I need some new ideas for foods for a 15 month old!

[J1379]

I'm feeling a bit at a loss here....my 15mo DS eats very little solids and when he does eat - is extremely picky with what he will eat.  He breastfeeds at least 6 times a day and I have not introduced cow's milk as a drink yet...only other fluids are water.  I have tried so many different foods and have spent countless hours making things that I think he will love only to have him perhaps eat 1-2 bites and then refuse more...or even in some cases refuse to even try the food!!  I'm at a loss here because DS#1 literally ate anything I put in front of him and I never had any trouble - he just ate whatever DH and I were having for dinner and loved it!  DS#2 is a different story!  He likes some fruit...pears, apples, bananas (on occasion) and melon but that's about it.  As far as veggies go - sweet potato is just about the only thing he will eat.  I've tried EVERYTHING!!!!  Peas, beans, broccoli, cooked carrots, zucchini...you name it...he won't eat it!  I've tried scrambled eggs, hardboiled eggs...nope.  The only thing he loves is yogurt...he would eat yogurt for breakfeast, lunch and dinner if you let him.  Also he will eat toast with butter...I've tried french toast for some added protein...and he won't touch it!  I have made a concoction of ground turkey, sweet potatoes and apples that he loves...but I'd like to get away from preparing "baby food" and have him just eat whatever the family is eating for dinner.  I always try whatever we are eating and he usually will eat a bite or two, but then after that rejects things. 

Anyone else with picky eaters out there?  Any advice?  I'm just so worried about him because he really doesn't eat much in a day.  If I weren't exclusively breastfeeding I'd be much more worried....but I do feel that he should be getting more vitamins from his food at this point and he really isn't.  Plus he tends to get very constipated and I'm certain this must be from the large amount of yogurt he eats and little else.  Help??

[crystal_buffaloe]

What about a pasta or a soup? DD will eat a lot more vegetables if they are mixed in with a grain or a pasta or covered in cream sauce or marinara sauce or mixed in with soup.

Would he eat toast with a fruit or veggie puree smeared on top?

She also likes dried fruit (raisins, dried apricots, crazins, prunes) more than regular fruit (we get "no sugar added" but it's still not great for her teeth) though they would all help with any constipation issues he's having.

If he's eating some bites, I'd just offer all the darn time. At 15m, DD ate probably 6 small meals a day -- the dietician wanted her to eat 3 meals and 3 snacks, but she only ate a snack-like amount at each meal anway, so it made more sense to me to just offer six small meals. (She wasn't necessarily picky, but she was/is skinny.)

And if he likes a ground turkey, apple & sweet potato combo, would he like other casseroles? Or is that a puree?

HTH

[MsDolphin]

If he likes sweet potatoes, I would also try squash. Maybe you already tried these, my DS likes mac&cheese and spinach & cheese ravioli.

There is another thread similar to yours with more ideas. Thread is "Help with my 15 month old girl!"

[tooraloora]

DS isn't very picky, but DD was for awhile. If she really didn't like a food, I mixed it with something she liked and then continued offering it while gradually reducing the other foods mixed in. She used to hate carrots, but she loved bananas. Steaming and mashing carrots and mixing them in with banana and pumpkin pie spice was a hit (I still do that to make a cookie type thing that both my kids adore), so I stuck with that for a bit, but each time I offered it, I reduced the banana and pumpkin pie spice a little, until she was used to the taste of carrot. She still wouldn't eat them plain for a long time, but she'd at least eat when I baked them with potatoes, onions, and garlic in veggie broth. She's been fine with eating them plain for the last couple years, though (she's almost 7). She also wasn't a big fan of greens, so I added them to mashed potatoes and used them in potato fritters. She also really liked them cooked in veggie broth with a little lemon juice, garlic, and nutritional yeast. Things like zucchini and carrots are also great to hide in things like zucchini bread and carrot cake. Also, there are a lot of things that she didn't like at first, but after I offered them several times she changed her mind.

By the way, DS (17 months) may not be picky as far as taste goes, but right now he is going through a major "lazy" stage in regards to food. If it isn't incredibly easy for him to eat, he doesn't have the patience for it. There are a lot of foods that he used to love, but now vehemently refuses if I offer them the way we normally eat them. He'd just rather be doing something else, and fussing with food is not on his list of priorities right now. There are days it seems like he subsists on air and mama milk. However, if I prepare them in a way that is easier for him to eat (especially without utensils) and keep offering, he will eventually eat it.