anyone else's toddler at the fridge all the time

[mom to little e]

Your message was perfect timing for us! DS is a GREAT eater and I am sometimes amazed at how much the little guy can put away! I have noticed though, that he is starting to "hang out" at the fridge. I am going to try and use these suggestions and up his protein. Suggestions like these are always great. They help me to remember to offer a wide variety of food, even if I don't care for it. Like olives, I don't like them, never will. However, yesterday I was eating leftover pizza (wish I would eat as healthy as my son!) and of course, he wanted some, too! I picked off the black olives that I didn't want and he loved them! I'm off to the grocery tomorrow and am going to take my new little list of foods. Also going to try and find the Satter book at the library...

Thanks to all for the advice.
Casey
Momma to Ean...the little love of my life!

[lisams]

DD is one of those grazers!! She just eats a little here a little there. I tried for a while to limit snacks between meals hoping she would eat more at her meals but it didn't work. She just doesn't eat a lot in one sitting no matter what (and interestingly she was like this nursing in the early months, she'd nurse often but not for very long at each session). I usually have a plate of healthy snacks sitting out about an hour after a meal. I figure as long as it's healthy food there's no harm.

Lisa

[lisams]

Some favorite snacks here are:

cheese - cubed, shredded, string cheese
cottage cheese, sometimes I mix fruit in
applesauce with cheerios swimming in it (DD's idea not mine!)
Earth's Best toddler cereal bars
all kinds of fruit - melons, berries, apples sliced and peeled, cut grapes, etc
little cubes of meat
fresh peas
wheat crackers with cream cheese spread in the middle
raisins (although she might be a little young for these?)
fruit leathers (Trader Joe's has no sugar added and are organic)
toast strips
yogurt covered pretzels
Earth's Best block cookies

I try to make her snack something a meal might have been missing. For example if she didn't eat much fruit at lunch, the snack I give her later will usually be some kind of fruit.

HTH!
Lisa

[daisymommy]

I definetly agree with the previous posters. Most children cannot go more than 2-3 hrs. max without food. For my son Josh, it has always been 2 hrs. I also always give him more than I think he will eat, and that way he can self regulate when he is full, rather than running out of food, and still being hungry. He eats till he is satisfied, then tells me "all done!" and gets down from the table. He will happily play for about another 2 hrs, then come asking for crackers--which is his way of asking for a snack.

Along with the other great suggestions for snacks I would add:
-pretzels
-Veggie or Fruity Booty
-Corn puffs from Trader Joes
-Wheat alphabet cookies from TJ's
-yogurt
-Dry cereal (cheerois, etc.)
-Quaker apple cinnamon rice cakes
-mini vanilla wafers
-goldfish crackers

I will admit that Joshua could graze all day long if I let him--and some days he does! But then again, children are constantly growing, we as adults are not (well, our waist-lines are ;)). So, they need more fuel than we do. I often leave out a snack cup with some crackers in it, and a sippycup of water. That way he can help himself when he's hungry. But I do make sure that I'm not giving him a snack 1 hr. before a meal time, or he won't eat anything.

Hope this helps!