Eat what I make for you, darnit!

[bubbaray]

I hate cooking. I hate making lunches. I am so freakin' fed up with children who won't eat. I am fed up with allergies. I'm just FED UP WITH FOOD.

I got "spoken to" AGAIN at daycare today. DD#2 is STILL refusing to eat pasta and pretty much anything else I send. I'm D.O.N.E.

I don't know what to send. Seriously. They won't eat sandwiches anymore (b/c DD#1 would only eat cheese and turkey for seriously like THREE years every.single.day -- now she won't eat it nor any other sandwich). They don't like pizza anymore. They WILL eat black bean quesedillas if I only put black refried beans and cheese -- no veggies. That's about it. And, we all know what will happen if I send only quesedillas for the next week -- then they won't eat those either.

I typically send: 1 applesauce cup (unsweetened), 1 small yogurt, 1 granola bar (must have nut free label), 1 bear paw (which is like a soft oatmeal bar, again nut free label) and an entree (sandwich, rollup, quesedilla, pasta, etc), along with milk.

I'm so freakin' stressed about food, I feel sick. DD#2 hasn't eaten dinner AT ALL in the past week. She used to eat b-fast, but now she only picks the raisins out of Raisin Bran and eats those. She would live on high-refined sugar carbs if we let her. DD#1 just d/n eat. I swear, my kids live on air.

I dunno what to do. I'm at a loss. Their dr says just keep sending healthy food and they will eat if they're hungry enough. Well, they don't.

[DrSally]

I'm always jealous of your no peanut/nut options in canada. I don't know what I would do if DS ever decided he didn't like soybutter and jam sandwhiches. It's what he eats every single day for lunch. He would eat it for dinner too if I let him. I totally know how you feel about allergies stressing you out. You go to the effort of buying and making allergen free food and then it's very upsetting when they won't eat it. Do They have any ideas on what they'd like to eat?

[niccig]

Do they eat the apple sauce, yoghurt and granola bars? Just wondering if after eating that, they dont' want anymore. Does school provide snacks as well? DS hasn't been eating much the last week or two at school lunch. They get 2 snacks a day at school and I think he wasn't so hungry at lunch, or he's started to play more now. Today I packed less, and he ate it all.

[KBecks]

What, daycare is telling you that it's a problem that your kids don't eat? Maybe they need to get a better perspective.

Does she snack? I hate, hate, hate making a meal and having no one eat it, it's so terrible to have messy dishes and pans with no actual eating going on. It sucks. I'm sorry you are struggling with it, but I'm sure the kids are OK. It will be OK, it will be OK. Really!

Does your daycare have some kind of food rules? Maybe those are not working for your kids' needs?

[MMMommy]

Wondering the same thing as PP. Are they eating all their snacks? I put in two snacks, max, and even then DDs won't eat all their entree. Would decreasing the number of snack items maybe help?

[purpleeyes]

Breakfast is an issue in our house. So, DS was pretty hungry today, since all he ate was 1/2 a roll w ith apple butter and a glass of milk. ;(

For lunch, we recently tried cream cheese with apple butter (or pumpkin butter or jelly) sandwiches. It is a *huge* hit and he would eat it every day if I let him. Probably, at some point in the year, he will! :)
What allergies do you have? DD has an egg allergy, so I wind up making a lot of baked goods. I try to make a batch of muffins on Sunday and I parcel them out all week long. I make different kinds: Full meal muffins (http://shmooedfood.blogspot.com/2007/02/full-meal-muffins.html) banana muffins/blueberry muffins (from the deceptively delicious cookbooks) stuff like that. We also do pancakes a lot. How about cheese sticks? Those are a winner here.

I'll post more if I think of some other ideas. HTH!

[gatorsmom]

Do they tell you what they prefer? I know that Gator would have chicken nuggets for every meal if I allowed it, so I give them to him often because at least then I know he'll eat something.

Maybe try laying out a buffet of foods on the table or if you have a long countertop and then giving them a bag or sack of some kind and asking them to put things in there they want to eat. Or let them build a sandwich with crazy things like sunflower butter, banana slices, pickles, tomatoes, etc. Would they go for something like that? Our boys are much more eager to eat when they've had a hand in creating or preparing the food. It's definitely a mess to clean up but at least they are eating.

