Picky Eater Help!

[As Told By Ginger]

Is anybody here a picky eater or cook for a picky eater?
My one year old has the weirdest tastes...
He loves avocado and lamb but hates pasta!
I'm running out of things to feed him.
Anybody have ideas?  

[xena91388]

Buy simple stuff you know he likes in bulk, like a big bag of veggies and lean cold-cuts. Pre-portion it in little baggies and then steam them in the microwave at dinner time and add in extras like milk, cheese, fruit, bread. When you feed him, put a small portion of the food everyone else is eating on his plate and don't pressure or force him, his curiosity will eventually win out.

Keep track of what he likes and doesn't like and try to stick with the meals he likes more until he's older and plan your grocery shopping accordingly.Slowly add more of the family dinner and less of the pre-portioned food as he gets older.

You can also try making small changes to meals he hates to see if you can find another way he might like it, like using Alfredo sauce or a seasoned olive oil vinaigrette instead of tomato. Some kids are also put off by the color or texture of food, like my nephew hates gooey things so instead of giving him gloopy oatmeal, I bake healthy oatmeal breakfast cookies. He also hates the stringiness of cooked spinach but loves the color green so I puree spinach that I put in foods to color them green.

This is the method I used with my nephew and it's win-win all around. He gets his daily nutrient requirements and food waste is minimal.  

[As Told By Ginger]

xena91388

Thank you!
This was really helpful!
I never thought to pre-portion it in baggies before.
I'll just have to get more creative with the things he does like and add different things to it.
I did make "Spaginach" last night (spaghetti w/creamed spinach) and he seemed to tolerate it.