Update on sleep problems, and food

An update from Anonymous (who was writing that she was smacking her baby to get her to sleep)! This is why I write this blog--the support you guys gave her helped her totally rethink what had been happening in her house and come up with a creative and clever way to shift things around so she could get herself into a better place to be able to mother her child the way she wants to. Yay everyone!

"An update on the sleep issues. I was so encouraged by the comments that i started to feel better. But i knew that we had to make a change so i thought about things and realized that we spend a lot of the week just getting take-out food which really begins to add up. So i talked to my husband and we agreed to cook at home or get frozen foods for a week so we could get a babysitter in and i could get some time for myself. That, and the fact that she just started sleeping a little better right around her 11 monthday, last week, has really improved things. She is still not sleeping through the night but i have gotten a few nights of 4 hour chunks which along with a couple of mornings to my own have made a lot of difference. Thank you to you and the commenters for not being judgmental and really helping me realize i am not alone.

Now i know it's probably not fair to ask another question so soon but just in case you can answer to this. As i mentioned we get a lot of take-out. That's how it's always been.. I feed my daughter everything we eat (except i limit the sugar). I know that outside food is not the healthiest and for her i always try to give whatever is healthiest in the options plus supplement with some jarred veggies and fresh fruit. What is the best approach to feeding your kid if you don't cook a lot at home?"

Ask away, Anon. I think you're just such a sharp cookie for stepping back and looking at how you could shift things around to alleviate some stress instead of sinking into a morass of self-loathing. But I'm guessing that you're probably not doing too badly already food-wise. I don't know about "outside" food not being the healthiest. If you're comparing a Big Mac to homemade pasta primavera, definitely, but if you're getting falafel sandwiches or pad thai vs. Hamburger Helper, you're probably better off with the outside food nutrition-wise.

It sounds like you're on the right track with adding the veggies and fruit. In a few months she'll really start being able to go to town on raw veggies (tomatoes, bell peppers, broccoli, cucumbers, etc.) and you can just ply her with those in addition to what you're eating and call it done. (A friend of mine jokes that Midwesterners add frozen peas to everything. Guilty as charged, but if it gets some more nutrition into the kids without a struggle, why not?)

You could also try commenter Elizabeth's trick of adding frozen spinach to smoothies. You really do not taste it. Honestly. (Surprisingly delicious, but gross-looking: chocolate ice cream, milk, spinach.) I've started making breakfast smoothies with raw spinach, and it's a really easy way to get a ton of greens without having to chew them. (OK, I should 'fess up that most mornings I show up at work with a truly disgusting concoction that my coworkers have nicknamed The Sludge, but which really actually tastes fine: frozen açai berries, frozen blueberries, frozen mango chunks, raw almonds, greens powder, flax seed oil, kefir, raw spinach, raw mung bean sprouts, and a little water to thin it out. Breakfast of Champions. The 2-year-old loves it, too.)

What do other who aren't cooks do about this in-between stage, when the baby is aging out of jarred vegetables but isn't really into raw ones yet?

Comments

[Kate]

IMO the absolute best baby food in existence? Avocados. No prep, full of healthy fats, fiber (a lot--be wary of diapers if your baby really takes to it!), vitamins. The one drawback is that depending on where you live they can be expensive.

If Anon is planning to cook some and freeze, meatloaf (I use ground turkey) is an excellent place to sneak some finely chopped vegetables.

[amy]

OK, I tried putting raw spinach in my fruit-yogurt smoothie and I could totally taste it. Or if I couldn't taste it, it at least made the texture funny. :(

[Melissa]

When Baby Girl got to her 11 monthday the pickies started to set in (or so I thought). I kept trying different things and realized that if she could feed herself, she would eat it (or at least try it and be on her way to eating it). The problem was I ran out of ideas after a while and was beginning to worry about intake or protein and iron. Then I found Dr. Sears' book on Family Nutrition:
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/40417753&referer=brief_results
He breaks down major basic things we need in our diets (fiber, calcium, protein, et al) and talks about how much children, adolescents, and adults need. Then in a great section on Feeding Toddlers he gives 2 or 3 pages of just lists of things to try, and most of it baby can feed herself.
Some of th ethings in Baby Girl's repertoire right now: pear, avocado, banana, blueberry, apple, yogurt (messy, but good!), cottage cheese, cheese, RyVita, Graham Crackers, toast fingers with cream cheese, boiled eggs.
As for the protein and iron, I have two standby recipes that I have from one of Anne Karmel's books (http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/55143549). One is a beef based that has an option to add chicken livers and the other is a lentil and carrot concoction. I make huge batches of these that will last two weeks and then freeze them in ice cube trays and store in the freezer. I thaw one or two at each meal and with everything else she can feed herself, she has a full meal.

[Melissa]

The Karmel link above isn't displaying correctly. Here it is again:
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/55143549

[Slim]

Does anyone else remember that jingle "Summer summer fruit, It wouldn't be summer withouuuuut it"? Just me?
Anyway, this is a great time of year for fresh fruit, and your daughter is old enough that if you hold her on your lap while you're eating a nice juicy nectarine she is likely to grab your arm and direct it to her mouth.
At this age, I wouldn't be trying to sneak veggies into her; I'd be cooking up a variety and seeing what rings her chimes. Later, if she becomes a picky toddler, you can start with the sneaking.
Once you know what she likes, you can microwave a few servings' worth to an appropriate level of mushiness and pull them out of the fridge over the course of a few days. Most kids don't want their food all that hot anyway, so if you let it rise to room temperature while you cook dinner or wait for the takeout to arrive, you should be good to go.
Yes, it would be more nutritious to cook it fresh every time, but a lot of early food experimentation is about exposing your child to different flavors and establishing good habits. Also, we're working on not driving yourself crazy, right? So for now, pull out the jar of roasted red peppers, scrape off the skin, and create some nice mushy chunks for your girl. Roast them yourself later, when you've got more free time.
Also, if she turns out to love something you don't, such as cauliflower, you only have to smell it once.