[Clarity]

I hate packing for my food allergic baby, and she's not picky yet, so I can only imagine what a PITA it is to deal with allergies and picky eaters. I typically ask dd1 what she wants for lunch, pack and adjusted version of that and then she "previews" it each morning. This seems to guarantee she'll eat what I've packed.

[niccig]

I make different kinds: Full meal muffins (http://shmooedfood.blogspot.com/2007/02/full-meal-muffins.html)

Love these muffins. I'll make them this weekend for a lunch next week.

[WatchingThemGrow]

They aren't throwing it completely across the room at EVERY meal, are they? Cause that's worse than just not eating it. Yesterday, mine didn't just throw it. They spread it all out on the table and pretended to be swimming in it. This was all while I was changing a diaper. Boy, it was a fun day.

[MontrealMum]

No advice, but (((hugs))). We have similar issues here, though I don't pack a lunch, the daycare provides nutritionist-approved meals (2 snacks, and lunch). It sure smells yummy when I go there in the middle of the day, but DS stages food strikes from time to time - both there and here. Unless you count: air, crayons, and a chomp out of the tablecloth ;)

I will say, since your kids have allergies too, that DS' food strikes (although he is never a huge eater) seem to happen when he is either suffering from a cold or major allergies (like now, seasonally it's really bad here). All that drainage in his little tummy turns him off from eating. Maybe yours too? Just putting that out there.

[dcmom2b3]

No advice, just hugs. :hug: I've got a picky eater w/o allergies and I'm inclined to pull my hair out.

And can I just say that the "talking to" about food from daycare is annoying to say the least. I got that week before last. Teacher said, "poor baby has had the same lunch every day"

If I send the same thing every day it's because that's what I have in the house that she'll (maybe) eat. I mean, there's some escargot in the freezer, I could defrost that and see how it goes . . . .

[egoldber]

1 applesauce cup (unsweetened), 1 small yogurt, 1 granola bar (must have nut free label), 1 bear paw (which is like a soft oatmeal bar, again nut free label) and an entree (sandwich, rollup, quesedilla, pasta, etc), along with milk.

Is this just for lunch? Or lunch plus snacks? If that's just lunch, honestly that would be too much food for my kids.

The applesauce, yogurt and granola bar would be the whole lunch for my kids and is often what I send in for Amy for lunch. Sarah would eat just a soynut butter sandwich and an applesauce.

Sarah is actually not fond of sandwiches (except for soynut butter) and I will pack things like ham roll-ups, cheese slices and crackers all separately.

We have a list of about 4-5 lunches and put them in rotation, so they get the same things, but not every day.

Good luck! I hate packing lunches too.....

[DrSally]

Breakfast is an issue in our house. So, DS was pretty hungry today, since all he ate was 1/2 a roll w ith apple butter and a glass of milk. ;(

For lunch, we recently tried cream cheese with apple butter (or pumpkin butter or jelly) sandwiches. It is a *huge* hit and he would eat it every day if I let him. Probably, at some point in the year, he will! :)
What allergies do you have? DD has an egg allergy, so I wind up making a lot of baked goods. I try to make a batch of muffins on Sunday and I parcel them out all week long. I make different kinds: Full meal muffins (http://shmooedfood.blogspot.com/2007/02/full-meal-muffins.html) banana muffins/blueberry muffins (from the deceptively delicious cookbooks) stuff like that. We also do pancakes a lot. How about cheese sticks? Those are a winner here.

I'll post more if I think of some other ideas. HTH!

These muffins look good. I would skip the walnuts for DS. They don't have a lot of sugar, how sweet are they? Sweet enough that kids will eat them? Also, where do you find your black strap molassas?

[Ceepa]

MAybe sit down on the weekend with them and discuss some things they would like to see throughout the week in their lunches? Give them a set to choose from.

[DietCokeLover]

For lunch, we recently tried cream cheese with apple butter (or pumpkin butter or jelly) sandwiches. It is a *huge* hit and he would eat it every day if I let him. Probably, at some point in the year, he will! :)



My kids are really picky too, and won't eat sandwiches. I might try this... did you mix the cream cheese and apple butter or did you do it in layers? It's important in our house to succeed on the first try or there is no second try! :)

[boolady]

Is this just for lunch? Or lunch plus snacks? If that's just lunch, honestly that would be too much food for my kids.

