Our middle child is probably the PICKIEST eater alive! I truly believe that if you were to cut him he would bleed jelly and if you squeezed him hard enough he would ooze peanut butter! PB&J sandwiches are his absolute favorite! "Hey sweetie, what would you like for lunch?"..."Peanut butter and jelly sandwich!"..."R, what would you like for dinner?"...."Peanut butter and Jelly!"...at the restaurant, "R, what do you want to order?"..."Do they have Peanut butter and jelly?"
I should include he also loves mac and cheese and pizza. Trying to get this kid to eat anything we make for dinner can be a huge challenge! He's not much of meat eater but will dabble with (very limited) veggies and fruit. I try to implement the things I know he will eat, and get some nutritional value out of, at each meal. This would seem a boring meal to most since it is the same things every day. He doesn't seem bothered by it though, he keeps on eating it, over and over and OVER again!
Last night, we became creative, and liars, but it worked! I had made chicken Caesar salad and had decided to put all the items on the table and allow the kids to prepare their own salad. It was working and they loved serving their own plates...a little crazy but, in time, I'm sure they will calm down and it will become more routine for them. R didn't want to put chicken in his so I told him...and here's where mommy becomes a fibber...it was "kids chicken". I told him it was made to taste better and have everything in it that will make him grow big and strong like daddy. This got him excited and he put the chicken on his salad! He ate every piece too! AMAZING!
Tonight we're having pork loin, made for kids, with kid sized potatoes (red potatoes) and carrots (which he actually likes :) and cornbread (and he can butter it himself!). We will set out the food on the table again and allow them to serve their own plates. Here's hoping it works and that we have another successful meal!
PS...for anyone else who has picky eaters out there...IF they like mac and cheese I found some, by Kraft, with veggies in the pasta. It looks the same and apparently taste good b/c my boys ate an entire box by themselves once!
If there's anyone else out there with picky eaters and you have successfully "tricked" them into eating their meal...PLEASE share! I'm sure my "kid" meat will wear off eventually and I'll need back up!
Had to share this since it fit...moments ago we were sitting at the table enjoying snack (peanut butter ritz crackers and clementine oranges). I asked R what he would like for lunch, knowing the answer would be PB&J. He said, "peanut butter and jelly CRACKERS and oranges!" I had to giggle but was thinking, to myself, "way to change it up kid!" lol
ReplyDeleteI have a picky eater in my own home...my hubby! The only "vegetables" he recognizes are corn and potatoes. He also eats the occasional piece of fruit, if it's a banana. After 26 years of worrying about how to get good nutritious veggies into him, I have made a deal with him. Every Monday I fix a new vegetable and he gives it a honest try. I started by getting unusual-for-him things, such as tomatillos or mango, and now I also throw in radishes, asparagus and such. The deal part is that if he really gives these a try I don't bother him about trying any other veggies. Until next Monday!
ReplyDeleteWe love veggies, thank goodness, but with this kid? I have to make him a separate plate every night. I am not a short order cook AND he has little bro following in his footsteps, not because he's picky but because big bro is doing it and he aspires to be like him. It has become frustrating, but we have started letting them put the food on their plates themselves. Ryan actually ate porkloin, roasted carrots and cornbread...none of which he would eat before. We make a BIG deal out of it and tell him how big he is...that gets him all excited :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck on your quest! I'm hoping we can keep up momentum. I did promise that if he ate what I fixed all week then he could choose what we ALL have for dinner on Friday, probably going to be serving up PB&J, pizza or mac and cheese, but whatever it takes! lol