What do you feed your toddler?

I haven't been around in ages, mainly cause I'm always busy, and I try to keep minimal use of my computer because it has a virus right now and I haven't had the time to get ALL my precious pictures and videos off... If any of you even remember me. :)
Anyways,

My son is a year old now, and his diet isn't the greatest. He will eat breaded frozen chicken tenders but he won't eat cooked chicken breasts or turkey and he HATES mashed potatoes. He eats a lot of cereal and teddy grams for is grains and sometimes toasted wheat bread. I try not to give him more than 4-6 oz. of juice in a day because he's been getting frequent diarhea (diarrhea) so i'm trying to lower his juice intake and increase grains but he is lacking in protein because he won't eat much meat. And he detests most vegies. he may take a bite or two but then it's paint for his booster tray after that. He will not eat jar baby food. I just sold all of it in a yard sale lol. He loves fruit, at least. I bought him a tray dinner, the "Graduates Lil entrees" turkey and rice, and i even thought it was good. Nope... not even ravioli.. What are some more options that aren't completely unhealthy?? Hot dogs were given as a suggestion once but I think they're just gross and 11 g of fat in one, I don't want to be giving him several as a staple in his diet.

Suggestions??

[pinkbelle]

Mac and cheese... i give that to my daughter alot and she loves it.. i buy the little graduates kind but u can give him homemade kind.. i also give her cheese as a snack.. i get the sargentos mickey mouse shaped cheese and she loves that. she gets teddy grahms.. i give her the gerber lil crunchies which are like cheese curls but for babies.. she also gets yogurt and she can eat a whole banana by herself shes a little piggy : )  she doesnt like many veggies so i sneak them in her juice i buy the apple carrot juice and she loves it and she gets her veggies that way..  u can try the lunchable jrs.. they have like cheese and crackers in them just watch how much he eats cus of the sodium..  aubree loves ground beef so i make some and mix with a little brown rice and she will eat that. i give her cream of wheat with a little fruit in it as well..

[pinkbelle]

ohh and my daughter absolutely loves grilled cheese.. i use whole wheat bread and reduced fat cheese and just a little bit of i cant believe its not butter spray so its actually pretty good for her.. i cut it up into bite size pieces.

[mami1323]

I'm with pinkbelle, mac and cheese, grilled cheese, pasta like spaghetti rings, don't worry about hot dogs being high in fat, just finding things they like to eat is enough of a worry.  If his weight gain is normal then give it to him.  My son used to eat more but now lately he's not a fan of much.  He loves french fries, waffles, pancakes, cereal, scrambled eggs, rice.  

[becca_3456]

home made pizza is another option. it has 4 food groups and you could blend other veggies in the sauce with out him knowing. instead of pepperoni you could try chicken or ground beef. They even have whole wheat crust available.  

[jenstam]

Beans for protein, or eggs. Cheese, milk. What about ham? Yogurt? Toddlers are usually picky. I have a very picky one on my hands! Would love to see updated pics of Riley (sp?)!

[jennyb473]

I'm with everyone else - try it all....
throw a piece of chees on a tortilla and nuke it for 15 seconds to make a quesadilla, deli ham or turkey with some cheese (or lunchable jrs), pasta, pancakes, waffles, fish, yogurt.  

Jillian is getting pickier, especially with veggies, she'll eat brocolli lately and that is about it.  but she eats so much fruit some days I think she'll turn into a strawberry!   She usually has pancakes and fruit for breakfast, lunchables or lunch meat and cheese or ravioli for lunch and chicken & veggies for dinner.  

good luck!

[kellym]

Blake NEVER at baby food and hates anything that sticks to his fingers (mashed potatoes).  He eats pancakes or eggs with turkey sausage, maybe a bagel or waffles for breakfast. For lunch a meat, turkey dog, turkey meatballs, mac & cheese, lunch meat cut up. WIth that he gets either canned peas, broccoli, canned beans or any beans. A fruit, strawberries, peaches, pears. I like to buy the plastic cups. They are in light corn syrup but I always rinse them and dump the whole cup on his plate. For dinner it's pretty much the same as lunch, a meat, veggie & fruit. Sometimes I give him a corn dog, he can eat the whole thing. He holds it like a 4 year old and then just chows, piggy ugh...