The applesauce, yogurt and granola bar would be the whole lunch for my kids and is often what I send in for Amy for lunch. Sarah would eat just a soynut butter sandwich and an applesauce.

Yeah, this would be DD's entire lunch, too. Today, for example, she took 1/2 a FlatOut wrap with turkey, cheese and lettuce and an unsweetened applesauce cup. She'll have some milk with it, and that would be it. Given her choice? She'd eat a Z-Bar and yogurt or applesauce every single day.

[bubbaray]

Is this just for lunch? Or lunch plus snacks? If that's just lunch, honestly that would be too much food for my kids.

The applesauce, yogurt and granola bar would be the whole lunch for my kids and is often what I send in for Amy for lunch. Sarah would eat just a soynut butter sandwich and an applesauce.

Sarah is actually not fond of sandwiches (except for soynut butter) and I will pack things like ham roll-ups, cheese slices and crackers all separately.

We have a list of about 4-5 lunches and put them in rotation, so they get the same things, but not every day.

Good luck! I hate packing lunches too.....


Sorry, yes, that is lunch + snacks -- and they definitely do not eat all that is packed. It seems that they eat some of the entree and DD#1 eats one of the snacks (so one yogurt/applesauce/granola bar) and DD#2 might eat two of the snacks. To complicate matters, I also now have to send a separate snack for Kindy for DD#1, but it can't be "wet" (no applesauce, yogurt, dip, milk) and they prefer fruit or veggies (not sure how to manage that) -- I've been sending granola bars, which I know they aren't jazzed about. Kindy snack goes in her backpack pocket, lunch is in her lunchbox inside her backpack, but is eaten at daycare.

Beth, could you share your lunch rotation? I need a list it seems.

[bubbaray]

And can I just say that the "talking to" about food from daycare is annoying to say the least. I got that week before last. Teacher said, "poor baby has had the same lunch every day" .

Yeah, that is exactly the issue. I pack the same thing b/c I don't know what to pack as they keep refusing food!


If I send the same thing every day it's because that's what I have in the house that she'll (maybe) eat. I mean, there's some escargot in the freezer, I could defrost that and see how it goes . . . .

Thanks. I just snorted coffee. LOL. DD#1 would say it was too spicy. DD#2 might possibly LIKE eating bugs....

[bubbaray]

MAybe sit down on the weekend with them and discuss some things they would like to see throughout the week in their lunches? Give them a set to choose from.

Well, DD#2 only wants carbs. Cookies, granola bars, pudding cups (which I don't send), jello (which I also don't send but daycare suggested I do -- I thought that was a big strange, sure I'll send some pure sugar to hype up my kid for you. Have fun with that).

DD#1 might do well with some meal planning, though.

Anyone have some ideas I could put on a list?

[bubbaray]

Do they eat the apple sauce, yoghurt and granola bars? Just wondering if after eating that, they dont' want anymore. Does school provide snacks as well? DS hasn't been eating much the last week or two at school lunch. They get 2 snacks a day at school and I think he wasn't so hungry at lunch, or he's started to play more now. Today I packed less, and he ate it all.


The girls are at the same facility, but in different programs. The little kids program DD#2 is in does provide a morning and afternoon snack (fruit, veggies, crackers and cheese, that sort of thing). I didn't think that she would eat it, but apparently she does.

DD#1's program does an afternoon snack (cereal and fruit is what I've seen).

Maybe I should pack less and see if that helps them eat more?? Hmmmm

[bubbaray]

What, daycare is telling you that it's a problem that your kids don't eat? Maybe they need to get a better perspective.

Does she snack? I hate, hate, hate making a meal and having no one eat it, it's so terrible to have messy dishes and pans with no actual eating going on. It sucks. I'm sorry you are struggling with it, but I'm sure the kids are OK. It will be OK, it will be OK. Really!

Does your daycare have some kind of food rules? Maybe those are not working for your kids' needs?


Well, they've said it "nicely", but I know they would prefer if parents send stuff the children like and will eat. They will NOT make a child eat, which is different from our past daycare where the were more forceful (sit there until you finish what your mom sent you). This program is more about the children having "choices", which I'm OK with I guess. Kinda.

