Seeking Help with Food for a One Year Old

All good advice from others. Also don't give up on 1 certain food, if she doesn't like it the 1st time. Babies & toddlers taste buds change often and she might not like carrots or peas the 1st or 2nd time, but keep trying. Like someone else said try telling her that if she wants the ones she likes she has to take a bite of the veggie 1st. She will eventually get the hint of it, if you don't always give in to her.

From the list of foods I would say she was started out on the wrong foods. If they are not started on veggies it is hard to get them to eat them. At home try peas from a can and let her have them on her high chair tray to play with and eat. Also you can get crackers with veggies in them. Introduce new foods to her on a steady basis. Sooner or later you should find something she will eat.

Jessica Sienfeld (Jerry Sienfeld's Wife) recently wrote a kid friendly cook book called Deceptively Delicious. She uses vegetable purees and adds them to certain dishes, to "hide" vegetables. She has very simple recipes from desserts, main dishes and snacks. I love this book!! Target has it for 17.49
I hope this helps and gives you some fresh ideas.

If your daughter will eat the same thing over and over, but they're HEALTHY things, it's not a big deal. Applesauce, yogurt, bananas & sweet potatoes are all good ruts to be stuck in. My 4 year old daughter existed on cucumbers, plain mini-wheats and grilled fish for a good 9 months. I just won't buy or allow any sugar-laden, artificially flavored, colored or fast food in my house. If it's not available, your daughter won't eat it. My pediatrician told me when my 14 year old son was a baby that your child is better off eating nothing than eating empty calories. When they get hungry, they'll eat what you give them. Make sure at that point, what you give them is healthy. Remember, your kids can only eat what you provide them with. If they don't have access to McDonald's & Pop Tarts, not only can't they eat it, but they'll lose the desire for it.

Don't stress about it. If there is one thing I've learned from having children, it's they're eating habits can change as much as they're sleeping habits. That being said here are a couple of products I think are good. Crackers are good~Earth's Best makes one that's fortified with iron. White House makes a couple of applesauce-like fruit blends that are fortified with calcium, vitamins E, D, B12 and C. I buy these frozen pancakes made by De Wafelbakkers~they are delicious! They have sweet potato pancakes and buckwheat berry, good source of fiber and protein. My girls get yogurt everyday, i usually blend it with a fruit(blueberries mostly) and i ALWAYS sprinkle ground flax seeds in. I usually grind a small amount(i have a coffee grinder i only use for grinding nuts and seeds) of flax seeds in the morning and sprinkle them on anything i can get away with(yogurt, pb & j or ice cream which they rarely get)Flax seeds should be freshly ground and used within 24 hours. I get inspiration from the cookbook Deceptively Delicious. It has a couple of muffin receipes that rock. I pretty much put pureed vegetables in everything-I've even snuck sweet potato mash into pb & j. I would skip McDs and cookies(unless you make them with pureed veggies!) until you feel good about everything else she's eating. Good Luck!

I have had a lot of the same problems with by 16 month old. Her older sister (3 1/2) eats anything!! I have to put just vegetables and meat in front of her, then the carbs once she has eaten the healthier stuff. It takes her forever to eat and often she goes away from the table hungry. But then I serve her veggies, fruits, and meat again later and once she gets hungry enough she eats. It has not been easy and we are making progress at home. When we go out to dinner I usually end up giving in because I don't want to disturb others in the restaurant. We are eating in more these days! Sliced deli turkey, cheese, melon, berries, broccoli, cooked carrots, raisins, green beans all have been more successful if she does not have any other option to eat. She also likes it if I give her a fork or spoon and try to let her stab at it or scoop it up all by herself. Good luck!

Check out www.wholesomebabyfood.com They have great healthy recipes

This is totally normal. My 2-year-old son has gone through phases of not eating much to eating us out of house and home! It seems like your daughter does have good variety. I know another Mom, whose tot will only eat pop tarts, that's it. I know it doesn't sound like much to us, but to a 1-year-old eating sweet potatoes, bananas, pancakes and a cheeseburger plus milk is a good diet. Keep introducing new foods, but know it takes awhile. Try not to be too anxious, b/c little ones can pick up on that.

You know, your list of liked foods doesn't sound too bad. it includes all the four food groups. I would try and do without the McD cheeseburger, but in moderation that isn't even too bad.
you could entice her by only offering her cookies or a pop tart if she tries a new food to see if she likes it. she's young but she might understand "first" eat this then you can have a cookie.

At this age, I think eating habits can change very quickly. My 16-month-old daughter has gone through periods where she wanted nothing but grapes or bananas. Now she won't touch a banana, but she eats almost everything else. I just keep offering a variety of things. Sometimes I'll eat them first and pretend like she can't have them. Then I'll give in an "let her" have a bite. Other times I'll just leave the food on her tray for a while, and she'll eventually start testing things out.

