Do you get scared when you think about introducing new foods to your toddler? When toddlers see new foods, they can sometimes react by screaming, tossing their plate onto the floor, or throwing the food at you! I’m thankful that The Boy would cry and push his plate away. He’d often say “I don’t want that on my plate!” I knew that he needed a wider variety in his diet, but didn’t know how to do it in a way he would accept.
I decided to take him to a nutritionist that specializes in children. (High five to me for taking this step!) She made several suggestions that we so easy to implement. We went to see her weekly for six weeks and were recently “discharged” from her program because The Boy is doing so well.
She taught me that the best time for introducing new foods to your toddler is during snack time. Toddlers associate snack time as a more relaxed period and may feel less discomfort about a new food being on the plate. The Boy didn’t like raw baby carrots, or so I thought. One day I put them out for our snack with two different “dips”. I sliced the carrots, made them into long sticks and left a few whole. It turns out that he is not a dipper, and likes the baby carrots when they are in long sticks. (I observed it was easier for him to chew the sticks as opposed to the whole baby carrots.)
You’ll be shocked to learn that The Boy does not eat macaroni and cheese: whether it is Annie’s Organic boxed or my fabulous homemade recipe. He won’t even eatLobster Macaroni and Cheese! Until I put a spin on it…
I cooked the macaroni and cheese according to package directions, then I placed a few of the elbow macaroni into a cast iron skillet and topped with shredded cheese. It turned into a “crispy cheesey macaroni” and is round like a cracker. He loved it.
Getting creative with foods is one way to encourage your toddler to eat new foods. Though the nutritionist, we found that The Boy prefers to eat things that are cut into “strips” as opposed to “squares” or “triangles” or “circles”. He also enjoys spicy and savory things – like salsa and sausages.
What are some of your toddler’s favorite foods? How do you encourage your toddler to try new foods?
Disclosure: I am not a doctor or a nutritionist. If you believe that your toddler could benefit from a nutritionist, consult your pediatrician. The tips and tricks presented in this post are things that I tried with The Boy. This post is not meant to replace the advice of a nutritionist or your pediatrician.
This is part of series of posts titled Motherhood Mondays where I’ll be sharing my parenting experiences, tips and advice. If there is a specific topic you would like to see in the coming weeks, please email me with Motherhood Mondays in the subject line.
Hi, coming over from the Monday Mingle! So interesting – thanks for sharing!
My son is almost three and eats a very limited amount of foods. I am open to going to a nutrionist but don’t know where to start. What is the average cost? How did you find yours?
Sara,
Our pediatrician referred us and the visits were covered by our insurance. We paid nothing out of pocket. I wish you luck. The biggest thing that I took away – is that my son is healthy and I am doing a great job. I learned that children around the age of 3 (mine just turned 3 a few weeks ago) are picking & choosing what they eat because they are exercising their decision making skills. Kids like to feel in control, and because parents say “we’re having XYZ for dinner” the kid says “I don’t like that.” just because they can.
I now let The Boy help choose things from the store more often & he’s eager to help in the kitchen. It’s been an adventure. I wish you all the success that we had!
If you want to chat more, feel welcomed to email me directly!
Great tip about offering the veggies and new foods as snacks as opposed to during meals! We have implemented that and SUCCESS he is now eating carrots for me! TY!!! My son is a big fan of pasta’s with veggies and proteins mixed in. He is also a fan of homemade lavash pizza-he lvoes to help make it and sprinkes the shredded or finely diced toppings all over it. I think that by taking ownership over part of the meal he seems to be mroe inclined to eat it! 🙂
My children are 7 and 2 years of age. My 7 year old is adverse to many, many foods and no matter what we have tried, he just won’t take to new things because he is very sensitive tactile-wise. My 2 year old on the other hand, will try just about any foods-so I am thankful for this. I find that children who are a part of making meals are more prone to trying them because it is something they helped to create. This is really the only way I can get my 7 year old to try something new, even though he always says “I don’t like it”.
What great ideas! I am fortunate that none of my four kids are picky. I do have food allergies with my first two, so we don’t cook the foods they are allergic to. With my first one, I never made special food, just offered what we ate, and I have always had the policy that you can eat it or not, but you won’t get snacks in between meals if you don’t eat some of each food on your plate. I love offering them fresh, raw fruits and veggies both at meals and at snacks. Seems if it is “finger foods” kids tend to eat it better. I love the crunchy mac n cheese “cracker.” It turned a big meal into a “snack” and got him eating. Great idea!
My toddler LOVES mac & Cheese and also mash potatoes. He used to eat his veggies with no issues, but now we’ve seemed to hit a wall with that. I’ve been mixing them into his mash potatoes, but need to find some other tricks to get the veggies in him.
My kids where very good about eating. It changed later. Now my daughter is all veggies and fruits and my son is protein and starches. Together they make one balanced eating child
Toddler tastes seem to change every day. I know it would take a few times introducing a new food to get my daughter to actually eat it. We had a rule that you at least had to take one bite (and swallow) any new food. I’d also use dips as incentive to try something new. Carrot sticks with ranch, melted butter with green beans. I’m lucky that now my daughter loves most veggies and almost always has a salad when we go out to eat.
i can say that i am a blessed mommy my son who is 13 months will eat anything including sushi which i find gross
My toddler is a really good eater, we just make sure not to force any foods on him and he u usually willing to at least try it out.
You’re so fortunate! My son was a great eater until he turned 2. At that time he was testing boundaries and suddenly didn’t like anything. I gave it a little too much and now we’re trying to get him back to where he used to be!
Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your week!
No matter how I cook it my kids will not eat mac and cheese. They prefer plain noodles with their veggies on the side. I hope that changes when they get older!
Try the mac & cheese crackers that I made. I was shocked that he actually ate it! Weelicious has a great recipe for Mac & Cheese bites, perhaps your kiddos would like those. {They’re delicious, I serve them as appetizers to grown ups!}
I was an incredibly picky eater as a child and while I’ve gotten TONS better in the last 5 years or so, I’m still pickier than your average adult. For me, I think I was a picky eater because of anxiety that I had – I have always been a pretty anxious person and I started treating my anxiety around age 16 and at that time I also made some positive improvements in my life so I think that’s why I started to be able to try foods and realized I liked foods that I was too afraid to try before. It was just comforting for me to stick to what I knew I liked and not have to risk trying anything new, as silly as that sounds. Back then, people didn’t really even think about the possibility of going to an nutritionist or anything like that so I think it’s great that you’re proactively looking for help. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your story, Emily. I am glad that you’re trying new things these days, and finding that you do enjoy them. The nutritionist was helpful for us, and I am thrilled that we went. Though I do struggle at times introducing him to new foods, it is much easier than it used to be!
Have a wonderful day!