My Son Won't Eat Anything Thats Good For Him

[chelly1]

can anyone help me with my 10 year old son. He has been diagnosed celiac disease for 5 years but although he sticks to the products very well he will not eat any veg or fruit has anyone got any ideas on what i can do, I think this stems from when his celiac disease was not diagnosed and because every thing he ate made him so ill he got a phobia about eating, we have only just managed to persuade him to eat 2-3 mouthfulls of mashed potatoes over the last year and that was a battle in itself, the thing is although his younger sister and brother are not celiac disease but his younger brother has picked up on his brothers problems with eating and has started to do the same, every meal time is becoming a battle of wills please please can any one help me thankyou

[celiac3270]

All flavors of V8 Splash are gluten-free and very tasty. They contain veggies (primarily carrots) and fruits. Would he drink it? If you don't tell him that it contains veggies/fruits, that is.

[angel-jd1]

Have you tried things like:

*adding cheese sauce over cooked broccoli and cauliflower.

*Making candied carrots (carrot coins).

*Ranch dip for veggies.

*Make smoothies with fruits and maybe add in some icecream.

*mix cooked veggies into other things meatloaf, tacos, etc. (yes they can be concealed )

Make sure to do a daily vitamin to help with the nutrients he is missing from the no veggies/fruit thing.

Just some ideas.

-Jessica

[celiac3270]

Umm...would it work to make them into treats? Like....an apple dipped in gluten-free caramel sauce or Hershey's choc. sauce or strawberries with whipped cream and/or some sugar?

Yes--definitely a vitamin. Does he swallow them? If so, Centrum is gluten-free and has a full supply.

[judy05]

How about a banana split with fresh strawberries and blueberries with ice cream and marshmellows, I'm getting hungry. Also I like to cut up watermelon and cantelopes when they are in season. My husband makes tea biscuits with raisins and also gluten-free apple pie. Also maybe a few grapes and plums sitting on the table. I also used to make a concoction of orange juice, honey and an egg in a blender, it's very frothy like the ones you get in the mall.

[KaitiUSA]

I would try smoothies and then put gluten free whipped cream or something on top.

Also I like the idea of mixing the fruits with ice cream.

Like celiac3270 also mentioned..maybe V8 Splash or even homemade veggie or fruit drinks.

Make sure he is getting a good vitamin as said before.

[Carriefaith]

Will he eat pasta sauce, pizza sauce, or tomato soup? Those are all great sources of tomatoes and they are "disguised". Tinkyada rice noodles and Ragu sauce are really good. If he will eat tomato sauce then you are all set! You can make spaggetti, lasagna, pizza, chili, casseroles...

Try using a blender or a food processor to "disguise" fruits and veggies.

- make stuffing with gluten-free bread and puree the veggies in the stuffing like carrots, celery and onions

- puree blueberries and make a milkshake

- the meatloaf idea is good, puree a bunch of veggies and put it in meatloaf

- Chili is another good one, puree tomatoes, red pepper, and onions.

[tarnalberry]

My husband has been a long-time veggie hater. I've been working on him for nearly nine years now, but we've made progress. One VERY important thing is to remember that the vegetables may not taste the same to him as to you, so just because you think it's perfectlly edible, doesn't mean he will. Not only do some people prefer different textures than others, but some people are "supertasters" and really do taste foods significantly different. (Many of these, for instance, find broccoli extremely bitter. It has to do with taste buds, and is somewhat genetic, apparently.)

Some of the things I've done to get my husband to eat more vegetables include being much more willing to experiment with different options, and doing my best to understand what his preferences are. He doesn't like mushy vegetables at all - if you can't hear them crunch when you eat them, they're too mushy for him. We also discovered, when eating out with friends, that he likes chinese food - the spicyness and saltiness allows him to better enjoy vegetables, and it doesn't even have to be that saucy. This translates to the other main source of vegetables he'll have - salad. Crunch lettuce with crunchy vegetables and a dressing that he likes - and he doesn't like many. :-)

Experiment, and try to figure out what his tastes are and work with them. But mostly be patient. He'll get there. (Though hopefully in less than the 20-some-odd years it took my husband. :-) )

[Guest ajlauer]

I have to agree on the "hidden" fruit sources, like V8 and whatnot. Vitamins also. My daughter wouldn't take vitamins at all. We tried Spongebob... gummy vites... then finally went to Vitaball. If you haven't heard of it, it's a gumball with vitamins. So long as they chew it for 5 minutes, they get their day's supply. I tried those, and she loves it. Since she got gum in her hair twice - these are now the only type she can have. I have to be sure NOT to call them vitamins, or else she would stop taking them!!

Oh, also making fruits "desserty" was good. Although my kids love fruit anyways... but when I make a fruit salad with home-whipped whipping cream, they fight over who gets to lick the bowl!

[christicrete]

My 13 year old daughter has not been diagnosed with celiac disease or anything but she will not eat any fruits and veggies, nothing mixed like hot dishes or soups and everything has to have a smooth texture unless it is meat. No pork or salted meats. she basically eats junk white bread, white potatoes, white rice, plain chicken breasts, hamburger (she only eats it in patties, if in meat balls she wont eat), pizza (only cheese and peperoni) and junk food. It drives me crazy. She is also very obsitnant and has major behavior problems. I have tried not buying the stuff but she buys her own (what's a mom to do.) I know your not supposed to make dinner a battle ground but when your child doesn't eat anything it is so frustrating. It seems as she gets older, the less foods she will eat. I plan on enterolab testing for me and if the gene panel comes back possitive I am willing to bet mucho bucks that she is celiac disease but then she would never follow a gluten-free diet. She would rather starve to death.

Christi

[chelly1]

thankyou all so very much for all your ideas we have got a smoothie maker and we will be giving these a try. we are going to time it to have it ready for as soon as he gets in from school so he will not see what we are blending ... and hopefully his younger brother will be fighting to have some also. again thanks very much. I know that alot of people on this sight are from America but just incase any uk visitors are looking in I have found a gluten free bakery and you can order over the web... Jack had a sausage roll for the first time in over 5 years the other day and he loved it. All the food is cooked fresh and delivered to your door the very next day. WWW.lifestylehealthcare.co.uk. Thanks very much again for all your help.

[watkinson]

You could try getting a childs cookbook, read it with him, have him choose what he wants to make and make it with him. I'll bet he would be so proud of his own creations that he might eat it and decide that it's good. let me know how it goes.

Wendy