Feeding Your Picky Toddler

Thanks to Plum Organics for sponsoring my post about tips for baby feeding magic. What if you let baby choose what's for dinner? Check out their cute "Quest for Yum!" video and see what happens!
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Save me, Mommy, from the icky food!

 I have two babies. One is ten months and eats like a horse. One is three years old (as of yesterday! WAHHH!) and we've had a rough time getting her to eat since she was nine months old.

Libbie would eat anything up until she was nine months. Then, all of a sudden, it was POOF! She hated everything except bananas, bread, and cheese. (And if we're being honest, that's nothing but a prescription for chronic constipation.)

Even then, she would still eat almost anything if it were pureed. So every now and then I would pop out the old baby food and make sure she was getting SOME nutrients. I felt guilty about it then.

But ... sometimes I still do the same thing to her now. At 3! She thinks those slurpable pouches of baby food are magical for some reason. I think her main issue with fruits and veggies is texture. So if she will happily drink down baby food puree or a yogurt smoothie, I will let her.

Like I said, David will eat basically anything, but I've relied heavily on the little baby food pouches for him, too. We are on-the-go so much between church, taking Libbie to school, and just running errands that being able to throw something in his bag is wonderful. The pouches require no spoon, no bowl: just put that thing is his mouth and he will slurp it right down!

The other methods that have worked with Libbie are your age-old techniques: persistence and hiding it.

We serve her what we eat for dinner. We try to make sure there is something she will eat, but we don't cater to toddler tastebuds at dinnertime. If she doesn't eat it, she doesn't get anything else that night. We hear that method works with most kids. Libbie has yet, in over two years of doing this, eaten a pea or piece of broccoli voluntarily. But ... we hope.

 So yes, I have stooped to hiding things in other foods. Breads are an excellent place to start. You can puree many things and hide them in muffins or pancakes. Smoothies have started to work for Libbie as well, as she doesn't dislike the taste of fruits, just the peels and textures, I think. As long as she's not looking, I can throw some spinach in those smoothies, too!

Grated carrot can go in pasta or pizza sauces. Grated summer squashes work well in there, too, as well as in baked goods.

Making your own jam is a good way to work around this, too. Libbie's been eating homemade mulberry jam on her PBJs this fall, and homemade jellies or jams are great to stir into yogurt or thin out for a fruity ice-cream topping.  

And, if all else fails, there's always gummy vitamins.

Whatever you do, don't give up! Catering to your kids' desire for ONLY chicken nuggets and french fries will simply create a monster. There ARE ways to get your children to eat healthy that satisfy both your terms and theirs.

(But I have to confess ... I pray that my baby, David, will just eat everything. Because I'm not sure I can endure this battle with another kid.)

Do you use tips and tricks to get your babies and toddlers to eat healthier?


I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. To learn more about Plum Organics, visit their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/PlumOrganics.

All opinions are mine and are not influenced by sponsors. 

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Cooking with Kids and The Motherhood

You might remember that on June 15, I helped co-host an online cooking class with The Motherhood about cooking with kids. You can find a complete recap on their site. 

Here are some of the highlights if you couldn't make it to the class:

When the school year ends, most kids want to use summer vacation for playtime and forget about “learning” for a while.  But learning doesn’t need to be about sitting still, reading books and doing homework – interacting in the kitchen can make learning FEEL like playtime.

“We use cooking as a teaching opportunity in many aspects,” acknowledged Stacie, The Divine Miss Mommy.

Ways to incorporate learning into fun kitchen time:

Practice reading and comprehension: Ask your child to read the recipe and help you follow it to prepare the dish.

Practice math skills: All recipes use basic math like counting, measuring and following step-by-step instructions.

“I love teaching my daughter about measuring since they are covering that in school. It kind of sticks in your head easier when you understand 1/4 or 1/2 cup, etc,” said Tammy, Tammy’s Two Cents.

“Even my 2-year-old can work on her counting! ‘We need 2 cups of flour...’” added Jessie, Vanderbilt Wife.

