Feeding Ideas for My 14 Month Old

hey T. i am vegetarian and i was thinking about some very good high protien grains that i have cooked up for my children when they were younger. they were amaranth, millet and quinoa. they can be mixed in with small pieces of veggies or fruits such as peas, raisins, or mandarin oranges. my kids went wild for it. they are also good baked into muffins after they are cooked for some added nutrition in their meals.

My daughter went through the same thing. She hated any kind of meat but loved chicken. Her doctor said to offer her peanut butter (she's not allegric) as it has a lot of the same nutrients as meats. My daughter started eating meat after watching my husband BBQ some steaks on the grill. Till this day she loves meat and will only call it "Daddy's BBQ".

as for the self feeding snacks dry cherrios celery stix carrot stix small bite size rits cheesesandwitch snacks small silver dollar size pancakes you can make them in a large batch and freeze them in small snack size ziplocks and toss them in her bag in the morning and the will still be cool and yummy for snack time they can be made with all different kinds of stuff

Hi T., I can totally relate, my son will be 2 in 2wks and is just starting to eat well. Like your daughter he loves fruit, but I too was concerned that he wasn't getting enough nutrients. Have you tried giving her a protein shake (they have pediasure now), but I always used mix I bought at Nutrition Depot and added a banana or fruit to it & Preston just loves it.
For meat I usually bread chix cutlets (or buy Perdue shaped nuggets) and I'll give him dip (ketchup, marinara,ranch, bbq sauce) that seems to be working - but before then I'd just use a chopper and put some roast chicken and mince it and mix that in w/pasta, mac n cheese (I'm not crazy about him having that but buy Amy's Frozen Organic)
As far as school, what about mini bagels w/cream cheese, cut up melon/fruit, veggies, shakes or smoothies, roll ups of deli meat (buy the low salt ham -Boar's Head makes one)w/cheese, cold pasta (penne or rigatoni shaped), did you try peanut butter sandwich yet?, ritz cracker sandwiches or mini burgers.

Hope some of these work!!! It certainly is difficult & I know how frustrating it is when they don't eat, but I promise it will get better. According to books/drs. you have to introduce new things 14 times before they'll try it!!! Good luck,
K.

T.,
All kids go thru stages. I know Imy oldest ( now 21) did the same thing. For almost two years he wouldnt even touch meat. Then low and behold he couldnt stop eating it. Try all kinds of meat. And dont worry about the extra stuff. It all works out in the end. I have three kids..21, 19, 16 and they are all fit and healthy. I think there is to much thoughts now on how bad things are for you and not if the child is eating. Find finger foods ....cut up hotdogs. vienna sausages...even make tiny meat balls....make it a game for the child...there are all kinds of tricks just keep trying to you find one that works

I have been feeding my 10 month old daughter low sodium turkey breast from the deli. I ask them to cut it thick so that it's chunkier when I rip it up... easier for her to hold. Perhaps you could roll a slice of meat around a cheese stick and cut it up into pieces? Call it something fun/gimmicky?
I would be careful about peanut butter. I have heard that even experienced eaters can sometimes choke on it because it's sticky and gets caught in their little throats. (I heard a choking story about a kindergarten student from a teacher's aide. I wouldn't want that to happen.)
Good luck! I know I'm going to be in the same "packing lunch for a 14 month old for daycare" boat soon when I return to work.
T.

just a suggestion to consult w/ your dr. before offering peanut butter. I think 14 mos is too young. I was under the impression that you were suposed to wait until after 2 for p.b., but my older son started at 18 mos and my younger son is almost 14 mos and no way is he getting p.b. anytime soon.

My niece is also a picky eater. She is 20 months. One day i put ham (i'm sure you can get low sodium) and heated velveta cheese in a blender and shredded it. Then i spread the mix on bread (like a sandwich) and cut it up into little triangles and squares. She loved it.

Hi T.,
I have a 3 year old picky eater, so I understand your situation. You don't have to worry about the meat, though. If she's eating beans, yogurt and cheese, she's getting protein. As to finger foods...My son loves garbanzo beans and of course fruit is ideal for snacks. Cheese and crackers with fruit makes a great lunch. Breakfast/snack bars (like big fig newtons) could be an option if she likes them. His list of foods is identical to Sera's but also includes cooked broccoli with melted cheese on it. You may want to try that since they have such similar tastes.

I think kids have a natural innate knowledge of what their bodies need. If she is seriously over or under weight, you could try incorporating healty proteins like peanut butter, chicken/meat soups to her meals. Both of my kids have gone through similar phases & it drove me crazy. At 14 months, she may enjoy helping you make food and this could get her nibbling in the kitchen. Lunch meats from the deli are really not good for you anyway so I would steer clear if possible.

Don't worry my son didn't really start enjoying meat until he was about 18 or 19 months. Try a little ketchup with chicken or barbaque sauce sometimes this works beacuse they like to dip things into eat. Also I found if I marinate the meat the more that he is likely to eat it compared to when I didn't. Hope this helps!

Hi T.,
The biggest thing that meat gives is protein...the yogurt and cheese (and milk) will help with that, along with peanut butter (if she'll eat that). One thing we've started lately is peanut butter on banana slices and my 20 mo old son really likes that. Meat can be hard at that age...if she's still teething it can be rough on sore gums. I also had problems because I was sticking to the bland meats and (bless his heart!) my son likes flavor! So I added seasonings and/or sauces - ketchup, bbq, mrs dash, etc...and that helped a lot. At this point, it may just be a picky phase too...I wouldn't worry too much; just keep trying! Good luck!

T.,

I too had that problem with my son around that age. He wouldn't eat any meat and became severly iron deficient. The one food I found he liked was Tofu chicken nuggets (found in the produce section)they are very high in iron. I also looked at the iron contents in alot of different snack foods, the organic snacks are usually higher in iron and other nutrients and my picky eater liked most of then as well. I hope this helps....I know what you are going through.
Sincerely, R.

My son was a vegitarian until about 18 months. We gave him soymilk (still do) and even our doctor said that they do not need meat. As long as you daughter gets protein from other sources, and it sounds like she does, then there is no worry. If you give me you email I can foward you an article I have on children who dont eat meat and how it can be good and healthy for them.
Its great that she'll eat green beans abd regular beans, thats great protein. Also we give our son eggs as his protein and he loves them.

I know what you are going through - my daughter is a picky eater also. She will eat chicken nuggets (in the frozen aisle) and hotdogs, both cut into small pieces covered in ketchup. We found she loves ketchup and will eat almost anything with ketchup on it. Spaghetti and mini meatballs is also a good idea!
The snacks I send to day care include: fresh fruits cut up in small chunks, snack packs of teddy grahams, goldfish, cheese and peanut butter crackers, snack size canned peaches and pears (lite), gerber fruit snacks and cereal bars, cheese sticks, jello cups, and even cheetos once a week.
They also make a yogurt - I think it's yoplait - but it has Dora on it and it is really thick so that it is easy for them to feed themselves. I also send the smuckers uncrustables once or twice a week. Peanut butter has protien! The good thing about most of these is you can buy them all in snack sizes and you don't have to prepare.
My daughter started eating well after I stopped stressing about it and let her eat whatever she wants - even if it wasn't a healthy choice. Now she eats a good variety of foods. Good luck and stay positive!