Toddler eating habits
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Category: Have A Baby?
Forum Name: Toddler Times
Forum Description: Is bubs growing up and getting into everything? How do you train them to use the potty? When do you start feeding solids? Share your tips and advice here!
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=13802
Printed Date: 21 July 2025 at 12:58pm
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Topic: Toddler eating habits
Posted By: pepsi
Subject: Toddler eating habits
Date Posted: 21 January 2008 at 6:50pm
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I'm starting to get a little worried now that Alyssa isn't getting the right amount of iron, vitamins and whatever from the foods she eats.. She won't eat veges (apart from the very occassional cooked carrot), and doesn't seem to like red meat and always spits it out after a couple of chews.
The list of foods she will eat is shorter than the ones she won't...so the only foods she will eat is: Any kind of meat from a pig (roast pork, ham, bacon, sausages).. Sometimes chicken Almost any fruit, which I give her after every meal.. Cheese (only the processed slices) Bread if it has a little butter on it Eggs (only in scrambled form) Almost any pasta without meat on it.. Do you think there is enough of what she needs in any of these? To me it all seems a little too unhealthy but I can't force her to eat anything she doesn't want to of course. I'm still bf'ing (only twice a day - more for comfort than anything) so hopefully she gets a little of what she needs from that? But she doesn't like toddler milk... Any suggestions of how I might improve her diet? |
Replies:
Posted By: Brenna
Date Posted: 21 January 2008 at 7:45pm
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How about making patties with minced pork and putting veges in there?
Bacon and egg pie with some peas in it? Umm...that's all I can think of for now  -------------  My beautiful 2 girls...nearly 4 and 13 months
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Posted By: Brenna
Date Posted: 21 January 2008 at 7:46pm
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Does she like marmite?? Marmite sammies or marmite on crackers. ------------- My beautiful 2 girls...nearly 4 and 13 months
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Posted By: KH25
Date Posted: 21 January 2008 at 7:54pm
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Yeah I was going to say make some meatballs (does she like mince?) I grate carrot and courgette into mine. Or spaghetti bolognaise (sp?) and grate veges into the mince. Sorry, just read your post again and you said she won't eat red meat. So maybe try pork mince or chicken mince for meatballs
Have you tried her with fish? Tuna is great for iron and protein. And avocado is a good food too. Thats all I can think of  ------------- Kelly, mum to DD, 19Jun06 (26wks 1lb15oz) DS1, 24Oct10 (32wks 4lb11oz) and DS2, 31Dec11 (32wks, 4lb11) http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: pepsi
Date Posted: 21 January 2008 at 8:02pm
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Oh I haven't tried pork or chicken mince before! Fingers crossed for those thanks ladies:)
She liked the pastry and bacon when I made a home made bacon and egg pie but wouldn't eat any other part of it. She will literally pick it apart and if she detects peas in any mouthful she will spit it out! A couple of times she ate fish but doesn't seem that keen. Will keep trying though. Not sure what to do about the veges!! |
Posted By: yummymummy
Date Posted: 21 January 2008 at 9:13pm
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Gina isn't fussed on veggies either but I honestly don't think there is much in veggies that isn't in fruit anyways. So I wouldn't worry too much on that one.
As for meat, have you tried beef sausages? Gina eats all sorts of sausages. What about mixing pork & beef mince and making little meatballs? As others have suggested, grate veggies and maybe make a mini pork mince meatloaf? Have you tried fruit yoghurt? I make Gina our own - I buy a tub of organic unsweetened yoghurt and mix a home made puree of fruit (from a can ie plums; pears; mango). You can add as much as you like so it tastes like it's mostly fruit - Gina loves it! BTW eggs are quite rich in iron and vit A so it's great she eats those ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: FionaS
Date Posted: 21 January 2008 at 10:11pm
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We have eating issues here too and Elle is on iron supplements from the doc. The one thing that I've found DOES go down is:
Chopped up meatballs + cooked grated courgette and carrot mixed together and DROWNED in gravy :) She throws all finger food meat and veg away so we have to spoon it in. Elle doesn't eat much at all but I noticed when we were away and she was swimming and exercising more she ate more so I feel she eats what she needs. ------------- Mummy to Gabrielle and Ashley |
Posted By: The_Stuarts
Date Posted: 22 January 2008 at 9:15am
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Hey Pepsi
We're having food issues in our house too. Michaela's really good with fruit and veges but won't eat meat so we're pretty concerned about her iron intake. On days where she won't eat much of anything we've taken to adding a bit of complan to her bedtime bottle. It's ok for children over 12 months and full of vitamins and minerals, if it were a long term thing though I'd pop off to the doc or plunket nurse. Also you could try annies vege bars and the V8 vege juice (they both taste have apple bases so taste pretty sweet and yummy). A lot of info I've read on toddler eating habits says that if kids won't eat veges just give them fruit instead for awhile because it's just as full of vitamins etc (I think the only reason veges are considered to be better than fruit is because they have less fructose). Also a lot of advice from articles, books and the lovely ladies on the forum is to stop offering foods for awhile. We now offer Michaela meat only on Saturdays and Sundays and she's gone from eating no meat to eating meat once a week (this is a huge deal for us). Good luck. ------------- http://lilypie.com">   http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: fabians mum
Date Posted: 24 January 2008 at 12:12pm
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My little man ate anything I gave him up until about 1 year old then got the fussy bug....
