I loved seeing a glimpse into how much Mrs. Hopscotch’s 19 month old daughter eats on a normal day, so some of the Bees are going to share what their little ones eat as well!
We’re very lucky that Charlie and Olive don’t have any allergies that we know of, and that they don’t suffer from selective eating disorder (or severe pickiness). Some other parents deal with far more difficult feeding challenges than us!
But I must admit that Charlie and Olive’s general fickleness when it comes to food usually make every mealtime very frustrating. They often won’t eat foods that they like. They’re more than happy to skip entire meals on a regular basis. We usually have to read books, tell stories, and try to convince them to eat just 5 bites total. I don’t think there is a single food or meal that they will eat with gusto (with the exception of olives for Charlie). It’s nearly impossible to get them to try new foods. I think they just don’t like eating! It also makes cooking for them pretty discouraging, and a lot of food gets wasted. Hopefully this is a phase!
This is what a typical day of meals looks like in our house.
This morning the kids split 1/2 a cup (before we cooked it) of oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins on top with 2 strips of bacon. When Olive saw me putting bananas in a green smoothie, she asked for one.
Typically the kids don’t eat much, if any, breakfast these days — 2 pieces of bacon and Charlie’s usually done and one small pancake (half the size of my palm) and Olive is done. I think they may just not be that hungry when they first wake up (I’m not either!). I especially hate sending Charlie to school without breakfast because he won’t eat until lunchtime, while we can always send something with Olive to daycare. But they both ate really well this particular morning. Olive ate most of her banana and half of her oatmeal. Charlie ate half of his oatmeal and his 2 pieces of bacon.
I pack big lunches because the kids eat best at school when they’re around other kids. We can never get them to eat as much at home. This was actually a special day because Charlie went to Olive’s daycare since his school was closed. Olive’s lunch is on top (packed in a Boon Elephant box). I also pack a brothy soup w/ rice in her lunch every day because if she doesn’t eat her lunch, she always has her soup. This day she finished her soup (a beef bone broth), ate half the cantaloupe, a couple pieces of sausage, and drank the yogurt (a special treat). She didn’t touch the salmon, pasta or corn. She’s eaten the pasta and salmon when I’ve packed it in the past, so I can never predict what she will eat or how much she will eat.
Charlie’s lunch is below Olive’s. It doesn’t have salmon and has kiwi instead of cantaloupe. I also pack olives or pickles into his lunch every day because they’re his favorite food, and he tends to eat better when he has them. Because he was going to Olive’s daycare I packed him some soup, but I wouldn’t if he were going to public school because he won’t eat it there. In this lunch Charlie ate all his soup, kiwi, yogurt drink and olives. He didn’t touch the corn and pasta and ate a couple pieces of sausage. What I miss most about Charlie not going to daycare anymore is how great they were at getting the kids to eat.
I should also note that the kids ate two donuts this day because it was Charlie’s birthday. On a typical day, Olive gets two small snacks at daycare consisting of crackers or fruit. Charlie gets one small snack like crackers that the parents bring in on a rotating basis.
Dinner was seaweed soup with rice, potatoes, cucumbers, tofu and diluted soy sauce (kids love to dip!). We give a straw because it’s easier for the kids to drink the broth. Charlie will only drink the broth but Olive usually eats some of her rice. They eat a lot of soups because they’re easier to eat than food, but because they are broths they’re not very filling. At this dinner Charlie drank all his broth, ate all his cucumber and the tiniest mouse nibble of tofu, and that was only after 30 minutes of Transformers stories. Olive didn’t touch her soup but she ate two pieces of the tofu and a couple slices of cucumber. Both kids refused to eat the potato.
Charlie didn’t want to eat the tofu, so I offered to make him something else, which I almost never do. He asked for eggs so I cooked two and he ate one and Olive had a couple bites. I used to give them fruit after dinner regularly as their dessert, but mealtimes have been exceptionally challenging lately so I haven’t been giving them fruit because I don’t want them to fill up on snacks. They only ate 2 small pieces of apple each anyway.
