additional protein options for picky eaters... nutrition shakes?

[Anonymous]

My DD is a very picky eater and is on the border of overweight (medical definition). She is super picky - has strong reactions to smells. I wanted to try to increase options for protein vs. carbs, which of course helps fill you up more/takes longer to digest (she eats chicken, sometimes will eat eggs, likes milk - but won't eat red meat, ham/pork, nuts, yogurt and many others).

One thought I had was nutrition shakes (but may still be too similar/not diversified from milk?) But know those are usually for kids who are lower weight. What else have you tried.

(Yes, I know I could 'force' eating options of only making food available she could take or leave, etc, but I don't want food to be a battle and want to find some things she actually likes and are healthy too).

[Anonymous]

Do you have resources for a nutritionist? I know this isn't what you are asking but if your daughter is borderline overweight she probably needs more whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables- not protein. People tend to overestimate how much protein is needed and underestimate the amount of fruits and vegetables. I understand she is picky but this is becoming a medical issue and you can start healthy eating habits now.

In answe to your question- you can put peanut butter, yogurt or protein powder in her smoothies if you decide to go down that route.

[Anonymous]

If she likes homemade fruit smoothies, I'd start putting in stuff like cashews, avocado, flax seed, etc when she is not watching. Also 2% greek yogurt, unsweetened. Obviously not a lot all at once but a kid is not going to notice 1/2 an avocado in a smoothy with berries and banana.

That is the kind of food she needs to make her feel full and satisfied while you try and reduce sugar and simple carbohydrates.

[Anonymous]

Just have her drink a few cups of milk a day. How about veggie nuggets?

[Anonymous]

yeah, sounds like she needs more vegetables, whole grains and beans. Will she eat homemade veggie burgers or rice/bean/veggie bowls (a la chipotle type things)

[Anonymous]

The book Helping your Child with Extreme Picky eating says that parents of picky eaters often think their child is lacking in proteins, which is often not true. Usually the child has an iron deficiency.
Have you done a blood test to check for anemia? I'm a parent of a picky eater and we need to supplement with iron.

As for meats, my child like butter chicken from an Indian restaurant that doesn't use any spices. He also likes dumplings.

[Anonymous]

OP here. She really only likes bland things. Won't eat yogurt. The "sneak" food in strategies don't work (she immediately identifies them by smell). Will not eat veggie nuggets or burgers. She basically gets chicken and milk as her only protein sources - and used to eat eggs. She eats whole grains and lots of fruits. Some veggies. But that's basically it. We have really limited 'white' grains, but that is what she 'wants' the most.

[Anonymous]

And she generally won't eat 'blended' foods. Just one thing at a time. (no sauces and no things like 'rice bowls' - but would eat rice separately from chicken, for instance).

[Anonymous]

Have you tried tofu? I have a picky eater who does mostly chicken and milk and peanut butter as protein sources, but who also loves plain tofu. I can seriously just put a package of cold extra-firm tofu on the table and my kid will cut blocks from it and eat it. I think it's weird, but it fits the "bland" and "white" categories, and makes an easy alternative for us to serve at dinner a couple of times a week.

[Anonymous]

Can you share any more about her diet? Odds are she is probably getting adequate protein, since protein is not usually a nutrient of concern in kids/adults' diets here in the US. I get what you are saying about wanting to help her feel more sated so that she stays full longer, but it's probably worth looking at her overall eating pattern and habits, as well as your own to get a sense of where the best fix is, as opposed to focusing on a single nutrient.

I have a kid with a feeding disorder, and it's taught me a lot about what we can and can't do to influence their eating patterns when they are seriously selective eaters, especially after toddlerhood (as your daughter is). Please ignore people who say a) it's your fault for feeding her junk; b) you should force her; c) you should throw out everything she likes eating and only serve what you want her to eat--when she's hungry enough, she'll eat it.

If your daughter has sensory issues around eating, she is likely a super taster, as mine is. Kids' senses of taste are more sensitive than adults', and in some people, they have "super" tastebuds and can tell the difference between brands of peanut butter, tomato sauce, or other favorite foods. Others call it fussiness, but to a supertaster, these things are legitimately really different, and not in a good way.

At the end of the day, the more you attempt to control your daughter's eating and make choices for her, the likelier she is to struggle with weight. It feels scary and counter intuitive to trust a child with their food choices, and it's not like you're supposed to give her carte blanche to eat whatever she wants in endless quantities. But set snack- and mealtimes are good, and then serving foods that include the ones she likes is only fair. Family meals are supposed to be a time for people to come together, connect with each other, and have food they enjoy. It should not be a time when anyone feels controlled, punished, bribed, rewarded, or singled out. The more you can let her make choices, and help create the conditions for those choices to be healthy ones--as much as possible without being punitive or withholding the foods she likes--the better you will all do.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

My kid has some similar issues regarding smells and textures. What fruits and vegetables does she like? Are there some vegetables that maybe she hasn't tried raw vs cooked? Mine will eat raw carrots and spinach, but doesn't like them cooked at all. Also loves the red/yellow/orange pepper strips raw.
If she like white bread and pasta because it is softer, try whole wheat pitas (the ones from Middle East Bread company are really good!) and the Barilla pasta that has spinach/zucchini in it (slight green color, but no real veggie taste like the one with tomatoes). Make pancakes and sub in 1/3 whole wheat flour for all purpose flour. Not a huge noticeable difference.
My DC also loves to help pick out new recipes and is much more willing to try something new if helping to buy the ingredients and make it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you share any more about her diet? Odds are she is probably getting adequate protein, since protein is not usually a nutrient of concern in kids/adults' diets here in the US. I get what you are saying about wanting to help her feel more sated so that she stays full longer, but it's probably worth looking at her overall eating pattern and habits, as well as your own to get a sense of where the best fix is, as opposed to focusing on a single nutrient.

