Happy Monday! How was your weekend? We went on an adventure up the Catawba River on the pontoon on Saturday, where we saw cows wading into the water. It felt like such a getaway! I always share more of those day to day snippets on instagram, if you’re interested. Sunday was full of projects (organizing homeschool stuff, cleaning out the garage, food prep, etc) and we ended the weekend grilling out burgers and eating on the back porch. It felt like summer!
Black bean and quinoa burgers, pasta salad, sauteed summer squash.
Touching back on instagram for a minute, it and blog comments are really my favorite ways to connect. For example, I was showing the girls’ dinner plates on my insta-stories and received a message asking if the kids really ate the tuna tacos with mango salsa that I served them.
Seared tuna tacos with mango salsa with avocado and cucumber tomato salad.
The answer was yes, they both ate dinner pretty well that night. Then her follow up reply really touched my mom heart. “I know you’ve said their eating is a lot of luck, but it’s not! It’s your parenting and consistency.”
Bratwurst, corn, roasted broccoli, grape tomatoes, and apple kohlrabi slaw.
Wow, that was so nice, I thought to myself. Is there a better compliment you can receive then being told you’re doing an OK job at this mom thing? I don’t think so because the truth is parenting is challenging. Pouring so much of yourself into those cute little people day in and day out isn’t easy. Staying consistent on your message is probably one the hardest parts of it all.
Roasted pork tenderloin, red cabbage slaw, rice, cucumber and tomato salad.
David and I have talked about this a lot: how consistency in any parenting aspect (and you could probably extend that to life in general) is the most powerful factor in determining the staying power of a concept. Eating is just a sliver of that, but it has proven itself to work in our house.
Hot dogs, garlicky wax beans, roasted cabbage, baked zucchini.
From baby-led weaning to the toddler “I don’t like that” trials, David and I have done the best we can to stay consistent with our house eating rules and food offerings and just now, at ages 5 and 3, are we really beginning to see the fruits of our labor.
BBQ ribs, roasted potatoes, apple slices, sauteed summer squash and zucchini.
That’s a really long time to stay the path when it would definitely be easier to serve Annie’s Mac ‘n Cheese every night (and believe me, we have a serious stash of Annie’s in the pantry and my kids love it, so I’m not preaching no mac ‘n cheese by any means).
Mini flatbread pizzas, kiwi, baby pepper rings.
I don’t believe consistency means perfection (if there is such a thing). It’s definitely more of the old fashion 80/20 rule. 80% of the time I aim to serve healthy food, full of different vegetables, proteins, grains, etc to try and expose them to a wide variance of flavors and textures.
Soft tacos with refried beans, sour cream, and sauteed zucchini and onions.
The other 20% of the time we go with whatever. That can mean ice cream and blueberry cobbler for lunch, cereal for breakfast, or the ease of mac ‘n cheese and packaged mandarin oranges or Papa Murphy’s pizza for dinner.
Ham, avocado, tomato, and cheese sandwiches with cherries.
I believe we’ve been tricked a little bit into believing in the kid menu myth: that children will only eat hot dogs, mac ‘n cheese, or nuggets. Do kids like those foods? Of course! I know mine do. But I truly believe that it’s what they are exposed to most consistently that they will learn to eat and enjoy.
Toast with jelly, scrambled cheesy eggs, avocado, and blueberries.
I originally intended to share these pictures with a simple “meal ideas for kids” kind of title, but I wanted to offer a little more than that. I wanted to encourage you to keep the path with feeding kids good food. Whether you’re in the phase where peas keep getting thrown across the room or you get a squenched up “ew” face when you put down the dinner plate, you’re doing a great job. You are. I know it’s exhausting, repeating yourself, staying consistent, but it will pay off, it will.
And if you feel you’re in a mac ‘n cheese rut, that’s ok! Seriously ,we’ve all been there. But if you want to change it, don’t feel like you’re stuck. Tossing in a new fruit or veggie, just adding a bite or two of something new to their plates, all of it will expand their knowledge of what food is. I ate so many fruit by the foots while I was growing up and today roasted Brussels sprouts is one of my favorites, so a little kid food isn’t going to ruin anything. If there is one thing I learned from my mom about healthy eating, it’s that moderation is king.
What is your biggest hurdle in feeding your kids?
What tactics have you used to overcome eating challenges?
Any advice to add?
JOHN J STATHAS says
Consistency ultimately develops trust.
Cassie says
I have a 22 month old. For her, new food has to sit on her tray at least 3 different times before she’ll try it voluntarily (unless it’s cookies haha). Then it takes another 3 to 5 times of just having a bite. It definitely takes a lot patience. 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
Isn’t that the most challenging age?! It’s when they start having those pesky opinions! And why is it they can sense a difference with cookies?! Haha, way to go mama 🙂
Heather Warner says
My biggest hurdle in feeding my daughter is getting her to actually sit and try it. If she doesn’t like what she sees on her plate, a lot of times she will just go back to playing with whatever toy she was using before being called to the table. She is at the age (2.5) where I can say, “You don’t have to eat your lunch if you don’t want to, but this is what we are eating.” Never give into another option, especially one they pick!