[Reese]

I'm actually stuck in the middle of this one and don't know what to do!

My 20 month old girl won't eat fresh (or steamed) produce. I try and try but she only eats veggies if I cook them into Shepherds Pie and only eats fruit if it's dried (cranberries, cherries, raisins, pineapple, mango, apple). I'm getting so frustrated!

My husbands mother didn't like veggies or fruit so she never had him eat them and, because of that, he has spent most of his adult life overweight. I, on the otherhand, grew up on produce. I have always loved fresh fruits and veggies and have been eating them from an early age (my first sentence was "I like broccoli").

What do I do? Saying "you can't leave the table until you eat that" doesn't work with this age. I keep putting a piece of broccoli, a baby carrot, and a piece of cheese in her lunches (another thing: she hates dairy, she gets her only calcium from 2 drinkable yogurts each day) but they always come back home.

I want my daughter to be able to enjoy fresh foods, get the vitamins she needs, be healthy, and to have a solid foundation of healthy eating habits for the rest of her life. What do I do?

(Note: family history of obesity from Maternal Grandfather's lineage and from Father's lineage. Daughter is currently in 75% for height and 50% for weight.)

[Henny Penny]

My son loves spinach smoothies. We do a 10 oz package of frozen spinach (microwaved for 1 minute to thaw it some), soy milk, peanut butter, flax seeds, frozen mango or tropical fruit mix, and two bananas. In order to the spinach really chopped down I first put the milk and bananas in, then the spinach, then the frozen fruit. It takes a few minutes of blending to get it really smooth, but it's awesome. I can definitely taste the spinach, but not in a bitter way with so much fruit to sweeten the concoction.

[hedra]

I just saw a study that showed that the time spent cooking from scratch was equal to the time spent using convenience foods, period, across the board. The only difference convenience foods added was increased complexity of dishes. Same time required.

We had to go to all-scratch cooking when we identified all the dietary issues in the kids - dairy, high fructose corn syrup (in everyblessedthing), dyes, etc., etc. I was sure it was going to KILL me to do this. Or break the budget. Neither happened.

So, okay, we do a lot of pasta or rice. Add in some frozen veggies (yay frozen peas!), or cucumbers or carrot sticks. Most people can manage that, yes? The 'hard' part is the meat/fish/protien thing, and making it 'interesting'. Well, for the kids 'interesting' has meant getting some herb and spice mixes in shakers, and putting those on the table to shake on the food (or onto the plate for dipping). One loves garlic salt. The salt may not be that great for her, but hey, she feels competent and loves to eat things with that on it. Okay! And for the meats? I admit that I'm a good cook, but I don't have time to do complex sh.. stuff most of the time. Frozen burgers under the broiler are popular. So are hotdogs (nuked). I use a crock pot when I can (recipes tend to be simple, and effort is mainly in prep). Hamburger fried up and tossed into jarred spaghetti sauce, woo! (I can fry up some mushrooms and onions for the grownups to add to theirs, after the hamburger is in the sauce and warming on the stove.) I do a lot of london broil, broiled chicken breasts (plain, they won't eat them with 'stuff' on them, except what they add themselves), pork loins (easy), and salmon (wrap in foil, bake). It really does not take very long - we used to do convenience foods all the time. It just didn't work ANY better than doing it from scratch. I thought I was nuts/weird/different when I discovered that 'simple from scratch' was taking the same amount of time as 'super-fast easy boxed dinners'. But the research backs me up - there's really not a noticable difference, other than that the kids (and us grownups) have more control over what we eat, and in general are eating pretty well.

The main issue with the takeout that I've read is the salt. Most takeout has a LOT of it. But you can still control portions, and I love a good pad thai! We do chinese, mexican, moroccan, or japanese regularly, and hit the local Greek Diner at least twice a month. So... just taking it down to a dull roar may make things work more smoothly.

Good luck, and glad you figured out some new strategies. :)

[hedra]

Oh, and if you want a good book on getting kids to eat well and properly, the VERY best resource I've found (which I got from a feeding clinic) is "How to get your kid to eat - but not too much" - non-punitive, research-based, really detailed, and helped me spot some of my bad food habits, too! WOO! The book is available on Amazon, IIRC.

Be patient. While some patterns are developed early, 'liking thing' is a long trajectory. My mom started off with the assumption that liking was related to age - and that each person had a different 'old enough' for liking different things. We had to TRY something (once a year!), but if we didn't like it, it was just because WE (our unique we) weren't old enough to like it yet. We might NEVER be old enough, that was okay - but we couldn't tell if we were old enough unless we tried it regularly as we got older. Once a year was often enough. Okay, so we weren't good at figuring how long a year was at first, and I'm sure we tried things more often when we were younger. But the idea that it wasn't our fault that we didn't like it YET, and that we had loads of time to grow up enough to like it, that eased a lot of pressure all around.

Also, if your child resists fruit (and some veggies, espcially onions, cucumbers, carrots, leeks), DO NOT PUSH. That's a typical symptom of children who do not tolerate fructose well. This trait does run in families, and is worst from under 1 to 3 years of age (approximate) and starts improving from there. The worst offenders in these categories are apples, pears, peaches (and any pit-fruit, like cherries), new-world grapes (like concord, the ones that the skins slip of when you squeeze them), mango, melon. All the things we tend to give kids because they'll LIKE them! Clementine oranges are tolerated, froz concentrated oj is tolerated, and sometimes canned peaches, but all in SMALL quantities (1/2 cup or less per day). Most canned fruits in juice are in pear, and most fruit juices have apple or pear. All can cause havoc on the digestion and can suppress seratonin production (which in effect means 'when I eat fruit, I feel sad/down' so they resist like crazy!). So, if you have a family trait of avoidance of fruit/veggies/whole grains (which also tend to be heavy on the fructose), ease up a bit and work with small quantities only. There could be a reason for it! (Oh, and avoid all the concentrated fruit juice sweetened items, fruit leathers/gummies/snacks, applesauce, juices, and high fructose corn syrup - plain corn syrup is fine, though.)

