Getting toddlers to eat balanced meals

[twowhat?]

Ours are getting to be a challenge although they are good eaters (when they are eating what they want to!)

For now I've been able to satisfy their requests for cinnamon toast for dinner (for example) by simply saying "that's a breakfast food, not a dinner food" but I don't expect that to last long...

Or someone will request chicken and ONLY eat chicken.

Often someone throws a fit over the plate of food I give ("I DON'T WAAAANT FISH!!!!") And we definitely don't want to become short-order cooks.

So in the past couple of days I've tried putting together a plate with a balanced dinner (for example, a few pieces of chicken, a few cauliflower florets, and a small spoonful of rice) and handing it to them saying "This is your dinner. You can have more of anything on your plate as long as you finish what's on your plate first." I try to make sure I only have small amounts of each food on their plates to make it easy for them to finish and I try to make sure 2/3 things on their plates are something they like...and oddly enough it seems to be working well - they eat the whole plate without complaining, then ask for more chicken, or more rice (but of course they never ask for more veggies!)

I just wanted to see if anyone has any other ideas of encouraging balanced meals without creating battles. They both will (sometimes reluctantly) eat certain veggies. They both usually love meat and rice. DD2 loves fruit, and DD1 won't touch it.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I like Dr. Sears' idea of looking for a balanced week vs a balanced meal. It's saved me a lot of stress! Frequently the kids will have a big fruit snack but not touch their fruits or veggies with dinner. If I just keep track of how many servings over the course of a full day vs a meal or even just looking over the course of a week, I find that we always hit our goals. That's good enough for me. :)

eta- I have started really just giving a token veggie side dish at dinner because they hardly eat dinner at all. If I want to get veggies in them then I usually make them part of snack time instead.

Breakfast for dinner is an awesome, cheap, easy option that we take advantage of weekly too. :)

Beth

[ijopint]

Have you heard of Muffin tin Monday? or creating decorating meals with Bento accessories (Deco ben). I know it takes time to do these things but I sacrifice for DS sake b/c he always says "NO FOOD" when it's time to eat.
I also want him to prepare eating these foods b/c he is going to Kinder this year. This is what I did for DS so far a success!! fresh salad which he does not particularly eats is now on his plate ;) though I still cannot entice him to eat cookie or candy(could you believe that?) as a treat but he only likes Ice cream(chocolate). goodluck!
here is the link for the muffin tin meals

http://michellesjournalcorner.blogspot.com/2010/09/muffin-tin-monday-creative-food-ideas.html

[LMPC]

(Thank goodness) DD is a good eater but I find that if I give her the veggies first, she's more likely to finish them. So I'll pretend that the rest of dinner isn't finished, and I'll say "Alright start with your broccoli...the rest will be up soon!". She's pretty hungry, so she eats the broccoli while I plate DH and my dinner.

GL -- I hope this is just a phase!

[bubbaray]

Neither of my girls eat balanced meals in one particular sitting. My Dr/their dr says its not a problem -- its what they eat in a whole week that is the issue. In fact, DD#2 doesn't eat a balanced diet during the whole week either, but I can't get any of her dr's or specialists to care b/c she's staying on her growth curve and is pretty healthy.

[ahrimie]

You can also try arranging the plate in funny shapes or faces. I did that once with DD and she loved it. I think exposure and opportunity is important in building healthy habits. Provide a variety in shapes and colors and ask them to just try it. I also agree with a balanced week vs day. If DD doesn't eat well one day, I don't stress about it.

[Pepper]

(Thank goodness) DD is a good eater but I find that if I give her the veggies first, she's more likely to finish them. So I'll pretend that the rest of dinner isn't finished, and I'll say "Alright start with your broccoli...the rest will be up soon!". She's pretty hungry, so she eats the broccoli while I plate DH and my dinner.



:yeahthat: I do this too.

My kids are pretty good eaters, but it drives me nuts that I can't predict how much they'll eat at a given meal. I don't like to waste food but the kids (ages 2 and almost-5) are pretty messy, so I don't really want save their leftovers either. So, when the menu permits, I make a serving platter and arrange the food all on one big plate. I give them each an empty plate and tell them that they can choose any food(s) that they want, but they have to eat everything that they take. It works best at lunchtime - I slice mini-bagels in half, add some leftover cooked veggies, cheese, and whatever meat is in the fridge. (I usually hold off on the fruit of they'd fill up on it first). I think the kids like choosing and I feel comfortable with putting any leftovers back in the fridge for another meal.