[GRose]

Noah isn't big on veggies so I give him the V8 fusion, it has veggies and fruit in it. I also  water his juice down A LOT, that way he thinks he is getting more than he really is. I put a little ovaltine in his milk so it has some flavor, otherwise he really wont touch milk. I found that he will eat almost anything if I give him ketchup to dip in or melt some cheese on it. Try corn on the cob, Noah wont eat corn unless it is on the cob, he ate 2 ears of it yesterday lol he loves it. I tell him broccoli is a tree and he thinks that is funny so he eats it. Just try and make it fun.

[kjbutcher]

yogurt is good.  the cottege cheese with fruit on the side and only mix in a tiny bit...enough to get him to eat it.  my son actually likes some canned veggies.  he wont eat fresh or frozen but will eat canned.  I know it isnt the best but if I can get some in him then great!  there are "chicken"nuggets made by morning star that are actually mostly veggies that we use a lot.  you can try sweet potatoes and just bake them like a baking potato.  lunchmeats are a favorite around here.  I know it is kind of sugary but the packets of oatmeal that comes in flavors.  it is mostly wheat though so I go for it.  I get a lot of different kinds of cereals and just sit them on the table a few pieces at a time and use it for a snack.  also if I use it as a snack and not breakfast I dont mind if it has 5 or so grams of sugar..

[kjbutcher]

btw...we wouldnt forget you!!

[Annice1234]

my son's favorite is fish and broccoli.  just like gRose...just throw a little ketchup on it and he'll eat anything!  :)  i make english muffin pizzas for him...with whole grain muffins..i toast them first.  then put a little olive oil, oregano, a LITTLE garlic salt and then some think slices of tomato, topped with reduced fat mozarella cheese.  i cook that in the oven for 10 min on 425, then just broil it to make a the top a little crunchy.  i just like things crunchy..you probably don't have to do all of this.  anyway, it's not too bad for him, and it really tastes like pizza!  you can't even tell its just a slice of tomato.
i've been making meatballs with ground turkey breast...and make him a meatball sandwich.  spaghetto is easy w whole wheat noodles.  hmm and all of the stuff the others have said...

[Annice1234]

ohhh, and for hot dogs, we buy the turkey franks.  not sure how much better they are for you, but i'm sure at least a little??  he likes eggs too...with cheese.  waffles, french toast...

[mlb1234]

yogurt is great - and i can disguise many vegies in it and she does not even know (squash, sweet potatoes, etc).  She currently loves mac and cheese - i have found the kraft ones which are cartoon shapes are easier for her to grasp on her own.

[BearHitch]

My son is a very picky eater, and pretty much will not eat meat.  The only time he will is hamburger in the Hamburger Helper lasagna meals.  He likes mac'n'cheese too.  He does not like the graduate meals but he really likes the pasta pickups and they have meat and veggies hidden in them!  We do a lot of string cheese and yogurt and raisins.  He likes fruit and really does not like any vegetable except green beans.  He eats a lot of cereal too so I try and stick to things like Kix or multi-grain Jumbo krispies.  He also likes the frozen chicken nuggets... I try and choose the healthier of these options but really just getting him to eat is something of a struggle.  He can have whatever for lunch but I make him have what we have for dinner - so I try and do tater tots and things he likes more often than I usually would.  

In regards to protein, I was worried about that but my ped said he drinks enough milk (4+ bottles a day) to fulfill that nutritional requirement.  So there are some ideas / things that work for us!  

