Re: I am Sooo Angry-veg options?

[happyWImom]

Okay, a lot of you who responded to my "Angry" post said it's okay if ds doesn't eat meat. I do agree, the problem is, the only veggies he will eat are peas, corn and raw carrots. The carrots he doesn't even really like, unfortunately, so it takes him FOREVER to eat them. He won't eat any type of legumes, and the only cheese he will eat is string cheese. Yes, he eats yogurt, and peanut butter, banannas, pineapple, apples, cantaloupe, whatever fruit, but there's the sugar issue there. I did just buy some almond butter, but we haven't tried it yet. He is a carb fanatic, any bread, cereal, waffles, crackers, he loves (who doesn't?). I always buy high fiber, no white flour stuff, but still. He will eat pasta, but only with butter, not speg. sauce. Also, he will eat mac & cheese, but only the velveta stuff, I've tried Annie's-no go. Also, he drinks soy milk.

 

So.... based on this, how do I feed him without forcing anything?:confused:

 

Help!

[BMW]

When my kiddos were little, we watched dinosaur movies and I'd serve them fresh broccoli, sliced up long ways, on a plate with scattered pretzel sticks and told my little dinosaurs to eat their trees and sticks. They loved it! They enjoyed eating fresh veggies dipped in ranch at an early age. They loved cherry tomatoes.

 

Will you child eat veggie soups with the veggies cut up small?

 

And, if he is that picky, I would not buy the things he fills up on so much, limit those carbs and keep putting other choices before him. Perhaps a breakfast that he is used to, keeping it pleasant... a lunch that provides some new choices or is limited in what he is used to... maybe giving what you want him to eat prior to the rest of the meal? No snacks. And again at dinner, offering what you want him to eat prior to other foods being put on the plate? Maybe do that for all the plates, so the child doesn't feel zeroed in on. Have everyone eat their veggies and then follow up with the pasta or other part of the meal... just thinking...

[OnTheBrink]

What about supplemental shakes? You can do a high-protein shake and add some super green food powder to it. Not ideal, but it'll get the nutrients in him.

[SonshineLearner]

Okay, a lot of you who responded to my "Angry" post said it's okay if ds doesn't eat meat. :confused:......

Help!

 

Just a question, is this a stubborn issue, at heart? My son eats really just weird foods. His selection is very small, and so he has to be happy with what we have...that he'll eat. Many times it's my mom's homemade (home ground flour) WW bread. We try for really little sugar and I've tried to cut out most food colors and Corn Syrup...

 

If it's a problem, you can explain that adults are usually the only ones that choose what to eat. (all the way, at least) and that you'll call him when it's time to eat dinner, so he can come make his own. And then of course, after that, he needs to clean up after himself. I plan to start this within a little bit with my son.

 

My step-daughter decided she wouldn't eat meat a while ago (when she was maybe 11?) I tried to ride it out, but then I told her that at our house...she has to just eat what's served. (She's with us half time) She just isn't old enough to make sure her diet's balanced. When she's 18, or closer to that...then she can decide to cook herself her own meals.

 

If it's just stubborn, being interrupted to come cook and clean...when his siblings are still playing...might break the streak.... Of course, I'm not meaning for you to punish him....

 

Good Luck! Let us know what works!

Carrie:-)

[Danestress]

I had one child who literally would only eat fish sticks and french fries from a certain bowl. I adopted him at five and it was a process of many years to get him to be my Vietnamese and Indian food buddie. My other two children have eaten pretty much everything and with joy. So I've been on both sides of this.

 

If he is eating all kinds of whole grains, he's getting protein there - more than you might realize. You make a pancake or waffle with whole grains, eggs and milk - so that's not terrible. Add a little fruit and you have a meal:)

 

Bananas, peanut butter, peas, corn, milk, cereals. These are all great. Cheese, soy milk, apple cantaloupe. This all sounds good, and I am not sure if he's eating these things I would worry too much about his health. I'm not saying it's ideal, but he's not going to have a protein deficiency if he's eating eggs as part of bread and waffles, drinks soy milk, eats yogurt and cheese. I would worry that it's a pain to fix things for him and that he's going to have problems in life if he never matures in his eating tastes, but most picky eaters DO mature.

 

I think if you have had a lot of control and conflict issues in your family over food, I would just back way way way off for a while. Let him forget that food is something some people wage battles over. I'm convinced that my picky eater was actually more interested in control than anything else. So I just totally eliminated the power struggle but not struggling. I gradually began trying to get him to try "just one bite" of food, but only food that I already was pretty sure he would like. I wanted him to have a hundred experiences of trying something I said he would like and I finding out it was true. So I never tried to get him to try a bite of anything I already knew he would hate - anything spicey, sour, or with any meat at all. Over time, that paid off big because he started to trust me to try new things when I said he should.

 

Eventually we had a pretty normal situation. By 12 we were one of those, "finish your dinner if you want dessert" families. But I mostly made dinners I knew he would sort of life or would like parts of. Now at 20 he's a great eater. He would rather eat nails than touch pork, but he will eat other kinds of meat and pretty much any vegetable or other food he is served.

[Mrs. Readsalot]

Deceptively Delicious I think is the title. I took it out of the library and it looks interesting for those with picky eaters. Basically you are making purees out of the vegies and hiding them in cooked and baked goods.

Karen

[HollyinNNV]

My favorite vegetarian recipe book is called Passionate Vegetarian. Here's a website for the book-http://www.passionatevegetarian.com/

 

If your library has it, check it out and try a few recipes. The good thing about the book is that it is HUGE. You will get tons of ideas and add a great variety of new cooking ingredients to your family favorites.

