My son is everything intolerant…
no lactose at all so that means everything he liked is off limits, no yogurt no cheese, no ice cream no milk.
He seems to hate protein — and anything desi. He literally spits it out and I have to really control myself not to kick him.
What are creative ways of getting him to eat a balanced meal?
some protien, some veggies and some starches. I seem to have the lease trouble with starches.
recipes would be helpful.
Re: The Life Long Struggles faced by parents of a picky eater!!!
Now you sound like a boys mother.
Enough with putting girly glasses on him 
Re: The Life Long Struggles faced by parents of a picky eater!!!
^ 
now find me kid freindly recipes… 
Re: The Life Long Struggles faced by parents of a picky eater!!!
Have you tried soups or stews?
My older one was and to a certain extent, still is a picky eater so I finally figured oout that she loves home made soups. Her favorite is chicken noodle soup:
A full chicken cut up, 1 large onion, crushed garlic and ginger, salt and pepper, celery, carrots all roughly chopped. Put everything together in a large pot with lots of water and cook until all the chicken falls off the bone. Keep some solid pieces aside half way through this process just making sure they are cooked all the way.
The strain into another pot, squeeze out all the juice from the chicken, bones, veggies.
Now take this stock and put it back on the stove. Add shredded chicken from the pieces you set aside, some dried oregano for flavor, some spaghetti noodles, fresh cut up veggies (whatever you kid likes. I usually add cubed carrots, chopped green beans and potato cubes), and boil until noodles and veggies are al dente.
This soup is full of nutrients and are a complete meal...starches, veggies and protein.
Then I also make a lentil soup but I cook the soup with the same chicken stock above. I use masoor dal, add chopped parsely, crushed garlic ginger and the stock and let it boil until done.
Re: The Life Long Struggles faced by parents of a picky eater!!!
my older daughter is extremely picky and younger is following her footsteps. best bet is take it easy. let him eat his fav picks(that are allergy safe for him) my goal is she must eat instead of being too much into balanced diets. so if she likes egg sandwiches thats wat she'll get everyday for lunch. if its hotdogs she can finish whole packet in 2 days. .
with time he'll get better. my daughter is 6 now and she's getting better. we sometimes trick her into eating e.g i'll tell a story if u keep eating, lets see who finishes first, i'm counting in french etc for the younger one its one bite for teddy, one for bai and one for baby
....try to hav same meal time. eat together as a family. if he's old enuf to help let him help you fix him a snack together. pick grocerries together and he can pick his fav fruit/vege. if they make something they like to eat it. and sometimes being strict "finish it or no tv or no school unless its finished". one more thing i experienced myself if we eat healthy they do it too eventually. if u urself munch on junk like i'm a chocolate addict, he won't like veggies/fruits ever.
Re: The Life Long Struggles faced by parents of a picky eater!!!
....duplicate
Re: The Life Long Struggles faced by parents of a picky eater!!!
he hates anything liquid. Like the process of eating it annoys the crap out of him.
He's more interested in finishing and then running around. thats why pasta is such a winner with him -- he can eat it himself.
So I guess he likes finger foods.
Re: The Life Long Struggles faced by parents of a picky eater!!!
Then just make all shapes of pasta with pieces of chicken, beef, veggies...I'm sure you're already doing that. Don't worry about variety. Kids do change as they grow older.
Re: The Life Long Struggles faced by parents of a picky eater!!!
marook some really good ideas.. thanks. I do tell him stories and that works... soemthing else that works is letting him watch Elmo. I hate letting him watch TV while eating. :( but like you said some days its just about getting him to eat.
Nikki... yeh I'm doing all the pasta I can. I actually tried your soup recipe the day you posted it. He ate most of it once we drained the liquid.
Which sucked cuz I felt like he drained all the nutrition out of it.
Re: The Life Long Struggles faced by parents of a picky eater!!!
muniya..... if he just doesnt like to sit down and eat.. dont make him.... my son turned into a wonderful eater after i let go of my dheetai and allowed him to walk and eat... i know kids are meant to focus on their mealtimes and eat like humans.. but mine cant... the least focussed he is on his meal, the better he eats. simple.
screw all that parenting crap you hear... you know your kid, go along with it.
also... if he likes solids more than liquids.. why not puree his veggies chicken or whatever.. put it on a slice of bread like you would a spread.. and cut it into bite sized cubes... and feed to him liek that?
im sorry but too much pasta aint awesome either... it has very little nutritional value to it. all its doing is filling his stomach up fast. try breads instead. or potatoes.. boil... scoop out the goo... put in chopped veggies or in wahtever form he likes .. chicken etc... add some cheese and put in oven to melt... again.. cut into cubes and put on fork and let him eat it by himself.. or by you...
its really not easy and its very much true.. the need to hurt is major!. just hang in there...
does he like rice? if he hates his veggies and protein (i knwo some kids hate chicken and meat cuz it sticks in their teeth and is irritating), do this
use chicken stock to make his pasta.. that way he is getting the nutrients. infact i rarely use plain water to cook my son's food in.. everything is made in stock of chicken or meat. (unless im cooking a protein then its simple water).
puree the protein and veggies aftering beign cooked together.... saute in some oil afterwards until thick... then use as shorba on top of rice or pasta.... he wont even know it.
