Acceptable edibles

Every time Riley eats a hearty meal, I do a little happy jig right there in the kitchen because while it's not always a struggle, it is often enough that I've learned to appreciate the days when he just shuts up and eats, instead of whining his way through four different wasted food options and eventually throwing half his meal on the dog's head.

Note: I highly recommend the Labrador Retriever Method of cleaning up after mealtime. Food on the floor? Not a problem. Food on the front of the boy's shirt? Gone. Detachable highchair tray covered in smashed pears? Licked spotlessly clean in mere seconds!

Er . . . wait. Did I just say I allow our dog to lick the highchair tray clean? Ha ha ha, obviously I was just kidding.

I'm always looking for meal ideas, though, to hopefully expand our repertoire of acceptable foods. Currently, the list of Things Riley Will Probably Eat (Although He Reserves the Right To Change His Mind) includes:

• Frozen "Budget Gourmet" meal: macaroni and cheese
• Frozen "Budget Gourmet" meal: rigatoni and broccoli
• Cooked egg noodles, wide variety (I cook them in chicken broth)
• "Pasta Pickups", Gerber brand
• String cheese, by the kegload (He just started saying "chee! chee!" in the last couple days)
• Eggo waffles (for breakfast, every damn day)
• Curly fries (uh, we only fed them to him ONCE but holy crap, he was a fan)
• Peanut butter and bread
• Saltines
• Diced fruit from those fruit cup things
• Bananas
• Yogurt
• Milk, gallons and gallons of it

(If you're thinking that list looks a little heavy on the carbs/dairy, I'm right there with you.)

Riley recently learned "no", and now when he doesn't like something he shakes his head tragically, buries his face in his arm, and sobs, "No, no, no." Either that or he sends it flying off the (spotless!) tray with a mighty sweep of his arm.

What's on your Food They Will Probably Eat list?

Comments

[jill]

eggs.every. damn. day. hate to see the cholestrol.

[Katie]

Tonight we tried frozen peas - still frozen - and they were a hit.

[Jennifer]

My 16 month old loves nutri-grain bars, eggs, cinnamon toast, mac n cheese, fish sticks, deli meat, hummus (MUST be red pepper), and baked chicken. Really, he'll eat anything, but these are his favorites.

[Swistle]

cheese cubes
graham crackers
PB and J sandwiches
cheeseburger (what?)
french fries (WHAT??)
banana
grapes
cantaloupe

[Cara]

My 17.5 month will reliably eat:
Blueberry waffles sans syrup, every damn day
Wheat Thins
Bananas
Grapes
Clementine tangerines
Hot dogs (what!?)
Cheese
PB&J sandwich
Grilled Cheese sandwich
Deli ham & cheese sandwich
Graham crackers

Yeah....as you can see, we're heavy on the carbs too. He does ok with chicken usually, but he'll spit most beef out.

[Whitney]

Wait - having the dog lick the tray is a bad thing?? Shoot -- the detachable tray goes on the floor and then in the dishwasher. You know ... dogs have cleaner mouths then we do and all...

Just sayin'

Oh and we go for the Golden Retriever variety of toddler clean up. Can't imagine having to wipe all the stuff up off the floor every meal.

[Jenny H.]

Remember, you wanted to know!
Things Quinn wil eat at 17.5 months:
broccoli
carrots
beets(pickled!)
corn
green beans
spinach
tomatoes
pretty much all fruits
spaghetti & meatballs
meatloaf
lobster
steak
pork
tilapia...
What can I say? I love to cook and he loves to eat it!! Have you tried cooking fresh veggies? Or maybe giving him some sort of "sauce" to dip things in?

[Jenny H.]

I forgot to mention that we employ the Husky method ourselves!!

[susie]

Mine is 13 months old and I think he enjoys expressing his independence by refusing foods he actually likes. These are things that he will (almost always) eat:

grilled cheese sandwich
macaroni and cheese
tortellini with pesto
diced canned pears
banana slices
meatloaf
turkey meatballs
steamed broccoli
blueberries
waffles

[Jamie]

My 17 mo old son is the pickiest eater alive. However, what he does eat is mostly ok...

