Toddler diet

[SunRise]

I'm happy/relieved to add another item to the list of things my selective eating 2 year old will eat - sardines!

Other choice items: yogurt (barely), salmon, mac and cheese, chocolate, when she finds it, hot dogs, spaghetti w/ sauce

Food she used to eat:

As a baby, everything.

As an one year old, very good selection.

Many go to items she used to happily eat that she now refuses: grapes, bananas, berries, carrots, potatoes, brussel sprouts, hamburgers (she used to steal mine), chicken, bread/toast.

What are your toddlers enjoying now a days? What are they now refusing to eat?

[Mittens]

Ahh so good to know we're not alone.

One food my 2 year old has always eaten and still likes is, believe it or not, broccoli! Same with carrots, peas, corn on the cob, and rice and lentils. Chicken and hamburgers are a close second.

She used to kind of like bananas but not at all anymore. She used to like watermelon but now she is iffy about it. Actually, i can't think of one fruit she will eat unless it is in juice box form. She used to love raisins but now spits them out. She used to love yogurt but not anymore, though she does like yogurt drinks.

She is all about carbs. Crackers, rice cakes, bagels...that sort of thing. She also likes cheese most of the time. And cream cheese on a bagel.

Her whole entire world stops at ice cream and french fries, both of which are a once in a while treat.

[gitanamama]

Currently on DS's list of favorites: yogurt, cheese, pretzels, pretty much any fruit (except bananas), peanut butter off a spoon, broccoli, peas, tomatoes, rice, pasta.

He'll no longer eat: bread or sandwiches, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, bananas, fish, tofu, eggs, potatoes, or cereal.

One day my little guy will eat three bowls of pasta, the next day he won't touch it. So funny!

[CalaRei]

Phew, am I glad to see these lists from you folks.  I keep telling myself to do the best I can and that it's all just a phase.  I especially am comforted that all other kids seem to go through an eat anything phase into this toddler disapproval phase.

It's a little stranger having twins at this stage - they each have their own opinions (duh, I guess) but then will change their minds.  I just try to keep the "carb load" meal to once a day.

T is hit or miss on clementines/oranges/mandarins, but K LOVES them.  They both like yogurt with various stuff in it - especially if I drizzle a little honey on top! K will eat meat here or there (devours pork chop!), but I don't think T has eaten more than a bite of hamburger or nibble of a fishstick in a long time.  Eggs are right out for both of them (ugh.)  As others have mentioned.... carbs are king for both of them.  Almost all fruits are great.  They like the novelty of popping edamame beans out, so they eat those.  Cheese used to be a HUGE winner, but not so much any more.  Veggies they'll eat while I'm cutting up, but only because they feel like they're getting a treat I guess.  T used to like broccoli, but I think not so much anymore.

Strangely, anything served at dinner time is pretty much rejected.  Even if it'd be accepted for lunch or breakfast.  *shrugs*  We still sit down and eat.  Then I've accepted that it's OK for them to eat an apple before bed, even if dinner was passed up.  (Really, am I going to tell my kids not to eat an apple?  Nah.)

[P.J.]

Isn't it so funny (well, not really!) how their tastes vary so greatly from day to day, week to week, etc...??

DS was eating so many bananas we couldn't keep stocked.....and lately I had to throw brown mushy ones away (DH and I don't like them) more than once. Now I buy only one or two at a time but he rarely eats more than a few slices if that. Same with apples but in the last couple days he did eat some. He had a passing pea phase and has refused them the last several times I offered.

As a baby he ate so many veggies....sweet potato, broccoli, carrot, etc. Now he is very picky and will occasionally eat what we're having (it was carrots yesterday) but often refuses (broccoli and cauliflower today). One thing he will almost always eat is noodles (with butter)! He also LOVES olives! ....for now
 

[AKA_PI]

My 3 year old has to be the pickest eater ever LOL He currently list of loves are: berries (of any kind), chicken, steak, shrimp, mussels, crab meat, sausage, bacon, peas, corn, green beans (craved these when I was pregnant with him), strawberries (his addicition), french fries, mac and cheese, bananas, oranges, basically any fruit there is.

I try to introduce new foods in a fun way but he seems to figure out after a few bites (and me trying it hide it mixed in with something else) that its not what he likes. 

[newmamalizzy]

Originally Posted by AKA_PI 

My 3 year old has to be the pickest eater ever LOL He currently list of loves are: berries (of any kind), chicken, steak, shrimp, mussels, crab meat, sausage, bacon, peas, corn, green beans (craved these when I was pregnant with him), strawberries (his addicition), french fries, mac and cheese, bananas, oranges, basically any fruit there is.

I try to introduce new foods in a fun way but he seems to figure out after a few bites (and me trying it hide it mixed in with something else) that its not what he likes. 

Doesn't have cheap tastes, huh? :)

[SunRise]

My daughter sticks her fist in her mouth and refuses to let food enter!  And she is very vocal about it, "YUCK psfttt YUCK" spitting all the tainted saliva out of her.

I was able to "fly" food into my sons "hanger" (mouth), when he was little, but she is not amused at all by this little fun.