[bubbaray]

For lunch, we recently tried cream cheese with apple butter (or pumpkin butter or jelly) sandwiches. It is a *huge* hit and he would eat it every day if I let him. Probably, at some point in the year, he will! :)
What allergies do you have? DD has an egg allergy, so I wind up making a lot of baked goods. I try to make a batch of muffins on Sunday and I parcel them out all week long. I make different kinds: Full meal muffins (http://shmooedfood.blogspot.com/2007/02/full-meal-muffins.html) banana muffins/blueberry muffins (from the deceptively delicious cookbooks) stuff like that. We also do pancakes a lot. How about cheese sticks? Those are a winner here.



Thanks -- I'm going to try those muffins!

DD#1's allergy is tree nuts (cashews and pistachios, but we are tree nut free).

DD#2's allergies are finned fish and peanuts. She was also egg allergic, but can now eat some hidden egg if its not too high on the ingredient list.

[bubbaray]

Thanks everyone -- great advice. I really was just venting and feeling sorry for myself (BP after all), but advice is always welcome.

Things they will eat are:
black bean quesedillas
grilled cheese sandwiches (at home, not sure how to make them portable)
pasta sometimes -- that seems to be backfiring
yogurt

DD#1 will sometimes eat:
rollups (like turkey & cheese)
pizza
fruit -- could live on blueberries
raw veggies with dip (iffy -- usually only if G-ma is around).

I'd really love to hear your lunch schedule/rotation for some ideas. Today I'm sending mini cinnamon & raisin bagels with cream cheese.

[egoldber]

They could be overwhelmed with too many choices.

Sarah, as I said, does not like sandwiches and is very picky. She also has no access to a microwave to reheat.

Her rotation....

Entree:
soynut butter sandwich on whole wheat
hummos with pita
ham roll-ups and whole grain crackers (ETA: our roll-up is "just* ham)
macaroni&cheese (homemade with WW pasta) (thermos)
WW pasta with butter and parmesan (thermos)
leftover pizza slice

On the side she gets one of....
applesauce cup
sliced apples
strawberries
carrots
peas

And every day I include a cheese stick and milk.

Amy has a bit bigger repertoire because she is less picky and they will re-heat food.

In addition to the above, I also sometimes have...

Black beans and rice
Eggs and crackers
Various protein/snack bars (although I don't like to do this because they get those for snack sometimes)

She also eats more fruits and veggies, so I include a wider variety of those. And every day she also gets a cheese stick and soymilk.

[KrisM]

Since they like grilled cheese, will they eat a cheese sandwich? I do those in circles, hearts, dinosaurs, etc and they eat them. No grilling, just bread and cheese.

[maestramommy]

This summer when Dora went to summer camp I had to pack lunches for the first time. I was puzzled that she kept coming home with her lunch half eaten. All I packed was a pbj sandwich, cut fruit, and a SMALL thing of goldfish/animal crackers/rice crackers. Each day she was eating less and less. I finally asked her teacher about it. A couple things came out:

1) lunch is 30 minutes. At the time Dora was going through a stage where every meal took FOREVER. She would nibble nibble nibble.

2) She made friends with two little boys and would sit between them during lunch. They would chat the whole time about what they brought for lunch and whatever else. I almost passed out from the shock that Dora made not one but two friends and was CHATTING with them. When I told Dh, he said, "no that's not our kid. the teacher must've gotten her mixed up with someone else." :hysterical:

3) They got a midmorning snack, which Dora would eat. It was a Montessori, so you only got one portion of snack, but if you were hungry, you could also get other food to eat, which they provided. Apparently she was eating that too, as well as a big breakfast at home. By lunch time she probably wasn't hungry anymore.

After this convo I started packing teeny tiny lunches, and just didn't sweat it if she didn't eat much. I packed practically the same thing every day too, because I knew she liked it at least.

[niccig]

Thanks everyone -- great advice. I really was just venting and feeling sorry for myself (BP after all), but advice is always welcome.

Things they will eat are:
black bean quesedillas
grilled cheese sandwiches (at home, not sure how to make them portable)
pasta sometimes -- that seems to be backfiring
yogurt

DD#1 will sometimes eat:
rollups (like turkey & cheese)
pizza
fruit -- could live on blueberries
raw veggies with dip (iffy -- usually only if G-ma is around).