[Jen]

My 11 month old son prefers to feed himself bite sized pieces of fresh fruit, avocado, steamed vegetables, and microwaved frozen vegetables. Right now he is also enjoying hummus (easy to make yourself or buy in a grocery store and can contain spinach, artichoke, etc.) and lentils - both have lots of fiber, protein, and good fat. Refried beans, black beans, and guacamole are also a big hit.

[rudyinparis]

Hey, Anon, so great to hear you're feeling better!

In these hot hot months we often eat hummus and pita with cucumber/zucchini, etc and some fruit. If you're inspired, it's easy to make hummus (just google "hummus" and "recipe")... but I often just buy a big tub of it. I've been known to sneak soft tofu into smoothies, spaghetti sauce, and cream-based soups. Takeout can be quite healthy, so I don't see it as a big sin. (Again, especially during the brutal summer days when I can't bear to cook in my kitchen.) But I'll echo other posters when they say that oftentimes cooking from scratch is surprisingly just as easy as convenience mixes and such. In the colder months my deep freezer sees a lot of use--a little organization, I have found, can go a long way.

One recipe both my kids like: using a food processor or a grater process carrots and turnips. Then add cooked mashed potatoes and ground turkey. Form into small patties. Freeze on a cookie sheet, then when frozen they can be bagged. To eat, defrost, coat with flour and cook in a frying pan with a little oil. Kids (at least mine) really like these and for my especially tired nights I can give them these with fruit for dessert and not feel horrible, nutrition-wise. You can also sneak wheat germ, tofu or a number of other healthy thins into these.

I'd love to see a whole section here at Ask Moxie for quick & healthy meals, hint, hint.

[Shandra]

You can grate some raw veggies like zucchini and carrot into something that is sort of midway between soft mushed food and finger food. As a bonus, if you grate the whole vegetable you can throw it onto a salad or into a soup, sauce, or muffin mix to add more veggies to those things.

Also soft-ish beans (canned kidney, romano) are a nice easy healthy finger food - rinse and serve.

Reese - I don't have any for sure answers but my son even starting around 20 months was much more likely to eat veggies (or anything) if he had a hand in preparing them (he still thinks you have to 'wash' frozen veggies by putting them in a bowl with a bit of water and stirring them).

Also go for the sweeter vegetables first - edaname (raw soy beans) are really yummy.

Also parents for generations have put sauces on veggies - I know we are all told not to do that due to the added fat or carbs or salt, but my own feeling has been that sometimes if a dash of soy sauce or a small pat of butter or a grating of cheese is going to make something more appetizing, I would really rather my son be hooked on those than the french fries, you know? I don't mean drown 'em in cheese whiz (shudder) but it might be worth experimenting with flavour a bit.

Finally, I grew up eating badly, and now I love vegetables and beans and whole grains. Although I think it is really good to expose our kids to stuff, and important to have wholesome food at least 80% of the time, I HATE the pressure that if they haven't sampled every vegetable in the world by three they will only eat McDonalds for the rest of their lives. I don't personally believe that.

[Rachel]

Definitely consider a meal-planning service! Mine is called The Six O'Clock Scramble (www.thescramble.com), and what a fantastic difference it has made in the life of our family. For a couple bucks a week you get an email newsletter with recipes for five main-dish meals and simple side dishes, and a shopping list keyed to the recipes so you only shop once a week. The meals are fresh foods, nutritious, easy to fix, family-friendly, and tasty. The shopping is a cinch. You save the subscription money many times over in reduced takeout and taking leftovers to work the next day for lunch. And it's really fast prep, actually faster than takeout. My husband is especially grateful for how few dishes there are when we're done. I've been subscribing for two years, since our oldest child was about 1 year old, and I can't see why I'd ever give it up. It's run by a savvy mom here in the DC area.

[Liss]

My favorite thing to give Little Bit (10.5 mos) is a can of Amy's Organic Soup with most of the liquid drained off. She particularly loves the vegetable barley and the lentil vegetable. It's little chunks she can easily handle herself, very tasty, and I get to eat the leftovers. I buy it by the case on Amazon.

[Jan]

We do frozen veggies in the microwave (a handful in water in a micro-wave safe bowl for 1-2 minutes) all the time for our kids. If you buy the mixed vegetables, it has a variety of colors that I seem to recall was really appealing at this age. We cook them, then use a strainer to run cold water of them so they're not too hot for little fingers and tongues.

I second the avocado recommendation. It's our Little Dude's very favorite, and I think it's the Super Baby Food book that claims that human beings could live on avocado alone, they're that nutritionally complete.

We do frozen fruit, too. Blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, peaches. Take them out to thaw a few minutes (or longer, for the big stuff) before you eat. Messy, but so convenient. The freezing/thawing process seems to break down the food in much the same way as cooking, so while fresh peach might be a bit much to chew, frozen/thawed peach is quite mushy -- my kids started on those at 6 months. As the kid gets older, you just thaw the fruit less and less. My three-year-old loves blueberries straight from the freezer as a treat on a hot day.

We used celery sticks for teething. They can't really eat it, but chewing on it gets them familiar with the flavor and then later you can do them with peanut butter or cream cheese for a snack.

