Picky Toddler

[jcnfc]

My daughter was just diagnosed with Celiac. She is an extremely picky eater and refuses to try anything new. I am really struggling with fruits and vegetables. She likes carbs such as toast, muffins and pasta. She refuses juice and smoothies as well. Does anyone have ideas on how I can get fruits and vegatables in her?

[ljb]

How old is DD? How long ago was she Dx?

I am certainly no expert, I can just tell you about my experiences. My DS is 25 months. He was Dx just 4 weeks ago. Prior to Dx, he was eating next to nothing, fruits and veggies were the least of our problems. After 9 days being gluten-free, he got an appetite and really started to thrive. I still have problems with fruits and veggies, but he is willing to experiment a little bit more with various foods (including the F&V). Once she starts to feel better, chances are good that she will begin to try newer things. Just don't give up on offering. That was one of the mistakes we made pre-Dx. We figured, why waste the foods, if he wasn't going to eat it anyway? She'll surprise you....

Let her eat pasta and gluten-free waffles, etc., until she starts to feel better. Include proteins, Ham, Turkey, are some of DS's favorites. After a little while, introduce other items. It is almost like introducing foods to your infant for the first time. Take baby steps. I even considered going back to baby foods for him, but it didn't have to.

Good luck. You can learn alot from this forum.

[ShayFL]

She may be picky because her tummy hurt her a lot before when eating. So as she feels better, she may be willing to branch out.

Have you tried sweet potatoes? You can make them like french fries, bake them or boil and mash them.

My daughter will eat "roasted" veggies....carrots, zuchinni, sliced and roasted until soft and lightly browned. I do onions too and also slices of sweat potato.

Acorn squash with a little cinnamon and brown sugar

Will she eat soup? My daughter will eat veggies in soup.

Fruits...you can make gluten-free banana bread, blueberry muffins, etc.

Zuchinni bread...gluten-free of course.

I recommend "Cooking Free" cookbook. Simple and yummy recipes.

[missy'smom]

Will she eat gelatin? My son's no longer a toddler but we make "jello" from knox unflavored gelatin and various kinds of 100% fruit juice. I also pour the juice in popsicle molds from the dollar store and freeze it for popsicles. You can make popsicles with yougurt and fruit blended too. I've always diluted juice with a little water for myself as full strength is a little too much for my system. Would she eat the freeze dried fruits? They're a little expensive but they often have no sugar added, are naturally sweet and melt in your mouth. It does take a while to heal and feel like having new things. Keep offering them but not too many at once and keep making them available even if refused. Eat new things and a variety as a family too. When they're on the family dinner table they become more friendly. Can you put some finely grated apple in the muffins, or replace part of the oil with applesauce, even if it's only a tablespoon or two. Does she eat things like meatballs? You can sneak some pureed or minced veg in them. My husband doesn't eat enough veg, so I put a variey of whatever veg. we have(even celery, red pepper, fresh tomatoes, etc., which are veg that my family doesn't like as is) in the food processor and pulse 'till fine and fold that into my ground beef. It makes everything moist and adds gentle flavor. The pieces melt into the mixture and you can't really pick out individual flavors.

[ShayFL]

And you can buy popsickle trays and put the smoothie in there and freeze. Sometimes just a different presentation works. It did for my daughter often.

My daughter hated zuchini until I roasted it.

[slmprofesseur]

Ms DS did the same thing. he has just now started to eat veggies again. His diet previously consisted of fruit..lol. I think it was a texture issue for him. He also eats one item in excess before trying something new. I just kept trying everything. Eventually he'll try it!

Like someone else said about the pureed veggies, my friend purees beets and adds it in to her taco meat!

[Juliebove]

One of the first foods I gave my daughter was green beans straight from the can. She could pick them up with her fingers and they were soft enough to chew easily. For years she would pitch a fit if I didn't give them to her with dinner. She now likes wax beans too.

I guess I am lucky in that she does eat some vegetables. Like baby carrots. And now at almost age 10, salad. She also loves melon and apples. Has always liked bananas but is allergic.