Here’s a dinner from another night where they ate really well. Charlie finished all his broth (you can see that he left all his rice) and ate 4 pieces of asparagus and 4 pieces of broccoli. He might even have had a piece of turkey. Olive drank most of her soup and ate 2 pieces of asparagus. On a bad night, they will drink their broth and not eat anything on their plates.
they’re in their pj’s with wet hair because they got a bath before dinner
Charlie also drinks 5 ounces of hemp milk before bedtime. Olive never took to milk so she never drank milk in any form. But when I saw how much other kids were eating in addition to drinking 15+ ounces of milk a day, I decided to try getting her to drink milk again. So far she’s had a couple ounces the past two days! It’s very promising not only because she’s getting extra calories, but also because I think it will be helpful when weaning!
Overall this was a really good day of eating — they typically don’t eat this much! They also eat much, much less on the weekends when they’re not at school and are home all day with us. They’re happy to eat a couple bites at each meal and be done, even if we don’t give them any snacks. And getting them to eat the small amount that they do usually requires a huge effort on our part — storytelling, entertaining, coaxing, etc. Hopefully one day they’ll magically love eating, and we won’t have to convince them how awesome eating is at every single meal.
pomegranate / 3716 posts
Wow, this sounds challenging!
pineapple / 12053 posts
dang! you make the meals look so good! what a challenge it must be to still have them be so picky.
hostess / eggplant / 11068 posts
Even though DD is a relatively good eater, mealtimes are, by far, the most stressful part of my days with her. I hope Charlie and Olive start eating well soon for you!
GOLD / wonderful coffee bean / 18478 posts
Such a cute idea to drink soup with a straw! I keep trying to get DD to like soup so I will try this!
pomegranate / 3383 posts
Honestly, it doesn’t sound like Charlie and Olive are overly picky. They still seem to eat a decent variety of foods (I mean, the fact that they like asparagus, pickles and olives is HUGE in my book!). They’re just not big eaters…which isn’t a bad thing, is it? I’m sure they would let you know if they were starving. At least they’re not overeaters!
blogger / pomegranate / 3491 posts
It has to be so frustrating to waste so much food times two. With one, it already drives me crazy. Thanks for sharing
blogger / clementine / 998 posts
wow olive eats as much as i could for breakfast!
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@Sammyfab: i’m careful not to call them picky, especially now that i know what true pickiness is! they are “fussy” eaters in that they will eat something one day, and reject it the next couple of times they’re served the same thing. it is also incredibly hard to get them to try anything new (like the potatoes above).
i do try not to give them snacks if they refuse to eat a meal, but they never eat more at the next meal. both also continued to drop on the weight charts (charlie started at the top of the charts and is now at the bottom and olive is almost off the chart).
they probably eat about 20 different foods total (protein, grain, vegetables, fruit combined), which i did read recently was considered picky, but sometimes they do eat ok!
for dinner tonight, olive ate 1 1/2 shrimp and one piece of chicken and she was done, but i got her to eat a little bit of rice and miso soup. charlie ate 3 pieces of chicken and 1 1/2 shrimp, and drank a small bowl of miso soup.
i know that there are many people that have far bigger feeding problems so I’m thankful that we’re just dealing with fussiness and small appetites. but it does wear down on you when every mealtime is a battle.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@Mrs. Chipmunk: big breakfast for her that day! sometimes they skip breakfast lately and getting them to eat even one slice of bacon has been a challenge!
papaya / 10560 posts
DS has become increasingly pickier with what he eats and it is killing me! I am so lame at packing lunches…everyday he gets some turkey, a cheese stick, frozen fruit, and yogurt. I am terrible at coming up with ideas for how to pack veggies in lunch!