We have a salad with dinner almost every night (and when life is crazy busy we buy the lettuce or spinach in those pre-washed and cut bags) and the kids will sometimes work on little pieces of lettuce or spinach or tomato or mushroom or whatever.

[rudyinparis]

Oh, and I forgot to mention services like Let's Dish... They have monthly menus and you select a number of the meals and order them online, setting up a time and date to go to their facility and put the meals togther. Everything is pre-washed and pre-cut, you just assemble. They provide cooking instructions on stickers that you slap on to the freezer bag. It's more expensive than from scratch, but less expensive than takeout. I know Let's Dish is in a number of states, but if not in yours, I'm sure there's something similar. There are a number of these types of businesses where I live. I use this service 3-4 times a year, and usually walk away from each session with 8-10 prepared meals. It only takes about an hour to assemble them. A HUGE timesaver.

[LauraJ]

We did (and, at 18 months, still do) a lot of frozen veggies. Either ones we have prepared ourselves or store-bought. Then just pop them in the microwave or thaw in the fridge overnight. Some grated cheese melted on the ones that she needs a little encouragement to eat. Either served on their own or mixed in with some whole wheat pasta or brown rice and some olive oil or butter. She also loves tofu, either plain or in a sauce of some type. And, as others have already written, lots and lots of avocado!

[Liza]

What everyone else says about frozen veggies in the microwave. We do a mix of mixed veg, broccoli (my son's favorite!), corn, peas, and carrots, mostly. They're easy, I don't even add water, and from freezer-opening to bowl-on-table is less than 5 minutes.

Plus, now we're eating more veggies.

[veggiewarrior]

I really, really suggest trying a menu mailer from www.savingdinner.com. It streamlines everything, the recipes are healthy and yummy, you spend less at the grocery store, and it is perfect for not-so-good cooks or gourmet addicts. I have found that for the majority of the recipes I can have them on the table in about 30 minutes from start to finish (some dishes are baked so take a bit longer, though). She has a huge assortment of menu options including all crockpot, heart healthy, weightloss (called body clutter), vegetarian, kosher and more. I spend about $60-$70 a week on groceries for a family of 3 when I use the vegetarian mailer. That includes what I spend on dinners, breakfasts and lunches. If I remember correctly it costs about $10 for 3 months of service. For that you receive a complete shopping list with menus. No prep (besides going to the super market)! All the recipes are geared towards in season, fresh produce so you won't have any trouble getting the ingredients. Yes, I'm a groupie :)

[Melissa]

Absolute favorite #1 food in our house with our 13 month old is avocado (and has been since she could eat solids starting around 10 months). She also loves fruit of all kinds but just. won't. touch. vegetables. I keep trying them - steamed, raw, baked with olive oil and garlic salt - and she tentatively puts a little bit in her mouth, makes a face, gives me THE LOOK ("what the hell are you trying to do to me lady?"), and promptly throws it on the floor. Sigh.

But since avocados are so healthy and since she is still breastfeeding (hooray! keeps me skinny! and is so good for her!) I don't worry too much.

Another winner (most of the time) is spiral pasta that comes in colors (naturally dyed with vegetables - spinach, beet, carrot). I toss a handful in some boiling water while I'm getting my own dinner prepared and then mix with olive oil and a little garlic salt (olive oil is very good for them at this age and much healthier than butter). The spiral shape is easy for her to handle herself and she enjoys the colors and saltiness.

Another easy healthy meal is scrambled eggs (though you may want to wait until she's a year old or consult with her doctor before giving her eggs). My girl loves hers with bits of ham.

There are lots of soft raw foods out there, or foods that become soft with minimal work at the stove. Keep experimenting and you'll probably find at least a few that she enjoys that you can serve with minimal effort, or make a large batch of when you have a little time.

As others mention she may really get into eating if she can feed herself. But don't get angry if she makes a big mess - ALL babies do it, and its part of the fun of learning to eat!

[jessica]

I'm a single mom with a 21 month old, working full time, etc...and it's just me and baby, I don't have help except the babysitter while I am at work. So, um... cooking dinner is sort of the last thing I want to do when I get home at night. But we need to eat and I rarely do take-out, so here are a few of my easy solutions.

Usually baby has whatever I have, sometimes not. My kid isn't a picky eater though, so it works. And she likes green things, so I'm lucky. Oh, and get a food grinder. (small hand grinder, I paid $12 for mine)

Easy toddler meals:
Pastina with frozen peas, sometimes I add an egg or a little tuna.

Rice and beans- add frozen veggies to it.

My daughter LOVES creamed spinach- try it. I do tend to season her food just the way I would for anyone else- and I think that helps.

Yogurt, and of course fruit- canned fruit has a lot of sugar in it, try and go for fresh if she'll take it.

Farina. You can mix stuff in it, too.

Veggie burgers- especially with cheese. You can get them frozen and they're really healthy and have lots of protein and veggies.

Crock Pot = yes.

Rice cooker = yes.

Roast your veggies in the oven...toss them in olive oil and whatever seasonings you want (minced garlic is always nice).

I also bake fresh fish (really doesn't take long).

What I find challenging is coming up with a basic standard grocery list. But the good thing about toddlers is that they really don't care so much if they have the same things over and over, as long as they like them.

[Michelle]

I just wanted to say thanks for all the great ideas!!! I am a WAHM with 2 under 2 - so time to cook or prepare fresh foods is not abundant here. I have to admit that our toddler eats a lot of those prepped "toddler foods" and Hamburger Helper was for dinner two nights ago.

I always add veggies to everything our Little Guy eats (like Moxie said, frozen peas go with everything) but I really want to eat healthier myself and prepare fresher and healthier foods for my family.

