Toddler Eating Tricks

Getting toddlers to eat healthy foods is not always easy.  Fortunately I was blessed with three decently good eaters.  However, they are inconsistent with their eating.  They'll love something one day and hate it the next.  And there are some foods they just aren't interested.

Here are some of the tricks I've tried to get them to eat less desirable foods.

FLOURLESS BANANA PANCAKES: My boys won't eat eggs, but this is one that they love and they don't realize there are eggs in it. It's really easy. You just take a mashed banana, two eggs, and 1/8 tsp of baking powder and mix it together. I also sprinkle in a little bit of cinnamon. Then cook on a griddle or skillet, like you would a pancake. Our boys love them with a little bit of butter (we're trying to fatten them up) and apple butter. You could also put peanut butter and/or syrup on them. This recipe makes 3 decent sized pancakes. We usually double it.

GREEN SMOOTHIES: Two of my boys don't really like fruit that much, but they love smoothies. I make them with Greek yogurt, bananas, whatever other fruit I happen to have (berries, peaches, etc), and a handful of spinach or kale. I thin it out with milk, juice, or water depending on what all they've eaten that day. I blend it on high then serve it in their straw sippy cups. This is a great way to get their veggies in!

SPINACH GRILLED CHEESE: This is nothing special. Basically your typical grilled cheese sandwich but I always chop up some fresh spinach to put in it.

VEGGIE PASTA SAUCE: I'm sure many of you do this, but whenever I make pasta, I always add finely chopped veggies to my sauce. I often use zucchini in my red sauce. I'll use kale or spinach in my alfredo sauce. This is a great way to trick your kids (and husband) into eating vegetables.

SUGAR-FREE OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES: Mix ingredients and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup raisins 

• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

And when all else fails, just put ketchup or honey mustard on it...and they WILL eat it!

Trying New Foods

We are finally eating table foods!  We started Ollie a couple months ago as he was starting to get a little bored with purees.  The other two boys didn't even have any interest in puffs (which literally dissolve in 2 seconds) let alone anything they actually had to chew.  They both would gag anytime we would offer something new to them, so we kind of backed off.  Then Nolan started to come around, but Lucas would still gag on everything, and oftentimes even throw up.  I was starting to get concerned that he'd be eating baby food forever.

But now...we're finally there.  Not only are the boys happy to try all kinds of new things, but they're becoming great self feeders (with finger foods...Mommy doesn't trust them with a spoon yet).  Again, Oliver and Nolan got the hang of this a while ago, but it's taken Lucas some time.  I'm so proud of all three of my big boys!

Here are some of the new foods we've been trying (I'm mostly compiling this list so I can look back on it when I need meal ideas):

Breakfast:
Yogurt
Bananas
Peaches
Pancakes
Waffles
Toast
Scrambled Egg Yolks
Cheerios
Oatmeal

Lunch/Dinner:
Grilled Cheese
Quesadillas
Mushroom Chicken
Chicken and Biscuits
Mac and Cheese
Tuna Helper
Mashed Potatoes
Coucous
Cheese
Cottage Cheese
Bread
Black Beans
Chick Peas
Avocado

Snacks:
Ritz Crackers
Cheez-its
Cheerios
Veggie Puffs
Popsicles

Everyone seems to be a huge fan of grilled cheese, quesadillas, any kind of chicken, and bread.  Ollie had a phase where he spit almost everything out, but I think he's decided food is good and doesn't do that anymore.  So far avocados and popsicles were the only things that left them with disgusted faces, which is funny.  What kids don't like popsicles?  My guess is the extreme cold is just too much for them.

Ollie spitting out his avocado

Nolan's avocado face

Lucas' avocado face (similar to Nolan's)

Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Lose

Allow me to describe the morning I had. The boys were up around 6:15, which is pretty typical. I gave them their bottles and then let them play until breakfast, which is our usual routine. Around 8:30, I got the boys' breakfast ready and then started bringing them over to their high chairs. I usually do diaper changes after breakfast/before naps but do a quick sniff of the butt before putting them in their high chairs...just to make sure we're in the clear. I took Lucas over first. He didn't smell poopy, so I started buckling him in his chair...only to noticed he had poop all over his shirt. I checked his diaper again. Wasn't his.

So then I go over to Nolan and right away I can tell he was responsible. Talk about a blowout. Not only was it all over him and his clothes, but it was also all over Lucas and the carpet. I managed to get him changed and cleaned up and then put him in his high chair with some Cheerios to keep him happy. Then I moved on to changing Lucas out of his clothes and put him in his high chair. I then went for number three and OF COURSE, Ollie had had a blowout as well. Seriously?!? At this point, I'm thinking a good mom would give all these boys a bath...but they had just gotten baths last night and quite frankly I just didn't have it in me to bathe three boys by myself. So instead I used an entire package of wipes to clean them up.

 I finally got all three into their high chairs and ready to eat. I used the Cheerio distraction tactic long enough to get their clothes rinsed and the nasty carpet spot as clean as I could get it.

Now onto breakfast. I was hoping for a quiet calm meal, which is just hilarious that I thought this actually could happen. It's like they were working together to see how uncooperative and messy they could be. It went a little something like this:

I feed Ollie a bite of yogurt and fruit. He sticks his tongue out and spits it everywhere. This certainly isn't the first time he's done this. He thinks it's hilarious. I find it incredibly irritating. I tell him no and move on to Nolan. I feed him and he eats a couple bites like a good boy. Move on to Lucas. He closes his eyes, purses his lips shut, and shakes his head. He does this when he's done eating. Don't mind that he hasn't even started. So I go back to Nolan and feed him a bit more. He continues to eat well, but Ollie is getting mad that he's not being fed. So I give him a little pep talk and tell him, he can have more if he stops spitting. I give him a bite and I'll give you one guess what he does. Yep. Yogurt all over the place. Again, I tell him no. He laughs in my face, so I decide he's done for the time being. I move on to Nolan again who has been watching Ollie all this time. I give him a big bite and what does he do? He spits it all over the place and laughs hysterically. Now he and Ollie are both looking at each other with their tongues out spitting all over the place and laughing. You can't make this stuff up. I decide to try the ignore tactic and I move on to Lucas again. He continues to do the closed eye, pursed lip, head shake. I try to entice him with Cheerios, puffs, and blueberries. He's not interested. Seriously kid? He then grabs his foot and pulls it up way over his head.

I decide to take an intermission to clean them all up and read them a little story to calm them down. I then try one last time to feed them, and fortunately we have success! So I then get them cleaned up and start taking them up to bed. I put Nolan down in his crib and he cries as per usual. I put Ollie down and he sticks his thumb in his mouth and goes instantly to sleep...as per usual. I take Lucas over to be changed because he didn't get a diaper change before breakfast. And what do you know...another blowout.

I guess sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. This morning, the babies definitely won.