In our house my husband is the one who avoids veggies and often fruit. I don't care so much about the fruit because I believe vegetables are better for you than fruit is. But that could just be me. I have diabetes and have to watch my carbs.

You said she likes muffins. You can easily sneak in some applesauce, pureed pears, mashed banana or canned pumpkin if she won't eat stuff like whole berries or bits of fruit in them. My daughter likes one store brand of strawberry frozen pops but she won't eat the kind with the whole berries in them.

Zuchinni bread might be another option. I use the recipe that is listed here in the recipe section. Daughter loves it! I usually make them as muffins.

Chocolate cake is another way to sneak things in. You can add grated zuchinni to that. Pureed fruit can be subbed in for part of the eggs and/or oil.

If she eats gluten-free oatmeal you can use apple juice instead of water or add some finely diced, well cooked apples.

I never much liked fruit myself. Something just doesn't taste good about it so perhaps this is why I don't push it and tend to push the veggies instead.

As for the vegetables, I find if they are chopped up fine enough or pureed, they can be added to a variety of things. I always add extra vegetables to my pasta sauces. I usually use peppers, carrots, onions and sometimes mushrooms.

Tonight I am making hamburger gravy. If I have some Swiss Chard (I don't at the moment), I cut it into very fine slivers and add it. I use the leafy parts andd not so much the stems. Daughter prefers the kind that is mulitcolored, but I take what I can get. I get weekly organic produce boxes. I get some choice as to what is in there but not as much as if I bought the stuff myself at the market. Sometimes I add chopped mushrooms, onions or celery. But I always add something. I buy the Just Tomatoes brand of dried vegetables and fruits. I love their onions, peppers and tomatoes. Saves me a lot of chopping and the tiny size blends in easily.

Meatloaf is another way to sneak in veggies. Just be careful not to add too many like I did last time. The resulting dish tasted pretty good but like a vegetable loaf and not meat! I always add some canned/bottled tomato or vegetable juice, ketchup and onions. From there I add whatever I have. Like celery, tomatoes, peppers, spinach or Swiss Chard. You could add broccoli but I find it is too strongly flavored and I can't stand the stuff.

I remember my daughter as a toddler eating the same things day after day. She wanted nothing else. This was before we knew of the food allergies. Breakfast might be toast or cereal. Lunch was a quesadilla or peanut butter sandwich and some baby carrots. Dinner was macaroni and cheese, sausages, green beans and black olives (another favorite food). Her Dr. said this was very normal.

I also read somewhere it take a child an average of something like 5-7 times of being presented with any given food before they will actually eat it. So try this. Take a baby carrot and put it on her plate. She probably won't eat it or even try to eat it. Do this every night and eventually she will at least pick it up and examine it. She might even try it. It will become familiar to her and eventually she might want it.

Now there are some things my daughter still won't eat. Like tomatoes. My brother is the same way. Just hates raw ones. I've always liked them. But they don't. They will eat ketchup and tomato sauce though.

[Juliet]

My daughter absolutely REFUSES to eat any fruits or vegetables, nor will she do smoothies. She likes strawberry ice cream best (because it's pink) but will actually pick out the strawberries. The only way I can get her to eat any fruits or vegetables is to hide it in the 5 or 6 foods she IS willing to eat (to say she's picky is an understatement!) And because of that, I have to cook from scratch a lot.

Things I get her to eat:

pumpkin waffles or pumpkin pancakes with pumpkin "frosting" (I add flax seed in the waffles & pancakes, too, and the pumpkin frosting is a mix of pureed pumpkin with mascarpone cheese with a little sugar, normally evaporated can juice sugar, all whipped together)

carrot muffins with dates

Trader Joe's bean taquitos (they have mushrooms in them - yes, I have to justify her eating these by saying to myself at least they have mushrooms in them, LOL)

Veggie tortilla chips or potato chips (can get the tortilla chips from Trader Joe's, get the veggie potato chips from Cost Plus World Market or Whole Foods)

