Most babies, once they start on solids are rarely picky eaters. They haven’t had a chance to understand the foods they are eating, so pretty much they will eat what you put in their mouths.
However, from about 10 months their taste buds may have a mind of their own and you will find them spitting out occasionally or just plain refusing to open their mouth for that new recipe you have slaved over.
But as with most things, every baby is different. Some are just easy eaters and others will give you a hard time from word go.
Don’t despair. There are ways to get baby to eat. You will need to be a little creative and it will take some planning, but in the end, know that your baby wont starve themselves.
There are a few tricks to getting baby to at least try new foods. Here are a few:
- finger foods – let baby touch and taste in their own time
- give baby control – hand them the spoon and let them explore – messy, but effective
- spice it up – adding some salt or a little cinnamon to their food may help – some babies don’t like the bland variety
- bowl it – colorful bowls and spoons may make it like a game for baby – so go shopping!
If baby is willing to try new food at least, then get busy with a few new recipes for picky eaters. Here are a few that may help with your picky eater.
Funny Face Sandwiches
With these, it’s not so much in the ingredients but the creative display. Get your arty hat on and create masterpieces that will get your little guy laughing and wanting to eat.
Choose his fave cheese, meat and sprinkle on a funny hat or hair. The facial features are of utmost importance. The funnier, the better.
Tommy Tomato Soup
Make your own and blend the tomatoes super fine. You don’t want any lumps spoiling the little taster.
To add something fun, sprinkle a few alphabet pasta shapes or a few crackers on top before serving.
- A Can of whole tomatoes (check that the sodium is low)
- Lemon Juice
- Chicken broth (low sodium again)
- SeasoningA dab of cream for thickening
- A dab of cream for thickening
- Puree all the ingredients, bring to the boil, add seasoning and there you go.
Toddler Cottage Pie
This could become a firm favorite.
The Filling
- Minced Meat
- Natural Beef Stock
- Seasoning
- Oil for cooking
- Carrots – blended so super fine
- Peas – blended or whole – depending on if junior will eat them or not
- Blend veggies and cook into minced meat and oil
- Add seasoning and beef stock
- If it needs thickening, add some corn flour
Mashed Potato Topping
- Cook potatoes up until soft
- Mash up and add a little cream and seasoning
- Once mince mix is cooled, top with mashed potatoes.
- Grate some mozzarella cheese on top, grill for a few minutes and serve immediately
Healthy Fish Fingers and Chips
Fish Fingers are great but they are loaded with salt and deep-fried in oil generally. And most times don’t contain much fish anyway. So, make your own.
- Boneless White fish like hake or tuna
- Plain flour
- Eggs
- Fresh breadcrumbs
- Oven baked chips or better yet cut up your own (freezing sliced up potatoes before baking them helps them keep their shape better and cook through quicker)
- Slice up the fish into finger pieces
- Layer fish pieces with flour first, then into beaten egg mixture and finally roll them in breadcrumbs
- Bake on a medium oven heat and turn half way through
- Bake your oven chips until cooked through
- Arrange your fish fingers and chips on the plate into cute designs, like a boat on the sea, or a tractor on a farm. The possibilities are endless and will get your little critter eating in no time.
The trick with getting little people to eat healthy food or eat at all is to take an everyday meal and bring it down to little people standards. If making the meal a finger food meal works, then try it. If they like to feed themselves, give them a soft fork or spoon and be prepared for a mess. Creativity is key.
Don’t be afraid. But know that they won’t starve themselves and while you may worry that they are eating all the wrong things, it is only a phase. Patience and a little love and you can come up with many recipes for picky eaters.