What kind of sausage do you pack in their lunches? That is a great idea. Do they just eat it cold? It is definitely frustrating to see your child eat what seems like nothing, but I try and remind myself their stomach is the size of their fist.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@matador84: it’s breakfast sausage from our market’s meat/butcher section. they probably like it because it’s salty like bacon. i usually don’t pack it in their lunch so they can eat it warm at breakfast, but i didn’t have a protein for charlie that day. they didn’t really eat it anyway, but yah it was cold.
the only veggies they will eat in their lunch lately is cucumbers, avocado and peas and never consistently.
kids do have small stomachs, but it seems like other kids are eating so much food in addition to milk. and now that charlie is getting older, he keeps getting smaller and smaller than all the other kids his age. he is already getting teased for his size, and not eating probably isn’t going to help.
pomelo / 5628 posts
This was a great post, thanks! Dylan is very small and also doesn’t love to eat and it’s nice to see other stories. Our docs have suggested Dylan drink pediasure for extra calories (and nutrients) – maybe that could be an option for Olive?
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@Mrs Green Grass: we did try it with charlie when he was younger but he didn’t like it too much. luckily he has always loved milk so he got a large portion of calories from that (we eventually had to dilute it with water to get him eating more solids).
we haven’t tried pediasure with olive, but she is still nursing. she just started drinking milk, but i also don’t want her to eat less solids because of it. we’ll see how the milk goes before trying pediasure. Does Dylan like it?
pomelo / 5628 posts
@Mrs. Bee: he didn’t at first, but he are slowly adding more and more to his bottles. It’s expensive though! My ped actually said cow’s milk with carnation instant breakfast is an alternative, but I haven’t tried it yet. I was surprised to hear it!
pomegranate / 3383 posts
@Mrs. Bee: i get it. my son is a ‘fussy eater’ too and we celebrate every small victory we can get! for a really long time (he’s 21 months now) i would DREAD dinnertime because it was such a battle. there were very few foods he would eat and so much food would go wasted. lately i have learned to let go a little and just accept that dinner is not his favourite meal. he never wakes up in the middle of the night hungry and he almost always has a giant breakfast to make up for it!
i am still pretty impressed with what charlie and olive will eat…they definitely enjoy some foods that have an acquired taste! i just thought i’d lend an outside perspective.
cherry / 119 posts
leah is a “fussy” eater too!! i usually say moody, because if she feels like it, i can get her to eat almost anything. unfortunately, i don’t get too many of those days! she also may eat a ton of something one day, and then want nothing to do with it the next! the one person who seems to always get her to eat is my mom!
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
You make incredible meals for your kids!
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@Sammyfab: if i gave them mac and cheese, they would never eat this food again (i wouldn’t if i were them either!). so i try to only give them as healthy foods as they’ll eat, even if things like salmon require a lot of convincing.
i try to let go but you know… it still wears on you when they want to get up from the table after 2-3 bites every day. i think culture also plays a big part because in korea, people often greet hello by asking, “have you eaten?” so i have feeding genes in me.
pomegranate / 3383 posts
@Mrs. Bee: my kid won’t even touch mac & cheese! and he may be the only kid on the planet who doesn’t love pasta. i’ve tried everything out of desperation. haha
your persistence and dedication to charlie and olive’s eating habits is definitely admirable. and i will admit that we’ve resorted to some really bad habits to keep my son at the table and get him to eat more.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@Sammyfab: i felt that way about my kids and pizza!
you might try lighting candles. it has worked really well for us getting the kids to sit at the table (before they would try to run away). it really makes dinner feel more special!
we’ve tried every trick in the book from videos to feeding the kids dinner in the bathtub, and the candles seem to work best in at least getting them to remain at the table. eating is still another story.
squash / 13764 posts
This actually makes me feel better, seeing that my LO eats about as much as they do sometimes (and sometimes more, sometimes less). Food can be so stressful as the parent, but I really don’t want it to be!
kiwi / 500 posts
I struggle with feeding my daughter since she was able to eat solids. She just doesn’t have a great relationship with food. When she does want to eat she will do great with noodles, soup macaroni, pizza. If she’s having a particular bad day I would always try to offer these and usually get her to eat something. My son is a champion eater. He can never get enough.
He’s made cooking much more fun because I know he will eat it all up.