Green beans
Peas
Olives
Cantaloupe
grapes
bananas
cheese
strawberry yogurt
popcorn
French fries (Hey, all those fruits and veggies, I don't complain about the fries)

Occasionally I can get him to eat crackers, pasta or chicken, but he's really into the fruits and veggis. And it shows, kid's only in the 8th percentile in weight. I don't know where he got this from because his father and I are, well... let's just say, "not thin" and aren't by any stretch of the imagination health nuts.

[mrscrumley]

Chicken nuggets
broccoli tops
pasta- plain
french fries
chips- tortilla and potato
tortillas (he stole one off the island the other day when I was making them)
cheese crackers
cheerios (Joe's Os or Honey Nut)

We went through about a three week period where Fuller wouldn't eat that much. Then he got sick and really didn't eat.

Now he is making up for it by asking to eat constantly!

[Melanie]

Yogurt and any kind of fruit except cantaloupe are 100% guaranteed. Oatmeal, cheese, pancakes/French toast/waffles are all pretty good options, too. He will sometimes eat meat or pasta, sometimes not. Except ravioli and ham, which he loves. Kids are weird.

[foodmomiac]

Mine is 18 months. He'll eat:
meatballs with barbecue sauce
chicken nuggets
meatless corn dogs from trader joe's
scrambled eggs
jelly sandwiches
sliced turkey
bologna
crackers and cheese
peas
corn
mac and cheese
applesauce
cottage cheese
booty (veggie and pirates)
pretzels
raisins
oranges, apples, pears
cucumbers

[Samantha]

For my 6 y/o daughter, who is ultra picky, the acceptable foods list is very short!

Rice and soy sauce
mac and cheese
tomato soup
grilled cheese sandwiches
pasta with butter, garlic, and parmesan or with pesto
nachos
string cheese
chicken nuggets
hamburgers
waffles

no veggies whatsoever

I am quite impressed with some of these lists. Can some of you come over and talk my daughter into eating more of a variety?

[Debbi]

I have two sons. The youngest one i use as a replacement for the Labrador Method since we don't have a dog and this kid will eat ANYTHING! The oldest though has stuck to this diet for the last year and a half:

Kid Cuisine: Chicken Nugget, Pizza Sticks or Cheeseburger (only the main part none of the sides)

Penne pasta with butter
Applesauce
diced peaches
diced green beans (only gerber toddler ones)

PB&J
Murray's brand Cinnamon toast sticks (no other brand!)
Pillsbury Buttermilk pancakes (only)
yogurt cheerios (w/o milk)
Milk
Water

That's it.

[Jennifer D.]

My son (16 months old) eats more than he doesn't eat, and usually eats anything that doesn't move fast enough. He obviously takes after his mother.

He's been stealing food from us since he was 3 months old so the list of what he won't eat is easier:

mushrooms - boy he hates them

We were at an Indian restaurant and he was pigging out on dhal, rice, saag paneer and koftas and the waitress says, "How is your meal young man" and in his little-guy speak he says, "Gooooooood!"

There are times when he won't eat too much, usually if he's not feeling well.

Oh, I have a black lab and she's awesome for the after dinner clean-up. I've not resorted to tray cleaning (it's a small tray on a booster so it fits in the sink) but she cleans the seat and the floor beautifully. Unfortunately, she won't eat bananas.

[Paula]

I use the Jack-ass Russell Terror Cleaning Method - love it. I mourn the days when we go to Grandma's and she only has a cat.

We got lucky. Almost every food is acceptable for both mouth and floor. Though the texture of some veggies skeeves him out a bit. Yes, I talking to you broccoli florette.

His favorite lately is homemade juice. We liquify 2 oz. of frozen fruit (mango, peaches, and any berry) and 4 oz. of water, then strain out the seeds/chunks. Pop it in a no-spill cup and Presto.

