Food suggestions for 2 yr old?

Question

My daughter used to eat everything! Pickles, sauerkraut..etc... Now she won't touch anything besides fries and ketchup. I offer her all kinds of veggies, fruits..etc. But still all she wants is fries. Which is fine on occasion, but not everyday! Anyone have any ideas on things I could buy or make that are nutritious and tasty?

Answer 1

I, too, have a picky 2 year-old! The way I get her to incorporate healthy food into her pizza-only diet is: I buy colorful, sectioned plates and put tiny bits of different foods in each section(1 of which I knew she'd eat) and let her pick what she wants. I didn't scold her for not eating everything. I just let her eat what she wanted, and tossed the rest(its such a small amount, you won't miss it). Eventually, she was open to try almost anything! It was great! I also would have her help me prepare her food. She responded very well to that! We took biscuits, ragu, and shredded cheese and made little pizzas for dinner. She couldn't get enough of that!
Basically, what I'm saying is the pickiness is just a struggle for independence. Little ones ALWAYS want to do things all by themselves, including choosing what they eat. I think that giving them age-appropriate freedom is fine, just as long as they recognize who's REALLY in charge.
Hope your picky eater enjoys making choices!
Also, here are some of my baby's favorites:
1. Cut up hot dogs
2. Sliced cheese
3. Kiddie pancakes
4. Flavored oatmeal
5. Vanilla wafers
6. Peanut butter sandwiches
7. Ritz mini peanut butter cracker sandwiches
8. cut up bananas
9. chicken sandwiches(buy patties at store, add bun)
10. biscuit pizzas

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Make veggie "fries" that she can dip in ketchup. Sweet potato, carrot, green beans, peppers. You can bread them slightly if that would make them more attractive.

And don't forget other dips: salsas (which can be made out of tomato or other things like mangos), chutney, guacamole, purreed veg and fruit. Cooked veggies dipped in a very thick currey squash soup -very gourmet. But even veggies dipped in strawberry puree. Just because it isn't what most people would eat doesn't mean there is anything wrong with it ;)

Fruit dipped in yogurt is nice. Or for caramel there is a sneaky way to make caramel that at least is full of dairy. You take a can of condensed milk. Take the label off the can and place the unopened can in a pot of boiling water. I think it's for 4 hours. Replace the water as it evaporates. So long as you don't open the can it will keep a long time so if your kids like it you can do a bunch of cans at a time. (I would still keep the cans in the fridge just in case).

OK this one says 3 hours. Seriously I used to work for a very expensive catering company and this is what they served.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Caramel-Sauce-2/Detail.aspx

Answer 3

Well, I am a bit old fashion, but this worked for my son. I just put the food in front of him, if he did not eat it, then none of the good stuff. I was nice about it, but I stuck to my guns. You do not have to put a whole lot in her plate, just a little veggies and use the fries for a reward for a while for eating what is before her. Start out with small bites. Give small rewards not a whole bunch of fries at one time for one little bite of veggies. Rather one bite of vegie on fry dipped in catch up. You can make fries heathier by not getting them at McDonalds and not frying them in a frying pan. Instead bake them in the oven. Also if she likes the taste of catch up, try putting a little in her least favorite veggies, and she might very well like the flavor. I know it sounds gross, but it want hurt her, I had a cousin that ate catch up on every thing he ate except desert. He was a picky eater, and the catch up covered up the strong flavor of spinach and brocolli which. Children have a strong sense of taste because they have a lot more taste buds than we do.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

I have a very picky eater as well and she's 3 1/2 now. It all started around age 2 when a child can make some of their own choices. Hopefully it will be a short lived phase for your daughter. She is just showing a little bit of independence in that she can choose what she wants or doesn't want to eat.
Best of luck to you. It's a trying time.

Answer 5

My girls can be picky at times too. They love pasta so I give them the Gerber Graduates pasta filled with veggies. Also mashed cauliflower with cheese is a favorite with my girls. Also try the normal things like PB&J, Grilled Cheese, Mac and Cheese. Get her an option of things, like ask do you want PB&J or Mac and Cheese, let her pick what she wants. Try and stay away from frys for a while. Maybe try some other dips with things.

Answer 6

What toddlers should eat:
Protein: 4 toddler servings

¾ cup milk
½ cup yogurt
¼ oz hard cheese
1 ½ tablespoons peanut butter
Calcium Foods: 4 toddler servings

2/3 cup of milk
½ cup calcium added milk
½ cup yogurt
4 oz calcium fortified orange juice
Vitamin C Foods: 2 or more toddler servings

½ small orange
¼ fresh strawberries
1/8 small cantaloupe
¼ fresh or frozen orange juice
¼ cup broccoli
½ cooked leafy greens
1 small tomato skinned
¾ cup tomato juice or ½ cup of sauce
Green leafy and yellow vegetables and yellow fruits: 2 or more toddler servings

½ cubed cantaloupe
1/8 large mango
1 medium nectarine
½ large yellow peach
¾ cup peas
¼ of small carrot
Other fruits and vegetables: 1 to 2 or more toddler servings

½ apple, pear or banana
¼ applesauce
1/3 cup cherries, berries or grapes
3 dried peach halves
1 dried pear half
½ slice fresh or canned pineapple
2 tablespoons raisins, currants or dried apple rings
3/8 cup of green beans

Please also see the rest of the list at
http://www.familiesonlinemagazine.com/Childdev.html

Also, some fun toddler foods at http://www.familiesonlinemagazine.com/child-development/toddler-sunflower.html

Answer 7

How about fruit, chicken nuggets, noodle soup, any type of finger foods should work.

Answer 8

have you tried bananas? my daughter hated them until she saw pictures of monkeys eating them, now she loves them

Answer 9

My kids always ate what we ate with few exceptions.

Answer 10

Cheetohs
Chicken strips
Pizza