Lara Bars (only the chocolate based ones for my daughter - what can I say, she is my daughter - but they also have apple pie, cherry pie, key lime, etc., which my daughter USED to eat before the truly extremely picky day came. Check them out - they're made with fruit and nuts, and unsweetened cocoa powder for the chocolate ones, only. Available at Trader Joe's & Whole Foods )

Pureed mushrooms mixed in with the gluten free macaroni & cheese

Batter for homemade chicken nuggets will have pureed mushrooms, pumpkin & cauliflower

Ian's Supertots Alphabet fries "coombined with real vegetables" (again, I have to justify this, too, LOL)

I always place fresh fruits or vegetables on her plate, just to remind her that she's supposed to be eating them, but they are never touched. Heck, she won't even eat the candy disguised as vitamins! But she's growing quickly, good weight for her height, and smart as a whip, so it can't be too bad. And if it's any consolation, I was just as picky as she was at this age, and it lasted until I was about 6. But now I eat nearly any fruit or vegetable in front of my face, so it will get better (or at least that's what I tell myself)

[jcnfc]

Thank you all for the suggesstions. My daughter was diagnosed 1 week ago and I'm totally stressed. She will only drink yogurt and eat 1 brand of english muffins. I think today she had 3 yogurts, a ton of raisens and 2 english muffins! Her behavior is starting to improve so I know we are on the right path. I will need to get creative soon.

[missy'smom]

You can make pizzas on those English muffins or open faced ham and cheese melts, if she tolerates dairy well.

[slmprofesseur]

JCNFC: Until the tummy heals, just feed her what she likes. My son reacted to everything for a while. He loved raisins and dried plums. Just offer her different things, she may eat them, she may refuse. My son is much better now (his poops are finally normal...) and he will try more foods. I think his tummy hurt a lot and he was getting his molars. Yesterday he ate Gluten-free coleslaw!

Good luck and keep offering cut (finger food size) up fruits and veggies. My ds will dip his fruit in the yogurt.

[GlutenGalAZ]

What about V8 V-Fusion? They have a lot of different flavors and are gluten free. The first sip is sometimes like WOW but then they are really good. If she ends up liking this juice then you can make your own popsicles.

Mac and cheese with shredded or cut up pieces of vegetables.

Spaghetti with vegetables in it.

Cookies with dried fruit like cranberries and chocolate chips.

I may have missed this in the replies but have you talked to her about what she wants to eat to get ideas or maybe a new idea that you can sneek vegetables or fruit into? Some kids like to help in the kitchen maybe that would help -- a kid friendly meal that she could help out with (might give you ideas).

I think once her stomach starts to heal she may be more open to the idea of eating more foods.

Good Luck

[jcnfc]

You can make pizzas on those English muffins or open faced ham and cheese melts, if she tolerates dairy well.

This is a great idea. I never thought of it. Thanks!

[Lockheed]

I've pureed things like corn or green peas or broccoli and stirred it into the mashed potatoes and added cheese.

I'm so glad I read this thread.. some of the previous suggestions are really good ones like the fruit jello and fruit ice cream cubes.

[Nathan's mom]

Hi,

My son was a picky eater also and now is not. We used to call him a Carbivore because he only focused on snack type food, or bread. About 3-4 months after being gluten-free (he was 3 1/2 at that time) he began trying a lot of different food. I don't think he just developmentally changed, but rather was feeling better and/or his brain was processing things differently.

One night I got the urge to ask, "How about a taco salad tonight?" He said "Sure!" Well, that response surprised me, but I was really surprised when he began eating this huge plate of salad with all the fixings on it. And the salad wasn't just iceburg lettuce, either! My regret is that I didn't take a picture. I literally stood there with my mouth open watching him. I was shocked. He was on a roll then (no pun intended) and began trying other "green" things like guacamole and broccoli. Good heavens!!

Well, I don't know if your child will follow in this vein, but I had to share because it certainly is true that gluten affects a lot more than just the stomach.

Debbie