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View Full Version : getting DD to eat red meat??



lfp2n
07-21-2004, 09:22 PM
DD was low on her hemoglobin (11.2) at her 12 month check but the ped thought it was because she was BF and wouldn't eat any iron fortified stuff like cereal, so he told me to give her vits plus iron, which I did everyday. So the at the 15 month check she is still 11.2, so now we are worrying a bit more and I'd like to get it higher without her going onto more massive iron doses.
I would like to get her to eat a more iron rich diet, from what I've been reading although many foods are high in iron (fortified bars and cereals, beans, pulses, dark green veg), compared to meat, particularly red meat, your body will absorb about will absorb only 5% of the iron from these other sources, as it will from meat.
The example I read was in terms of uptake, 100g of beef is the same as 2kg of spinach/kale. So I'm trying to get DD to eat more beef but so far she doesn't like my offerings (I don't usually cook , DH does, so who can blame her!). Has anyone got any good recipe ideas for toddler food using ground beef, or any other beef, preferably dishes that could be made in a big batch and frozen.

TIA

Lucy and DD 3/03

August Mom
07-22-2004, 10:15 AM
DS generally likes meat, so I probably had an easier time than most, but his first favorite beef was chuck roast cooked in the crockpot all day. I then shredded it for him. It was very tender and he really liked it.

I just take a 2-4 pound chuck roast, put it in the crockpot with red potatoes, baby carrots and some onion slices. I generally rub the roast with salt and pepper. Then, I pour a can of beef broth over it and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Viola!

A lot of toddlers I know like meatballs, generally in tomato sauce. DS likes meatballs over spaghetti.

You can also put seasoned ground beef into quesadillas.

And, DS also liked marinated round steak cut into strips and stir-fryed with bell peppers and onions. I think he likes the marinade - soy sauce, sugar, sherry.

My main advice is to not be afraid to season her foods. A lot of other moms I know made sure that everything was bland. They were concerned about too many seasonings/spices for their babies. And, especially in the meat department, these kids don't eat much meat. Maybe that's just the luck of the draw, I don't know. But, I do know that I like things with flavor better than bland things and I think it makes sense that DS would too. So, I just give DS whatever we are eating.

If you want to try the beef and pepper stir-fry recipe, let me know and I'll give you an exact recipe.

Good luck.

nitaghei
07-22-2004, 11:17 AM
DH is the one that cooks meat in our house, and hamburger and meatballs in tomato sauce are two favorites. I don't handle beef in any shape or form for religious reasons.

I definitely want to second the recommendation for seasoning the meat, and other food. My DS loves spicy food, and rejects anything that's bland. DS has the same issue with hemoglobin, so I've been trying to increase his iron intake too. He does love infant cereal, and all greens. I read somewhere that adding fruit to cereal helps with iron absorption, so I give him cereal mixed with fruitsauce. Don't know if you've tried that - as an additional option to meat. I also add cereal to yogurt for DS.

One way DS likes spinach or other greens is sauteed in butter, with salt, cayenne and a dash of nutmeg. I also make spinach quiche for him.

Nita
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a cocker and a PWD

Karenn
07-22-2004, 11:47 AM
One thing I've done is mix purreed baby food meat from a jar with whipped cream cheese and spread it on a sandwich. I don't know if she's old enough for that or not, but my anti-meat DS has never caught on. I've also used a mortar and pestle (sp?) to grind up chicken and done the same with that.

Good luck!

lisams
07-22-2004, 06:30 PM
Some of DD's favorites (and she was very picky and did not like meat until about 18 months) are:

meatloaf
meatballs
McDonald's cheeseburgers (for some reason these are the only onesshe will eat, maybe because they aren't thick)
mac and cheese bake with hamburger in it

Also, for the longest time I was afriad about things that had a spicy or strong flavor, well that's what she loves! She loves onions and ketchup in her cheeseburger all the while I was scraping it out!!

HTH!
Lisa

sntm
07-23-2004, 01:14 PM
I agree, go for spice. Jack is not a big meat eater, but when he does, he likes barbecued meat and strongly-flavored lamb.

Nita, I'm emailing you for spicy veggie recipes!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03

houseof3boys
07-25-2004, 10:40 AM
You are sneaky! I love the ideas and I'm going to try them on my anti-meat eater too. :)

Drews Mom
07-25-2004, 11:42 PM
TIA, our son also was low on hemoglobin. Have your pediatrician test your DD for Thal Minor. It won't show up in a regular CBC, it is a special blood test. Some doctors don't know to test for it.

