please, what to feed a 2 yr old

[3emm]

my DS is very picky, just turned two, and is not eating any of the food i make for him. ok, he eats yogurt, pancakes, rice, scrambled eggs, pears, bananas. sometimes eats spaghetti and also tofu. he's currently obsessed with cupcakes, no frosting, just the ones i make with pumpkin mix from TJ's.
I;m running out of ideas. i make stuff for him but he doesn't eat it. i'm in need of more ideas. thanks in advance.
what kinds of food does your 2 yr old eat?

[sariana]

He should eat the same things everyone else in the family is eating, just cut up smaller.

If he doesn't like what is served, he doesn't have to eat it. Don't make something special for him. He won't starve. He does need a couple of healthy snacks during the day that the rest of the family may not need, but other than that, he should eat with you.

My 2-year-old DD often does not eat any dinner at all. I have come to the conclusion that she just doesn't always need an evening meal. She sleeps through the night and wakes up happy in the morning, so I guess she's fine not having dinner.

[MommyAllison]

My DS is served whatever we are eating. He isn't very picky at this point - he doesn't like soup or pasta, and he prefers his vegetables raw (vs cooked). I'll try to list some of his favorites to give ideas...

Breakfast: granola w/milk, yogurt (plain w/fruit & a bit of honey mixed in), eggs, breakfast meats (sausage, bacon), pancakes, french toast, muffins, toast w/butter & jam, fruit

Lunch: PBJ sandwich, cheese quesadilla, turkey & cheese sandwich, tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwich, macaroni & cheese, fruit and/or raw veggies, sometimes dinner leftovers

Dinner: This varies a lot, but some favorites are: sweet & sour chicken w/rice, homemade pizza, cheeseburgers/hot dogs/steak/grilled chicken/shishkebabs, tacos, enchiladas, homemade taquitos, baked chicken, pineapple meatballs, beef roast, bbq chicken drumettes, etc etc etc

Snack: Fruit or veggies, sometimes cheese, very rarely crackers/muffins

For fruit, we eat whatever is in season. Right now, we're eating lots of apples, pears & cranberries (he looooooooves these), with some bananas thrown in.

When we serve something DS doesn't like (like spaghetti or soup), we encourage him to eat the parts he does like...he loves meat, so he picks that out of the spaghetti sauce, he likes chicken, so he'll pick that out of the soup, etc. But we don't make him a separate meal. If he is hungry at bedtime, he gets a small slice of cheddar cheese.

I hope this helps!

[KrisM]

I, too, don't make special meals for kids. My 2 year old eats about anything. I have a picky 4 year old though. For dinner, I include something I know she likes with the meal. She can eat that and if she's still hungry, she can eat what the rest of us are. Or, she can not eat. If she doesn't eat, i'll keep her plate out and when she gets hungry, she can eat it.

[TwinFoxes]

He should eat the same things everyone else in the family is eating, just cut up smaller.

If he doesn't like what is served, he doesn't have to eat it. Don't make something special for him. He won't starve. He does need a couple of healthy snacks during the day that the rest of the family may not need, but other than that, he should eat with you.



I completely agree with this. I always make sure they have bread, or sweet potato fries, or broccoli, which are the three foods I know they'll eat. Sometimes they chow down. Sometimes they pick. But I keep giving them different foods. Newest food they like that they didn't used to is spaghetti with bolognese. In general my girls are good eaters, and they rarely absolutely refuse a food.

Not surprisingly, my DDs like cupcakes too. :)

[sunshine873]

I agree, offer what everyone else is eating and make sure that there is something in there that you know he'll eat. For my DD that's fruit and bread. As long as there is fruit or bread, she won't starve, and I've found lots of times she'll turn down the main dish, eat her fruit and then start to eat some of the main dish.

Also...keep offering things, even if he didn't like them before. Their tastes are changing so fast, and sometimes they just need to get familiar with things. It can take over 10 times of "trying" or offering before they'll eat it, so don't give up. I thought my DD would never eat canadian bacon. We eat it a lot here, and I kept offering, but she would taste it and then put it down. From time to time when we're on the go, I get an Egg McMuffin from McDonalds. She loves the english muffin and the egg, but always turned down the canadian bacon. Then suddenly last week she tried it and ate it. Now every time I've given it to her after that, she scarfs it down! So you just never know...

[wellyes]

He should eat the same things everyone else in the family is eating, just cut up smaller.

If he doesn't like what is served, he doesn't have to eat it. Don't make something special for him. He won't starve. He does need a couple of healthy snacks during the day that the rest of the family may not need, but other than that, he should eat with you.I tried 4 months of the Ellyn Satter technique. Let me tell you, it does not work for everyone. My daughter is skin and bones and will remain cheerful and active on a couple hundred calories per day. It breaks my heart. I sneak calories into her. I now always include a "toddler approved" option in the family meal. Sometimes she is more daring, so I am sure always offering other foods (the family meal) is a good idea.

[KrisM]

I tried 4 months of the Ellyn Satter technique. Let me tell you, it does not work for everyone. My daughter is skin and bones and will remain cheerful and active on a couple hundred calories per day. It breaks my heart. I sneak calories into her. I now always include a "toddler approved" option in the family meal. Sometimes she is more daring, so I am sure always offering other foods (the family meal) is a good idea.

I think including something the child will eat is fine. I serve corn on the cob often in the summer as DD will always eat that. If she's hungry enough, she'll eat more things. I don't make a whole meal just for her, or all I'd do is cook :).

[kijip]

Satter suggests making sure that something that is offered is going to be wanted by the child IIRC. I do that and it works well. The main thing for us is that we don't make food a reward or dole out desserts for finishing dinner. If dessert is served, they can have it if they want regardless of how much or little dinner is served. But we don't always do dessert.

[3emm]

Thank you so much for all your responses! All are very helpful. I will definitely try to have us all eat the same Meal, and serve at least one thing he likes .
It's also good to hear that it's ok not to eat, maybe he had a big lunch. And this is something I don't know as well anymore, since he started daycare and they don't give us a meal plan.
My big concern was that he had his 2yr visit and although he grew in height he didn't gain any weight. Doc is not worried but I freaked out and consequently requested some blood work be done.

Thanks for you great ideas!! I really appreciate it!!

[TwinFoxes]

Satter suggests making sure that something that is offered is going to be wanted by the child IIRC. I do that and it works well.

She definitely does. I think that may be a key step that not everyone hears about if they just hear a general description. Like I mentioned, bread, broccoli or sweet potato fries are always eaten, so those are offered with every meal. Especially if a new item is on the menu. It is so funny to watch the look of relief on DDs face when she sees her old pal broccoli sitting next to an unfamiliar dish. To me a meal of broccoli, milk, bread, and most likely fruit for dessert is fine for my two year olds if they've eaten well for the other meals.