I also try and enforce the one bite rule. Take one bite, if you don’t like it, fine you don’t have to eat it.
I don’t make a big deal about her eating nothing, nor do I make a big deal out of her finishing everything on her plate.
If they’re hungry enough they will eat – this might mean hangry kids with temper tantrums
Lastly, because she is a semi-selective eater, I always try to have one thing on her plate I know she will eat. If only to get her to sit down at the table.
OK really lastly – I make sure there are no distractions and I sit with her even if I am not eating. No TV, phones, tablets, games at all while we are eating for either of us. It is a time for us to connect. We also can’t have the Disney Pandora station going either since all she wants to do is dance 😉
Brittany Dixon says
Love, love your advice! Staying strong when they request something else can be so tough, but like you said, I agree it’s important. I especially the no pandora because I’m totally guilty of letting the music play and they dance all around the table. Sitting still is still a challenge at our house!
Margie says
My biggest hurdle? Learning to ease up on the rules! My husband has weight issues and we both want our kiddo to have healthy habits. We are probably more like 90-10, as we both worry about kiddo developing an overly sweet tooth etc. On the other hand, we realize it’s important to not create “forbidden foods” that kiddo will just crave more down the road.
Taryn says
LOVE THIS POST! My husband and I are also in the camp of not believing in the “kid menu myth.” We have always believed kids should eat smaller portions of what we eat, and I agree it’s quite the commitment (especially during the toddler only-eat-carbs phase). But we stayed consistent, and I’m happy to say we’ve come out the other side with 2 great eaters. We also subscribe to the 80/20 rule, which makes it much easier for me to relax when they are eating pizza, cake, and juice boxes at birthday parties. My 4-year old daughter’s favorite meal is steak and fried potatoes, and my 6-year old son’s favorite meal is burrito bowls (in fact today is his 6th birthday and he requested dinner at Chipotle to celebrate :-).
I love how you feed your girls a variety of foods, but also let them indulge as well. I think ultimately that’s how we can teach our kids to have healthy relationships with food.
Erica says
Great meal ideas, thanks! My son used to eat everything, but now he is 2 LOL. I use your green bean recipe a lot and he loves them. Our biggest hurdle has been dealing him suddenly upending his bowl. This seems to be a frustration reaction to too many things being mixed together. We tend to eat out of bowls and mix everything together, instead of the traditional American style of everything separated on a plate. We are trying out using compartment plates for certain meals. But I also want him to accept being served rice with stir fry meats and veggies all in one bowl as we eat that a lot. My current go to is just presenting something in a different format, it’s so odd but for example slices of watermelon are the go to one day while cut up chunks are met favorably the next. Keeps things interesting 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
Oh my goodness yes, I never understood how the shape of a sandwich (rectangles or triangles) could make such a difference!
I do like using silicone baking cups to separate foods (especially when the kids were younger) but also mixed food occasionally between each cup. Like mixing tomatoes and cucumbers in one pile/cup. I think maybe it helped ease them into the idea? Who knows; like everything, trial and error are key! They like to keep us guessing 🙂
Ali Hotmar says
Such an awesome post!
I’m new to your blog but was really interested when I saw the title of this post.
We went through a no meat phase with my daughter. That was rough! We are hardcore meat eaters at our house. We tried to get her beans or other sources of protein but that didn’t work well either.
She’s back to eating meat again, thank goodness! But every week is definitely different with a 2.5 year old!
Keep the great posts coming!!!
Brittany Dixon says
Thanks so much for your comment; I love hearing from new readers! You’re so right, every week (dare I say day?!) is different with a two and half year old. We’ve been through some crazy phases ourselves. They like to keep us on our toes 😉
Christine says
I actually think most of my tactics have come from your blog post(s) and reader comments! You’ve always been a great go to for me when it comes to BLW and meal ideas! While I do have a stash of chicken nuggets and french fries in my freezer for nights I know my toddler won’t like dinner – I do try and add whatever we are having to his plate for him to try, sometimes he surprises me!
I find that if I deconstruct his meal, we have more success. (got from you!) For example I made a kale salad last night with candied pecans, roasted sweet potatoes, strawberries, feta cheese and topped with grilled chicken. (I knew he wouldn’t eat it all tossed together) On his place he got pieces of chicken, strawberries, cucumbers and string cheese. Luckily he ate some chicken, strawberries and cheese (he said he didn’t like cucumbers, at least on that day!)