If your DD is Thal Minor, no amount of iron will help that number go up. It sort of a false low number that is not much to worry about, but worth testing so she knows about it when she has children as it may be more serious depending on who she marries.

It is a confusing diagnosis, but I'd have her tested. My DS was at the same age when we found out. I had pushed iron into the poor kid, including suppliments, and all we got were moe hemoglobins in the 10 range.

Karenn
07-26-2004, 12:56 AM
:) Desperation breeds creativity!

His meat strike lasted about a year and only ended a couple of weeks ago! I never thought I'd be celebrating the day he downed a box of Chicken McNuggets!

sntm
07-30-2004, 04:30 PM
You could do liverwurst that way too. I actually love liverwurst, it's spreadable, and excellent mixed with cream cheese. The taste is different enough that it won't be like other (rejected) meats, it's a fab source of iron, and it is CHEAP.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif[/img][/url]
Breastfeeding 13 months and counting

lfp2n
07-31-2004, 01:50 PM
Thanks everyone for your answers, I haven't been able to log in for a bit but I hope thats fixed now.
I think that spice may be key I've been giving her really bland stuff, and also it means we could all share as DH makes our food hot and spicy .
Shannon I like the liverwurst idea, where are you getting it from?

Thanks

Lucy

sntm
08-02-2004, 12:09 PM
I got it at Food Lion in the past. Check the deli counters. It is ridiculously cheap, like 99 cents a pound. Jack also will eat chicken livers, which I've gotten at Whole Foods and elsewhere. He likes them with rice. We make boxed jambalaya sometimes.

We still have to set up a playdate at some point!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif[/img][/url]
Breastfeeding 13 months and counting

alkagift
08-02-2004, 03:45 PM
I know others have said this but I thought I would chime in and say that my son will eat ground chuck made into meatloaf cooked in muffin tins--he'll eat about half a "muffin" each time. I make up about a pound of beef at a time and freeze them. I use shredded carrot, oatmeal, and unsalted canned tomato sauce (or Heinz chili sauce which is essentially ketchup) and he likes it. He will not eat plain crumbled ground beef, though, so it has to be the moisture content as well as, I think, the sweetness of the vegetables and tomato. If you'd like the recipe just let me know.

Hope that helps!

Allison
Mommy to Matthew, 5/19/03

Karenn
08-02-2004, 04:56 PM
Allison,
Can I have the recipe? Even though Colin's meat strike seems to be coming to an end, I'm still willing to try anything! Can you PM it to me?

lfp2n
08-02-2004, 09:33 PM
I'd like the recipe too please! Is it easier to post or PM? I tried her on meat lasagne this week, she loves veggie lasagne but she picked out the pasta and left the meat, I think its something about ground beef texture, although shes going off chicken now too, maybe its the chewiness.
Has anyone got any good meatball recipes too?

TIA

Lucy

alkagift
08-06-2004, 04:04 PM
Whoops, sorry I took so long!

Meatloaf muffins:

1 lb ground chuck (you can use a leaner cut)
One to two med-large carrot grated, about 3/4c or so
1 t worchestershire sauce
2 T chili sauce (note: this is NOT the hot stuff, this is sold with the ketchup and is similar except a bit less sweet. You can use canned tomato sauce, plain not pasta sauce, instead, or ketchup. If you use the tomato sauce you can cut the salt.)
Small can of musrooms, finely chopped, or about 1/2 c sauteed mushrooms finely chopped
1/2 cup or slightly more unseasoned bread crumbs
1 egg
1/2 t salt
pepper to taste

Mix thoroughly, preferably by hand. The meatloaf should be very soft and slightly more "wet" than you might make it for yourself. If you think it's not "wet" enough, you can add a bit of milk or more tomato.

Pack into muffin tins and bake for 35-40 minutes at 350.

I have altered this recipe to add spinach and bell pepper instead of carrot, or zucchini and grated apple. Essentially you want about a cup of veggies per pound of meat, plus your flavorings. Bread crumbs and milk makes a softer, slightly milder texture if your baby perhaps objects to the stronger beef taste. This is also good for turkey meatloaf.

Allison