Preschooler Dinners Continue
First, can I just pause to freak out for a minute? When I checked my email this week, I thought BabyCenter had sent me the wrong weekly updates. I get emails from them every week with developmental milestones and information about the kids based on their ages. Normally, I don’t even read these anymore. But these two caught my attention because instead of Gracie’s, “Your Baby This Week” email, it said, “Your TODDLER This Week.” And instead of Bean’s, “Your Toddler This Week,” it said, “Your PRESCHOOLER This Week.”
Uh… What?!?!? My kids aren’t that old! They can’t be! Not possible! Surely, there has been a mistake! Fix it, Shirley.
Anyway, the past two weeks have been blissful at mealtimes around our house. Gracie is eating like a tank (as always), and Bean Man is actually sitting at his “big boy table” (which is really a toddler table) and eating all of his dinner! ALL OF IT! FOR TWO WEEKS STRAIGHT!
What is this magic of which I speak?
Well, let me tell you…
I’ve made two changes for meal times lately. First, we stopped calling dinner “dinner,” and now we call it “snack time.” I noticed with Bean that he would eat anything if it was snack time, but that when I said it was time for dinner, he’d flip out. Even if we were having the same foods for dinner as he had been eating earlier for snack. So, I stopped saying dinner and now say it’s snack time. World of difference, people. That ended the fight to sit at the table. Now, he hears “snack time,” and he stops what he’s doing and comes to sit at the table like a normal human being. No exploding into tears or melting down on the kitchen floor because I said we were having DINNER!
But what got him to eat more was having his “special snack.” A few people mentioned after my last post on Bean’s eating habits that I should try serving his dinner in a muffin tin, filling eat muffin hole with a different food. My muffin tins are kind of worn and nasty looking, but I thought the concept of small individual portions would really get Bean excited. So instead, I took four cupcake liners and set them up on Bean’s plate. A few others on my blog suggested that Bean get a choice in what he has for dinner, so I incorporated that, too. Bean gets to choose two foods for two cupcake liners, and I choose the other two. Thankfully, Bean likes pretty healthy stuff, so his choices are usually yogurt and a fruit. I then add a veggie, grain, or protein of some kind.
(Those are Cheerio’s on that plate, not Fruit Loops…)
One thing we have always struggled with is getting Bean to eat meat. He is not much of a fan, and I don’t really force it on him. Instead, we supplement protein with things like PediaSure Sidekicks, kids protein granola bars, peanut butter, edamame beans (pictured above) avocados, spinach, broccoli (pictured above), and other foods high in protein. Why fight the meat battle when he can get that somewhere else?
Another thing we do now are SweetTarts. I bought one of those big boxes of movie theater size SweetTarts at Target for $1.00, and emptied the box into a fun treat jar on our counter. Now, every time Bean finishes one of his cups, he gets one SweetTart. I know there are mixed feelings about rewarding eating (or rewarding in general) with sweets, but I figure four SweetTarts a day in exchange for Bean getting a good, balanced, healthy meal in him is worth it. Dude’s tiny and needs to put some weight on, by order of our pediatrician. So, SweetTarts it is in my house.
So far, Bean loves this new “special snack” because it is a lot like his snacks. They are usually raw, simple meals, which is what he likes best. And they are served in a different way that peaks his interest. Mealtimes are much more successful these days. I’m not sure how long it will last, but I’m going to enjoy this while it’s here!
13 Comments
Casey @ The Baker Bee
I LOVE the cupcake liner idea! Trying that TONIGHT!
Sara R.
I definitely wouldn’t worry about the not eating meat thing. Our 4-year-old still doesn’t eat meat, and our pediatrician says its fine. He eats lots of pb and milk and yogurt, so it’s fine. In fact, I think it’s better than the meat that most kids eat like hotdogs and chicken nuggets which are full of all kinds of bad stuff. Feeding kids… always an adventure!
Kat
This is so genius! I’m pinning it and saving it for later. Peanut is entering her picky eating stage and she’s also not a fan of meat. le sigh.
Melissa in RI
My three-year-old has very similar eating habits and is small for his age. We also say “snack time” and use muffin tins with mostly raw foods. He eats at “his” table. It definitely seems to work better. I might try the sweets rewards too. We have a hard time with veggies (and meat, but we do alternate proteins). Thanks for the post – nice to know we are not alone!
Alaina
I love the way you serve up dinner – I need to remember that for when Aubrey gets older!
Katy @ MonsterProof
Heck, I’d prefer no meat to my carnivore! Love the muffin cup idea!
Lisa @ Wealth O' Health
This is such a good idea! I do not have children yet, but I will put this away for safe keeping. Thanks for sharing.
Andrea B.
That’s great news that the kids are eating well. It made me feel better to see that you’re serving about the same stuff that I am. (I always have this silly picture of other kids out there eating steak and potatoes so my kid should too. Ridiculous, I know). We are thinking about setting up a small table for him as well.
HeatherM
Perhaps Bean’s weight challenges have to do with how much protein he is getting, not just how much he is eating in total food volume. Remember that muscle weighs more than fat, and protein is the building blocks of muscles. So it would make sense that if Bean is not getting enough protein, his muscles would be on the smaller side, and then his weight would be on the smaller side too. If Bean is resistant to meat, encourage foods containing eggs- hard-boiled eggs can be done on tge weekend and made for the week, French toast, crepes with berries and a few chocolate chips inside, etc. you could make a small pan of baked French toast for the week, and even use cookie cutters to cut it into fun shapes. Bean should probably be having at least one full serving of protein with every meal now, even if he doesn’t want meat, and then try to incorporate protein snacks and bars on top of that. Protein snacks are not an adequate substitute for protein in a meal. Ask your pediatrician about how many grams of protein he should be eating each day, and try counting his grams of protein in his diet for a week or two. If Bean stays resistant to protein, consider seeing a gastroenterologist to see if perhaps it gives him an upset stomach or is harder for him to digest.
colleen
what a good idea, muffin liners. I hope it goes well. To hijack Heather M’s comments, my son loves cut up tofu. Not cooked or seasoned or anything. It was the first real whole food he ate and still enjoys it. Easy to spear on a fork and eat with fingers. While Spinach and broccoli have some protein they are not large sources. Looks like he’s a happy healthy babe though! What gorgeous kids you have!
The Life and Times of Me (Waiting for Bulgaria)
My four and a half year old son is pretty small. He only weighs 32 lbs and has never been on the scales for either weight or height. Part of it is due to the fact that I’m really small (I’m only 4’11”). He’s also a snacker which he gets from me, and he’s also not much of a meat eater (which he also gets from me). Thankfully, he doesn’t melt down over the word dinner, but even though he now will sit and eat his dinner, he just can’t eat a ton in one sitting. So we probably snack more than is recommended. I just make sure that the snacks are healthy, and then at dinner time I try to push him to eat just a little more. For protein, I’ve found that he loves beans, so I put them in the crockpot in the morning and cook them on low/medium all day. Then at night I’ll add another veggie, and usually throw in some sausage for my husband. Super easy and really healthy. I usually do it at least once a week and then I give him left over beans in place of meat the rest of the week.
The Life and Times of Me (Waiting for Bulgaria)
I need to add that I think your idea of putting the food in cupcake liners is brilliant!
Mariya
Thanks for sharing your ideas. Mealtimes are tough in our house, too.