[megmil]

Just wondering but when you introduced baby food what did you start with??? You should start with green veggies cause once they have fruit they won't go to the veggies. You should do green veggies, then yellow and orange veggies, then fruit. If he doesn't like meat you could give him eggs if he will eat those for the protien. And peanut butter sandwiches are good for protien but he needs his veggies. My son has always loved vegetable and fruit and bread but wouldn't eat much of anything else and the doctor told me to give him the meals I eat and eat with him so he sees that I eat it too and if he refuses to eat it then don't give him anything else until next meal time. It sounded harsh to me but I had to to get him to eat and he does eat well now. Cutting back juice is good but make sure he's not getting too much water or milk because that will fill him up and he won't eat. You could try not giving him anything with sugar for a while, even fruits or any snack foods with even the smallest amount of sugar because kids get that good taste and don't want anything else. For a while my son would not eat anything at all and would always ask for anything with sugar in it but we refused to give it to him and even threw it all out until he started eating right. He eats real well now really. Just a few suggestions though.

[CYW]

it took my son quite some time to eat more table food.. he could not handle the chunks lol...he would gag it was rather funny actually..

but now at 20 months of age he will eat just about anything.. he will eat mashed poatatoes but isnt a fan of them(i whip them and daycare leaves chunks and that grosses him out...) he eats all kinds of stuff at daycare which to me looks absolutely disgusting and i would never touch or taste even if my life depended on it...but im very fussy...cameron on the other hand he eats everything i eat and then some and eats everything his dad eats so hes rather well rounded...i dont eats what his dad eats and he doesnt what i eat so it works out...(thank god i dont have to take care of him anymore hahahaha) but yeah cameron LOVES dried fruits...cranberries, hot cereal, yogourt omg he loves, apple sauces.. i get the unsweetened and the sunripe fruits..they have them as little fruit snacks for kids..1 serving of real fruit..he loves his veggies and fruits...very strong on those and he loves rice chips, all healthy...if i make fajitas for supper i usually give it to him seperately because he makes a big mess.. he eats what i eat from spagetti to hot hamburgers to roast beef...and he loves steak...at first i  thought he wouldnt.. i usually try to make it at least once a week.. i get really tender meat...rib eye is usually really good for that..cook it slowly so as you eat it it sort of melts in your mouth...its much better on the bbq though but i need to get one of those...Oh and Cameron LOVES sausages on a bun...lol..

what i do is a boil the sausages(the big ones) takes all the fat out then i put them in the oven with some bbq sauce and let the bbq sauce dry alil over the sausage and plop it on the bun and tada...oh its soo good...grr now im hungry

[Atlanta Girl]

My son's favorite dish is risotto with broccoli and chicken.  He also loves oats with pear (or peach or apple) and butternut squash.  That's usually his dinner, since I do meat or fish only for lunch. We just went through a phase  on which he didn't want eat anything but bread and milk.  It was really frustrating!  Sometime I also try disguising the taste with something he likes, like ricotta or Parmesan cheese!
I like your pizza Annice, I think I'll try it!

[pinkbelle]

you arent suppose to give peanut butter until age 2 now.. wic told me that..  

[KStarr07]

We've only tried eggs once he wanted nothing to do with them.. And I bought the V8 fusion stuff too he loves it, but I looked and to my amazement there was only 10% real juice in it and a good bit of sugar, 18 grams in one cup.. a bit frustrated about that... I thought it was a grand idea until i realized that. I've been real slow on the milk and all the dairy because of his issues as a baby, and not only should you hold off on peanut butter (i didn't know that either until just now lol) My riley had a HUGE reaction when I ate peanut butter, while breastfeeding. I've been scared since for him to have ANYTHING peanut..
Thanks for the nuggets suggestion kjbutcher

Megmil, Yes I started with fruit because that's what i had on hand. I'm not sure I believe that old saying though that they will not ever like vegies if you don't start with them, when he was younger around 6-8 months or so, when I introduced new vegies he would eat most of them. Anything but squash and no squished peas, he likes whole peas though.  He will munch on a whole carrot, but he doesn't like cooked carrots. It must be the texture cause he hates the canned green beans too.