Kids can start helping in the kitchen from a very young age – it’s just about assigning age-appropriate tasks.

Toddlers can help by snapping green beans in half, tearing up lettuce or helping you mix batter by hand. Grade-school kids can begin measuring dry and liquid ingredients, cracking eggs, juicing lemons, etc. Work out a progression of skills in the kitchen as your children grow.

“Fruit kabobs, veggie kabobs are great for little hands to assemble, or a good teriyaki chicken kabob can be assembled by the older kids,” noted Vanessa, The Sew*er, The Caker, The Copycat-Maker.

“My toddler loves dumping things into a mixing bowl (coordination!), counting, stirring, placing items (like on a pizza),” suggested Jessica, Vanderbilt Wife.

Jenna, A Mom’s Balancing Act, added, “My 3 year old loves helping wash the vegetables.”

And rounding out the toddler skill set, “When my youngest was two, she could set the table, hand us utensils and we even let her stir. She loved it!” said Stacie, The Divine Miss Mommy.

Going beyond quality time and healthier eating, there are a whole host of benefits to cooking with your kids, and you can find many of them in this article from Web MD: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/guide/cooking-with-your-children

Additional tips for cooking with kids (shared by Jessica, Vanderbilt Wife): http://onceamonthmom.com/top-ten-tuesday-cooking-with-kids/

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I would definitely encourage you to attend one of the cooking classes at The Motherhood if you're ever able. I always enjoy chatting about food, everyone gives great suggestions, and the sponsors chip up some fun prizes! There aren't any scheduled right now that I can tell, but keep a lookout.

The Motherhood chat was sponsored by ConAgra, and I was compensated for my time.
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Crunchy Panko Chicken Fingers

I was hoping to create a recipe for chicken fingers that my daughter (2) and I would both enjoy--you know, not ones from McDonald's. These turned out juicy and well-flavored, but I confess that Libbie wouldn't eat one. Knowing her, she might tomorrow, though. She's a toddler, what can I say?

Crunchy Panko Chicken Fingers

1 lb. chicken tenders
1 egg, beaten
.5 cup milk
.75 cup flour
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tsp. paprika
.5 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper.

Set up bowls, pie plates, or fancy-smancy Pampered Chef coating trays that I kind of wish I had. In the first, place flour. In the second, milk egg and milk. In the third, combine panko, paprika, and cumin.

Season tenders with salt and pepper. Dip in flour, then egg wash, then coat well with panko. Place on greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 15-20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and coating is slightly brown.

Added to:
Mouthwatering Monday
Tasty Tuesday


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Healthier Chicken Nuggets

I'm sure by now you know that my daughter is selective about what she will put in her mouth.  She has been since she was 9 months old. Some days I don't think it's gotten any better. But we do seem to have moved past the era when she would literally only eat bread, cheese, and bananas.

One of the only non-peanut-butter protein sources she will eat is chicken nuggets. (Breaded shrimp and fish are also usually winners.) I am none too keen on giving her McDonald's three times a week, so when I saw this recipe in All You for pretzel-crusted nuggets I knew I had to give them a go. Here is my slightly altered version.

Healthier Chicken Nuggets

1 pound white-meat chicken, cut into 2-inch nuggets
2 cups salted pretzel twists
.5 cup grated Parmesan cheese
.5 cup whole wheat flour
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

Pulse pretzels and Parmesan cheese in a food processor until coarsely ground. Transfer to a bowl.

Put flour in another bowl. Season the flour with pepper, if desired. In a third, whisk eggs with mustard. Dip chicken pieces in flour, then egg mixture, then pretzel/cheese crumbs.

Place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes, until browned and cooked through.

For some reason when I made these they did not freeze well. When I microwaved them from frozen, the chicken was too tough to eat. Did I just microwave them too long? Any help on that?

Added to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, Delicious Dishes at It's a Blog Party, and Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Country Cottage.

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