I have a kid with a feeding disorder, and it's taught me a lot about what we can and can't do to influence their eating patterns when they are seriously selective eaters, especially after toddlerhood (as your daughter is). Please ignore people who say a) it's your fault for feeding her junk; b) you should force her; c) you should throw out everything she likes eating and only serve what you want her to eat--when she's hungry enough, she'll eat it.

If your daughter has sensory issues around eating, she is likely a super taster, as mine is. Kids' senses of taste are more sensitive than adults', and in some people, they have "super" tastebuds and can tell the difference between brands of peanut butter, tomato sauce, or other favorite foods. Others call it fussiness, but to a supertaster, these things are legitimately really different, and not in a good way.

At the end of the day, the more you attempt to control your daughter's eating and make choices for her, the likelier she is to struggle with weight. It feels scary and counter intuitive to trust a child with their food choices, and it's not like you're supposed to give her carte blanche to eat whatever she wants in endless quantities. But set snack- and mealtimes are good, and then serving foods that include the ones she likes is only fair. Family meals are supposed to be a time for people to come together, connect with each other, and have food they enjoy. It should not be a time when anyone feels controlled, punished, bribed, rewarded, or singled out. The more you can let her make choices, and help create the conditions for those choices to be healthy ones--as much as possible without being punitive or withholding the foods she likes--the better you will all do.

Good luck!

Thank you. I would say she's a 'super taster' for sure. (and texture is big for her too) She can tell if there's any added ingredient, different brands of food, etc. (ie. won't even sit at a table with pasta infused with veggies!) She is 7 - so not a toddler. The ONLY protein she eats is chicken (she LOVES) and milk at this point. She used to eat fish sticks & eggs & yogurt & sweet potato, but has 'turned' against them. She turned against the 'healthier' version of cereal bars she used to eat. Won't eat potatoes, won't eat any form of any kind of sauce, won't eat tofu, won't eat beans, won't eat hummus, won't eat peanut butter (or even jelly). She will lots of fruit - which she eats a lot of us. Will eat wheat crackers and fortified pasta. Sometimes will eat wheat bread or bagels. Sometimes will eat a carrot or peas. Over the holidays, I bent on eating some white bread stuff & have to now push back on that since I think that's all she would eat if she could & it's clearly not healthy.

Thank you for 'getting' that she's not in the range of kids that you can force and/or only serve what we want her to eat etc. But I'm trying to/hoping to re-expand from what she will eat to go beyond 5 options - protein or not. I went to a nutritionist a while ago who stressed to me about how protein keeps you fuller longer and takes longer to burn off, so that is where I was thinking to start. But honestly any other super picky eater options that are healthy appreciated!!

[Anonymous]

14:56 here, with a few additional thoughts.

Nutritionists come in all flavors, no pun intended, and not all of them have actual training as dietitians do, nor do they have specialized uderstanding when it comes to kids. If you're looking to talk to someone who gets pediatrics and this is becoming a serious issue for your daughter and your family, you might try Daisy Miller in Maryland, who's great. Children's has a pediatric feeding disorders clinic, but that may be more than you need. http://drdaisy.com/

One other insight into selective eaters once they are out of the toddler stage (and odds are any adult you ask who was picky as a kid has a story like this): most do not expand the foods they like to eat at home with their parents. They eventually try new thinks at school, or sleepovers, camp, a friend's house, a birthday party, or somewhere where peer influence outweighs their resistance to the new food. As a culture, we place a huge value now on kids eating a wide variety of foods, especially adventurous ones (my little Ava LOVES salmon, kale and quinoa! Oh, she wouldn't eat anything but Korean barbecue for her birthday!). We use it as a badge of honor for good parenting. But kids are genetically programmed not to like bitter/sour flavors, because that was a survival technique. Yes, in cultures where the food is bitter and sour, some get over that fast. But some don't, and picky eating is NOT a first world phenomenon. It happens all over, including in the developing world, even when kids are starving.

So in other words, with seriously picky kids like yours, you may have to accept that she *won't* try new stuff for a while. You might try sitting down with her and make a list of the things you both agree constitute a reasonably healythy list of acceptable choices, and then ensuring those are part of her meals. For picky eaters, selectivity is often inextricable from anxiety--for my kid, the more anxious she gets, the less she eats. It may be just the opposite for yours. So perhaps, if she knows she's going to have something she likes available at every meal, without comment, and without excessive pleading to try new things, she may relax and be more open minded. Maybe with you, or maybe with friends, but regardless, it may help her to try new things at some point soon. With my daughter, NOT asking her, offering, suggesting, or talking about how much we enjoy other things has been a game changer. Meals are much more relaxed, and she's actually eating more. Worth thinking about, anyway.

[Anonymous]

My son has eating problems as well but is underweight. I learned a lot from a nutritionist we saw and a therapist. The best thing I learned was that it takes a lot of exposure to new foods for a kid to try it. Maybe 20 or 30. So for example, when we needed him to eat high calorie healthy food sucklhbas sweet potatoes with tons of butter I had to offer them 20 to 30 times! I would just put it on the table at first, then on the late but tell him he didn't have to eat it - eventually he took a bite on his own (after see us eat it many times) Was exhausting and sucked but eventually he ate it and enjoyed it. Also - agree that meal time should be enjoyable not a punishment. I always make something he likes.

I struggle with protein as well. My son surprised me one day and just started eating my beans!

Just know that this is a long process. She will get there with your support.

Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

Have you tried having her help you cook? There is lots of good food out there, and if she has such a sensitive palate, maybe you guys can figure out together what she likes. Maybe look at some pictures and have her point out things that look good, and then go from there with recipes.