I'd really love to hear your lunch schedule/rotation for some ideas. Today I'm sending mini cinnamon & raisin bagels with cream cheese.

Sounds like you have some options that you can rotate, so it's not quite the same every day.

Yesterday DS had bagel with cream cheese and it ate it all. I cut up some sliced turkey and some veges for on the side.

I try to send a fruit and a vege. Fruit is apple slices with fruit fresh on them so they don't brown, or berries. I do pack melon or grapes some days and he'll only eat a little, so I don't pack much. Vege - he likes carrot sticks, edamame, raw cauliflower and broccoli with shredded cheese on top. If I'm packing both a vege and a fruit, it has to be small portions of each, or he eats all the apple and no carrot.

Main has been quesedilla - he eats it cold, or you could put it in a thermos cup if you cut into strips. Same with the grilled cheese. Pasta has been a hit in the thermos. I've also done some leftovers from dinner, like stir fry, baked chicken leg etc. He also liked breakfast for lunch - eggs and pancakes. He is definitely eating less than I think he would, so I'm putting less in, and I stopped doing the small container of trail mix or pretzels etc as he was eating that and less of the main. He does get 2 good snacks at school, so I don't need to pack snack food for lunch.

HTH and I know it's annoying to get the lunch box home to find that most of the food is still in there.

[egoldber]

Sometimes I do send in leftover pancakes.

[mommylamb]

Do they know it bothers you? Could they be doing this as a control mechanism with you? I don't know... I think I'd just tell daycare they'll eat if they're hungry and if the daycare thought less of me for it, oh well. Unless of course there was a medical problem like losing too much weight. I know... easier said than done.

[kristenk]

I'm struggling with the same thing, but don't have to add food allergies into the mix - just a very picky eater.

One thing I've done recently that seems to be working a little is having a chart. I drew little pictures of all of DD's food options for one day (yogurt, string cheese, pumpkin muffin, crackers, cheese and crackers, pretzels, chewy energy circle, snappea crisps, apple slices, pear slices, orange slices, watermelon, mini animal crackers, mini chocolate sandwich cookies, etc.) on a piece of paper. Next to each one, I drew a picture of a bear and colored it a specific color which corresponded to a food group. So, all of the dairy options had a yellow bear face next to them, the fruits had a green bear, etc. (I used bears b/c we have a big container of assorted plastic bears for sorting/counting.) I gave Ellie one of each color bear and then she got to look at the pictures/words to decide what she wanted in her lunch the next day. It really took a lot of stress out of my evening trying to predict what she'd like and made packing a lunch a lot easier. I told her that sometimes I'd put something extra in her lunch for her to try, but she didn't have to use her bears for that.

She definitely leans toward carbs and dairy for school lunch. I don't remember who posted the chewy energy circle recipe, but DD loves it and it has oatmeal and I added ground almonds to it for a little protein boost. I also added about 6-10 mini chocolate chips for each circle to turn it into something that DD would eat cheerfully. I'm also going to try that muffin recipe. Our standards are pumpkin muffins and zucc/carrot/apple muffins b/c DD likes them both and I can get a (very) few veggies in her that way.

[purpleeyes]

My kids are really picky too, and won't eat sandwiches. I might try this... did you mix the cream cheese and apple butter or did you do it in layers? It's important in our house to succeed on the first try or there is no second try! :)

Isn't it crazy how they can get picky about the preparation? And then won't eat it if you don't 'do it right'?!?! :duh:

I spread the cream cheese on one side and the apple butter on the other, and then put it together.
Pumpkin butter was a hit yesterday, so now I have something new to add! :)
GL!!

[purpleeyes]

These muffins look good. I would skip the walnuts for DS. They don't have a lot of sugar, how sweet are they? Sweet enough that kids will eat them? Also, where do you find your black strap molassas?


I also skip the nuts. Plus, I don't put the currants/raisins in either! :). For sweetness, I sprinkle a little sucanat in at the end, once I've mixed the dry/wet ingredients.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EA3M92/ref=asc_df_B000EA3M92919368?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=googlecom09c9-20&linkCode=asn&creative=380341&creativeASIN=B000EA3M92

I just used reg. molassas! I had it in the pantry and I didn't want to buy something else. It worked fine.

HTH!