OP, can you pull together "your" food, and DH's food? I am sorry if I am totally off base here, but from your description of "your" food and how DS eats veggies, are you perhaps Indian, and if so, are you feeding DS foods where the veggies are an integral part of the dish, and he likes and eats them? Where I am going here is why not feed DS a bit of both kinds of food? A burger with veggie curry on the side (or whatever type of veggies you know he'll like). The thing with an underweight kid, and I've got one, is that you need to put aside, to some extent, the "balanced meal" thing and go for nutrient dense. So, sure, give the kid broccoli, but smother it in olive oil (or whatever fat your kid likes), and dip the fruit slices in peanut butter or full fat yogurt. A plane piece of fruit or a steamed veggie is a wasted opportunity!

OP,

FYI, if your kid has celiac, there are lots of restaurants that offer GF menus. Chains like PF Changs, Olive Garden, Carabas.

I like the GF pizza at ZPizza and Lilit Cafe.

Anonymous wrote:Flowchart. Is kid full? Stop eating. Is kid hungry? Keep eating.

No, kidding. Make smaller burgers.

I would cut out desert and offer fruit with meals OP. I don't understand why you would withhold fruit if you are worried about your son growing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why no sides? You cannot muster up cutting some fruit and veggies for your kids?

You also sound somewhat obsessed with food and eating expectations.

OP here, DS does not eat raw/grilled vegetables, have to be cooked with the food as a single dish, so apart from a single baby carrot not much scope to get vegetables into him with a burger. Fruits are served along with dessert, an hour after dinner, and not with dinner.
I am going to be concerned with my son's growth, to ensure he is growing well enough and is in a healthy place among his peers and not the puniest/weakest kid in class. And if some people think it is an obsession, I am fine with that, I consider it parenting.

Have you tried smoothies or vegetable juices? You can also puree a bunch of vegetables into a tomato sauce and serve it on pasta (gluten free in your case) and kids will eat vegetables without knowing it. You lose soem fiber by pureeing, but all the nutrients are still there.

Anonymous wrote:OP here, just curious, what makes some of you think we have an eating disorder?

Because you mentioned calorie content. As another parent with a kid with food allergies and on the low end of the weight percentile (5%) I understand where you were coming from. Parents of kids without these issues often, but not always, don't get it. We have had to do food diaries in the past, so I get why you mentioned the number of calories in his meal.