nope, he refused to eat it. I ended up just giving him a slice a bread.

[neonalee]

Daycare says to me "he LOVED those little sandwich bits you sent" I said of course. They were cheese & bread LOL. I tell myself at least it is calcium. And I give him this bean stew as often as possible because mix some spoonfuls of veggie baby food (the kind he doesn't like) into it. Never thought I was gonna have to get sneaky! Gonna try the lentil loaf too.

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[Comtessa]

DD still doesn't do very well with raw or cooked veggies on their own, but she'll eat her weight in vegetable soup.  She especially loves pureed soups, so we make them often.  Of course, you'll probably have to wait until your LO is able to self-feed with a spoon, or you could try letting him drink the soup, or you could even make it thick with potatoes or rice so it's almost a dip consistency, then dip bread/crackers in it.  DD loves this.   I can cook up all sorts of things she wouldn't otherwise eat -- spinach, kale, parsnips, you name it -- and she'll eat two or three bowls and ask for more.  

Other healthy -- and pretty calorie-dense -- finger foods you could try to send to daycare:

- cooked beans, on their own or tossed with a little seasoning (even canned ones are ok, just rinse well)

- finger-food-size pasta with some tomato sauce -- you could cook your own and throw lots of pureed veggies into it

- sliced hard-boiled egg

- shredded cheese

- sliced black olives (both of my kids love these -- probably cause they're so salty)