Thanks for all the great ideas - you ladies are convincing me that I can do this without spending too much time or money!

[Maureen]

Hi... so glad things are looking up, Anon! As for the food - I am a really picky eater and I really didn't want that for my boys (2 1/2 year olds). So, I've been cooking fresh veggies/fruits for them since they were little. Since that is all they know, they don't even know to resist or ask for chicken fingers/pizza instead.

As for ideas, I second the cooking (steaming veggies) things ahead of time and then having in the fridge on hand. We just feed directly from the fridge. My boys prefer that temp and definitely don't like things hot.

One thing I've come across that is an amazing food source is quinoa (a cross between rice and cous cous). It is very high in iron and protein. Very easy/fast to make, easy to make a large quantity to have on hand for a few days, and a great venue for adding other things (we do a great quinoa salad with grilled corn, chopped green onions, cilantro, etc.).

I've learned a lot about veggies since having the boys. Surprisingly, parsley is just as great for you as spinach. So, if you chop that up and put it into meatballs or meatloaf it adds lots of nutrition. I have a great beef meatball recipe (from Epicurious.com) where I make the whole batch at one time (it uses 2 pounds) and then freeze in smaller batches (raw, not yet cooked). Then each week I can bake a cookie sheet full and have on hand in the fridge to dole out easy meat/protein for meals. 2nd the idea for hummus (so easy to make - we make a very mild version using canned garbonzo beans, a little tahini (sesame seed paste), lemon juice, teensy bit of salt/garlic powder, and some water. Blend really well in the blender and at the very end, add a little olive oil and blend again. Great for dipping in veggies or even just eating straight out of a bowl on their own (that's how my boys prefer it).

Lastly, on the spinach in the smoothies - it works much better if you cut off the stems before adding to the smoothie. Much less noticable and much better texture.

[ikate]

My girl is 11 1/2 months old and the best find for me is canned black beans. She gobbles them up plain - I mix them with mac & cheese or rice, and veggies. She also could live on blueberries if I let her. And, the organic frozen veggies are my lifesaver - I WOTH and she's hungry as soon as we walk in the door.

A typical weeknight dinner for her is beans, a chopped frozen or fresh veggie (nuked until soft and cooled), some fruit (chopped avocado, berries, banana, mango, canned peaches or pears, etc,) and maybe some yogurt, a frozen mini-waffle, or some cheese cubes, etc.

On the weekends, when her dad and I are both home she eats what we eat, usually with some extra fruit or veggies thrown in. Her new fave is grilled garlic chicken, which I shred for her and mix it with rice & veggies.

Finally, a great thing to do is to make a batch of mac & cheese (we use Annie's) and then mix in a can of beans. Store the whole thing in the fridge and you've got several meals - just spoon some out and add in a new veggie each time - peas tonight, chopped spinach tomorrow, broccoli later in the week and carrots to finish it off. Add a fruit and you're good to go!

[Kayla]

Wow, lots of comments. No time to read it. But yeah, with dinner.. if it has sauce, it has pureed vegetables. A favorite here is spinach blended into spaghetti sauce. Baby (21 mos) gobbles it up like there's no tomorrow. Picky DH and 21 year old brother eat it up too. Win win!

[Charisse]

What PPs said about the avocado and canned beans (except we go for pinto rather than black). Both finger-able, both healthy, both delish. I used to swear Mouse was made of avocado, because around this age she was insisting on finger foods but had zero teeth--lots and lots of avocado chunks! In fact even now she's 3, on nights when she's feeling unadventurous, that's still our backup meal--1/2 an avocado, pinto beans, and a whole wheat quesadilla. Takes about 5 mins and we're both happy.

I cook a lot, but due to schedules and the fact that Mr. C is a South Beach Diet guy, I had to do their food separately for quite a while.

Takeout stuff that works:

-mexican restaurants often have great beans
-ask a japanese place to put extra tofu in an order of miso soup, it comes out delicious
-edamame (my kid loves to see them pop out, you'll have to help the 11-month-old but she'll probably think it's funny nonetheless)
-corn on the cob (Mouse would totally gnaw on it as soon as she got front teeth)
-some places do sweet potato fries, those are often a big hit
-pita and hummus/baba ganoush

Some other stuff we just kept on hand:

-good-quality, low-sodium sliced turkey (I get it a couple times a week at the local deli)--a little one can chew little pieces, and now it goes in the bento box in nice little rolls
-eggs. A kid who has had a scrambled egg and some fruit has had a meal as far as I'm concerned. You can also hardboil several at a time and keep them in the fridge to chop.
-pears--fun to bite the whole thing and soft enough
-asparagus--very short cooking time in the microwave, add a smidge of olive oil, the spears are fun to play with
-in-season berries. My little environmentalist (ha, I think she's just picky) will eat the really flavorful local strawberries, but won't touch the mass produced ones. Seriously, see if you can find some.

[Nutmeg]

I just let the littlest bubs feed himself and from the get go he's been pretty good about veggies. He even ate a couple of brussel sprouts the other night (he's 8.5 months).

Thawed frozen spinach can be stirred into a ton of things. For instance, the bubs loves rice cakes with cream cheese. Stir some spinach into the cream cheese... instant vegetable. And no, you don't need teeth to eat almost anything, just a little time. He loved hummus and ate that with spinach too, but he's allergic, so we had to give it up.

Whir up some broccoli, green beans or something else green in the blender/food processor so it's a fine chop and you can stir that into things too, like mashed potatoes, or hummous if she likes it.

Frozen veg are just as nutritious as fresh and you don't have to plan ahead nearly as much!