Re: The Life Long Struggles faced by parents of a picky eater!!!
I was a picky eater, for most of my childhood i did not eat anything except paratha, chaney ki daal and roti. I was super skinny. I first ate chicken when i was in grade 6, first ate rice when i was in grade 9 and first ate vegetables in grade 10.
My grandmother says that picky kids always have problems with weight in adulthood, i beleive her.
Re: The Life Long Struggles faced by parents of a picky eater!!!
^ I want to slap you silly on your mum's behalf. poor woman!!!
Re: The Life Long Struggles faced by parents of a picky eater!!!
icon: i hope your children are making u suffer jst like you made ure mom :D how are they as eaters?
Re: The Life Long Struggles faced by parents of a picky eater!!!
Khawa - I'm a stickler for kids who run around and eat. I'm sorry lekin mujai lagtha hai key unko lagtha nahee woh khana that they dont eat properly. Aymans always been good with sitting and eating until a certain close friend got him into the habit of playing and eating - drives me absolutely insane.
I've tried the breads and spreads - no luck. I didnt push to much because although a different kind of carb they are still carbs like pasta.
He does like rice but then agian the problem is no protien or veggies in his diet. I've been cooking his rice adn his pasta in yakhnis since he was born (thanks for Nikki and mom's brilliance - no shame in admitting I wouldnt have thought of that). SO thats the only protein he'll go for.
At one point I just want him to eat something semi healthy - Basically his issue is lazy or too busy to eat. Anything that requires more then a couple of seconds of munching he wont do. Meanwhile if he's sitting with his mamoo or dad at dinner time he'll eat right off thier plate whatever they are eating. I try to take advantage of the situation but the guys arent always home at dinnertime.
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone - Definately making some headway with the situation.
Keep the advice rolling... :)
Re: The Life Long Struggles faced by parents of a picky eater!!!
ya i used to think that too about the walking around and eating... but when he just wouldnt munch on anything remotely solid cuz he just like your guy HATED to waste time on eating.... i had to let go... id rather that he JUST eats. :D
best of luck with the little terror!
Re: The Life Long Struggles faced by parents of a picky eater!!!
My girls are not picky, but the bigger one doesnt like desi food that much, due to the veggetarian and non spicy food she gets in KG. Sometimes I cook alternatives for her and sometimes I just cannot be bothered to cook 2 different styles of food, I remembered what my ammi would do for my picky brothers, she would make choori.
So I had the idea, whenever I make fresh naan at home, the moment they come out of the oven, they are soft, I put a teaspoon full of butter on half of the naan and the 2-3 tablespoons of any salan that I made that day. With my fingers, I mix and crush and make choori, its so mixed (can be eaten with fingers for a spoon) that she doesnt know that I have put salan in it but she loves it.
So I love myself for getting the idea, it saves me making a second dinner and she gets something of the salan, like chicken or veggies and the carbs and fat from the naan and butter. She is skinny so she needs the fat of the butter.
Re: The Life Long Struggles faced by parents of a picky eater!!!
one more thing i just remembered i do giv my gals gummy bear vitamins and gummy fish omegas to make up for deficiencies.
Re: The Life Long Struggles faced by parents of a picky eater!!!
Thanks Sadia - Will totally try the namkeen churi idea.
Mabrook he's on vitamins as well... I'm slightly paranoid so I still have him on the polyvitamins. I/A after this perscription is over then I'll change him over to the big kids vitamins. :)
Khawa- the smooshing of the pasta worked a couple of times... Thanks. :)
Re: The Life Long Struggles faced by parents of a picky eater!!!
make sure you give him orange juice fortified with calcium and vitamin D due to lack of dairy. For protien try kichri (daal has protein) and hala hot dogs. Hot dogs may not be teh best thing in teh world but my son did not eat any chicken until he was 3 and then for protein I gave him chicekn nuggets and hot dogs along with peanut butter sandwiches.
Re: The Life Long Struggles faced by parents of a picky eater!!!
Peanut butter is a good idea; he'll eat that one fruit not on bread. Kichri is a favorite of his too... that makes me feel better.