One last tactic that I got from my husband was to tell him the food is something other than what it really is…is that bad?! For example, I made beef meatballs but we told my toddler they were brown chicken balls and he gobbled them up! Or broccoli is mini trees! Part of me hates not being honest with him but if the name of the food is what is going to get him to eat, I think its okay. Right? LOL
Meika says
I so envy your children’s appetites! Our biggest issue is our son’s allergies. We didn’t know about them until after we started introducing solids, so a lot of the things he was really starting to like we had to take away. We also really struggled with getting him to eat new food because he has another condition that makes him react to other foods by choking and getting sick (which, again, we didn’t know about). Now that we know all of his approved foods, he still refuses to eat anything that he’s not familiar with because he’s afraid of getting sick again (they were pretty gnarly events and we ended up in the hospital more than a handful of times). I try my best to offer him the healthiest of options and rotate them weekly, even if they are limited. He’s old enough now (2.5) that he helped me plant our garden this summer, so I’m hoping he’ll be more willing to eat at least those vegetables. I also have hopes his brother will be more a more adventurous eater when he starts solids (he’s 3 months now), although it’s starting to look like he has some allergies, too. All I know is we’re going to keep trying and maybe he’ll age out of his fears! In the meantime, I’ll keep saving your posts for inspiration.
Katie says
You inspire me always with my toddler! I feed him what we eat typically and you are so right- consistency is key.
Natasha says
I love these posts, cannot wait to feed our little man a variety of healthy meals, yours always looks so appetizing!!
Jen says
I have no idea how to get my kid eating better. She’s Kaitlyn’s age, and we’re by no means feeding her gummy bears or soda or anything like that, but she pushes away vegetables and some fruits, and just has her favorite things that she likes (Greek yogurt mixed with peanut butter, frozen raspberries, smoothies with lots of good stuff, thank goodness, apples, sprouted bagel with cream cheese, sometimes cottage cheese, whole grain pancakes or drop biscuits or whatever other carby thing i make, homemade mac and cheese that I add butternut squash too, raisins, almonds, peanuts) that she eats over and over.
I give her vegetables and offer her things we’re having, and encourage her to lick or even play with them to get used to them, but I know we’re not consistent enough. We’ve got the “older parents/only child” thing happening, and when I try to say to my husband that she gets this and nothing else, he usually ends up giving her something different an hour later, or we are just exhausted and don’t feel like dealing.
I go with Ellyn Satter (I’ve said this before!) and don’t force her to take no thank you bites, and I struggled with an eating disorder, so I have an extra layer of not wanting her to feel forced about food, and this is the one area where I feel like I’m coming up short as a parent. And one other thing–I’m a vegetarian and my husband isn’t, and we often eat at different times and eat different meals, so we already weren’t in habits that were consistent that way before we had a child. Ugh. You really impress me and I hope I can develop some sort of plan and consistency so I feel like I’m doing the best for my kiddo.
XO
Mary says
Wow these meals look so delicious…. Can you adopt me? I’m an adult but I WILL wash dishes. Seriously though, your kids are very lucky. And the 80/20 rule is great. If you look at picky/unhealthy adult eaters, they likely followed a 95/5 rule, and the 5% was like if they went to a friend’s house or had to get the healthy option at school So many parents ALWAYS go with the easy staples that all kids love, so those kids never get the variety that your kids do!
Anna says
Hi Brittany,
first of all, super nice page! I really enjoy reading you!
This article in particular has been very interesting to me, as my 3 year old son is a very bad eater. I do not want to say picky, because it is even worse. He was like this from the very beginning, even as a baby. Food just wasn’t interesting enough. While he is a healthy child, and his doctor says it is just that he still gets what he needs apparently, it is very frustrating to make food for him. I am a single mom so I do not have a big family or even a husband who could eat the leftovers by my son. And I do not like to throw food away. Max even goes so far, that he refuses to eat by himself and let me feed him. Otherwise he won’t touch his food. I feed him things where I know that he will eat them, like chicken nuggets or french fries, very often porridge, pancakes, etc. He does not like vegetables, so once he sees something green he is like, NO. I offered and offered many food choices, but I am just lost what to do. Sometimes I think he is doing this on purpose, not eating, because he knows he can kind of press me with food if he wants something. And as I said, I do not want nice dinner and throw it all away..Do you have an idea how to deal with this?
Anna
Brittany Dixon says
I think if it were me I’d offer the foods you know he likes, but in smaller portions, and start offering a small amount, even if it is just one bite, of a fruit and vegetable at each meal. That way if he doesn’t eat it, it isn’t wasteful, but that he is getting consistent exposure. If he wants more of the chicken nuggets, you can say absolutely- but you need to eat the bite of broccoli first because we don’t waste food. That will at least get him having a small bite of a vegetable or fruit on a consistent basis. Then, slowly you can start to incorporate new foods with less push back because he will get more comfortable with the idea of novel foods.
I say this all with a giant HOWEVER, because I have a friend that had an extremely picky eater (beyond picky in her words) and it was a true sensory issue. They did food therapy and that seemed to help. Just something to keep in mind if you feel it is out of the range of a normal picky eater. It may be worth mentioning to your pediatrician. Good luck!