We still don't have much food wise to choose from and I worry much more about Riley's diet than my own but this is so frustrating!!

[pinkbelle]

kstarr -- i started aubree on fruits as well.. i thinks its an old saying as well.

[KStarr07]

UPDATE::

He does not like the mickey cheese... at all. hahah. maybe it's cause it is cheddar and cheddar is a little sharp, the yellow one anyway. So I bought a block of colby and monterey cheese and he likes it. :) he likes mac n cheese. he likes cottage cheese too, i can sneak at least a few veggies in there,
Multi grain cheerios are great whole grains and a good taste he likes them.

JUICY JUICE harvest surprise is the brand that is 100% juice and has veggies and fruit in it. :) moderate sugar content.. (all natural fruit sugars, no additional sugar)

I'm still stuck about the meat though... we will sort it out though.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

One more thing, how much milk do you give your 1 year old in a day?
Riley still has diarhea (diarrhea) and i don't think milk is helping it any.

He's dropped the bottle *knock on wood* and so he takes 2-4 sippies of milk a day. probably about 4-6 ounces each time.. is that too much?

[KStarr07]

==bump==
?

[tiredbuthappy]

my dr said that at 1 year old we should aim for around 16-20 ounces of milk/day

[pertykitty]

jerry sienfelds wife (is it melissa or jennifer?) has a great book out for kid recipies.  she blends veggies and adds them to meals.  they never even know.  this is exactly why i never buy chicken tenders or packaged foods, i try to do fresh or frozen and i think addison has always tasted foods from my milk and is used to it.  

trader joes has a great selection of snacks, maybe give them a try.  many are low in sugar and gluten free.

i know its hard with a picky eater, ive never had one but watched my friends kids snack on nothing but junk because its what they were given.  

here are some foods you can try my kids love: yam fries.  hummus on whole wheat pitas. legumes-kidney beans, garbanzo, black ect.  for an ice cream treat i might take the gogurts and freeze them its good!  you can get calcuim from many foods, but i suppose broccoli is out of the question lol.  avocado.  make a smoothy with fruit.  

wholesomebaby ******* is a good site with some nice recipies.  ive read it can take a week of trying something new before they like it.  like meg said you need to really cut back the sugar intake.  it will be all they want and they will be hungry all the time.  eat right yourself they want to be just like us.  one thing i bought was addison watches cousins suck down those horrible capri suns.  i found some "flavored" water in the same packaging and it has a few grams of sugar, but it stops her begging every few weeks when they might visit. ive noticed that if i make cookies and give addison one, she becomes a sugar wild child wanting more.  i have learned to keep it very occational and just keep trying different foods over and over.  right now she loves fish, strawberries, avocados, and turkey breakfast sausage to just name a few. good luck and dont give up!

[pertykitty]

that blip was tod moc but reverse it lol

[KStarr07]

Thanks for all the help guys :)

I took some mixed veggies, corn, carrots, green beans, peas, lima beans, and smooshed them all up and mixed it with some strawberry yogurt, then added some harvest surprise juicy juice (also fruits and veggies) to sweeten it up some more to hide the taste, then thickened it back up with infant cereal. he LOVED it!! He ate most of a chicken hot dog (40% less fat, still 9g though), a few pieces of cheese, about 1/3-1/2 slice of whole wheat bread, about 1/4 of a banana, and 4-5 oz of dilluted juicy juice.. WOW!

:)

And he's completely bottle free now! 3 days and counting. :D
I'm very happy.

[KStarr07]

btw, all that was all in his dinner meal. Seems like a lot but for once he's actually eating.

[pertykitty]

well there you go, you have found a trick that is going to work! keep eating the veggies in front of him and eventually you wont have to hide them.  

[KStarr07]

we do. :)  now let's see if he'll ever go to bed.. haha