[Diane]

We do the smoothies too! I use fresh spinach, orange juice, some dried seaweed (!), and sometimes 1/2 a banana and whatever else I can cram in there. The seaweed provides extra calcium, and the spinach is loaded with stuff. You simply cannot taste the green stuff in there. My 15-month-old hears the blender and starts begging right away for his share! Also, when they're so young, you can toss them easy stuff like little cubes of firm tofu (plain, cold - my son loves it!) and they don't know what they're eating is considered "gross". I also use a lot of frozen veggies because they're easy. Avocado is great because you don't have to cook it - just smash it with a fork. Sometimes I add a little banana to it for sweetness. It's strangely addictive. And good for you for limiting the stresses! I think we can all learn from you and your situation.

[Julie]

I'm so glad this eating thing is the topic today......and Anon I'm SO glad you've figured out some creative accounting to get you some time off. It will get better from here.

Hedra, I'm glad you mentioned the fructose intolerance thing...I remember you mentioning it before and I'm curious because my 22 m/o is SO into fruit (any and all kinds) that on some days that is ALL he will eat. Literally. No cheese, no meat no veggies. Just. Fruit. And his mood is noticeably more edgy. Not horrible, just edgy. I think part of it is just the lack of protein, but still know that kids at this age have trouble processing fruit. And let's not even talk about his acid poops. Yikers. I don't think he's fructose intolerant because he can't get enough, but is there an opposite condition where they have some kind of need for huge amounts of fruit? We try not to make it a big deal, we don't make it a treat or something he CAN'T have......but inside it drives me crazy when he's sitting at the dinner table begging for fruit and ignoring all the other food in front of him. ARgh.

I try not to worry - other days he does better, but overall he is an "eat 3 edamame beans and 2 noodles for dinner" kind of guy. And I've also noticed he eats WAAAAAY better for my mom than for me. Which is a topic for another post.

I think for Anon. just exposure right now is important.....and the things you are looking out for (portion size, fat, etc.) is all you really need to worry about. For now. I can't wait to go back and read all the comments of different ideas because we are really struggling with this eating thing too. In fact just this morning (as I watched my son happily eat an entire egg, piece of toast and cantelope) I asked my mom if she would like to come over every night and feed him dinner too. Big sigh.

She said no.

[Lisa]

We're lucky - T. is not long-term picky. He may shun all but bread at one meal, then all but broccoli at the next. But over the course of a week, he gets a pretty good balance. He did make a slow transition out of purees (tended to gobble/choke), so a lot of the "transition" foods are still his favorites.

some ideas - stuff he likes most of the time (if I get some portion of this into him over a week, I feel he's been well-fed):

hummus, peanut butter, sunflower-seed butter, black beans, white beans, soft-boiled egg yolk, sharp cheddar or gouda (little interest in milder cheeses), plain yogurt with a little molasses or fruit spread or chopped fruit, chicken or salmon baked/sauteed with a little teriyaki sauce, occasional tofu

avocado/guacamole, asparagus, broccoli, edamame, corn (on cob or pieces), carrots (sauteed in olive oil with cinnamon and garlic), dried peas and corn (brand is "Just Peas")

apple, pear, tangerine kiwi, peach, plum, melon, berries (always keep a bag of frozen blueberries in the fridge)... all fruits still cut up in small skinless pieces...

cereal with milk or yogurt, wheat toast, noodles (penne or rotini with peanut sauce or cheese sauce), wheat crackers, organic equivalents to goldfish/cheerios/chex

in my bag so he can always be fed: a mix of the above dry snacks, to-go serving of applesauce or yogurt, a Lara Bar (organic nut/fruit mix he loves), maybe a tangerine

as for the inevitable takeout/restaurant offerings, if we order thoughtfully there's always something he can eat.

Mexican: veggie or chicken burritos are perfect - he just gets 1/4 of mine. Thai: Brown or white rice, chicken sate, cucumber salad, mild yellow curry, broccoli from garnish or stirfry. Chinese: fried/brown/white rice, potstickers, various stirfries. Japanese: edamame, rice, seaweed salad, tofu, cool miso soup, avocado. Italian: pasta with olive oil and cheese (mild allergy to tomatoes), polenta, anything with mushrooms or spinach.

We don't eat a lot of meat, but when we do he sometimes will have some (organic) chicken or salmon off our plates.

Pureed soups - carrot, broccoli, sweet potato, black bean - are often good ways of getting more veggies in.

at home, leftover brown rice or pasta can be served with canned black beans, hummus, cheese, frozen peas, chopped/nuked baby carrots... tortillas with melted cheese and avocado are another staple. Frozen stuff: peas, corn, Amy's organic veggie shepherd's pies.

Overall, it helps a lot now that he can say "no thank you," "I like it," no like it," "all done," etc. We try to respect his hungers and preferences, and it seems to be working - not a lot of food drama.

[Lisa]

Although there was this the other day:

Me (staring into the pantry): "Hmm. What should we have for lunch?"

T: "Hmm.... Cupcakes!"

[Lisa]

oh, yeah:

homemade yogurt smoothies/lassi.

For lassi: plain whole-milk yogurt, a splash of OJ, honey, cardamom, vanilla, ic cubes. Blend. (Obviously, this is for after 1 year, or you can use vanilla yogurt and skip the honey and vanilla.)

smoothies: half yogurt/half whole milk, whatever juices or fruits are lying around, ice, blend.

[Nicole]

I buy veggies at the Farmer's Market every week and roast them all at the same time on the weekend, then store them in the fridge for the week. Eggs are a big friend of ours here- it takes about 10 minutes to make a roasted veggie/ goat cheese frittata that everyone loves.

The menu planning/ eating thing is killing me lately too. I love the ideas here.

[Amy]

I used to cut up a zucchini and steam it for a baby snack... peeling it first might be better for an 11 m.o. It's quick and it's not really "cooking".