[maydaymom10]

Thank you for this post. Liam is such a picky eater! Currently he'll eat bananas, apples, cereal (dry), chips, and fried meat. Trying to get him to eat veggies is a battle. Sometimes he'll eat pasta. He's been on a rice-kick this week & I've successfully hidden veggies and baked chicken in there. We did find out that he's a hamburger fan - who knew?? 

When he was at daycare (up until a few weeks ago) they always commented about what a good eater his was. He never is for me. Now that he's with me full-time (I'm a new SAHM) I'm worries that he won't get enough to eat. Maybe his has a more sensitive palette than I'm giving him credit for, afterall, he did eat most of my california roll the other day. :)

[Chrissy615]

When did you start giving him shrimp?  I have a 14 month old and I'm still scared to do seafood, but he's picky too and I'd love add it if he'll eat it.

[bananabee]

My 2 yr old is very picky about food and won't try new things very often. I usually make foods I know she would like if she tasted them, and if she won't try it herself, I pick up a very small piece and pop it in her mouth. She gets a little mad, but if she likes it, she asks/reaches for more and if she doesn't like it I completely back off. 

For lunches lately, I've been doing a variety of finger foods on plates for both of us, and sit side by side while we eat. She'll eat her favorites first, and then look to see what is left on my plate. I know she doesn't like biting into cold things, like carrots, so those I will cut into thin shavings on her plate, so now she will eat them. I thought cucumbers would be an easy one, but she refused each time I offered them until I cut up a whole cucumber into thin slices and stacked two on her plate and the rest of it on my plate. She saw how I was eating them rapidly, and decided she would try them off my plate. She ate about half what was on my plate, but still refused the two slices on her plate, so I ate those. Toddlers are funny creatures. 

Also kinda food-related...today I asked DD to mop the floor with me. I gave her a mini mop and let her slosh water all over the hard floor (barricaded the carpeted areas) and after we were done, we ate lunch. Normally she throws food from her high chair as soon as she's done eating, and it drives me nuts. I cheerfully ask her clean it up and hand everything to me, which she does willingly. Anyway, today after mopping together, as soon as she finished her sandwich, she put all of the crust pieces into the cup holder spot on her tray instead of throwing them off. I had taught her to do that when she was 14-18 mos old but finally gave up b/c the food always hits the floor. It was so nice to see her recall a habit I taught her that long ago and appreciate having the floor clean. Totally made my day! Maybe she is growing up a bit, and all my efforts in teaching her good habits are not completely going to waste!

[AmyBP]

Gosh, why is the toddler pickiness so universal?? I came online to vent particularly about this! DS is 21 months and eats... berries, chicken, grapes, corn chips (sometimes), whole grain cereal squares (sometimes), oat "cheerios" (a few only), a few bites of apple, oranges, a very rare few bites of cheese, yogurt (usually), carrots, lettuce (chews it but has trouble swallowing it, so will spit it out), pancakes (usually? though maybe only with maple syrup), sometimes toast with butter, usually pasta, peppers, cucumbers, usually sweets (muffins, cookies etc.)... that's about it. It's so frustrating! He is still nursing all night (which I don't mind, I don't usually wake for it), and several times a day... as I am now expecting #2, and anticipating my milk drying up in a few months, and feeling increased need for alone time to nurture myself and be in touch with the new baby, and I feel like between nursing and trying to make food appealing for him, feeding him is a FULL TIME JOB! It's tempting to wean him during the day just so he'll have to eat food! (Though I don't really want to do that; I do hope when my milk dries up he'll eat more and get into the habit of eating.) I don't want it to shock him when it happens, I want him to gradually get into food, but it's like beating my head against a brick wall sometimes. I am seriously wondering whether there is some developmental/evolutionary reason for the pickiness in little kids. If I could just see the sense in it on that level I might find it less frustrating!

[sosurreal09]

My toddler will eat any and all fruits/veggies but is picky about meat and grains go figure. She has allergies too so it limits what she can have.
 

[RStelle]

My DD LOVES dips. Sometimes she won't eat unless she has something to dip her food in. We do  a lot of tomato sauce, guacamole, bean or lentil dip, salsa, yogurt, whipped cream, and sunflower butter. Also she eats way more and is happier if I give her all the food groups with each meal. I'll make little piles of chicken, cheese, pieces of tortilla, onions, cilantro, and then salsa as a dip. If I mixed it all together she wouldn't touch it. The more different piles the happier she is about eating. If I give her bread and butter I make a bread pile and a butter pile, it I put the butter on the bread than forget it!. She's only just starting to get teeth at 15 months so I can't give her anything that she has to chew, sometimes I run out of ideas of things that don't need to be chewed that she's going to want to eat!

I have a theory that the reason they seem to love something one day and then hate it the next is because it helps with them to get a balanced diet. Like if I'm feeding too many grains then DD will eat everything except her pasta that day, if I've been feeding her a lot of protean for the past few days she won't eat her cheese. But once I had a foster kid who would only eat chicken nuggets, carrots, and white bread and jelly sandwiches, so that may disprove my theory. 

[mariagarcia495]

Toddler choices changes time to time and according to their mood, give them whatever they want but make sure that they should daily drink milk and dried fruits as its very important for such growing age. My DS daily drink milk and he loves it too.

[sosurreal09]

I'm still nursing my 32 m/o
 

[AKA_PI]

Originally Posted by newmamalizzy 

Doesn't have cheap tastes, huh? :)

Not at all LOL