Food for Aut(ies)

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I see - so, less fiber, more fat, more protein?

Vegetables. I wanted to add vegetables to baked goods in such a way that they would be appealing on a sensory level. And if if chicken or peanuts could be worked in as well all the better.

Does he eat oatmeal and bananas? We do "elvis oatmeal" - a spoonfull of peanut butter mixed into the oats (cooked with water) topped with sliced bananas.

I confess .. I haven't read this entire thread so I may repeat some of the suggestions?

Meatballs: We make vegetarian meatballs using lentils
Sauces: Pasta sauce, pizza sauce, etc
Soups
Smoothies
Vegetable broths: Add them in mashed potatos, drinks

Sandwiches: Instead of using mayo, blend some veggies into a paste. Then add whatever food item your child likes (ham, cheese, etc) into the sandwich.

Chili

My son is too limited and rigid in what he'll eat for most of those, but thank you. Adding vegetables to pasta sauce is great and would work for most people I think, but when my son gets spaghetti he usually only eats a couple strands so he wouldn't get a significant amount. I've never tried lentils for it but like to use chic peas mixed with whatever other vegetables I have on hand for making veggie burgers, but of course my son won't eat that.

I think introducing texture and lumps and moving away from the baby foods is a really good idea. The longer you leave it, the harder it gets. There's a lot of things I did with my son which helped him, including poaching chicken breast in milk and letting it simmer for ages, then blitzing it, and adding roughly mashed vegies getting less and less mashed as the days and weeks passed by. Stuff to chew on was also good.. like the lamb shank bone once you've taken off anything that could constitute a choking hazard. They can get hooked on the baby food stuff, because it's bland and doesn't require chewing. Chewing is really important, and some level of chewy food can be added from around 9 months - under supervision of course. I was really surprised to find what a strong link there is between chewing and the development of speech. There's a book out, written by Jessica Seinfeld which i recommend you check out too. It's called "Deceptively Delicious" - shows you how you can even make really healthy chicken nuggets!

Oh and I did devise my own way to make very healthy 50% chicken and 50% vegetable chicken nuggets, they were delicious but they must have been the wrong shade of golden brown because my kid wouldn't even try them. I need to try it again though, it's just so much easier using the frozen kind. I at least do buy the healthiest ones I can find.

Hey Washi.. I didn't mean you specifically about the baby food.. I'm just kind of remembering my own experience. I had a really hard time getting my first child off the baby foods, and they are really convenient. For my second child, I just didn't buy them, because I didn't want those food problems again. My sister in law, who's nearly 50 was fed them exclusively until she was well over 3, and she still gags if she finds a lump in her mashed potatoes. It was more a general warning for the Mums out there. The earlier you introduce lumpy stuff, the better in my opinion.

I really think you should check out that book by Jessica Seinfeld. Something else my Doctor told me when my son was going through his 3 food only phase, was simply don't buy those foods! I chose to pick my battles and since my son was growing well and didn't seem unhealthy in any way, we rode out the 3 food phase and constantly offered alternatives, and eventually he came around to trying new things. Unlike my other kids, who I pretty much insisted they had to try everything before they could say they didn't like it, that was too hard for John, so his requirement was to lick the food. Sounds odd, but it wasn't as scary for him as putting something foreign all the way into his mouth. It was also a bit of a game too.. he really got into the licking things game. Was a bit tough when he started licking people, but that didn't last long!

I knew a child who would only eat "yellow" food: bread, crackers, etc He would NOT eat anything else. Then we had a teacher "teach" cooking class where she would show the class, step by step, how to make something simple. He was quite observant in what she was doing. When it was his turn to make his food, (with support) he looked like he was having a lot of fun and we were SHOCKED that he ate anything and everything that was taught in class.

So, have you thought about showing the process on how to make something .. and then having him copy? He might eat it..

Will he eat pasta with sauce (he likes ketchup...what about spaghetti sauce?) You can hide just about any veggies you want in there! When my parents make homemade spaghetti sauce, they puree lots of green pepper and onions into it. I am sure other things could be added as well. The kids supposedly hate green peppers, but they sure do love that sauce! LOL

Also, if he likes fruit, what about spreading peanut butter and raisins (or even just pb) onto apple slices? Or, for my niece who lives with me, I will cut a banana lengthwise, spread some peanut butter inside, then put in back together like a peanut butter and banana sandwich minus the bread.

If your son likes baby food texture more, one thing my parents used to do when the niece and nephew were babies for Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc: throw everything of the turkey dinner in together, and blend it into babyfood. They didn't know there was so many different things in it, the texture was consistent, and it had meat, veggies, and sometimes fruit as well.

Another suggestion---does he like smoothies?? I ask because those are baby food like consistency and made from fruit. Have you tried blending in shredded carrot and a bit of greens such as spinach or kale?? I use banana, pineapple, mixed berries (I use black, blue, straw, and raspberries which make a nice purple colour that hides everything else). You can add in the veggies and he will never know. Also, sometimes I put protein powder into mine too. That would eliminate one meat that would need to get into him.