If you haven't tried these foods, they've been great for us:
-peas (easy for little fingers)
-beef barley soup
-shredded wheat (slightly moist, split in half)
-purple grapes (cut in half)
-all-natural cheesy-poofs (different brands in organic or -health food sections)
-Yo-baby yougurt with cereal mixed-in.

good luck!

try, try again... they say it takes up to ten times for a toddler to acclimate to a new food. We've never really given our children a choice. Both my now 3 year old and my 10 month old are give a very wide variety of foods and they now expect that they will just try new things. Of course they have their favorites and my son sometimes needs to have the same thing several times before he decides he likes it, just be patient and keep trying. There is a fantastic book I live by called Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron (it was recommended to me by my best friend years ago) and it outlines the ideal time to start new textures or foods, it has great suggestions and healthy recipes. Things my kids love though that you may try w/ yours include: avocado, tofu chunks, yogurt, strawberries, mango, brown rice, lentils (cooked in vegetable broth), cottage cheese, eggs, waffles, steamed broccoli florettes, cauliflower, fish of all types - basically things with varied textures. We also like to give a variety at each meal. Each meal includes a fruit, vegetable or both, and a protein, occassionally we include a starch. Encourage your child to play with her food, and don't worry about a mess, make meals relaxed. We also find that my son will only eat if we are also seated at the table with him, his meals have to be a social event. Also, now that your baby is over a year.. at that time we started to introduce things like sushi that were fun and playful - by two she had perfected the art of eating with chopsticks and loves to show off! The other thing we've done since day one was eat out often with our children, they enjoy the experience of eating out, seeing new people, and trying new things. It is also fun for them that we all get something different and share. It has gone a long way to ensure that they understand our expectation of their behavior in public as well.

Have you seen the Seinfield cookbook? It is from Jerry Seinfield's wife. It has a lot of recipies that are very yummy, but have nutritious stuff hidden in the food like spinich and other things that are distasteful to some children. Maybe this would get her a little more nutrition until she is willing to eat more of a variety on her own.

Every child is different. You have to keep trying new things. Lunch and meat roll ups are great. Ask waht the other kids are eating at day care. Famiiarity is a big help. Ask if you can send a veggie tray and dip or something new for all the kids at day care for snack. If the baby sees others eating this may help. Also use her big sister. Here is what sissy is eating are you going to try it. Good Luck.

Is your daughter under weight at all? I run a daycare and have for over 15 years and that is very normal for a one and two year old. Overall most of the food she is eating is healthy. Try to push the yogurt with fruit and apple sauce. As a provider of Child Care most 1 & 2 year olds are so picky that I serve the same 5 things for lunch..Beef dogs, mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, grilled cheese, and spegetti o's. Most of my one and two year olds will skip a meal at least once a week but as long as they eat in between they are fine.

I have also discovered pediasure bars for extra vitamins. Most of the picky eaters in my daycare will eat the smores flavor. They are a little pricy but the calories and vitamins are worth the it.

If she is under weight I would definetly make sure you follow up with your pediatrician because my son had acid reflux so bad that by age 2 he was below 2% on the weight chart and stopped eating all together. That is a whole different issue.

What you are experiencing is normal you just got lucky with the other two. She should start eating more around age three and by four you can make her try more foods and eat what the family eats until then enjoy your little one the time goes by very quick.

I was having the same problem with my son who is 14months old. I bought his cookbook called deceptively delicious by jessica seinfeld.It teaches you a lot of wonderful "tricks" to turn the food they like into healthy alternatives. Like hiding blueberries and sqaush in yummy brownies. And let me tell you... these brownies are AWESOME... even my picky husband loves them and he knows what's in them. There are a ton of different types of food and great recipes. Hopefully this will help.

try mixing the vegies.. my kids will not eat carrots unless i put honey or brown sugar in it.. and everytime i cook it i would use less and less of the sugar.. they got use to it.. different taste for everyone.. good luck..

I would definately eliminate the McDonalds, pop-tarts and cookies! The rest seem fine and fun for a 1yr old...keep it up :-)
How about other fun, healthy kid foods like fresh sliced carrots or apples with a dip (ranch dressing or peanut butter)-kids love the dipping part, slightly frozen veggies/fruits...they are more fun and feel different to eat(peas,blueberries, corn) , peanut butter/jelly sandwiches cut into fun shapes, mashed potatos, mac and cheese - made with pasta and real cheese, not Kraft.
I would feed her what you are eating for dinner and that she sees you eating and enjoying it. Kids learn most and repeat most from seeing others do it first. I would not offer something else such as crackers or a poptart instead of a healthy meal. Have several options at dinner such as 2-3 veggies or fruit, bread etc and let her eat more or less of whatever she likes best and let her avoid others, but I wouldn't recommend giving her a different poor quality item in it's place. She is still only 1 yr old and is still experimenting and learning about food, textures, likes and dislikes which is totally fine, but I would not offer her something thats not very healthy unless she had been eating well and already getting good nutrition in. If you think she is lacking in some nutrition, you could add a multi-vitamin or sneak the good stuff into her via a smoothie or fruit drink that you can blend at home. Best of luck to both of you!!!!

Have you tried having a few foods available at meal time, one she really likes and will eat and the other that you want her to eat? With the non-preferred food tell her if she eats a few bites , then she can have the other one (the favorite). It may take several tries before she does it. (My son went through a period when he was only eating a few things and we had to work really had to get him back to eating normally)Hope this helps.

T. F.

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