Mrs.bee how do they eat when you are out at restaurants? I feel my daughter eats much more don’t know what it is.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@anewme: we only eat out at japanese restaurants usually because the kids will drink miso soup, and they like chicken katsu (sometimes).
otherwise, we stick to breakfast foods (pancakes, bacon, etc.) or mac and cheese which they usually have on a kids menu. often they don’t eat anything, which is ok because i usually carry some snacks in my backpack.
pomegranate / 3053 posts
Their lunches always look so yummy! I miss packing N’s lunches. He gets lunch at his current Montessori school. It’s mostly rice, protein, and a veggie; and then they get a snack (red/mung bean soup, soft tofu soup, sweet potato filled bun, etc.) after they nap. They also give them soup from time-to-time which I’m thankful for b/c N used to not drink soup much. I love that all they serve is Chinese food at school. Even if I cook it at home it’s always the same old boring dishes. The only time I get to pack him lunch is when they go on a field trip once a month. I’ve been boring and just reverted back to my usual tricks of sandwiches when he was going to preschool in the states.
Dinners are usually the most stressful part of my day every day, especially since I start it before my husband comes home. He usually comes home while they are eating. N is now a much better eater but he still takes FOREVER to finish (up to 1.5 hours) and he won’t let me take it away. He’ll hug his bowl and cry. I used to take it away after 45 mins – 1 hour if he’s not done. It helped him speed things up the next time but then now he won’t let me take it away so it’s been a challenge. But he does eat a lot now, thankfully! When we first moved here he lost weight. He was skin and bones; but now that he’s eater better at school and making new friends he’s eating more now. My youngest, well, he’s a chunker and loves to eat. He will come back to eat more when I sit down to eat. But I’ve had to feed him half of his meals after a while b/c he’ll be “done” but he will still eat if I don’t get his bowl right away. He started eating on his own really early, but these days he’d rather play… I guess what 20 month old doesn’t want to play. I just hope I don’t spoil him and then he’ll become like his brother when he starts preschool – not eat lunch his first week!
blogger / nectarine / 2600 posts
Wow the meals I make pale so much in comparison Do you have an recipes for the broth you make? I dont do a lot of Asian cooking but maybe I should try?
olive / 55 posts
These all look so tasty! I’d be happy eating most of this as an adult!
I’ve come to the conclusion that no matter how good or bad an eater your kid is, it’s nearly impossible not to stress about their food. Are they eating too little? Too much? Not enough variety? Too many unhealthy snacks? It’s never ending!
I just try to remind myself that my daughter will eat when she’s hungry, and won’t let herself starve.
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
I can totally relate to the food finickiness at our house and I’m glad to know we’re not alone! One day Little P will eat half an avocado and in the coming days he will refuse it each time (and of course scream when we offer it to him). It’s so annoying! He will usually eat carbs, but I hate for him to just fill up on bread, tortillas and pasta. Today was actually a good day, but there are days I worry. I guess he’s not yet the foodie that Mr. P and I are!
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@Mrs. Chocolate: yes i will post some recipes! i’ve posted about chicken porridge in the past on hellobee. i usually rotate that with seaweed soup, miso soup, and beef bone broth (which i buy because it’s hard to make).
charlie’s favorite is the beef bone broth, olive’s is probably chicken porridge, but she will eat all the soups. if they don’t eat, i can usually get them to at least drink broth which is pretty nutrient dense.
guest
I’m so happy to read this. I constantly worry if Birdie is eating enough — it stresses me to no end, especially because she was on the low end of percentiles for a good bit of her early life. I’m constantly worried that the doctor is going to freak on me (“she HAS to eat, Courtney!!”). So stressful!!
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21628 posts
Your meals always look amazing!
coffee bean / 42 posts
wow i get stressed out about my daughter not eating enough but compared to your kids she is a great eater!! i feel our pain though…it sucks when you spend so much time cooking for them and they just eat a few bites! that’s the hardest part for me. btw, are you still planning on posting some recipes? esp the broths/soups!