You could also grate half a zucchini into her jarred food or take-out pasta sauce.

[hedra]

Julie, a normal child with just the low-tolerance in toddlerhood/preschool age can get on serious fruit jags. And even B and M, who are both fructose malabsorbers LOOOOOOOOVE fruit (but are eh-ish on most sweets, which is another common sign - want some, definitely, but won't gorge on ice cream or other treats). Both love their fruit, so that's not a 'guaranteed sign' it is just a thought for the resisters - sometimes there's a reason!

As for the ones who binge on it, their electrolites and/or blood sugar may be off kilter, especially with the acid poop diarrhea - B would self-medicate after diarrhea to get his blood sugar back up with wanting sweets or fruit or scads of pasta (nothing else), and wanting them BAD. I've felt the same way, so I know the pattern. To reset B's balance, I'd break my own 'anti-requirements' rules, and insist he have two bites of a dense protein (meat, cheese, PB, yogurt, egg) after a short serving of the desired food, before he could go back to his binge. Two good bites is enough to give him a protien 'extended burn' on his blood sugar, and usually had enough fats to slow down his digestion for the other foods as well. Once his body was re-regulated (up to three days with that approach, especially considering it takes three days to clear fructose from the body), he'd settle and stop binging as much (and usually, by the next meal after a protien was required, he'd be calmer about eating and not so hairy DESPERATE for the blood-sugar boosters).

And no, he isn't diabetic. He just inherited DH's family blood sugar instability (skipped DH, but his dad and sister don't maintain blood sugar well).

Good luck! The acid poops are no fun for anyone. :(

[Dana]

It's all been said! My bits to add:

As far as I know, there is nothing special in rice or pasta (which he didn't really like at that age, and which requires cooking) that isn't in wholewheat toast. I always have sliced wholewheat bread in the freezer. At 11 months I'm sure my son ate toast & hummus (and some fruit) for at least one meal every day. I tried making the hummus, but we didn't go through it fast enough, so I bought it in small packages from local Whole Foods-type store's deli. Out of hummus? Cream cheese. Or almond butter when he's a little older.

My son wouldn't eat eggs (still won't), but loves french toast (bread, egg, a little milk), which is very fast and you probably have everything on hand at all times.

He still (at 19 months) refuses quite a few protein sources (eggs, fish, most meat except ground beef), and nearly all vegetables except peas and jarred baby vegetable casseroles (which apparently don't taste like anything). Whatever. I try to make a big thing of something like chili, meatballs, spaghetti sauce with meat, split pea soup, or lentil soup once a week. Canned beans are also a big hit. If I'm making pasta without meat (e.g., tomato sauce or pesto sauce), I always add a drained can of beans to the pasta while it's cooking (white kidney for tomato sauce, chickpeas for pesto)--more nutrition for everyone, zero extra cooking.

[Maureen]

Sorry, I know I already posted but I had a couple more comments.

Tofu - found this great idea to take extra firm tofu, cut it horizontally two times so that there are 3 large rectangles (around same thickness). Use small cookie cutters (we started with a star and I've now added a small train and cat to my repitroire (sp??)) to cut the tofu into the small shapes. Fry/saute in a little olive oil and serve. Goes over so well with my boys and is an easy meal option for us when I don't feel like cooking.

Rotiserrie chicken from the grocery store. Awesome to pick up for whole family and then take some and shred for the little one. Some stores even carry an organic option.

Grilled salmon (or other fishes). Sooo easy and something the whole family can eat. We just had this last night with grilled corn on the cobb, edamame (bought already cooked and ready at grocery store), a couple cut up tomatoes, and a little roasted BN squash (made earlier in the week). The best part was while my husband BBQ'd the fish and corn, the boys and I were able to play outside too.

[fahmi]

My son really enjoyed stews and chili (and the uk mushy-peas!) at this age - soft and mushy, but not too hard to get down. The best part about the stews and chili for a non-cook is that you pop them in to the crockpot, let it go for ten hours and voila, food for a week.

[pnuts mama]

apologies that i haven't read the comments yet for repeats!!

transition from jars to solids- got the idea off of this site a year ago to buy frozen veggies/fruits in the bag and let the pnut eat them frozen (when teething especially) or warmed up. just the plain organic ones, no sauce, anything from peas, carrots, broccoli, squash, berries etc.

also, you can buy a big bag of frozen tortellini or ravioli to have on hand and microwave that in a little bowl if you are having a form of take out that she wouldn't be down with- with sauce or w/o (some people respond to too much acid in tomato sauce)or there are some good organic mac and cheeses that you can throw peas into.

good luck! you are doing great!!

[nancy]

some great ideas here - I second the thought of putting a whole section here for us, moxie!

Avocado, avocado, avocado. Our pediatrician recommended it (along with lentils), and my 11 mo baby girls LOVES them. I'm not sure if they count as a veggie, or fruit, but I don't think it matters.
Sweet potato french fries (0 trans fat) - again, I don't know if they count as a veggie, but at least they're orange! :) Frozen veggies in the mircowave (I buy big bags of organic at costco, and just dish up what I need). She also loves grilled zucchini and yellow squash (sliced, in tin foil w/ a dash of olive oil). We also do canned fruit in juice (though, upon reading, I'm going to try the frozen fruits too)
We love the pasta made from veggies - my almost 3-year old loves the "green pasta" to the exclusion of all else. I'm also seeing more pastas w/whole grains on the shelf. Through some prego on top, with a little lean ground beef, add a salad, and voila! Dinner is served!
I love the idea of draining some good healthy soup, too. I'm definatley going to give that a try!
We encourage our girls to try new foods, and I try to introduce new foods regularly (that way, it's not a big deal). All we say is "show me _______", and we usually get at least one bite. We are VERY nonchalant when there is any kind of strong reaction from the "trier", either positive or negative.