He won't eat veges, unless you class a fry as a vege, he eats alot of fruit though. I gave up being stressed about it, I give him his special milkshake with his breakfast (meadowfresh junior, and in it I put oval-tine max (awesome vits and minerals in it) I also put 1/2 teaspoon of kids omega 3 oil in there). He doesn't know what's in it and he LOVES it, and I know he's getting some good stuff anf he thinks he's having a treat every morning! ------------- http://www.baby-gaga.com/"> 
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Posted By: caraMel
Date Posted: 24 January 2008 at 1:45pm
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Raisins are a good source of iron too and my kids love eating them out of the little boxes ------------- Mel, Mummy to E: 6, B: 4 and: 
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Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 24 January 2008 at 7:22pm
I actually don't think there's a problem with her diet! My older two girls prefer white meat over red, even now, I think it's easier to chew perhaps and they don't like mince texture? On the other hand, Kryssi likes all meat ROFL - so in a mince and pasta dish, the 1st two get pasta and Kryssi gets the meat sauce. Sorry, off topic 
Looks like Alyssa is getting carbohydrate, fruit (my girls seem to like either fruit OR veg - funny thing), iron and calcium. What does she usually have for breakfast? If she likes fruit, would she accept jam on an open sandwich? I also wonder if she would like fruity yoghurts. Oh and with the BF it probably will curb her appetite also - not saying it's a good/bad thing but that's probably why she doesn't seem to eat a lot. She would have finished her major growth spurting by now. ------------- |
Posted By: pepsi
Date Posted: 24 January 2008 at 7:30pm
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Thanks for all the suggestions ladies...definitely plenty more I can try out that I hadn't thought of!
And CaraMel I didn't know that about raisins! She loves those which is handy :) For breakfast she will eat rice bubbles, cherios, weetbix, honey puffs, coco pops (of course the sweet ones aren't the regular breakfasts haha). She isn't keen on jam sandwiches or many toppings for that matter, but will eat bread with just butter or honey. Occassionally she has eaten yoghurt but not always.. To be honest she has very little breastmilk...it's just a matter of a little comfort when I get home from work around 2pm and again before bedtime...so I hope it's not effecting her appetite 
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Posted By: The_Stuarts
Date Posted: 29 January 2008 at 1:23pm
Oh, good tip. I didn't know that. Michaela eats a handful of raisins with her breakfast every morning and sometimes for snack during the day too. I feel so much better knowing that. Thanks caraMel ------------- http://lilypie.com"> http://lilypie.com">
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caraMel wrote:Posted By: LockieandLiam
Date Posted: 29 January 2008 at 8:06pm
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My DS is going through a not eating vege phase, he used to love his veges but now he refuses. The worse thing for me though is that he doesn't eat fruit either. I mash a pear into his wheatbix in the morning and he has raisins, but that is it. He has eaten the occasional grape and apple but that doesn't happen often. He just loves meat though and I am sure if I just dished up that he would go to town on it. He doesn't like yoghurt but is more than happy with diary food. I think my boy has a sweet tooth. I suppose its just a matter of perservering which is sometimes easier said than done. He's not well at the moment anyway and is completely off his food even the things he loves so he can't be well. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: CuriousG
Date Posted: 30 January 2008 at 7:41am
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We had the same problem, it seemed to be a stage and then went away.
But one thing we did find really helped was all sitting at the table together to eat and giving Char the same as what we were having. We do it every night now and she eats like a trouper! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: EmDee
Date Posted: 01 February 2008 at 12:41pm
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GeorgiaB - we found the same thing with Ollie. He had to have the same food, plate, fork and had to sit in a chair (rather than high chair) now he eats really well ... most of the time. ------------- DS 8 DD 6 DS 4 DD 2 |