I have always had poor eating habits. As a child, it would take me hours to finish my meal and eating was such a chore. Even as an adult I don’t eat regularly and am quite picky about a lot of foods. It’s hard to try to engender good eating habits in my children, despite my desire and attempts, when I have such a distaste for food myself. I wish Drake ate a wider variety of foods as well as better foods at times, but it’s hard since I myself have eating issues as well. I admit I’m a little embarrassed at what Drake eats on a daily basis in comparison to other kids his age, but at least he is eating and is growing properly.
Breakfast
Drakes breakfasts are 99% always the same. He always has Yogurt (Yo Baby/Toddler by Stonyfield) and his Organic whole milk in his straw cup. After yogurt I always insist he have something else before he can have some kind of snack (whole wheat goldfish, Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies, graham crackers, etc.). This morning I peeled 2 mini oranges for him. Drake loves oranges so he ate all of it, and he always finishes his yogurt so this was a good breakfast. Afterwards he had 2 bowls of Goldfish which he finished, as well as more milk.
Yogurt is almost a daily thing where he will eat at least one container, if not two, per day. For breakfast Drake will also have bagels, cereal, pancakes, and waffles. He loves his carbs.
Lunch
Drake eats practically the same things every day for lunch and dinners. Most days his choices are chicken nuggets, peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat bread, or grilled cheese (I try to buy everything organic when I can). Sometimes he will eat eggs, ravioli, or noodles with sauce, but most days these are the staples because he likes them and because they are easy for me to make while also holding Juliet with my other hand. This day he chose peanut butter and jelly and I forgot to snap a photo of it before he started to eat. He usually will finish at least one half and some of the other. On this day he ate both.
Drake likes to snack and graze throughout the day, mostly crackers and stuff like I listed above. He also likes Popcorners and vegetable sticks and dried apple slices we get at Costco. I usually try to get some other kind of fruit in him in between all the carb snacking. We usually do bananas, oranges, cut up apples, and sometimes he will eat blueberries or grapes. He loves strawberries, but of course they aren’t always in season. He also drinks milk or water on and off throughout the day.
Dinner
Dinner has always been a struggle for us as Drake rarely likes to eat any of the things we make, even if he has eaten and liked it in the past. Usually we have a rule that he has to take at least a certain number of bites before he can eat something else he wants. If he doesn’t eat a lot, then he has to have a yogurt or fruit before he can snack. If he eats a good amount then he can have his carb snacks.
There are a few meals we make that Drake will eat. One of them is mac and cheese, and the others are the orzo meal, eggs, ravioli, and sometimes other pasta dishes. We made mac and cheese this night so Drake ate everything. This doesnt happen often, so I had to take a picture to savor it. We usually make mac and cheese once a week as we know it’s the one day Drake will actually eat dinner. Some nights when we make something we know he won’t touch — kielbasa is one that comes to mind. But we make him his own separate meal of chicken nuggets, eggs, pb&j, grilled cheese, or leftover mac and cheese if we have some.
blogger / nectarine / 2608 posts
I, for one, am really glad that you shared this. It is hard sometimes to serve consistently interesting and balanced meals. I feel like I *know* what to do, but some days in actual practice are just disasters. Take today– Ellie’s eating was pretty good, generally speaking, but we won’t even discuss how many mini candy bars Lorelei ate. !!! Ellie shared one after breakfast with her (very sweet, and acceptable), but Ellie had left the bag with her school Valentine’s treats on the bay windowsill and Lorelei ate another three before I questioned all the rustling and put the kibosh on any more unsanctioned candy. Then at the grocery store she was offered a lollipop. Sigh. And we got home late so she had fruit, an uncured organic hot dog, a cheese stick, and that was about it because I suspect she was still slightly full from all the chocolate from this morning. I think there are many, many people who are in about the same boat.
pomelo / 5628 posts
I’m also an un-skilled cook and struggle to figure out what to feed as Dylan is yelling for food. One easy staple for us is frozen veggies, esp. peas, broccoli, and green beans. I microwave them and add butter…that’s it. I also try to always have frozen squash on hand either store-bought or roasted and then frozen. It’s hard to keep everything balanced and plan ahead if it’s not a skill you have (I’ve been trying to get it and at 33, it’s still not here).
When we go out, I also try to get extra for Dylan…like an extra chicken breast last night that I dipped in peanut sauce…
(I’m typing this as I make myself eat my lunch. I hate lunch just because nothing ever sounds good!)
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I think this probably equates to the same amount of food my son eats. I mentioned this concern to our ped and she said to just not feed him for three days, then he’d eat what I served.
Good thing I didn’t listen to her and instead consulted an oral motor therapist. Turns out my son has issues chewing, which is why he is resisting the foods outside of those on his designated safe list.
blogger / pomegranate / 3491 posts
We are right there with ya with a picky kid.
blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts
I love this post, such a cool idea. Little M has always been on the more adventurous side. He started to get a little picky a few months ago, but then family dinners put a stop to that. He’s never been a big dinner eater, breakfast is his meal. I serve him what we eat at dinner time (and since starting family dinner I’ve been branching out more too) and if he doesn’t want it, he gets nothing. There’s nothing I can do to make him take a taste if he doesn’t want to! If he doesn’t eat, which doesn’t happen that often, he makes up for it in the morning. The kid seriously eats in the morning. Like more than I eat in a whole day. It’s shocking.
honeydew / 7589 posts
@looch: Waaa? Wow. Crazy ped.
coconut / 8234 posts
@looch: Your pediatrician is a NUT! Glad you didn’t listen.
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
@looch: Ok, this is really interesting to me. What made you go this route? Did you start with a food therapist?
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
And also, I pretty much do a sandwich every day for lunch. I have a hard time being creative at lunchtime and I know he will eat it!
coffee bean / 32 posts
Have you heard of or read the book “Child of Mine”? I am reading ti now because I am dealing with a picky toddler as well. The tagline is “feeding with love and good sense.” I really like it so far and think you might find it helpful, too
It’s great that Drake will drink milk and eat yogurt…my kid won’t touch either, which is making me nervous for when we wean.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@Arden: @mrsjazz: yeah, she’s ummm, a harda**. She is the managing partner of the practice and we’re only with her because our beloved pediatrician left the practice and I am still looking for alternatives.
@Mrs. Pinata: I responded on your wall.
squash / 13764 posts
Love this post because it seems way more realistic than a lot of the other food posts which are always filled with a variety of proteins, carbs, fruits and lots of veggies!! My LO has his very picky days that look a lot like this–good to know other moms do too!
grapefruit / 4923 posts
i know that picky times are ahead for us–seems like almost every toddler goes through this!
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts
Breakfast is also always the same in our household. Waffle, black/blueberries, yogurt, and milk. And he usually has a snack shortly after!