[JenniferB]

My kids must be aliens -- they have both been really good about trying anything and everything, and when they were little (and still) would ASK for spinach, broccoli, and almost anything pickled. They are happy little monkeys with pretty much anything that can be dipped or cooked in sauce -- including anything barbeque, shrimp, crab, casseroles, crock pots dishes, anything. If I jazz it up with a little grated cheese on top, or sauce on the side, or tell them it has mushrooms or olives in it, they are all over it, telling me that I am "the best cook ever". (which, HA, is so not true, but it's good to have pulled the wool over someone's eyes.)

[Melanie]

Elizabeth is 18 months, too and her diet is much more limited.

Breakfast (every single day) is dry Cheerios and raisins.
For dinner
mac & cheese,
canned green beans (I don't even heat them, I just give them too her right out of the can),
pasta with red sauce (chef boyardee when I am feeling lazy, but usually I put a small handful of noodles in a bowl with water in the microwave for 3 minutes (works great, like easy mac) and then a teaspoon of sauce for 20 seconds.)
Lipton Rice or Noodle sides. (She loves the cheddar broccoli and of all things the garlic herb. She's odd)
Keebler club crackers (she won't eat Ritz or saltines. Picky brat)
Fruit cup bowls (only mandarin orange or pineapple)
Fresh fruit is bananas only.

She has lunch at day care every day and apparently eats a wide variety of food there. Just not for me.

[nona]

This might help you, if you are willing to go through one LONG screaming meal. After we did this with a few of the kids I watch, and our daughter, they eat anything we put in front of them, which makes meal time a hell of a lot more pleasant. Fix something Riley is iffy on. Present it to him. Put some in his scream hole. If he spits it out, put it back in. You don't have to force feed him or anything, but if he doesn't eat what you give him, don't give him anything else. (Usually by the next meal they'll eat what you give them. It's only taken two meals once.) He's learned that by throwing a fit you will give him what he wants, and it will only get worse as he gets older. Best of luck!

[Michelle]

We are lucky - we have the double-beagle floor/high chair/child-cleaning system.

Our 14-month-old little girl loves her Nutri-Grain bars (mixed berry flavor ONLY - I have regretted the strawberry purchase since I found an entire bar ground into the carpet and the couch cushions)
chicken (most of the time)
steak
fettucine alfredo
mac and cheese but not the kind out of the box

stew of any kind, mashed potatoes (I sneak some other veggies in there)

I really feel bad for the man she marries. She's high maintenance already.

[Christina]

BLUEBERRIES!

[Christina]

Blueberries!

[j]

T. is a great eater. There are definitely things he doesn't like, but one of his very favorite things has been Indian food since about month 11 . . . he's 16 months now. Here is our list of everyday really easy foods that we feel good about (though I sometimes worry about all the salt in the preprepared foods . . .):

yogurt
frozen peas or mixed veggies
grilled cheese
PB&J
spagetti and veggie meatballs, all chopped small
instant oatmeal
whole fruits - he really gets into having an entire pear (though I have to take the first bite to get him started) or apple or kiwi
black beans directly from the can
pre-prepared Indian food (at the grocery store, in those foil packets) with rice
canned soups also go over well and are a good trick on those days when he hasn't had any other veggies - he loves lentil soup with veggies and he ate the entire can of minestrone yesterday.

[laura]

Oh, I feel your pain on this one. Daughter is so fickle about food. She generally eats healthy, but lately she has started going straight for the bad stuff, foregoing all of the good green stuff she used to eat all the time. Here are some ideas based on things she will sometimes eat...

Healthy stuff: frozen veggies (broccoli, peas, carrots, cauliflower), green beans, sliced apples, cut up grapes, bananas, applesauce, sweet potatoes, strawberries! (like crack to her), cheese by the boatload, Barilla Plus pasta with sauce, diced grilled chicken breast, fruit juice pops (we make em), fruit smoothies (blueberries/strawberries, yogurt and apple juice), blueberries and oatmeal, lentil soup (tomato-based, homemade)

Not-so-healthy stuff: cookies, chips, ice cream, pudding, mashed potatoes, jello

I've taken to letting her walk around with her snacks and feed her big pieces so she can take her own bites (works well with apples, bananas and green beans). She seems to like it better this way. Good luck!