Good luck anon! And happy eating everyone!

[Julie]

Thanks Hedra! I don't think he's intolerant (any more than any normal toddler is intolerant of anything).....but it did make me wonder a bit. The two-bite rule sounds good to me. We'll try that for a few days and see if we see an increase in non-fruit foods. As always, your knowledge is invaluable to me.

Overall I feel lucky to have a kid who loves fruit - it's a great healthy snack. But I know he's had too much when he starts asking for "sauce" for his bottom.

:)

[susannah]

Hmmm.... interesting research just published that may help explain how come things are better for anon and family with home-cooked food: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20612862/

basically showing that kids who ate a meal containing certain really common food preservatives (like sodium benzoate) as well as food colorings had significantly increased hyperactivity symptoms- even if they aren't ADHD- when compared to kids given the same food without it. ADHD parents have suspected this for a long time, so it makes sense to me!

[susannah]

Hmmm.... interesting research just published that may help explain how come things are better for anon and family with home-cooked food: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20612862/

basically showing that kids who ate a meal containing certain really common food preservatives (like sodium benzoate) as well as food colorings had significantly increased hyperactivity symptoms- even if they aren't ADHD- when compared to kids given the same food without it. ADHD parents have suspected this for a long time, so it makes sense to me!

[SJ]

I make big batches of turkey meatballs, cook them, and freeze at least half for future meals (with spaghetti, or as subs, or just by themselves for the little monkey). Also double prep when you can (making enchiladas or lasagna, the same amount of work and you can have a second dinner in the freezer - both of those are good for adding extra veggies). My son does love broccoli and will eat a lot of other veggies - garlic salt can help (just a tiny bit), or sauce to dip, as other posters mentioned (dipping is huge for toddlers!) you can also make a protein packed "sauce" by thinning some hummus or other bean dip. The other thing to remember is that the 11month point there are a lot of changes, and I remember at that point the monkey would love something one week and then reject the next - and now those things he usually likes (at 2.5) - so we just offered without pushing and if he didn't eat it, we still offered it again the next time we made that veggie or dish. Other big things can be eating the same thing you are (or at least looking like it or coming from your plate) or as other posters mentioned, helping "cook.

Meal planning makes a big difference - I use google calendar for everything, so that includes a calendar called "what's for dinner?" - I try to do it in advance of the grocery shop, and it doesn't always happen - but the best part is if you do it for awhile, even just by recording what you did have, the past months are full of dinner ideas! It is also nice because my husband can look at the calendar instead of calling me in the middle of work asking what's for dinner?, which somehow had really started to drive me crazy (as if it was only my responsibility to figure it out... which he mostly knows it is not) - now that we're planning better, we actually usually do it together, which is also a nice way to preview our week (who might work late a particular day, or work from home and be able to start something in the crockpot, etc.)

[Another Erin]

Wow, fantastic ideas, everyone! I've been feeling a little uninspired when it comes to what to give my 10 m.o. for dinner lately - she gets what we're having, but she's big into flinging these days so I like to have backup options.

And Hedra, your post really startled me, as you mentioned the only two fruits I have ever liked, clementines and canned peaches. (Well, I also like mulberries, but it's hard to find a reliable source for those that does not involve sneaking into a stranger's yard.) I want to give my daughter fruit, as we all know it's so good for you, but I just freeze in the produce aisle looking at it and thinking, what do people do with this stuff? Maybe I'll stop worrying about it and just keep giving her the bitter vegetables we both seem to love...

[Jen]

Our boy loves oat porridge...we buy jumbo organic oatflakes and cook them in a mixture of water and soy milk or cow's milk, with a big dash of cinnamon. This only takes 5 minutes or so, and then we serve it with a bit more cold milk to cool it enough for him, toasted wheatgerm and a tiny sprinkle of sugar. I read that cinnamon is excellent for regulating blood sugar, and oats also release energy slowly. So it is a good energy giving comfort food, which is easy for him to eat when he is tired and cranky. The milkiness and sweetness I think reminds him of breastmilk, because he has always loved this porridge and never refuses it. Needless to say that it's easy to make extra for mum or dad to eat too! I didn't used to be the biggest fan but now I'm addicted to it. Thanks for this post and the comments, as we are also going through a stage where baby wants to feed himself. And it's so easy to freak out that he isn't eating enough of the 'right' things. Seeing what others are doing gives a lot of fresh ideas, while also reinforcing what we're already doing. I'm hungry after reading all this!

[hedra]

Hey, Another Erin, researchers think that fructose malabsorption is probably more common than lactose intolerance, so you may just have always trusted your body's reactions. It may be genetic (at least the dual lactose-and-fructose issue we have in my family appears to be a common recessive in Nordic heritage people), so carry on! (Oh, and the high fructose corn syrup only bothers some people with fructose malabsorption, they don't yet know why - but if it bothers them, even miniscule amounts totally whack them.)

[hedra]

Oh, and mulberries, also a good option. You could also consider commercially frozen strawberries - not fresh, but the deep-frozen thing breaks down the fructose.

[rebecca]

I haven't finished reading all the comments yet, but hurrah once again to everyone.

I read that you shouldn't make some vegetables at home early on because of nitrates?? One of the veggies in question was carrots. what the heck is being done at a processing plant of organic baby food that I can't do to lessen nitrates (if anything)?

This wasn't crazyland I got this from, I can't remember off the top of my head where it was, but it totally could have been the Sears baby book.

[Fernandz]

I have a solution for that - food nutrition guide this would definitely help you in that between stage. This guide is a content of healthy food rich in nutrients, real fruits ,iron ,fiber ,vitamins....oh! what not!