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Momma Foodie’s Good Eats

Picky Eaters

July 22, 2014

Picky Eaters
By Momma Foodie

I am sure many of you are in the same boat as my husband and I in that we have a very picky toddler on our hands. Our sweet little girl who used to eat fruits, vegetables, meats, and grains, other parents would have killed to have their child eat, has apparently gone on a hunger strike when it comes to certain foods. While my husband and I continue to read articles online and use trial and error to figure out what kind of palate our daughter has on any given day we have found a few things that have worked for our little texture adverse, dairy loving, meatless daughter.

 

When it comes to breakfast, I never seem to have a problem with feedings. She eats well and truly enjoys breakfast. I have tried in out the past to give her berries or bananas to only find she squishes them and then gets mad about the texture. In a futile attempt and my recollection of my child’s love of dairy I took some whole milk Blueberry yogurt and proceed to dip blueberries in them and freeze them for her. This way she couldn’t squish them if they were frozen and the fact that they were wrapped so lovingly in her favorite yogurt. How could she pass it up? They were a huge hit!

 

Frozen Blueberry Yogurt Bites

 

Ingredients:

1 pint of fresh blueberries
1 cup any yogurt
toothpicks

 

Instructions:

1.  Place yogurt in small bowl.

2.  Using a toothpick, dip blueberries into yogurt and generously coat.

3.  Place coated berries on a parchment lined baking sheet.

4.  Place baking sheet in freezer for 1 hour.

5.  Extra servings of the blueberries can be kept in freezer in a Ziploc® bag

 

 

 

 

Now when it comes to lunch my little girl hasn’t wanted to sit down for a traditional lunch. She likes lunch on the move and with choices. Now, I don’t run a restaurant but I have gotten creative with lunch after reading a couple of articles online. I use a muffin tin to offer lunch choices in (kind of like a bento box, per se) and I do not serve it to her in her high chair. I allow her to be served either outside when we are at play or in the living room where she generally plays inside. I offer 6 things in the muffin tin at a time so she feels she has control of what and how she eats. It also allows her to have the freedom to wander. Some ideas for this eating strategy are cheese squares, raisins, crackers, baby tomatoes, baby carrots, celery sticks, dried fruit, deli meat roll ups, etc. Use your imagination and knowledge of what your child likes. This has made lunch time less of an argument and I have found she consumes more food this way.

 

 

 

 

I have found that this strategy also works with serving my daughter dinners. She has been truly picky when it comes to this meal and I have broken down and just gone with the age-old idea that she will eat when she is hungry. So with this in mind I try to serve a few little things she can choose from and be happy with what she does it. In my effort to serve her a similar meal to the lunch strategy, I also try to give her a little dessert that can be at least a little healthy, since she has completely given up eating meat right now. I found an amazing recipe online for Avocado Chocolate Pudding and it has become a staple in our house for all of us for dessert and a health way to get some protein in without all the added sugar. I even go so far as to change the extracts added to give it a little variety. The basic recipe calls for vanilla extract, however, I have used coconut (for a little Mounds action) and almond extract (for a little Almond Joy action), so don’t be afraid to try others.

 

 

Avocado Chocolate Pudding

 

Ingredients:
1 Just-Ripe Avocado

1/3 Cup Milk

1/4 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

3 Tbsp Honey or Maple Syrup

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Pinch of Salt

 

Directions:

1. Place avocado, milk, cocoa powder, and honey in a blender or food processor (or, if you have an immersion blender, put ingredients in a medium bowl).

2. Blend until smooth and creamy. Do a taste test, and increase the cocoa powder or honey if needed. You can add in additional milk if you need to make it thinner.

 

3. Chill for at least a few hours before serving, so that the flavors can mellow and incorporate.

 

This has replaced any kind of store bought pudding in our house.

 

 

 

I know that feeding toddlers trying on many levels. And when you look online for help it is a lot of hiding ingredients in foods to try to trick your child into eating them. I have tried them myself. I have found that these few recipes have tamed my savage toddler without trying to trick her into eating things she may not like, however, a new way to enjoy things that she likes in different ways. I hope you try some of these ideas in your home and that they work as well as they did for us…for now.

 

Food is Love.

Momma Foodie

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