 

Holly

[Ummto4]

HAve you considered tofu (grilled or fried) ? We love this - but buy the hard textured one from Chinese store. it's so tasty. HEre in Houston, tofu is quite abundant. We marinate tofu pieces with garlic powder, pepper and salt and fry it. OR you can marinate with those spices + oil and broil it. We also put tofu in other food like soup, including salad.

 

You can also get veggie burger.

 

How about veggie stir fry ? You can put chicken pieces in it ...but make sure the chicken pieces are chopped v. finely or grounded.

 

I'm sorry my suggestion is mostly Asian because we are Asian and we don't eat that much of meat either. In fact, I feel so unhealthy to eat chunks of meat like steak.

 

IF it turns out that your son responds well to stir fry, I think you should get a Chinese cookbook. In Asia, people usually eat meat in small pieces and is usually part of veggie soup, or stir fried food. May be when the meat/chicken is done this way, your son will be willing tio eat it.

[Angel]

I'm sorry that this is such an issue for you. :grouphug: He sounds exactly like my dd with sensory issues. When she was that age, her diet was very similar to your ds. Actually, maybe she ate less, she wouldn't touch yogurt, milk, or pasta. There were times when I thought she needed to eat more, when I needed to force her to eat, and even a couple times that I thought of sending her to bed hungry. I am ashamed of those times now. I didn't know dd had issues, not until she was almost 10.

 

Please take a look at the things he will eat. There is a good list of decent foods. Unless you are dealing with diabetes ... and I may have missed that ... don't worry about the sugar in the fruit. It is fruit and it is healthy. Let him eat his fill. I used to tell dd that once it was gone, she was out until grocery day.;) She would usually go on to her next favorite thing and eat us out of the house on that. If you are buying whole wheat, then don't worry about the carbs, he's eating healthy and it's not junk. He's what 5? At least he'll eat spaghetti without sauce! Dd has never eaten pasta. Just set some aside before you put the sauce in. That's NOT making a different meal, just altering slightly. Same with the meat he will eat, set aside a small portion before you bread it (or whatever) and have that for him. I still do this for dd as she will not eat anything on her chicken. Again, I say focus on what he does eat and if it's healthy - which it looks like most of it is - who cares if he's not eating exactly what you want.

 

I remember how rough those days were, when I thought it needed to be a battle because everyone said kids should eat. Heck, dd is 14 now and I still have friends who are HORRIFIED, yes in caps, that I won't make her eat what everyone else is eating. I tell them to thank God that they never had to travel our road.

 

Before I step off my rant ... well, I hope it's not too much of a rant:blush: ... I'd like to share that I don't always make my dd a separate meal. I DO make sure that there is something on the table that she will eat. Garlic bread and salad or a baked potato, some bread. Kids are kids and they need nourishment, they NEED to eat to keep healthy.

 

Focus on the positive, keep something at every meal that he will eat, and maybe you should have him checked for sensory issues. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Like others said, if it's just a phase, it'll be over. If it's a sensory problem, it'll be there (in some form or another) all his life. Dd is now 14, she still struggles, but on the other hand, she also has been able to branch out and try new things but that has only come as she has gotten older and is able to control some of her issues.

 

Good luck and :grouphug: as I said I remember those days.

[Jenny in Florida]

He won't eat any type of legumes, and the only cheese he will eat is string cheese. Yes, he eats yogurt, and peanut butter, banannas, pineapple, apples, cantaloupe, whatever fruit, but there's the sugar issue there. . . . Also, he drinks soy milk.

 

Well, peanuts are legumes. And you can buy all sorts of nut butters without sugar. That's what we do.

[Angel]

I gradually began trying to get him to try "just one bite" of food, but only food that I already was pretty sure he would like. I wanted him to have a hundred experiences of trying something I said he would like and I finding out it was true. So I never tried to get him to try a bite of anything I already knew he would hate - anything spicey, sour, or with any meat at all. Over time, that paid off big because he started to trust me to try new things when I said he should.

 

:iagree:

 

We did this also. Dh actually was better at this than I. Dd wouldn't try whipped cream or honey, so he started with these two. Now that she's 14 and not 6, she knows that we won't have her try something she'll gag on. She still won't try pasta, though. It's all about texture there I think.

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

Your child has a more varied diet than mine....Perhaps "this too, shall pass?"

[JFSinIL]

Find a protein powder and force him to drink a glass of it (I mix with chocolate Instant Breakfast to make more palatable) and no tv (whatever) unless it goes down. My 17-yr-old son with autism is on a VERY self-limited diet, far worse than your kidlet, and the protein powder is the ONLY protein he gets. I use NOW brand of whey protein isolate (dutch choc. flavor) with the added Instant B'fast, and mix it all up with 1% milk. He also downs a multi-vitamin each day.

[Pretty in Pink]

Does your ds have sensory issues (I missed your other "angry" thread)? I ask because if he does then I would obviously try my best to accommodate his eating preferences. If he's just being picky I would continue to serve him vegetables prepared in a variety of ways (whatever the rest of the family is eating) and I would require him to try one bite. Just one bite. In fact, I would only put one bite on his plate, that way when he has eaten it I could say "Look, you ate all of your vegetables!"

 

I wouldn't stress about how much fruit he eats unless he has blood sugar issues. My kids don't prefer Annie's mac-n-cheese either but they love homemade mac-n-cheese and I use whole-grain noodles.