How much is too much kale for toddler?

[BabySmurf]

my 20 month old loves kale chips.  so much so that it's the only thing he will reliably eat.  he snacks on it all day every day. and i think it's weird! is there such thing as too  much kale? i know there is, but should his instincts kick in on this and say enough is enough?

 the only other things he will eat are nuts (sort of, he can't really chew them well yet, but he can't get enough of them anyway), meats sometimes, or if it's available, starchy foods.  but i am limiting/cutting out the starchy foods because i suspect he has yeasty issues, so the only time he really sees them is if we are out with people, at which point he becomes ravenous.  and then won't poo for a week.  so he has a very limited diet.  (he will occasionally get into lentils if i make it into a dip and he will use squash "chips" for a dipping utensil, but he seems to have phased out of that).  he also won't eat nut flour "breads".  but he will eat my grain free (so nut) granola balls.  he is also still getting plenty of BM. 

so my dilemma is that i feel like i should trust his instincts with the kale, but not with the starch...wwyd? and what about eating so many nuts....aren't there a lot of omega 6's in nuts? i'm worried about inflammation....

help?

[grisandole]

I would see what is in the kale chips and go from there; I don't think that he will overdo it on the kale, but if there is a lot of salt and such, you may want to limit it. Nuts are a great source of protein and other nutrients, I wouldn't let him over do them, but nuts in moderation is fine, especially if there isn't junk added to them. If he isn't really chewing them, though, I wouldn't give him so many, as it will be harder to digest, and he won't actually be getting all the nutrients then. 

Sounds like he has a pretty decent diet: lots of greens, some meat and bm for protein, some starch. I would add some fruit, a piece a day or every other day. HTH

[BabySmurf]

yeah, i guess it doesn't sound so bad :)  I make everything so i can easily moniter the ingredients...i do add some salt sometimes to them, but a very small amount.  mostly i rely on the other seasonings to make it yummier.   thanks for the thoughts!
 

[dovey]

Maybe he's craving some carbohydrates.  If you are concerned about the starch, you could give him more fruit like grisandole mentioned...

My toddler has very odd eating habits too, but one thing I can always get him to eat are fruit custard popsicles.  I make a custard with a few eggs and coconut milk, cook it over low heat just until it thickens.  Then I blend it in the blender with peaches or strawberries or banana.  I put into popsicle holders and freeze it.  If he doesn't eat his meals (which is most of the time), I give him these as snacks, and at least I know he's getting some protein, good fats, vitamins and carbohydrates. 

Do you think he would like this type of thing?

[BabySmurf]

that's a great idea to try!

i'll try any combination of things at this point.  although he typically doesn't go for cold things...room temperature is best.  He hasn't tried any other pops that I have made.  At this point the kale has fallen out of favor, so maybe it was just a stage.  He will still eat it, but he's not going crazy over it like before! He really doesn't go for fruit either, surprisingly.  He will drink orange juice (I give it to him in an attempt to hide probiotics or oil, but he always finds me out!) and on occasion some other fruit puree type drinks.  But not the fruit pouches. 

anyhoo, he has shifted focus, and now he is on to nuts.  i've heard that it's common for kids to go through phases of only wanting a particular food; i just thought they were shorter!  at this point, i think that i am just going to let him go through the phases, and just keep offering a variety of foods.  i mean, what else it there to do?

thanks for the custard idea, that seems like an awesome way to get some good stuff in! he would probably eat it cooled rather than frozen.....

[HouseofPeace]

oooh - loved the custard idea as well.  I was going to say, let the kale go, it will either pass, or else I don't think any harm comes from kale.  

i definitely felt that BM covered all my bases and so my kids could experiment with other foods without too much worry when they were starting.  my son loves eggs (3 for breakfast any time he could from 9 months old on), and would do bananas like a madman for weeks, then none for a few months (i'd buy and then freeze b/c he would ignore them), and greens and anything else would kind of come in a fury then pass.  He is a GREAT eater now at 6.  He'll try anything, and can do a few bites of even foods that he says he doesn't like ("I don't like it, but I'll eat it b/c I know you give it to me to make me strong and healthy.") and is worlds ahead of so many kids his age.

Good instincts on the starches.  My little girl is a carb-aholic, (like me at her age) and getting any veggies into her is an ordeal.  Thankfully, she does end up craving her meats and will be picky for days, then eat 2 grass-fed burgers, or some pastured pork in large amounts.  She also loves dark chicken meat and the skin, though we can't get good chickens consistently so that's a huge treat around here.  But if I'm less generous with the starches (soured brown rice around here), she'll actually enjoy more foods.  

The most popular way to do veggies around here is fermented veggies- pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi, even pickled beets for my carb-girl!  They love eating the veggies, so every meal around here involves them, and even fight over drinking the juice.  

[kmamma]

I think it's good to let them eat their fill of their current favorite food, and making sure it's as healthy a version as possible. I used to limit starches for my little one too. I really thought he'd just eat bread if he could. But then he was allowed to, and he no longer has an addiction to it. I actually wouldn't mind it if he ate more of it, it lost most of its appeal. I think young ones need plenty of carbs and especially starches. In fact, it's resistant starches (like root veggies, grains, legumes etc) that contribute to a healthy gut flora more so than probiotics (which are useless if there's no/little starch in the diet). The components of the starch that doesn't digest is what ferments in the gut and gives the good bacteria something to live off of.  

[BabySmurf]

I did end up taking everyone's advice and allowing him to chow down on the kale...and just like everyone said, it was a phase.  now he won't go near it! lol! i'm the type of person who thinks that kids kind of "know" what they need, and the issue with the starches is that it constipates my son, so while i believe that what kmamma said is probably true, i need to work through some of the other gut issues we have before i can really allow him to let loose on too many starchy foods. because of that it does make sense that he was craving carbs.  he is intolerant to gluten, corn, dairy, and soy, so it can be challenging to find easy foods that he is in the "mood" for and still try to get a good enough variety of things, even though i know he doesn't need every thing every day.  thank goodness he is still nursing :)